Feature on Feature

Available with ArcGIS Pro Standard and Data Reviewer licenses.

Summary

The Feature on Feature check finds features from the same or two different feature layers that share a spatial relationship and returns them as results.

Supported workflows

ArcGIS Data Reviewer checks support multiple methods for implementing automated review of data. The following table identifies the supported implementation methods for this check:

Validation attribute rule			Constraint attribute rule
Yes (ArcGIS Pro 2.5 or later)			Yes (ArcGIS Pro 2.4 or later)

Legacy:

Map-based Reviewer rules are deprecated and are no longer available for use. It is recommended that you migrate automated review workflows to Data Reviewer capabilities available in attribute rules. Opening or saving a map document (.aprx file) at ArcGIS Pro 3.0 or later removes all the existing map rules from the document.

Overview

The Feature on Feature check identifies features that are spatially related, such as a road on a land feature or a lake surrounded by grassland. Features from the same feature class can also overlap one another and share common attribute values.

When configured as a constraint rule, an error notification is returned when a feature that meets the conditions defined in the parameters of the rule is created or modified.

When configured as a validation rule, an error is created for each feature that meets the conditions defined in the parameters of the rule. You can access this error in the Error Inspector pane.

Industry scenarios

Keep the following in mind when using the check:

• In parcel management, the Feature on Feature check ensures that lot units in tax parcels do not overlap.
• In address management, road centerline features that contain overlaps or gaps in address ranges can impact the accuracy of locators used in geocoding.
• In water utility management, features connected with different values on key attributes are a common problem. For example, errors may occur when a valve is connected to a pipe but the diameters of the pipes are different, such as a 12-inch-diameter valve that connects to two 8-inch-diameter water mains.
• In electrical utility management, for proper network analysis, features that are connected must be located on the endpoints of another feature. For example, analysis errors may occur when a switch feature does not split the primary conductor line that it is connected to.
• When using data from ArcGIS Indoors, unit polygons such as offices, bathrooms, and break rooms must be within the horizontal and vertical bounds of their corresponding level.

Syntax

Parameter	Required	Description	Workflow
Subtype	No	The subtype to which the rule is applied.	Constraint
			Validation
Attribute	No	A query that identifies the features to which the rule is applied.	Validation
Features to Compare	Yes	Input features are returned as errors based on their relationship to the features from this data source. Valid inputs are point, polyline, and polygon features.	Constraint
			Validation
Filter	No	A query that identifies the features to include in the rule, from the data source specified in the Features to Compare parameter.	Validation
Spatial Relationship	Yes	The spatial relationship to be evaluated. Types of spatial relationships include the following: Touches—A part of the feature comes into contact with the boundary of a feature from the Features to Compare source. The interiors of the features do not intersect. Contains—A feature completely encloses a feature from the Features to Compare source. Intersects—Any part of a feature comes into contact with any part of a feature from the Features to Compare source. Within—A feature is completely within a feature from the Features to Compare source. Crosses—The interior of a feature comes into contact with the interior or boundary (if the feature is a polygon) of a feature from the Features to Compare source. Overlaps—The interior of a feature partly covers a feature from the Features to Compare source. Only features of the same geometry can be compared. DE-9IM—The customized relationship based on the Dimensionally Extended 9-Intersection Model (DE-9IM) string you specify.	Constraint
			Validation
DE-9IM String	Conditional	This parameter is required if the Spatial Relationship parameter is set to DE-9IM. Learn more about creating a DE-9IM string	Constraint
			Validation
Horizontal Search Distance	No	A horizontal buffer distance used to determine the spatial relationship. This parameter is only available if the Spatial Relationship parameter is set to Intersects.	Constraint
			Validation
Evaluate Z	No	This option evaluates z-values by comparing two features to assess if the spatial relationship holds true in Z, as well as in X and Y. This parameter is currently available for specific combinations of spatial relationships and geometry types. Refer to the Evaluate Z parameter supported spatial relationships and geometry types section for guidance on available configurations. Note: All feature classes participating in a Feature on Feature rule with Evaluate Z enabled must have the same vertical coordinate system.	Validation
Vertical Search Distance	Conditional	A sub-parameter of Evaluate Z that evaluates a vertical search distance above and below a feature so that an exact match of z-values between the two features is not required. This option is only enabled when the Evaluate Z check box is checked.	Validation
Attribute Relationship	No	After the spatial relationship is evaluated, this option enables the comparison of attribute values to be included in the validation. For example, this option can be used to identify features that intersect and share a common attribute value.	Validation
Invert Relationship	No	After the relationship is evaluated, this option determines if the result should be used as is or inverted. For example, this option can be used to identify features that do not intersect or are not within a defined distance of another feature. Unchecked—The result of the validation is not inverted. This is the default. Checked—The result of the validation is inverted.	Constraint
			Validation
Trigger	Yes	The editing events that trigger the rule to take effect. Insert—Triggers the rule when a new feature is added. Update—Triggers the rule when a feature is updated. Delete—Triggers the rule when a feature is deleted.	Constraint
Name	Yes	A unique title or name for the rule. This information is used to support data quality requirement traceability, automated reporting, and corrective workflows.	Constraint
			Validation
Description	No	A description of the error you define when a noncompliant feature is found. This information is used to provide guidance for corrective workflows.	Constraint
			Validation
Severity	No	The severity of the error assigned when a noncompliant feature is found. This value indicates the importance of the error relative to other errors. Values range from 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest priority and 5 being the lowest.	Validation
Tags	No	The tag property of the rule. This information is used in rule authoring and management workflows to support traceability and reporting of data quality requirements.	Constraint
			Validation

Evaluate Z parameter supported spatial relationships and geometry types

Feature class 1	Spatial relationship	Feature class 2 (Features to compare)
Point	Touches	Line
Point	Intersects	Line
Line	Touches	Point
Line	Intersects	Point
Line	Touches	Line
Line	Within	Line
Line	Intersects	Line
Line	Crosses	Line
Line	Overlaps	Line
Polygon	Within	Polygon
Polygon	Intersects	Polygon
Polygon	Intersects	Point
Point	Intersects	Polygon
Line	Within	Polygon

Notes

Keep the following in mind when using the check:

• The data sources of the input features and Features to Compare parameter must share a common datum.

  Learn more about spatial references

• When this check is authored as an attribute (constraint) rule, support for geographic coordinate system-based datasets is limited to those using Web Mercator (WKID 3857) or WGS84 (WKID 4326).
• The following conditions apply when this check is authored as an attribute (validation) rule:
  • Data sources for the Features to Compare parameter must include a global ID field.
  • The Validation Status attribute values of both the input features and the data sources included in the Features to Compare parameter are ignored during evaluation. For example, input features with a validation status of 0 (No calculation required, no validation required, no error), 1 (No calculation required, no validation required, has error(s)),4 (Calculation required, no validation required, no error), or 5 (Calculation required, no validation required, has error(s)) are still included during rule evaluation.
  • The Attribute and Filter parameters are limited to comparison (=, <>, >, <, >=, and <=) and logical (AND/OR, IN/NOT IN, LIKE/NOT LIKE, and IS NULL) operators.
  • Include the data source for the Features to Compare parameter when creating map or project packages and when sharing web layers with the Validation capability enabled.
  • A feature’s geometry is returned instead of an error geometry when this check is configured using the Intersect spatial relationship with the Search Distance parameter.
• The Attribute, the Features to Compare, and the Attribute Relationship filter parameters do not support the following field types: Big Integer, Date Only, Time Only, and Timestamp Offset.
• DE-9IM is not supported when the Evaluate Z check box is checked.