Assign numeric designations

Assigning meaningful designations to items of interest in a given area is crucial to the success of a task that involves cataloging found items. Clearing Grids allows you to assign sequential designations to features at the time of collection without directly editing feature attributes.

Set up your data to collect features

Feature classes are used to store designations for points of interest. You can create a feature class or add a new field to an existing feature class.

Create a feature class

To create a feature class to store numeric designations, complete the following steps:

1. On the ribbon, click the tab where you added the Clearing Grids tools, and click Open Clearing Grids .
2. Click the Number button .
3. Click the Add New Layer button .

   The Select Output dialog box appears.

4. Type a layer name.

   Note:

   When you create a layer, a field is automatically created to store the values for feature designations.

5. Click Save.

Add a field to an existing feature class

To add a new field, complete the following steps:

1. Click the Add Field button .

   The Add Field dialog box appears.

2. Type a field name.
3. Click OK.

Collect points of interest and assign designations

To collect points of interest on a map, complete the following steps:

1. From the Layer drop-down list, select the layer you will use to collect points of interest.
2. From the Field drop-down list, select the field that will store designations for points of interest.
3. Set a Start/Next value.

   After you begin assigning designations, the Start/Next input box can be used to skip numbers in a sequence. The Start/Next input box can also be used to preview the next value that will be assigned.

4. Set an Increment By value.

   After you begin assigning designations, the Increment By input box can be used to change how you assign designations.

5. Select a Sequence Type option.
6. Optionally, you can customize the designations that will be assigned. If you wish to customize the designations, complete the following steps. If not, skip to step 7.
   1. In the Number/Letter Features section, click the Clearing Grids Options button .
   2. Check the Use Custom Format check box.
   3. In the Format text box, type your desired designation format.

   The format specifies how designations will be assigned. Typing one or more pound signs (#) denotes the incremented sequential number. Examples are shown in the table below.

   Typed format	Resulting text written to the field
   ABC-#	ABC-1
   ABC-###	ABC-001
   100-###	100-001

7. Click the Add Number button .
8. Click the map to collect a point of interest.