Spatial Queries

You can select features based on their spatial relationship with a polygon, line or point that you draw, or with an existing object. You choose whether to include only features that entirely overlap with your selected or drawn geometry, or whether to include also those that partially intersect. You also can define a buffer zone to include features within a certain radius of the selection. So if, for example, a chemical leak occurred in a particular location, and the wind is spreading the chemical odor across a 150 km radius, you can perform a spatial query to determine which surrounding towns need to be evacuated by drawing a polygon around the contaminated area, and then setting a buffer of 150 km. Alternatively, if, for example, you want to find all schools that intersect with a specific road, you can select the road as the object selection, and perform a spatial query based on it, without needing to draw a selection area.

To perform a spatial query:

1. On the Feature Layer tab, in the Selection group, click Spatial Query and then select one of the following from the dropdown list:

§ Area– Select all features that are spatially related to the polygon that will be drawn.

§ Line - Select all features that are spatially related to the line that will be drawn.

§ Point– Select all features that are spatially related to the point that will be drawn.

§ Object selection – Select all features that are spatially related to the object that will be selected.

§ From clipboard - Select all features that are spatially related to the objects in the clipboard.

Note: This option allows you to perform a spatial query using another feature or object, thus eliminating the need to manually draw the selection area.

Note: The selection of any objects that are defined around a point, (e.g., all 2D Shapes, but not Polyline or Polygon) selects an individual point and not the entire object.

Note: The precise spatial relationship is defined in the next step.

2. On the Feature Layer tab, in the Selection group, define the spatial relationship to the drawn geometry:

Parameter	Description
Buffer	If you want to include features within a certain radius outside the selection, select the required distance.
Units	Select the desired units of measurement: meters, feet, kilometers, or miles.
Intersect/Completely Within	§ Select Intersect if you want to select all features whose geometry intersect at any point with the selection geometry. § Select Completely Within if you want to select only features whose entire geometry fall within or overlap the selection geometry.

3. In the 3D Window, do one of the following depending on the type of spatial query:

§ Area selection – Place the polygon points in the 3D Window by clicking in the desired locations. You must place at least three points. Finish the polygon creation by right-clicking.

§ Line selection - Place the line points in the 3D Window by clicking in the desired locations. You must place at least two points. Finish the line insertion by right-clicking.

§ Point selection – Place a single point in the 3D Window by clicking in the desired location.

§ Feature selection – Select any object by clicking it.

The selection area (including the buffer if there is one) is framed with a red border. All layer features within the selection area are marked with yellow selection frames.

Note: If you want to turn off the Select Area mode, on the Feature Layer tab, in the Selection group, toggle off the Spatial Query command.