Feature on Feature

Available with Data Reviewer license.

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.

Overview

The purpose of the Feature on Feature check is to find features that spatially relate to each other, 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.

Industry scenarios

• In parcel management, the Feature on Feature check ensures that lot units within tax parcels do not overlap each other.
• 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.

Supported workflows

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

Validation			Constraint
Reviewer batch job	Reviewer map rule	Attribute (validation) rule	Yes
Yes	Yes	Yes

Syntax

Parameter	Required	Description	Workflow
Input Feature Layers	Yes	The input feature layers evaluated by the rule. Valid inputs are point, polyline, and polygon features.	Validation (map rules)
Subtype	No	If the dataset has subtypes, specify the subtype to which the rule will be applied.	Constraint
			Validation
Attribute	No	A query that identifies the features to which the rule will be 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
Features to Compare Filter	No	A query that identifies the features to include in the rule.	Validation
Spatial Relationship	Yes	The spatial relationship to be evaluated. 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 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.	Constraint
			Validation
Search Distance	No	A buffer distance used in determining the spatial relationship. This parameter is only valid if the Spatial Relationship parameter is set to Intersects.	Constraint
			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 will not be inverted. This is the default. Checked—The result of the validation will be inverted.	Constraint
			Validation
Triggers	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
Title/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
Notes/Description	No	Descriptive text of the error condition when noncompliant features are found. This information is used to provide guidance to facilitate corrective workflows.	Constraint
			Validation
Severity	No	Severity of the error created when noncompliant features are 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	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

Notes

Consider the following when using the Feature on Feature check:

• Input and comparison features must share a common datum.

  Learn more about spatial references

• When authoring a validation rule for multiple input feature layers, only fields that are common (matching name and data type) across all layers can be used in the Attribute Relationship parameter.
• 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 WGS 84 (wkid 4326).
• When this check is authored as an attribute (validation) rule, the Attribute and Features to Compare Filter parameters are limited to comparison (=, <>, >, <, >=, <=) and logical (AND/OR, IN/NOT IN, LIKE/NOT LIKE, IS NULL) operators.
• When this check is authored as an attribute (validation) rule, caution should be taken to include the data source for the Features to Compare parameter when sharing web layers with the Validation capability enabled.
• When this check is authored as a map-based rule, care should be taken when configuring filter parameters using database-specific SQL functions that differ from those supported in your production environment.