Create Raster Dataset (Data Management)

Summary

Creates an empty raster dataset.

Usage

• When you create a raster dataset, you are creating an empty location to contain a single raster dataset. You can then mosaic or load raster datasets into this location.

• You can save your output to BIL, BIP, BMP, BSQ, DAT, Esri Grid, GIF, IMG, JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, TIFF, or any geodatabase raster dataset.

• When storing your raster dataset to a JPEG file, a JPEG 2000 file, or a geodatabase, you can specify a Compression Type and Compression Quality in the Environments.

• The GIF format only supports single-band raster datasets.

• Building pyramids improves the display performance of raster datasets.

• Calculating statistics allows ArcGIS applications to properly stretch and symbolize raster data for display.

Parameters

Dialog

Label	Explanation	Data Type
Output Location	The folder or geodatabase to store the raster dataset.	Workspace
Raster Dataset Name with Extension	The name, location and format for the dataset you are creating. When storing the raster dataset in a file format, you need to specify the file extension: .bil for Esri BIL .bip for Esri BIP .bmp for BMP .bsq for Esri BSQ .dat for ENVI DAT .gif for GIF .img for ERDAS IMAGINE .jpg for JPEG .jp2 for JPEG 2000 .png for PNG .tif for TIFF No extension for Esri Grid When storing a raster dataset in a geodatabase, do not add a file extension to the name of the raster dataset. When storing your raster dataset to a JPEG file, a JPEG 2000 file, a TIFF file, or a geodatabase, you can specify a Compression Type and Compression Quality in the geoprocessing Environments.	String
Cellsize (Optional)	The cell size for the new raster dataset.	Double
Pixel Type	The bit-depth (radiometric resolution) of the output raster dataset. If this is not specified, your raster dataset will be created with a default pixel type of 8-bit unsigned integer. Not all data types are supported by all raster formats. Check the List of supported sensors help topic to be sure the format you are using will support the data type you need. 1 bit —A 1-bit unsigned integer. The values can be 0 or 1. 2 bit —A 2-bit unsigned integer. The values supported can be from 0 to 3. 4 bit —A 4-bit unsigned integer. The values supported can be from 0 to 15. 8 bit unsigned —An unsigned 8-bit data type. The values supported can be from 0 to 255. 8 bit signed —A signed 8-bit data type. The values supported can be from -128 to 127. 16 bit unsigned —A 16-bit unsigned data type. The values can range from 0 to 65,535. 16 bit signed —A 16-bit signed data type. The values can range from -32,768 to 32,767. 32 bit unsigned —A 32-bit unsigned data type. The values can range from 0 to 4,294,967,295. 32 bit signed —A 32-bit signed data type. The values can range from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. 32 bit float —A 32-bit data type supporting decimals. 64 bit —A 64-bit data type supporting decimals.	String
Spatial Reference for Raster (Optional)	The coordinate system for the output raster dataset. If this is not specified, the coordinate system set in the environment settings will be used.	Coordinate System
Number of Bands	The number of bands that the output raster dataset will have.	Long
Configuration Keyword (Optional)	Specifies the storage parameters (configuration) for a file or enterprise geodatabase. Configuration keywords are set up by your database administrator.	String
Create pyramids (Optional)	Creates pyramids. For Pyramid Levels, specify a number of -1 or higher. A value of 0 will not build any pyramids, and a value of -1 will automatically determine the correct number of pyramid layers to create. The Pyramid Resampling Technique defines how the data will be resampled when building the pyramids. NEAREST—Nearest neighbor should be used for nominal data or raster datasets with color maps, such as land-use or pseudo color images. BILINEAR—Bilinear interpolation is best used with continuous data, such as satellite imagery or aerial photography. CUBIC—Cubic convolution is best used with continuous data, such as satellite imagery or aerial photography. It is similar to bilinear interpolation; however, it resamples the data using a larger matrix. The Pyramid Compression Type defines the method used when compressing the pyramids. DEFAULT—This uses the compression that is normally used by the raster dataset format. LZ77—A lossless compression. The values of the cells in the raster will not be changed. JPEG—A lossy compression. NONE—No data compression.	Pyramid
Tile size (Optional)	Specifies the size of the tiles. The tile width controls the number of pixels you can store in each tile. This is specified as a number of pixels in x. The default tile width is 128. The tile height controls the number of pixels you can store in each tile. This is specified as a number of pixels in y. The default tile height is 128. Only geodatabases and enterprise geodatabases use tile size.	Tile Size
Compression (Optional)	Specifies the type of compression to store the raster dataset. None —No compression will occur. This is the default. LZ77 —Lossless compression that preserves all raster cell values. Jpeg —Lossy compression that uses the public JPEG compression algorithm. If you choose JPEG, you can also specify the compression quality. The valid compression quality value ranges are from 0 to 100. This compression can be used for JPEG files and TIFF files. Jpeg 2000 —Lossy compression. Lzw —Lossless compression that preserves all raster cell values. Packbits —PackBits compression for TIFF files. Rle —Run-length encoding for IMG files. Ccitt Group 3 —Lossless compression for 1-bit data. Ccitt Group 4 —Lossless compression for 1-bit data. Ccitt 1D —Lossless compression for 1-bit data.	Compression
Pyramid Reference Point (Optional)	The origination location of the raster pyramid. It is recommended that you specify this point if you plan on building large mosaics in a file geodatabase or enterprise geodatabase, especially if you plan on mosaicking to them over time (for example, for updating). The pyramid reference point should be set to the upper left corner of your raster dataset. In setting this point for a file geodatabase or enterprise geodatabase, partial pyramiding will be used when updating with a new mosaicked raster dataset. Partial pyramiding updated the parts of the pyramid that do not exist due to the new mosaicked datasets. Therefore, it is good practice to set your pyramid reference point so that your entire raster mosaic will be below and to the right of this point. However, a pyramid reference point should not be set too large either.	Point

Derived Output

Label	Explanation	Data Type
Output Raster Dataset	The output raster dataset.	Raster Dataset

Python

arcpy.management.CreateRasterDataset(out_path, out_name, {cellsize}, pixel_type, {raster_spatial_reference}, number_of_bands, {config_keyword}, {pyramids}, {tile_size}, {compression}, {pyramid_origin})

Name	Explanation	Data Type
out_path	The folder or geodatabase to store the raster dataset.	Workspace
out_name	The name, location and format for the dataset you are creating. When storing the raster dataset in a file format, you need to specify the file extension: .bil for Esri BIL .bip for Esri BIP .bmp for BMP .bsq for Esri BSQ .dat for ENVI DAT .gif for GIF .img for ERDAS IMAGINE .jpg for JPEG .jp2 for JPEG 2000 .png for PNG .tif for TIFF No extension for Esri Grid When storing a raster dataset in a geodatabase, do not add a file extension to the name of the raster dataset. When storing your raster dataset to a JPEG file, a JPEG 2000 file, a TIFF file, or a geodatabase, you can specify a Compression Type and Compression Quality in the geoprocessing Environments.	String
cellsize (Optional)	The cell size for the new raster dataset.	Double
pixel_type	The bit-depth (radiometric resolution) of the output raster dataset. If this is not specified, your raster dataset will be created with a default pixel type of 8-bit unsigned integer. Not all data types are supported by all raster formats. Check the List of supported sensors help topic to be sure the format you are using will support the data type you need. 1_BIT —A 1-bit unsigned integer. The values can be 0 or 1. 2_BIT —A 2-bit unsigned integer. The values supported can be from 0 to 3. 4_BIT —A 4-bit unsigned integer. The values supported can be from 0 to 15. 8_BIT_UNSIGNED —An unsigned 8-bit data type. The values supported can be from 0 to 255. 8_BIT_SIGNED —A signed 8-bit data type. The values supported can be from -128 to 127. 16_BIT_UNSIGNED —A 16-bit unsigned data type. The values can range from 0 to 65,535. 16_BIT_SIGNED —A 16-bit signed data type. The values can range from -32,768 to 32,767. 32_BIT_UNSIGNED —A 32-bit unsigned data type. The values can range from 0 to 4,294,967,295. 32_BIT_SIGNED —A 32-bit signed data type. The values can range from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. 32_BIT_FLOAT —A 32-bit data type supporting decimals. 64_BIT —A 64-bit data type supporting decimals.	String
raster_spatial_reference (Optional)	The coordinate system for the output raster dataset. If this is not specified, the coordinate system set in the environment settings will be used.	Coordinate System
number_of_bands	The number of bands that the output raster dataset will have.	Long
config_keyword (Optional)	Specifies the storage parameters (configuration) for a file or enterprise geodatabase. Configuration keywords are set up by your database administrator.	String
pyramids (Optional)	Creates pyramids. For Pyramid Levels, specify a number of -1 or higher. A value of 0 will not build any pyramids, and a value of -1 will automatically determine the correct number of pyramid layers to create. The Pyramid Resampling Technique defines how the data will be resampled when building the pyramids. NEAREST—Nearest neighbor should be used for nominal data or raster datasets with color maps, such as land-use or pseudo color images. BILINEAR—Bilinear interpolation is best used with continuous data, such as satellite imagery or aerial photography. CUBIC—Cubic convolution is best used with continuous data, such as satellite imagery or aerial photography. It is similar to bilinear interpolation; however, it resamples the data using a larger matrix. The Pyramid Compression Type defines the method used when compressing the pyramids. DEFAULT—This uses the compression that is normally used by the raster dataset format. LZ77—A lossless compression. The values of the cells in the raster will not be changed. JPEG—A lossy compression. NONE—No data compression.	Pyramid
tile_size (Optional)	Specifies the size of the tiles. The tile width controls the number of pixels you can store in each tile. This is specified as a number of pixels in x. The default tile width is 128. The tile height controls the number of pixels you can store in each tile. This is specified as a number of pixels in y. The default tile height is 128. Only geodatabases and enterprise geodatabases use tile size.	Tile Size
compression (Optional)	Specifies the type of compression to store the raster dataset. LZ77 —Lossless compression that preserves all raster cell values. JPEG —Lossy compression that uses the public JPEG compression algorithm. If you choose JPEG, you can also specify the compression quality. The valid compression quality value ranges are from 0 to 100. This compression can be used for JPEG files and TIFF files. JPEG 2000 —Lossy compression. PACKBITS —PackBits compression for TIFF files. LZW —Lossless compression that preserves all raster cell values. RLE —Run-length encoding for IMG files. CCITT GROUP 3 —Lossless compression for 1-bit data. CCITT GROUP 4 —Lossless compression for 1-bit data. CCITT_1D —Lossless compression for 1-bit data. NONE —No compression will occur. This is the default.	Compression
pyramid_origin (Optional)	The origination location of the raster pyramid. It is recommended that you specify this point if you plan on building large mosaics in a file geodatabase or enterprise geodatabase, especially if you plan on mosaicking to them over time (for example, for updating). The pyramid reference point should be set to the upper left corner of your raster dataset. In setting this point for a file geodatabase or enterprise geodatabase, partial pyramiding will be used when updating with a new mosaicked raster dataset. Partial pyramiding updated the parts of the pyramid that do not exist due to the new mosaicked datasets. Therefore, it is good practice to set your pyramid reference point so that your entire raster mosaic will be below and to the right of this point. However, a pyramid reference point should not be set too large either.	Point

Derived Output

Name	Explanation	Data Type
out_raster_dataset	The output raster dataset.	Raster Dataset

Code sample

CreateRasterDataset example 1 (Python window)

This is a Python sample for the CreateRasterDataset tool.

import arcpy
arcpy.CreateRasterDataset_management("c:/data", "EmptyTIFF.tif", "2",
                                     "8_BIT_UNSIGNED", "World_Mercator.prj",
                                     "3", "", "PYRAMIDS -1 NEAREST JPEG",
                                     "128 128", "NONE", "")

CreateRasterDataset example 2 (stand-alone script)

This is a Python script sample for the CreateRasterDataset tool.

##==================================
##Create Raster Dataset
##Usage: CreateRasterDataset_management out_path out_name {cellsize} 8_BIT_UNSIGNED | 1_BIT | 2_BIT | 4_BIT | 8_BIT_SIGNED 
##                                      | 16_BIT_UNSIGNED | 16_BIT_SIGNED | 32_BIT_UNSIGNED | 32_BIT_SIGNED | 32_BIT_FLOAT 
##                                      | 64_BIT {raster_spatial_reference} number_of_bands {config_keyword} {pyramids} {tile_size} 
##                                      {compression} {pyramid_origin}

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = r"\\workspace\PrjWorkspace\RasGP"
##Create a empty TIFF format Raster Dataset with the following parameters
##Cellsize: 2
##Pixel type: 8 Bit Unsigned Integer
##Number of Bands: 3
##Pyramid: Build full pyramids with NEAREST interpolation and JPEG compression
##Compression: NONE
##Projection: World_Mercator
##Tile size: 128 128
arcpy.CreateRasterDataset_management("CreateRD","EmptyTIFF.tif","2","8_BIT_UNSIGNED",\
                                     "World_Mercator.prj", "3", "", "PYRAMIDS -1 NEAREST JPEG",\
                                     "128 128", "NONE", "")

##Create a SDE Raster Dataset
##No Spatial Reference, with Pyramid Origin
arcpy.CreateRasterDataset_management("CreateRD\\CreateRD.gdb","NewRD","10","16_BIT_UNSIGNED",\
                                     "", "1", "MAX_FILE_SIZE_4GB", "PYRAMIDS 3 BILINEAR DEFAULT",\
                                     "128 128", "JPEG2000 80", "-20037508.34278775 30198185.16987658")

Environments

Compression, Output CONFIG Keyword, Pyramid, Tile Size

Licensing information

• Basic: Yes
• Standard: Yes
• Advanced: Yes