Create holes in polygons in ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap

Summary

At times it may be necessary to create new polygons with interior holes, or cut holes out of existing polygons. In this example, a lake feature is represented as a polygon without including underlying islands within the lake's area. The holes in this polygon can be created with the Clip tool in ArcGIS Pro.

Procedure

ArcGIS Pro

1. In ArcGIS Pro, in the Contents pane, select the polygon layer to edit.
2. If the layer symbology includes a fill color, click feature layer and adjust the transparency of the layer for a clear view of which parts of the polygon to erase. In the image below, adjusting the transparency reveals the underlying islands.

3. Click the Edit tab.
4. Click Create.
5. Begin creating polygon(s) around the area(s) to remove.
   • This should be performed within the same polygon layer.

6. Open Tools in the ribbon, and click Clip.

7. For Input Features, select the hole polygons just created.

8. Click the Target Features tab in the Clip tool, and select the main polygon.

• • If you unintentionally select additional features, right-click the feature(s) to remove, and click Unselect.

9. Ensure the Discard (Remainder) option is selected.
10. Click Clip.
    • The polygon does not look visibly different, as the hole polygons still remains a part of the dataset. It is important to continue with the following step.
11. Click the Edit tab, select the hole polygons, and click Delete.
    • Save the changes.

1. • This deletes the polygons covering the part that was just clipped.

ArcMap

Note:
ArcMap has been retired as of March 1, 2026. There are no plans for future releases of ArcMap, and it is recommended that you migrate to ArcGIS Pro. See Migrate from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro for more information.

Note:
This portion of the article pertains to retired ArcGIS versions 8.x and 9.x. Later versions of ArcGIS may contain different functionality, as well as different names and locations for menus, commands and geoprocessing tools. For the latest version, see Cutting Holes in Existing Polygons, and Creating new donut holes and island polygons .

1. In ArcMap, select Editor > Start Editing.
2. From the Task drop-down menu, select Create New Feature.
3. To cut a hole out of an existing polygon, click the Edit tool and double-click the polygon to see the Edit sketch.
   To create a new polygon with a hole in it, click the Sketch tool and digitize the outer edge of the new polygon from which you want to remove a part.
4. Right-click on the Edit sketch of the exterior of the polygon and click Finish Part.
5. Digitize the area within the polygon that will not be included in the larger, exterior polygon. When cutting a hole from an existing polygon, it is necessary to select the Sketch tool first.
6. Right-click and click Finish Sketch. The hole is removed from the area of the exterior polygon.