HOW TO

Create an inside buffer for polygon features in ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro

Last Published: April 19, 2022

Summary

This article describes the steps to create inside buffer areas within polygon features using ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro.

Procedure

Open the Buffer (Analysis) tool from either ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro and set the standard parameters such as input, target location and output name. However, for inside buffers, consider the following two things:

  • The Distance field must be in negative values
  • The Side Type parameter must be set to Outside Only in ArcMap, or Exclude the input polygon from buffer in ArcGIS Pro as shown in the image below:
Side type settings in ArcMap and Pro

Alternatively, use the Buffer Wizard in ArcMap where there is an only inside polygon(s) option for inside buffers, as shown in the next image. With this option, is not necessary to use negative distances, but this tool is exclusive to ArcMap. For more information, refer to How To: Use the ArcMap Buffer Wizard to create an inside buffer for a polygon.

only inside polygon(s) option in the ArcMap Buffer Wizard

Article ID: 000027420

Software:
  • ArcMap
  • ArcGIS Pro

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