HOW TO

Calculate the width of polygon features in ArcGIS Pro

Last Published: June 14, 2023

Summary

In ArcGIS Pro, the width of a polygon can be calculated to gauge the map size accurately. This is helpful to print a portrait layout of the map with width limitations. Calculating the accurate width of the polygons enables arranging the features to fit into the map layout. This article highlights the workflow on how to calculate the width of a polygon feature class in ArcGIS Pro.

Procedure

Note: 
An Advanced license with the Production Mapping extension enabled is required to use the Calculate Metrics tool.

Use the Calculate Metrics tool to calculate the width polygon features

  1. In ArcGIS Pro, in the Contents pane, right-click the polygon layer, and click Attribute Table to expand the attribute table. In this example, 'Rabbit Cage' is used.
  2. Navigate to Analysis > Tools.
  3. In the Geoprocessing pane, search for Calculate Metrics in the search box.
Search for the tool
  1. In the Calculate Metrics pane, under Parameters, select the polygon feature layer for Input Features.
  2. Under Input Metrics Types, uncheck all options except Width.
Fill in the parameters
  1. Expand Advanced, remove all default contents in Input Length Attributes, Input Width Attributes, Input Area Attributes, Input Angle of Orientation Attributes, and Input Elevation Attributes.
Removing the default content from the Advanced section.
  1. Fill in the fields for Input Length Attributes, Input Width Attributes, and Input Area Attributes with the field names based on the polygon's attribute table.
Fill in the fields based on the attribute table

The image below shows the Width text field is populated.

Populated width column

Calculate the width of a specific area of a polygon

  1. Create a new line feature on the top of the polygon. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: Create a polyline feature for instructions.
  2. Draw a line feature on top of the polygon to the desired angle.
Drawing a line feature to the polygon at the desired angle
  1. In ArcGIS Pro, in the Contents pane, right-click the newly created line layer, and click Attribute Table to expand the attribute table.
  2. Identify the 'shape_length' field value of the line feature. The value represents the width of the polygon.

Article ID: 000030628

Software:
  • ArcGIS Pro 3 1
  • ArcGIS Pro 3 0
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 8 x
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 9x

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