Create and label a radius line for a circular polygon from points in ArcGIS Pro

Summary

In ArcGIS Pro, it is possible to add the radius of a circular polygon as a label to point features. The use of a radius facilitates various spatial analysis and decision-making processes by defining the areas of interest or influence around specific locations. For example, specifying a certain radius distance is useful in identifying potential sites for a new store location or estimating the affected population and infrastructure during a natural disaster. Symbolizing the radius on a map further provides additional context and clarity to visualize the spatial reference.

This article describes the workflow to create and label a radius line for a circular polygon from points in ArcGIS Pro using the Distance and Direction tools. In this example, each point feature represents the store of a retail company in Boston.

The image below shows the circular polygon of a specified radius created using the Distance and Direction tool.

Procedure

Note:
This workflow only applies to circular polygons created using the Distance and Direction tools. The features created using these tools use geodetic measurements to calculate the distance.

1. Open the ArcGIS Pro project.
2. Turn off the label for the circular polygon.
1. In the Contents pane, under the Distance and Direction layer group, click Circles.

2. On the Labeling tab, in the Layer group, click Label to turn off the label.

3. Create a line to represent a radius and label the radius distance.
1. On the Insert tab, in the Measurements group, click Distance and Direction.
2. In the Distance and Direction pane, click the Line tab.
3. Under Create Using, select Points.
4. Under Starting Point, click Map Point Tool .
5. For Distance / Length, choose a unit of measurement from the drop-down menu.

6. Click the point feature on the map to designate the starting point of the line.
7. Click the edge of the circular polygon to designate the ending point of the line.

4. Modify the label expression to remove the angle label.
1. In the Contents pane, under the Distance and Direction layer group, click Lines.

2. On the Labeling tab, in the Label Class group, click Expression.
3. In the Label Class pane, in the Expression box, replace the expression with the expression below.

var unit = $feature.DistUnit;

/* This converts labels to the abbreviated unit of measurement */
var unitMeasurement = When(
unit == 'Feet','ft', 
unit == 'Kilometers','km',
unit == 'Meters','m',
unit == 'Miles', 'mi',
unit == 'Nautical Miles','NM',
unit == 'Yards', 'yd',
' ');

Text($feature.Distance, '#,###') + " " + unitMeasurement ;

4. Click Verify to validate the expression.
5. Click Apply.

The image below shows the radius line of a circular polygon drawn and labeled on a map in ArcGIS Pro.