HOW TO

Extract a single band from a multiple band raster in ArcGIS Pro

Last Published: August 17, 2023

Summary

A raster with multiple bands contains multiple spatially coincident matrices of cell values representing the same spatial area. Each band consists of an array of pixels (cells), and each pixel has a value. One example of a multiple band raster is the true color orthophoto which contains three bands representing red, blue, or green light as shown in the image below.

A raster image with multiple bands.

Despite having the bands displayed together, users may want one specific band extracted to focus on. This article provides a workflow to extract a single band from a multiple band raster in ArcGIS Pro.

Procedure

In ArcGIS Pro, use the Copy Raster tool, the Make Raster Layer tool, or the Extract Bands function to extract a single band from a multiple band raster.

Use the Copy Raster tool

  1. Open the ArcGIS Pro project.
  2. In the Catalog pane, expand the composite image layer, right-click the band and click Export to Different Format….
  3. In the Copy Raster pane, for the Output Raster Dataset parameter, click Browse The Browse icon. to specify the name and the file location of the output raster.
  4. Click Run.
The parameters in the Copy Raster tool.

Use the Make Raster Layer tool

Note: 
The layer created by the Make Raster Layer tool is temporary and does not persist after the session ends. If necessary, export the layer to a new permanent raster. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: Export or convert raster datasets for more information.
  1. Open the ArcGIS Pro project.
  2. On the Analysis tab, in the Geoprocessing group, click Tools.
  3. In the Geoprocessing pane, search for and click the Make Raster Layer tool.
  4. In the Make Raster Layer pane, on the Parameters tab, select the layer from the Input raster drop-down list. In this example, 'TIFF Layer.tif' is selected.
  5. Select the band from the Bands drop-down list. In this example, 1 is selected.
  6. Click Run.
The parameters in the Make Raster Layer pane.

Use the Extract Bands function

  1. Open the ArcGIS Pro project.
  2. On the Analysis tab, in the Raster group, click Raster Functions.
  3. In the Raster Functions pane, on the System tab, search for and click Extract Bands in the Find Raster Functions search box.
  4. In the Extract Bands Properties pane, on the Parameters tab, select the feature layer from the Raster drop-down list. In this example, 'TIFF Layer.tif' is selected.
  5. In the Method drop-down list, select the method to choose the type of keyword to use while extracting bands. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: Parameters for more information. In this example, Band IDs is selected.
  6. Remove the values from the Combination parameter.
  7. In the Band drop-down list, select the band to extract from the list. In this example, 1 is selected.
  8. Click Create new layer.
The parameters in the Extract Bands Properties pane.

The image below shows the single band raster after being extracted.

A raster image with a single band.

Article ID: 000029230

Software:
  • ArcGIS Pro 3 0
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 8 x
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 7 x
  • ArcGIS Pro 2 x

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