Summary
A polygon feature layer may contain holes to represent specific features of a given area. While the holes can be manually filled, the process can be time-consuming and complex if there are a large number of holes in a polygon. However, this process can be simplified using the geoprocessing tools in ArcGIS Pro. This article describes the options to fill holes in a polygon using the Eliminate Polygon Part tool, or the Union and Dissolve tools.
The image below shows an example of holes in a polygon.
Procedure
Use either option below to fill holes in a polygon.
Use the Eliminate Polygon Part tool
Note:
This tool requires an Advanced license level. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: ArcGIS Pro license levels for more information.
- Open the project in ArcGIS Pro.
- On the Analysis tab, in the Geoprocessing group, click Tools.
- In the Geoprocessing pane, search for and select Eliminate Polygon Part (Data Management Tools).
- In the Geoprocessing pane, under Parameters, fill in the parameters as follows:
- For Input Features, click the drop-down menu and select the polygon layer. In this example, the 'FieldA holes' polygon layer is selected.
- For Output Feature Class, the name is auto-filled. Alternatively, specify a name for the output feature class.
- For Condition, click the drop-down menu and select how the holes are to be eliminated. In this example, Area is selected.
- For Area, specify an area bigger than the area of the holes to be filled and select the unit from the drop-down list. In this example, Square Meters is selected. Refer to How To: Calculate the area of holes in a polygon feature in ArcGIS Pro to calculate the area of the holes.
- Uncheck the Eliminate contained parts only check box.
- Click Run to run the tool.
Use the Union and Dissolve tools
In ArcGIS Pro, use the Union tool to create a feature from the holes in the polygon feature layer and the Dissolve tool to aggregate the features created with the polygon.
- On the Analysis tab, in the Geoprocessing group, click Tools.
- In the Geoprocessing pane, search for and select Union (Data Management Tools).
- In the Geoprocessing pane, under Parameters, fill in the parameters as follows:
- For Input Features, click the drop-down menu and select the polygon layer. In this example, the 'FieldA holes' polygon layer is selected.
- For Output Feature Class, the name is auto-filled. Alternatively, specify a name for the output feature class.
- For Attributes To Join, click the drop-down menu and select All attributes.
- Uncheck the Gaps Allowed check box. This allows the tool to create a feature for the areas completely enclosed by the polygon.
- Click Run to run the tool.
The image below shows the feature created to fill the holes.
- On the Analysis tab, in the Geoprocessing group, click Tools.
- In the Geoprocessing pane, search for and select Dissolve (Data Management Tools).
- In the Geoprocessing pane, under Parameters, fill in the parameters as follows:
- For Input Features, click the drop-down menu and select the output layer of the Union tool from Step 3. In this example, the 'FieldAholes_Union' polygon layer is selected.
- For Output Feature Class, the name is auto-filled. Alternatively, specify a name for the output feature class.
- For Dissolve Fields, click the drop-down menu and select the field if necessary. In this example, no field is selected.
- For Statistics Fields, click the drop-down menus and select the field for Field and the statistic type under Statistic Type if necessary. In this example, the field and statistic type are not specified.
- Uncheck the Create multipart features check box.
- Uncheck the Unsplit lines check box.
- Click Run to run the tool.
The image below shows the holes in the polygon are filled.