More about Selections
Credits: L. Meisterlin with Moses Levich, Thiago Lee, and Erik Strand (2021)
Included in this tutorial
Selecting within a selection
Selection through geoprocessing tools
Software version in examples: ArcGIS Pro 2.8.2
Tutorial Data: The tutorial includes demonstration with sample data available here.
Selecting within a Selection
Querying an already selected subset of features is commonly referred to as “selecting within a selection” and one way of refining query results in ArcGIS Pro.
Both the Select by Attribute and Select by Location dialogues have selection method options, which allow “selecting from within a selection.” Alternatively, to interactively select features from within an existing selection, click through Map > Selection > Interactive Selection Method in the Main Menu ribbon.
This example demonstrates selecting features from within an existing selection.
NOTE: These are selections made in the Querying based on Spatial Relationships tutorial. Here, we already have the 98 features in the “Points1_Table1_Join” layer within 500 feet of a subway entrance.
Now we will narrow them down based on their attribute values to isolate those with a value of B in the “Type_AB” field.
With the previous steps completed, we access the Select by Attribute dialogue by clicking through Map tab > Selection (section) > Select by Attribute. Next, we…
Specify the input (Points1_Table1_Join) from the Input rows dropdown.
Choose Select subset from current selection from the Method dropdown.
Enter the query. For this example, we build a clause that reads Type_AB is equal to 'B'. (Constructing queries with the Expression Builder is covered in this tutorial.)
The result only includes the 50 features (from the 98 within 500 feet of a subway entrance) with a value of 'B' within the Type_AB field.
selecting within a selection
Selection through Geoprocessing Tools
The Select Layer by Attribute and Select Layer by Location Tools
The Select Layer by Attribute tool and Select Layer by Location tool are the toolbox equivalents of their respective operations through the interface, Select by Attribute and Select by Location.
These tools can be found in the Geoprocessing Pane, under Data Management Tools > Layers and Table Views or by using the Search function.
Selection tools in the Geoprocessing toolbox are equivalent to respective functions in the interface.
The Select Tool
Unlike the other methods which create temporary selections from attribute queries, the Select tool extracts selected features into a new output feature class in a single step.
To access the Select Tool, in the Geoprocessing Pane, click through Analysis Tools > Extract > Select.
The “New Expression” button brings up the Expression Builder dialogue with which an expression can be created to select (and extract) a subset of features.
Selection tools in the Geoprocessing toolbox are equivalent to respective functions in the interface.