Exercise 5b: Rubbersheeting data

Complexity: Intermediate Data Requirement: ArcGIS Tutorial Data for Desktop Data Path: \ArcGIS\ArcTutor\Editing\SpatialAdjustment

About rubbersheeting

Rubbersheeting is typically used to align two or more layers. This process moves the features of a layer using a piecewise transformation that preserves straight lines.

This exercise will show you how to rubber sheet data by using displacement links, multiple displacement links, and identity links. You will rubber sheet a newly imported set of street features to match an existing feature class of street features.

Setting up the data and rubbersheeting options

Prerequisite:

Start ArcMap and display the Editor, Snapping, and Spatial Adjustment toolbars.

Steps:

1. Click the Open button on the Standard toolbar.
2. Navigate to the Rubbersheet.mxd map document located in the \Editing\SpatialAdjustment directory where you installed the tutorial data. (C:\ArcGIS\ArcTutor is the default location.)
3. Click the map and click Open.
4. If you still have the map document open from the previous exercise and are prompted to close it, you can do so without saving your changes.
5. Click the Editor menu on the Editor toolbar and click Start Editing.
Before you start creating links, set your snapping environment so each link you add snaps to the vertices or endpoints of features.
6. Ensure vertex snapping is enabled. If it is not, click Vertex Snapping on the Snapping toolbar.
7. You need to choose whether to adjust a selected set of features or all the features in a layer. Click the Spatial Adjustment menu on the Spatial Adjustment toolbar and click Set Adjust Data.
8. Click All features in these layers.
9. Make sure only the ImportStreets layer is checked. If necessary, uncheck the ExistingStreets layer. Click OK.
10. Click the Spatial Adjustment menu, point to Adjustment Methods, then click Rubbersheet to set the adjustment method.
11. Click the Spatial Adjustment menu and click Options.
12. Click the General tab.
13. Click Rubbersheet for the adjustment method so you can set additional options for rubbersheeting.
14. Click Options.
15. Click Natural Neighbor and click OK.
16. Click OK to close the Adjustment Properties dialog box.

Adding displacement links

Displacement links define the source and destination coordinates for an adjustment. Displacement links can be created manually or loaded from a link file.

In this exercise, you will create your own displacement links at several key intersections of the ExistingStreets and ImportStreets layers.

Steps:

1. Click Bookmarks and click Import streets to set the current view to the area of this exercise.
When the display refreshes, note that the ImportStreets layer is not aligned with the ExistingStreets layer. You must adjust the ImportStreets layer so it aligns with the ExistingStreets layer by using the rubbersheet adjustment method.
2. To get a better view of the adjustment area, zoom to the Intersections bookmark, which was created for you. Click Bookmarks and click Intersections.
3. Click the New Displacement Link tool on the Spatial Adjustment toolbar.
4. Snap the link to the source location in the ImportStreets layer, as shown below:
5. Snap the link to the destination location in the ExistingStreets layer, as shown below:
6. Continue to create links at the perimeter intersections of the layers in a counterclockwise direction. Look at the SnapTips to ensure you are snapping to the correct location. You will create a total of six displacement links, as shown below:

Adding multiple displacement links

Steps:

1. To get a better view of the adjustment area, zoom to the Curve features bookmark, which was created for you. Click Bookmarks and click Curve features.
To preserve the curved road features, you can add multiple links at critical points.
2. Click the Multiple Displacement Links tool on the Spatial Adjustment toolbar.
The Multiple Displacement Links tool allows you to create multiple displacement links in one operation. This tool can help save time by allowing you to create more than one link simultaneously; it is especially useful for curved features.
3. Click the curved road feature in the ImportStreets layer.
4. Click the curved road feature in the ExistingStreets layer.
5. You will be prompted to enter the number of links to create. Accept the default value (10) and press ENTER.

   The multiple links now appear in the map.

6. Create multiple links for the other curved feature.
7. Click the New Displacement Link tool on the Spatial Adjustment toolbar.
8. Add the final displacement links, as shown below:

Adding identity links

Identity links are used to anchor features at specific points to prevent their movement during an adjustment. You will now add identity links at key intersections to maintain their locations.

Steps:

1. Click the New Identity Link tool on the Spatial Adjustment toolbar.
2. Zoom out and add five identity links at the intersections as shown below:

Adjusting the data

Steps:

1. Click the Spatial Adjustment menu and click Adjustment Preview to examine the adjustment. The preview allows you to see an adjustment prior to actually performing it. If the results of the adjustment are not adequate, you can modify the links to improve the accuracy of the adjustment.
2. Click the Spatial Adjustment menu and click Adjust.
3. Here is how the adjustment should appear:
Notice that all the displacement links you created have turned into identity links. The next step is to delete these links, since you no longer need them.
4. Click the Edit menu and click Select All Elements. This allows you to select the links, since they are graphic elements.
5. Press the DELETE key.
6. Click the Editor menu on the Editor toolbar and click Stop Editing.
7. Click Yes to save your edits.
8. Close ArcMap if you are done working with the tutorial. You do not need to save the map document.
9. To continue to the next exercise, click Exercise 5c: Edgematching data.

In this exercise, you learned how to set your data for an adjustment, create displacement links, preview the adjustment, and adjust the data.