Calculate Polygon Main Angle (Cartography)
Summary
Calculates the dominant angles of input polygon features and assigns the values to a specified field in the feature class.
Usage
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The dominant angle of a polygon is the angle of longest collection of segments that have similar orientation. This angle will be stored in the specified field in decimal degrees from true north.
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Use this tool to determine the trend of a polygon and use the resulting angle to orient symbology such as markers or hatch lines within the polygon. This tool is meant for primarily orthogonal polygons rather than organically-shaped ones.
Syntax
Parameter | Explanation | Data Type |
in_features |
The input polygon features. | Feature Layer |
angle_field |
The field that will be updated with the polygon main angle values. | Field |
Code Sample
The following Python Window script demonstrates how to use the CalculatePolygonMainAngle tool in immediate mode.
import arcpy from arcpy import env env.workspace = "C:\data" arcpy.CalculatePolygonMainAngle_cartography("cities", "poly_angle")
This stand-alone script shows an example of using the CalculatePolygonMainAngle tool.
# Name: CalculatePolygonMainAngle_standalone_script.py # Description: calculates an angle for a polygon based on the largest edge of the feature # Import system modules import arcpy from arcpy import env # Set environment settings env.workspace = "C:/data" # Set local variables in_features = "cities" angle_field = "poly_angle" # Execute Calculate Polygon Main Angle arcpy.CalculatePolygonMainAngle_cartography(in_features, angle_field)