Creating holes in the target layer

If you are creating polygons for purposes such as land use or soils, you may need to ensure that there is a continuous coverage of polygons across your entire area. If an area inside a polygon contains a different type of feature, you may want to cut out a section of the polygon.

The Production Create Hole tool creates holes in the selected template polygon layer. You can then create new polygons of a different feature class or subtype to fill the hole area. For example, you can cut out a section of a Scrub Brush area that will later be filled with a Bamboo Cane area.

A hole created in a polygon

The Production Create Hole tool uses the current template to determine the features that will be cut. Therefore, you must select a template from the same layer as the polygon feature you want to create a hole in. You can select a template from the Create tab on the Manage Features window to use the tool.

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap.
2. If necessary, load data in the map.
3. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Production Editing.
4. Click the Production Start Editing button on the Production Editing toolbar.
   Note:

   The Manage Features and Create Attributes, Update Attributes, or Metadata Attributes windows automatically appear when you start an edit session using the Production Start Editing tool.

   Tip:

   If the Create Attributes, Update Attributes, or Metadata Attributes window does not appear when you start an edit session, click the Show/Hide Attributes button on the Manage Features window.

5. Choose a polygon template on the Create tab on the Manage Features window.
6. Click the Production Create Hole button on the Production Editing toolbar.
7. Click and drag to draw a polygon that intersects an existing polygon feature.
8. Double-click the end node to finish the polygon.

The new polygon cuts a hole in any feature from the template layer that intersects your edit sketch.

Tip:

The polygon you want to create a hole in must belong to the same layer as the currently selected template. For example, to create a hole in the GrassA layer, you must use one of the templates from that specific layer, not another layer that contains vegetation features.