Route processing

Route processing can simplify and improve the cartographic appearance of a product by reducing the number of visible routes. Processing is conditional; you can create rules that dictate what routes are visible or not. It also allows you to generalize or offset overlapping features.

Route processing allows you to configure rules to perform the following actions:

• Hide or offset overlapping routes in a product.
• Combine route identifiers in overlapping routes of the same type.
• Calculate fields on a route based on a rule condition.

The Route Processing tool uses groups of settings, known as preferences, to define how it will process overlapping routes. You must configure these settings before running the tool. These settings allow you to quickly re-execute the tool without additional input.

Route processing preferences

The Route Processing tool uses settings, or preferences, to define the following properties:

• Field Selection—Specifies fields to compare during the initial stage of route processing. Routes with matching field values will be processed using rule sets.
• Route Rules—Defines sets of rules that control the feature hiding and field calculation process.
• Route Hiding—Indicates that overlapping routes will be hidden. Allows you to select multiple fields used to identify overlapping routes.
• Combine Identifiers—Indicates that identifiers will be combined for overlapping routes.
• Route Offsetting—Allows you to offset different overlapping routes by an input distance and unit.

Preferences are stored in the product library and can be quickly applied. They increase productivity, as you do not have to configure them each time you run the tool.

Preferences are a configuration step. You must set them before running the tool. Once created, you do not have to change them unless desired. You can create multiple preferences by assigning names to them. You can switch between preferences within the Route Processing dialog box.

You create and manage preferences on the ArcGIS Customize menu Production Properties dialog box, in the Data Management pane under Set Tool Options.

Route processing rules

Route processing rules are grouped into rule sets. Each rule set has a minimum of two rules. The ordering of rules in a rule set determines processing order; rule one is applied before rule two. The tool also processes rule sets sequentially. Rule set one is processed first. If any of the required rules are not met, the next rule set is applied.

A rule has the following structure:

• Selection Query—Defines a rule's selection criteria. Routes that match this criteria may be processed by the rule.
• Required—Stipulates that at least one of the overlapping routes must match the criteria specified in the rule. If no rules match the rule criteria, processing skips to the next rule set.
• Visible—Controls the visibility of any route meeting a rule's criteria.
• Field Calculation—Applies a value to a field if a route matches a rule's selection criteria.

You define rules while creating route processing preferences.

The default rule

You can create different route processing preferences by assigning names to them. Each named setting has one default rule. You are not required to create rule sets, but you will always have a default rule. The default rule only performs field calculations. Calculations are based on values; domain values; or other fields in ATSRoute, ATSRoute_C, the AirspaceAssociation table, or any other feature class or table with a relationship to ATSRoute. The tool applies the default rule if a route meets no other rule set's criteria.

Route processing dialog box

The Route Processing dialog box allows you to select product instances to which you'll apply route processing rules. The Route Processing tool uses an iterative, multistep process to identify routes and check them for conditions defined in rules. Processing executes in the following manner:

Locate overlapping routes within an area that have matching attribute values

At the beginning of processing, the tool selects routes that intersect an instance AOI. It then checks each route for matching attribute values defined in the Field Selection preferences. Routes with matching attribute values are flagged for rule set processing.

Rule set processing

The tool checks each route against each rule in each rule set. If a route has attribute values that match the Selection Query defined in a required rule, the tool applies the rule's Field Calculation and IsVisible settings to the route. Rules are applied in order. If a route does not match the conditions defined in a rule, the next rule is checked. If all rules have been checked in a rule set, the tool moves to the next rule set. If a route does not match any rule or rule set conditions, the tool processes the route using the default rule.

Route hiding

If the Route Hiding setting is checked, the tool finds routes matching attributes set in the Field Selection box. For each group of routes, the tool sets all but one route to not visible.

Combining Identifiers

If the Combine Identifiers setting is checked, the tool combines different identifiers from overlapping routes into a delimited string. It then stores the string in the IdentConcat_txt field of the ATSRoute_C feature class.

Offset different routes

If the Offset Different routes setting is checked, the tool offsets visible routes with different fields by an offset distance and distance unit. Routes are offset in opposite directions from the original geometry. The tool writes the offset distance to the RouteOffset_Val field in the ATSRoute_C feature class.