Converting polygons to points

With some product specifications, polygons may need to be captured as point features if they do not meet a requirement for the area features. For instance, built-up areas that are less than 20 square miles in area may need to be point features rather than polygons. The Production Polygon To Point tool allows you to add points to selected polygons from a single feature class.

When polygons are converted to points, the new point features are attributed in the following manner:

• The point feature is automatically populated with the polygon's values for all common attributes.
• Any attributes that are only in the point feature class are populated using the point feature class's default values.
• If the IsVisible field is present, and the Simple check box is not checked, it is set to visible.

To expedite the conversion process, you can check the Simple check box, which prevents the Production Polygon To Point tool from calculating the feature angle. If this check box is not checked, the tool attempts to calculate the feature angle based on the longest segment on the polygon feature.

You can also choose to delete the polygon feature once it has been converted to a point. If the Delete Polygon check box is checked, the polygon feature is deleted once the point is created. If the check box is not checked, the polygon feature is not deleted.

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap.
2. If necessary, load polygon features.
3. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Production Editing.
4. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Production Editing Advanced.
5. 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.

6. Select the polygon features you want to convert to points.
7. In the Feature Manager window, click the Create tab.
8. Select the point template you want to use for the polygon conversion.
9. Click the Production Polygon To Point button on the Production Editing Advanced toolbar.

   The Production Polygon To Point dialog box appears.
10. Click the Polygon Layer drop-down arrow and choose the feature class that matches one of the polygons you have selected.
11. Check the Simple check box if you want to prevent the Polygon To Point tool from calculating the feature angle.
12. Check the Delete Polygon check box if you want to delete the polygon feature from the layer once the point is created.
13. Click Apply.

    A message appears indicating that the process is complete.

14. Click OK.