ArcObjects Library Reference (Carto)  

IFeatureLayerDefinition Interface

Provides access to members that define a subset of the features from the underlying feature class. Note: the IFeatureLayerDefinition interface has been superseded byIFeatureLayerDefinition2. Please consider using the more recent version.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

Members

Description
Method CreateSelectionLayer Creates a new feature layer from the existing layer based on the current selection and the specified query expression.
Read/write property DefinitionExpression Definition query expression for the existing layer.
Read-only property DefinitionSelectionSet The selection set that defines the subset of features in a selection layer.
Read/write property RelationshipClass The current relationship class used to display related fields.

CoClasses that implement IFeatureLayerDefinition

CoClasses and Classes Description
CadAnnotationLayer An ESRI Cad annotation layer.
CadastralFabricSubLayer Cadastral Fabric Feature Layer Object.
CadFeatureLayer ESRI CAD Feature Layer class.
CoverageAnnotationLayer An ESRI coverage annotation layer.
DimensionLayer A collection of properties for a dimension layer.
FDOGraphicsLayer A collection of properties for an annotation layer (feature data object graphics layer).
FeatureLayer A collection of features and their visual representation.
GdbRasterCatalogLayer Geodabase RasterCatalog source and display options.
ImageServerLayer Image server layer source and display options.
MADtedLayer (esriDefenseSolutions) A layer used to control the display of MA DTED Catalogs.
MARasterLayer (esriDefenseSolutions) A layer used to control the display of MA RPF Catalogs.
TemporalFeatureLayer (esriTrackingAnalyst) Defines the coclass IDL parameters and attributes of the TemporalFeatureLayer COM object.

Remarks

Use this interface to set a definition query on a layer so that only the features that meet the specified criteria are displayed. Use DefinitionExpression to access the definition query.
Also, you can use CreateSelectionLayer to create a new FeatureLayer based on an existing FeatureLayer's selected features. In the ArcMap user documentation and interface this new layer is called a selection layer.

You can use RelationshipClass to access the the relationship class, if one exists, that defines the relationship between the layer and the table that is joined to it. This same object can be accessed through IDisplayRelationshipClass::RelationshipClass. IDisplayRelationshipClass can be more convenient because it has multiple additionl methods and properties for working with layer joins.