Spatial data editing

Topic outline
• Introduction
• Location errors
• Topological errors
• Topological editing
• Non-topological editing
• Other editing operations
 Introduction

• Spatial data editing – process of adding, deleting, and

modifying features
• or simply, to remove digitizing errors
• Two type of digitizing errors:
• Location errors – relate to geometric inaccuracies of spatial features
e.g. missing polygons or distorted line
• Topological errors – relate to logical inconsistencies between spatial
features e.g. dangling lines and unclosed polygons
• Main challenge in spatial data editing: determining which
method to use for a given data set
 Location errors

• Location errors using secondary data sources (e.g. paper

map)
• Identify by comparing digitized map with source map
• Scale error
• e.g. 1:50000 less reliable than 1:5000
• e.g. smaller map scale, map details decreases and degree of line
generation increases
 Location errors

• Cause for digitizing errors

• Human errors in manual digitizing
• Errors in scanning and tracing
• Errors in converting digitized map into real-world coordinates
Figure 8.1
Common types of digitizing errors from tracing. The thin lines are
lines on the source map, and the thick lines are lines from tracing.
 Location errors

• Location errors using primary data sources (e.g. GPS &

Remote Sensing)
• Resolution of the measuring instrument determines the
accuracy of spatial data
• Range from >1 m to 1 km for satellite images
• Range from several mm to > 20 meters
 Spatial data accuracy standards

• Spatial data accuracy – how close the recorded location

of a spatial feature is to its ground location
• Spatial data precision – how exactly the location is
recorded
 Topological errors

• Violate the topological relationships

• E.g. ESRI Coverage – connectivity, area definition &
contiguity
• E.g. ESRI Geodatabase – 25 topology rules (refer to Table
4.1)
• If digitized features did not follow these relationships,
they would have topological errors
 Topological errors

• Topological errors with geometric features

• Polygon features
• e.g. unclosed polygons, gaps between polygons & overlapping
polygons
• Line features
• do not meet perfectly at a point (node) – e.g. undershoot & overshoot
a.k.a dangling node
• Pseudo node appears along a continuous line & divides separate lines
• Direction of a line – e.g. hydrologic analysis & traffic flow
• Point features
• Polygon should have one label point
Figure 8.2
(a) An unclosed polygon, (b) a gap between two polygons,
and (c) overlapped polygons.
Figure 8.3
An overshoot (left) and an undershoot (right). Both types of
errors result in dangling nodes.
Figure 8.4
Pseudo nodes, shown by the diamond symbol, are nodes
that are not located at line intersections.
Figure 8.5
The from-node and to-node of an arc determine the arc’s direction.
Figure 8.6
Multiple labels can be caused by unclosed polygons.
 Topological errors

• Topological errors between layers

• Coverage model – only work with single coverage
• Geodatabase model – work for two or more layers
• Common error between two polygon layers:
• Boundary are not coincident
• Common error between two line layers:
• Layer do not connect with another layer at the end points
• Overlapping line features
• Line features not covered by another set of line features
• Common error between points layers:
• Not fall along line features in another layer
Figure 8.7
The outline boundaries of two layers, one shown in a thicker line
and the other a thinner line, are not coincident at the top.
Figure 8.8
Line features from one layer do
not connect perfectly with those
from another layer at end points.
(b) is an enlargement of the top
error in (a).
 Topological editing

• Ensures digitized spatial features follow topological relationships

• Use topological-based GIS package software – detect, display & remove
• E.g. ArcGIS, AutoCAD Map & MGE
• Topological editing in ArcGIS
• Topological editing on coverages
• Arcedit in ArcInfo Workstation
• Topological editing using a map topology
• Map topology & topology tools in the topology toolbar & Topology tasks in
editor toolbar
• Topological editing using topology rules
• Defined through the properties dialog of a feature dataset in a geodatabase
The topology process (continue)
The topology process
 Managing errors
• Options
• Ignore the error
• Mark as an exception
• Fix the error

• Errors cannot be deleted

• Only fixed or marked as exceptions
 Error inspector
• Has standard fixes for some rule violations
• Choices depend on the error
 Manually fixing errors
• Fix topology Error tool
• Similar to the Error Inspector, but more visual
 Geometric elements of a topology
• You edit edges and nodes
• Edge
• A single line or polygon boundary
or
• The shared part of coincident lines and/or
polygon boundaries
• Node
• A vertex at the ends of an edge
or
• A vertex located where features intersect
 Editing coincident geometry
• Show Shared Features tool
• Use to pull coincident geometries apart

Uncheck layers so they are not

modified with the coincident
geometry
 Editing coincident geometry
• Topology Edit tool

• Selects and modified edges and nodes

• Press E key to select only edges, N key to select only
nodes
 Topology editing technique
• Move a polygon boundary without creating
slivers
• Temporarily disconnects a node and edge from
topology
 Topology editing technique
• Split and edge
 Topological editing on coverages
• Starts by constructing topology (for entire features)
• E.g. Clean command in ArcGIS
• Builds topology, applied dangle length and fuzzy tolerence
• Dangle length – specifies minimum length for dangling
arcs
• Fuzzy tolerance – specifies minimum distance between
points (vertices)
• Clean command must used cautiously
Figure 8.9
The dangle length can remove an overshoot if the overshoot, such as
a, is smaller than the specified length. The overshoot b remains.
Figure 8.10
The fuzzy tolerance can snap duplicate lines if the gap between the duplicate
lines is smaller than the specified tolerance. In this diagram, the duplicate lines
to the left of the dashed line will be snapped but not those to the right.
Figure 8.11
A large dangle length can remove the overshoots, which should be
removed, and the undershoot, which should not be removed.
Figure 8.12
A large fuzzy tolerance can remove duplicate lines (top), which
should be removed, as well as features such as a small stream
channel (middle), which should not be removed.
 Topological editing on coverages

• Snap point (nodesnap), snap lines (arcsnap) & extend for

individual features
• Can combine the above snapping command with basic
editing tools
• E.g. delete, move, add, split, unsplit & flip
 Topological editing on coverages

• E.g.
• Dangles - remove undershoot by extending the dangling arc to meet with
target arc & remove overshoot by deleting the extension
• Duplicate arcs – select extra arcs and delete or delete all and redigitize
• Wrong arc directions – Alter the direction by flipping the arc
• Pseudo node – setting two arcs on each side to have same ID value and
unsplitting them
• Label errors - adding new label points with proper IDs or deleting extra label
points
• Reshaping Arcs – move, add or delete points (vertices) that make up the arc
Figure 8.13
The allowable extend distance can remove the dangle
by extending it to the line on the right.
Figure 8.14
To remove the overshoot a, first select it and then delete it.
Figure 8.15
To remove the pseudo node, select a and b, assign the same
ID value to both, and un-split them.
 Non-topological editing

• Variety of basic editing operation that can modify simple

features and can create new features from existing
features
• Major difference with topological editing - not involved
topology
 Non-topological editing

• Edit existing features

• Extend/trim lines
• Delete/move features
• Reshaping features
• Split lines and polygons
 Non-topological editing

• Create features from existing features

• Merge features
• Buffer features
• Union features
• Intersect features
Figure 8.16
After a polygon of a shapefile is moved, a void area appears
in its location.
Figure 8.17
Reshape a line by moving a vertex (a),
deleting a vertex (b), and adding a
vertex (c).
Figure 8.18
Sketch a line across the polygon boundary to split the
polygon into two.
Figure 8.19
Merge four selected
polygons into one.
 Other editing operations

• Edgematching
• Line simplification and smoothing
Figure 8.20
Edgematching matches the
lines of two adjacent layers
(top) so that the lines are
continuous across the
border (bottom).
Figure 8.21
Mismatches of lines from two adjacent layers are only
visible after zooming in.
Figure 8.22
The Douglas-Peucker line simplification algorithm is an iterative process,
which requires use of a tolerance, trend lines, and calculation of deviations of
vertices to the trend line. See text for explanation.
Figure 8.23
Result of line simplification can differ
depending on the algorithm used: the
Douglas-Peucker algorithm (a) and
the bend-simplify algorithm (b).
Figure 8.24
Line smoothing smoothes a
line by generating new
vertices mathematically and
add them to the line.
Land Management Information Center at Minnesota Planning:
NSSDA statistic
http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/
Laser-Scan: Radius Topology
http://www.laser-scan.com/technologies/radius/radius_topology/
Ordnance Survey: Master Map
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/