Creating a Boundary Polygon
Included in this tutorial:
Accessing the Minimum Bounding Geometry tool
Reviewing the tool’s parameters and options
Running the tool and examining its results with an example
Software version in examples: ArcGIS Pro 2.8.2
Tutorial Data: The tutorial includes demonstration with sample data available here.
Credits: L. Meisterlin with Moses Levich, Thiago Lee and Erik Strand (2021)
This tutorial demonstrates using the Minimum Bounding Geometry tool in ArcGIS Pro to create boundary polygons.
Access the Minimum Bounding Geometry tool
To access the tool, click through Data Management Tools > Features > Minimum Bounding Geometry in the Geoprocessing pane. You can also search its name in the Geoprocessing pane.
(Accessing the tool is included in the demonstration below.)
Parameters with Example
To create a polygon that bounds input features, use the Minimum Bounding Geometry tool. This tool creates bounding rectangles, polygons (convex hull), or circles around input features following specified parameters.
The demonstration below includes accessing the tool as well as setting the following parameters:
Select input features and name and locate the output feature class.
Geometry Type: Specify the minimum bounding geometry that will enclose the input features.
In the example below the “Rectangle by Area” option is used, creating the rectangle with the smallest area enclosing input features. Other options include a circle and a convex hull.
For the example below, the Group Option was set to “All.” This treats all input features as one group. Alternatively, you can use the Group Option to establish groups by category or case.
Below, the Add geometry characteristics as attributes to output is left unchecked to omit the geometric attributes in the output feature class.
creating a bounding rectangle around point features