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Environment settings
Release 9.2 Last modified September 4, 2007	Print all topics in : "Environment Settings"

Getting help on environments

The sections that follow contain tables that define each environment setting. The information in these tables is meant as a quick reference. In each of these sections, there is a link to another section that provides a general overview of the settings in a particular category.
There are detailed help pages on each environment, which contain usage tips and command line and scripting syntax. In the sections that follow, each environment setting is linked to the detailed help page. An overview of geoprocessing environments shows you how to navigate to these pages from a tool dialog.

General settings

Settings contained here are those applicable to most output data types.

Learn more about general settings.

Settings	Explanation
Current workspace	Specify the workspace from which inputs are taken and into which outputs are placed.
Scratch workspace	Specify an output workspace for temporary storage of execution results that are created with an auto-generated name. By default, the scratch workspace path will be prefixed to all output parameters.
Output coordinate system	Specify the output features coordinate system. If not explicitly set and the output does not reside inside a feature dataset, the spatial reference of the first input will be used. Same As Input—If input features have a coordinate system, then the output features will have the same coordinate system. This is the default. As specified below—Choose a new coordinate system for output features. You may enter a coordinate system name or use the Spatial Reference Properties dialog box.
Default output Z value	The z-value that will be applied to newly generated output features if the input feature classes contain z-values or the Output has Z Values is enabled.
Output has Z values	Specify whether output feature datasets will contain z-values. Same As Input—If input features have z-values, then the output feature dataset will have the ability to hold z-values. This is the default. Enabled—The output feature dataset will contain z-values. Disabled—No output feature dataset will contain z-values.
Output has M values	Specify whether output feature datasets will contain m- (measure) values. Same As Input—If the input features contain m- (measure) values, then the output feature dataset will also contain m-values. If the input features do not contain m-values, then the output feature dataset will not contain m-values. This is the default value. Disabled—No output feature dataset will contain m-values. Enabled—The output feature dataset will contain m-values.
Extent	Specify the extent of the study area. Intersection of Inputs—The minimum area common to all inputs. This is the default. Union of Inputs—The maximum extent of all inputs. Same as Layer—The extent of the selected layer. As Specified Below—Specifies the minimum and maximum extent values or a Snap Raster. Left—XMin value Right—XMax value Bottom—YMin value Top—YMax value Snap Raster—A raster used to ensure the cell alignment of the analysis extent. The lower left corner and upper right corner of the specified analysis extent are snapped to the nearest cell of the snap raster. Same as Display—The extent of the visible display of the application.
Cluster tolerance	Cluster tolerance is the distance range in which all vertices and boundaries in a feature class are considered identical or coincident. To minimize error, the cluster tolerance chosen should be as small as possible, depending on the precision level of your data. By default, the minimum possible tolerance value is calculated in the units of the spatial reference of the input. NOTE: In ArcGIS 9.2, the term xy tolerance has been introduced. This term is synonymous with cluster tolerance. In certain contexts the term cluster tolerance has been replaced by the term XY Tolerance.
M resolution	Determines the resolution of M values when feature classes are created. The default value is the same as the xy resolution of 0.0001 meters or its equivalent in map units. NOTE: This environment is only applicable with ArcGIS 9.2, or later.
M tolerance	Tolerance value for adjusting M values during cluster processing. The default value is 10 * the M Resolution. NOTE: This environment is only applicable with ArcGIS 9.2, or later.
XY resolution	The number of decimal places or significant digits used to store express feature coordinates (in both X and Y). The default resolution for feature classes created in ArcGIS 9.2 and later releases is 0.0001 meters or its equivalent in map units. NOTE: This environment is only applicable with ArcGIS 9.2, or later.
XY tolerance	The minimum distance separating all feature coordinates (nodes and vertices) as well as the distance a coordinate can move in X or Y (or both). You can set the value to be higher for data that has less coordinate accuracy and lower for datasets with extremely high accuracy. The default XY Tolerance is set to 0.001 meters or its equivalent in map units. NOTE: In ArcGIS 9.2, the term xy tolerance has been introduced. This term is synonymous with cluster tolerance. In certain contexts the term cluster tolerance has been replaced by the term XY Tolerance.
Z resolution	The resolution of Z values when creating feature classes. The default value is the same as the XY Resolution of 0.0001 meters or its equivalent in Z units. NOTE: This environment is only applicable with ArcGIS 9.2, or later.
Z tolerance	The tolerance for adjusting Z values during cluster processing. The default value is 10 * the Z Resolution. NOTE: This environment is only applicable with ArcGIS 9.2, or later.
Random number generator	Determines the random number generator type and seed that will be used to create random numbers.
Qualified Field Names	Specify if the output tables field names will be qualified with the name of the table.
Geographic Transformations	Specify transformation methods that can be used to project data on the fly.

Cartography settings

Settings contained here are those applicable to Cartography tools only.

Learn more about cartography settings.

Settings	Explanations
Cartographic coordinate system	Specify the coordinate system to be used in deriving representations for a target map.
Reference scale	The scale at which symbols will appear on the page at their true size, specified in page units.

Coverage settings

Settings contained here are those applicable to coverages only.

Learn more about coverage settings

Settings	Explanation
Precision for Derived Coverages	Determines the coordinate precision for derived coverages. Derived coverages are those derived from tools that accept input data to derive the output coverage, for example, coverages created by running the Buffer tool. -HIGHEST—The coordinate precision of the output coverage will be the same precision as the input coverage, which has the highest precision. This is the default. -LOWEST—The coordinate precision of the output coverage will be the same precision as the input coverage, which has the lowest precision. -SINGLE—The coordinate precision of the output coverage will always be single precision
Precision for New Coverages	Determines the coordinate precision for new coverages. New coverages are those that are created, for example, using the Create Coverage tool. SINGLE—New coverages will be created with single precision. This is the default. DOUBLE—New coverages will be created with double precision.
Level of Comparison between Projection Files	The degree of similarity between input projection files required for tool execution. Use this option if you want to validate the input projections before running coverage tools. NONE—Any combination of projection information will result in a match. This is the default. PARTIAL—At least one projection file must be defined; the others can be UNKNOWN and will result in a match. FULL—All projection information must be specified and identical in the projection file of each input coverage.

Geodatabase settings

Settings contained here are those applicable to results placed in a geodatabase.

Learn more about geodatabase settings.

Settings	Explanation
Output CONFIG keyword	The configuration keyword specifies the default storage parameters (configuration) for geodatabases in a relational database management system (RDBMS). This setting is applicable only when using ArcSDE. Configuration keywords are only used with file geodatabases or ArcSDE Enterprise Edition geodadatabases.
Output spatial grid 1, 2, 3	The two-dimensional grid system that spans a layer, like a locator grid you might find on a common road map. The first, or lowest, grid level has the smallest cell size. One to three 2D grids (also referred to as grid levels), each with a distinct cell size, are created for an ArcSDE layer. Set the cell sizes of the other grids to 0 if you only want one; otherwise, set each level at least three times larger than the previous level. Personal and file geodatabases require a maximum of one spatial grid.
X,Y domain	Allowable coordinate range for x,y coordinates.
M domain	Allowable coordinate range for m- (measure) values.
Z Domain	Allowable coordinate range for z-values.

Geostatistical Analysis settings

Settings contained here are those applicable to results placed in a geodatabase.

Settings	Explanation
Coincident points	This environment specifies how coincident data should be treated.

Raster Analysis settings

Settings contained here are those applicable when working with tools that input or output a raster, either file-based or within a personal or ArcSDE geodatabase.

Learn more about raster analysis settings.

Settings	Explanation
Cell size	The output cell size, or resolution. The default output resolution, when a feature class is used as input, is the width or the height (whichever is shorter) of the extent of the feature class divided by 250. Maximum of Inputs—The largest cell size of all input datasets. This is the default. Minimum of Inputs—The smallest cell size of all input datasets. As Specified Below—Specify the exact cell size value. Same as Layer—Specify an input raster layer on which to base the cell size.
Mask	Identifies those cells within the analysis extent that will be considered when performing an operation or a function. Setting an analysis mask means that processing will only occur on selected cells and that all other cells will be assigned values of nodata.

Raster Storage settings

Settings contained here are those applicable to raster results placed in a geodatabase.

Learn more about raster storage settings

Settings	Explanation
Pyramid	Specify whether to create pyramids with the output raster dataset. If you are going to build pyramids, the pyramid resampling technique must be specified. Optionally, you can specify how many pyramid levels will be created. Leaving this setting blank will automatically build the optimal number of pyramid levels. The available pyramid resampling techniques are: NEAREST neighbor—Uses the value of the closest cell to assign a value to the output cell when resampling. This is the default. BILINEAR interpolation—Determines the new value of a cell based on a weighted distance average of the four nearest input cell centers. CUBIC convolution—Determines the new value of a cell based on fitting a smooth curve through the 16 nearest input cell centers.
Raster Statistics	The Statistics option enables you to build statistics for the output raster dataset. A skip factor may be set and applied to all types raster datasets, except for GRID. X skip factor—Skip value for the x-axis. Y skip factor—Skip value for the y-axis. A statistics ignore value may also be set for personal geodatabases. These values will be ignored in the calculations.
Compression	Specify the compression type of the output raster dataset. LZ77—Lossless compression that preserves all raster cell values. JPEG—Lossy compression that uses the public JPEG compression algorithm. If you choose JPEG, you can also specify the compression quality. JPEG2000—Uses wavelet technology so rasters appear lossless. If you choose JPEG2000, you can also specify the compression quality. NONE—No compression. The JPEG and JPEG 2000 compression quality can range from 1 to 100. A higher number means better image quality but less compression.
Tile Size	Specify the width and height of the desired tile size for the raster dataset output. The default tile size is 128 pixels by 128 pixels. This option is only valid for raster data that is stored in blocks.

Environment settings

Getting help on environments