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Geoprocessing tool reference > Environment Settings

Environment settings

Release 9.3
Last modified December 17, 2008
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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 autogenerated name. By default, the scratch workspace path will be prefixed to all output parameters.
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 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.
Output has M values Specify whether output feature datasets will contain m- (measure) values.
  • Same As Input—If the input features contain m-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.
    • Left—XMin value
    • Right—XMax value
    • Bottom—YMin value
    • Top—YMax value

  • Same as Display—The extent of the visible display of the application.
Snap Raster A raster that is used to control the cell alignment of the analysis extent and thus of the output rasters. The lower left corner and upper right corner of the specified analysis extent are snapped to the nearest cell of the snap raster.

NOTE: This environment is only applicable with ArcGIS 9.3 or later.

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 meter 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.



Qualified Field Names Specify if the output tables field names will be qualified with the name of the table.
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 meter 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 meter 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 meter 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.

Geographic Transformations Specify transformation methods that can be used to project data on the fly.
Random number generator Determines the random number generator type and seed that will be used to create random numbers.
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.



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 that 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 that 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 geodatabases.
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.
Auto Commit For ArcSDE transactions, this is the automatic commit interval used within a transaction. A commit will be automatically forced after the specified number of changes have been made within the transaction. The default autocommit setting is 1,000.


Geostatistical analysis settings

Settings contained here are those applicable to Geostatistical Analyst tools only.

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 of 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.

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