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Geoprocessing tool reference > Environment Settings > General settings

XY Resolution
Release 9.3 Last modified December 17, 2008	Print all topics in : "General settings"

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NOTE: This environment is only applicable to ArcGIS 9.2 or higher.

Specify the XY resolution that will be used for processing and set to the output geodataset.

Learn more about XY resolution.

Usage tips

If the output is a feature class in a feature dataset and the XY resolution of the feature dataset is used, the environment will be ignored.

If the output is a stand-alone feature class, raster catalog, or feature dataset, the tolerance of the input will be used as the processing resolution and set as the output's XY resolution. For tools that have multiple inputs (Intersect, for example) the resolution of the first input in the list will be used as the default. To override these defaults, set the XY resolution environment to the desired value.

For tools that do not have an input geodataset (for example, Create Feature Class, Create Feature Dataset, and Create Raster Catalog) and if the environment is left blank, the default XY resolution for a high precision geodataset is 0.0001 meter or its equivalent in map units. If the coordinate system units are feet, the default value is 0.0003281 foot; if coordinate system units are decimal degrees, the default is 0.000000027777778 degree. The default XY resolution for a low precision geodataset is 0.001 meter or its equivalent in map units. If the coordinate system units are feet, the default value is 0.003281 foot; if coordinate system units are decimal degrees, the default is 0.000000555555556 degree. To override the default, set the environment to the desired value.

If the XY resolution value is such that the associated XY domain is not large enough to span all features for processing, the XY resolution environment or input resolution will not be used. When this occurs, the XY resolution value is increased to the smallest value that will allow the XY domain to span the features for processing. If this occurs, a warning is generated stating "The output resolution is lower than the input feature class' resolution." This most commonly will occur when writing feature classes to a low precision (pre-9.2) personal and ArcSDE geodatabase.

If the resolution value entered for the XY resolution environment is in a different unit than the output coordinate system, the equivalent distance measure in the center of the output coordinate system is used for processing. This may not be desirable, especially when dealing with a projected coordinate system and angular units of measurement (degrees, grads) or when dealing with a geographic coordinate system and linear units of measurement (feet, meters).

If the XY resolution is set to Unknown units, the units are assumed to be the same as the output coordinate system's units.
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Command line syntax

Parameters	Explanation	Data type
<Linear unit>	The XY resolution of a feature class or a feature dataset is the numeric precision used to store the coordinates. The XY resolution, expressed as a very small distance, refers to the number of significant digits used to store coordinate values. The default resolution for feature classes created in ArcGIS 9.2 and later releases is 0.0001 meter or its equivalent in map units.	Linear Unit

XYResolution 0.002

Scripting syntax

Parameters	Explanation	Data type
Linear unit (Required)	The XY resolution of a feature class or a feature dataset is the numeric precision used to store the coordinates. The XY resolution, expressed as a very small distance, refers to the number of significant digits used to store coordinate values. The default resolution for feature classes created in ArcGIS 9.2 and later releases is 0.0001 meter or its equivalent in map units.	Linear Unit

import arcgisscripting
gp = arcgisscripting.create()
gp.workspace = "h:/workspace"
gp.XYResolution = "0.002"

XY Resolution