Output XY domain
Release 9.3 Last modified December 17, 2008	Print all topics in : "Geodatabase settings"

Allowable coordinate range for x,y coordinates.
Datasets created in 9.2 (and later) geodatabases have logic to automatically calculate a valid XY domain based on the data's coordinate system. Therefore, this environment is only honored when creating datasets in a pre-9.2 geodatabase or when the output dataset has an unknown coordinate system. XY resolution can still be controlled by setting the XY Resolution environment setting.

Usage tips

• If the output is not a geodatabase feature class, raster catalog, or feature dataset, the XY domain is ignored.
  


• If the output is a feature class inside a feature dataset, the environment will be ignored, as all feature classes inside a feature dataset must have the same XY domain.
  


• If the output is a stand-alone feature class, raster catalog, or feature dataset, the XY Domain environment is only honored when creating data in a pre-9.2 geodatabase or when the data being created has an unknown coordinate system. The environment will not be honored when the output has a known coordinate system (not unknown) and is stored in a 9.2 (or later) geodatabase. This is because with known coordinate systems in 9.2 (or later) geodatabases, the high precision spatial reference allows domains based on the valid area of use of the coordinate system while allowing very small values for resolution.
  


• When the output is in a pre-9.2 geodatabase or has an unknown coordinate system, most tools will calculate a valid XY domain based on the extent of the input features. The exceptions to this are the Create Feature Class, Create Feature Dataset, and Create Raster Catalog tools. These tools cannot use an "extent of input features" to calculate a valid XY domain since they have no input. Therefore, when using these tools with pre-9.2 geodatabases or unknown coordinate systems, setting the XY Domain is still important.
  


• If the XY Resolution environment is set as well as the XY Domain environment, the resolution value is used in combination with the domain's origin. This only applies if the output is in a pre-9.2 geodatabase or has an unknown coordinate system. If the output is in 9.2 (or later) and has a known coordinate system, only the XY Resolution environment is honored.
  


• The coordinates entered in the XY Domain are assumed to be in the units of the output coordinate system.
  


• When the output is a stand-alone geodatabase feature class, if the processing and output XY domain set based on the rule above do not cover the extent of the input features (for union_analysis, for example), the approach above is not used. Instead, an XY domain large enough to hold all of the input features is calculated. This could result in extremely small resolution values, which can negatively impact performance. In that case, it may be desirable to copy the contents of the feature class to a new feature class using CopyFeatures with a specified XY resolution value.
  


• The keyword used at the command line or in scripts for this environment setting is XYDomain.
  


• Learn more about specifying geodatabase settings.
  
• Learn more about environment settings.
  
• Learn more about environment levels and hierarchy.
  
• Learn more about geodatabases.
  

Command line syntax

An overview of the command line window

xydomain <xydomain>

Parameters	Explanation	Data type
<xydomain>	Datasets created in 9.2 (and later) geodatabases have logic to automatically calculate a valid XY domain based on the data's coordinate system. Therefore, this environment is only honored when creating datasets in a pre-9.2 geodatabase or when the output dataset has an unknown coordinate system. Allowable coordinate range for x,y coordinates. Specify the following values: X Min—Minimum x-coordinate value Y Min—Minimum y-coordinate value X Max—Maximum x-coordinate value Y Max—Maximum y-coordinate value	String

Data types for geoprocessing tool parameters

Command line example

XYDomain "-180 -90 180 90"

Scripting syntax

An overview of scripting in geoprocessing

xydomain (xydomain)

Parameters	Explanation	Data type
Expression Explanation XYDomain (Required)	Datasets created in 9.2 (and later) geodatabases have logic to automatically calculate a valid XY domain based on the data's coordinate system. Therefore, this environment is only honored when creating datasets in a pre-9.2 geodatabase or when the output dataset has an unknown coordinate system. Allowable coordinate range for x,y coordinates. Specify the following values: X Min—Minimum x-coordinate value Y Min—Minimum y-coordinate value X Max—Maximum x-coordinate value Y Max—Maximum y-coordinate value	String

Data types for geoprocessing tool parameters

Script example

# Create the geoprocessor
import arcgisscripting
gp = arcgisscripting.create()

gp.XYDomain ="-180 -90 180 90"

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