Join Features (GeoAnalytics Server Tools)

Summary

Joins attributes from one layer to another based on spatial, temporal, or attribute relationships, or a combination of those relationships.

Legacy:

The ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server extension is being deprecated in ArcGIS Enterprise. The final release of GeoAnalytics Server was included with ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3. This geoprocessing tool is available through ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3 and earlier versions.

Illustration

Both examples show a spatiotemporal join using the Join Features tool.

Usage

• A spatial join matches features (rows) from the input features (the Target Layer and Join Layer parameter values) based on their spatial locations. A temporal join matches features (rows) from the input features based on their temporal relationships. An attribute join matches features based on field values.

• You can join features based on a spatial relationship, a temporal relationship, an attribute relationship, or a combination of the three.

  Options	Description
  Spatial Relationship	The spatial relationship that will determine whether features are joined to each other. The available relationships depend on the geometry type (point, line, or area) of the layers being joined. Available spatial relationships are as follows: Intersects Equals Planar Near—Uses planar distances. Geodesic Near—Uses geodesic distances. This is only available in ArcGIS Enterprise 10.7.1 and later. Contains Within Touches Crosses Overlaps Learn more about spatial relationships in GeoAnalytics Server tools
  Temporal Relationship	The temporal relationship that will determine whether features are joined to each other. The available relationships depend on the time type (instant or interval) of the layers being joined. Available temporal relationships are as follows: Meets Met by Overlaps Overlapped by During Contains Equals Finishes Finished by Starts Started by Intersects Near Near Before Near After Learn more about temporal relationships in GeoAnalytics Server tools
  Attribute Relationship	The attribute relationship that will determine whether features are joined to each other. Features are matched when the field values in the join layer are equal to field values in the target layer.

• If target and join features are in different coordinate systems, the coordinate system of the target feature will be used. If an output coordinate system is specified, both features are projected to the output coordinate system and are then joined.

• When the Spatial Relationship parameter value is Planar Near, the Target Layer parameter value must be projected or the output coordinate system must be set to a projected coordinate system.

• If multiple features match the same target feature, you can decide whether all the matching features will be joined (a Join Operation value of Join one to many) or all the matching features will be summarized together (a Join Operation value of Join one to one) as follows:

  • Join one to many—Joins all the matching features in the join layer to the target layer. The result layer will contain multiple records of the target feature. All original attributes from the join feature will be appended to the attributes of the target feature, in the result feature.

  • Join one to one—Summarizes all of the matching join features with each feature in the target layer. Only the features that have a match will be included in the summary and output. The count of joined features will be added, in addition to other optionally added statistics such as sum, minimum, maximum, range, mean, variance, and standard deviation. Only the requested summary statistic attributes (and the count) from the join feature will be appended to the attributes of the target feature, in the result feature. By default, only those target features that have the specified relationships will be maintained in the output feature class (this is known as an inner join). If Keep All Target Features is checked, all input target features will be written to the output feature class (this is known as a left outer join). Only the requested summary statistic attributes from the join feature will be appended to the attributes of the target feature, in the result feature.

  

  Examples of a one-to-many and one-to-one join are shown. In this example, the one-to-one join only includes the count; additional statistics that can be calculated are shown below.

• You can build an expression to join features using the Join Condition parameter. If you specify an expression, only features that meet the condition will be used. For example, using the $target["Magnitude"] > $join["Explosion"] expression, you can only join target features from the Magnitude field if greater than the join feature with a field named Explosion. See Join Features expressions for more information.

• The following fields are included in the output features when running a one-to-many join:

  • All fields from the target layers

  • All fields from the joined layer

  If the same field name exists in the target and join datasets, the joined field will start with the word join (for example join_fieldname).

  Field name	Description
  start_datetime	This field represents the start time and is created when the input has time set as an instant or interval.
  end_datetime	This field represents the end time and is created when the input has time set as an interval.

  In addition to all fields from the target layer, the following fields are included in the output features when running a one-to-one join:

  Field name	Description
  count	The count of features that have been joined.
  statistic_fieldname	Specified statistics will each create an attribute field named in the following format: statistic_fieldname. For example, the maximum and standard deviation of the id field is MAX_id and SD_id.
  start_datetime	This field represents the start time and is created when the input has time set as an instant or interval.
  end_datetime	This field represents the end time and is created when the input has time set as an interval.

• If the Include Distance parameter is checked and the Join Operation parameter is set to Join one to many, the following fields may be included in the output features:

  Field name	Description
  distance	The distance between target and join features. This field is included if the Spatial Relationship parameter is Planar Near or Geodesic Near. A distance of 0 indicates that the target and join geometries intersect. A null value indicates that the geometries are farther apart than the Spatial Near Distance parameter value. If the Spatial Relationship parameter value is Planar Near, the distance values will be planar; if the parameter value is Geodesic Near, the distance values will be geodesic. The values will be in the units specified by the Distance Unit parameter. The default distance unit is meters.
  timegap	The temporal difference between the target and join features in milliseconds. This field is included if the Temporal Relationship parameter is Near, Near Before, or Near After. A difference of 0 indicates that the target and join features temporally intersect. Positive values mean the target feature occurs before the join feature, and negative values mean the join feature occurs before the target feature. Null values indicate that the features did not meet the join condition. For example, the features are farther apart than the Temporal Near Distance parameter value.

• You can improve performance of the Join Features tool by doing one or more of the following:

  • Set the extent environment so that you only analyze data of interest.

  • Make the join conditions as selective as possible. For example, a near join of 1 kilometer will perform better than a near join of 5 kilometers on the same data.

  • Add more than one join condition. Additional join conditions make the join more selective. For example, a near join of 1 kilometer and 1 hour will perform better than a near join of 1 kilometer on the same data.

  • Apply a join expression.

  • Use data that is local to where the analysis is being run.

• Similar analysis can also be completed using the Spatial Join tool in the Analysis toolbox.

• This geoprocessing tool is powered by ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server. Analysis is completed on GeoAnalytics Server, and results are stored in your content in ArcGIS Enterprise.

• When running GeoAnalytics Server tools, the analysis is completed on GeoAnalytics Server. For optimal performance, make data available to GeoAnalytics Server through feature layers hosted on your ArcGIS Enterprise portal or through big data file shares. Data that is not local to GeoAnalytics Server will be moved to GeoAnalytics Server before analysis begins. This means that it will take longer to run a tool and, in some cases, moving the data from ArcGIS Pro to GeoAnalytics Server may fail. The threshold for failure depends on your network speeds, as well as the size and complexity of the data. It is recommended that you always share your data or create a big data file share.

  Learn more about sharing data to your portal

  Learn more about creating a big data file share through Server Manager

Parameters

• Dialog
• Python

Label	Explanation	Data type
Target Layer	Contains the target features. The attributes from the target features and the attributes from the joined features will be transferred to the output.	Record Set
Join Layer	Contains the join features. The attributes from the join features will be joined to the attributes of the target features. See the explanation for the Join Operation parameter for details about how the aggregation of joined attributes are affected by the type of join operation.	Record Set
Output Name	The name of the output feature service.	String
Join Operation	Specifies how joins between the Target Layer values and the Join Layer values will be handled in the output if multiple join features have the same spatial relationship with a single target feature. Join one to one—The attributes from the multiple join features will be aggregated. For example, if a point target feature is in two separate polygon join features, the attributes from the two polygons will be aggregated before being transferred to the output point feature class. If one polygon has an attribute value of 3 and the other has a value of 7, and the summary statistic sum is specified for that field, the aggregated value in the output feature class will be 10. This is the default, and only the count statistic is returned. Join one to many—The output feature class will contain multiple copies (records) of the target feature. For example, if a single-point target feature is in two separate polygon join features, the output feature class will contain two copies of the target feature: one record with the attributes of one polygon and another record with the attributes of the other polygon. There are no summary statistics available with this option.	String
Spatial Relationship (Optional)	Specifies the criteria that will be used to spatially join features. Intersects—The features in the join features will be matched if they intersect a target feature. This is the default. Equals—The features in the join features will be matched if they are the same geometry as a target feature. Planar Near—The features in the join features will be matched if they are within a specified distance of a target feature. The distance is measured using planar distance. Specify a distance in the Spatial Near Distance parameter. Geodesic Near—The features in the join features will be matched if they are within a specified distance of a target feature. The distance is measured geodesically. Specify a distance in the Spatial Near Distance parameter. This option is available with ArcGIS Enterprise 10.7 or later. Contains—The features in the join features will be matched if a target feature contains them. The target features must be polygons or polylines. The join features can only be polygons when the target features are also polygons. A polygon can contain any feature type. A polyline can contain only polylines and points. A point cannot contain any feature, not even a point. If the join feature is entirely on the boundary of the target feature (no part is properly inside or outside), the feature will not be matched. Within—The features in the join features will be matched if a target feature is within them. This is the opposite of the contains relationship. The target features can only be polygons when the join features are also polygons. A point can be a join feature only if a point is also a target feature. If the entirety of the feature in the join features is on the boundary of the target feature, the feature will not be matched. Touches—The features in the join features will be matched if they have a boundary that touches a target feature. When the target and join features are lines or polygons, the boundary of the join feature can only touch the boundary of the target feature, and no part of the join feature can cross the boundary of the target feature. Crosses—The features in the join features will be matched if a target feature is crossed by their outline. The join and target features must be lines or polygons. If polygons are used for the join or target features, the polygon's boundary (line) will be used. Lines that cross at a point will be matched, but lines that share a line segment will not. Overlaps—The features in the join features will be matched if they overlap a target feature.	String
Spatial Near Distance (Optional)	The distance from a target feature within which join features will be considered for the spatial join. A search radius is only valid when the Spatial Relationship parameter value is Planar Near or Geodesic Near.	Linear Unit
Temporal Relationship (Optional)	Specifies the time criteria that will be used to match features. Meets—When a target time interval end is equal to the join time interval start, the target time meets the join time. Met by—When a target time interval start is equal to the join time interval end, the target time is met by the join time. Overlaps—When a target time interval starts and ends before the start and end of the join time interval, the target time overlaps the join time. Overlapped by—When a target time interval starts and ends after the start and end time of the join time interval, the target time is overlapped by the join time. During—When a target time occurs between the start and end of the join time interval, the target time is during the join time. Contains—When a join feature time occurs between the start and end of the target time interval, the target time contains the join time. Equals—Two times are considered equal if their instants or intervals are identical. Finishes—When a target time ends at the same time as a join time, and the target time started after the join time, the target time finishes the join time. Finished by—When a join feature time ends at the same time as a target time, and the join time started after the target time, the target time is finished by the join time. Starts—When a target time starts at the same time as the join time interval and ends before the join time interval ends, the target time starts the join time. Started by—When a target interval time starts at the same time as the join time and ends after the join time, the target time is started by the join time. Intersects—When any part of a target time occurs at the same time as the join time, the target time intersects the join time. Near—When a target time is within a specified range of time from the join time, the target time is near the join time. Near before—When a target time is before the join time but within a specified range of time from the join time, the target time is near before the join time. This option is available with ArcGIS Enterprise 10.6 or later. Near after—When a target time is after the join time but within a specified range of time from the join time, the target time is near after the join time. This option is available with ArcGIS Enterprise 10.6 or later.	String
Temporal Near Distance (Optional)	The distance in time from a target feature within which join features will be considered for the spatial join. A time is only valid when the Temporal Relationship parameter value is Near, Near Before, or Near After and both features are time enabled.	Time Unit
Attribute Relationship (Optional)	Joins features based on values in an attribute field. Specify the attribute field from the target layer that matches an attribute field from the join layer. Value table columns: Target Field—An attribute field from the target layer containing values to match. Join Field—An attribute field from the join layer containing values to match.	Value Table
Summary Fields (Optional)	The statistics that will be calculated on specified fields. Value table columns: Field—Fields on which statistics will be calculated. Statistic—Statistics that will be calculated on specified fields. Count—The number of nonnull values. It can be used on numeric fields or strings. The count of [null, 0, 2] is 2. Sum—The sum of numeric values in a field. The sum of [null, null, 3] is 3. Mean—The mean of numeric values. The mean of [0,2, null] is 1. Minimum—The minimum value of a numeric field. The minimum of [0, 2, null] is 0. Maximum—The maximum value of a numeric field. The maximum value of [0, 2, null] is 2. Standard deviation—The standard deviation of a numeric field. The standard deviation of [1] is null. The standard deviation of [null, 1,1,1] is null. Variance—The variance of a numeric field in a track. The variance of [1] is null. The variance of [null, 1,1,1] is null. Range—The range of a numeric field. This is calculated as the minimum value subtracted from the maximum value. The range of [0, null, 1] is 1. The range of [null, 4] is 0. Any—A sample string from a field of type string.	Value Table
Join Condition (Optional)	Applies a condition to specified fields. Only features with fields that meet these conditions will be joined. For example, you can apply a join condition to features in which the HealthSpending attribute in the join layer is more than 20 percent of the Income attribute in the target layer. In ArcGIS Enterprise 10.5 and 10.5.1, the join condition to use to apply this expression is join["HealthSpending"] > target["Income"] * .2. In ArcGIS Enterprise 10.6 or later, use an Arcade expression such as $join["HealthSpending"] > $target["Income"] * .2. If the layer is added to the map, the Fields and Helpers filters can be used to build an expression. Learn more about Join Features expressions at 10.6	String
Data Store (Optional)	Specifies the ArcGIS Data Store where the output will be stored. All results stored in a spatiotemporal big data store will be stored in WGS84. Results stored in a relational data store will maintain their coordinate system. Spatiotemporal big data store—Output will be stored in a spatiotemporal big data store. This is the default. Relational data store—Output will be stored in a relational data store.	String
Keep All Target Features (Optional)	Specifies whether all target features will be maintained in the output feature class (a left outer join) or only those that have the specified relationships with the join features (an inner join). Checked—All target features will be maintained in the output. Unchecked—Only those target features that have the specified relationships will be maintained in the output feature class. Any point features not within the polygon features will be excluded from the output. This is the default.	Boolean
Include Distance (Optional)	Specifies whether the spatial distance or the temporal difference will be included in the result. This parameter is active when the Join Operation parameter value is Join one to many and either the Spatial Relationship parameter value is Planar Near or Geodesic Near, or the Temporal Relationship parameter value is Near, Near before, or Near after. Checked—The spatial distance or the temporal difference will be included in the result. Unchecked—Neither the spatial distance nor the temporal difference will be included in the result. This is the default.	Boolean
Distance Unit (Optional)	Specifies the unit of measure that will be used for distance values in the output feature class. Meters—The unit of measure will be meters. This is the default. Kilometers—The unit of measure will be kilometers. US Survey Miles—The unit of measure will be US survey miles. US Survey Nautical Miles—The unit of measure will be US survey nautical miles. US Survey Yards—The unit of measure will be US survey yards. US Survey Feet—The unit of measure will be US survey feet. Statute Miles—The unit of measure will be statute miles. International Nautical Miles—The unit of measure will be international nautical miles. International Yards—The unit of measure will be international yards. International Feet—The unit of measure will be international feet.	String

Derived output

Label	Explanation	Data type
Output_Feature_Class	The joined output.	Record Set

Environments

Output Coordinate System, Extent, Current Workspace

Special cases

Output Coordinate System

The coordinate system that will be used for analysis. Analysis will be completed in the input coordinate system unless specified by this parameter. For GeoAnalytics Tools, final results will be stored in the spatiotemporal data store in WGS84.

Licensing information

• Basic: Requires ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server
• Standard: Requires ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server
• Advanced: Requires ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server

Related topics

• An overview of the Summarize Data toolset
• Find a geoprocessing tool
• Temporal relationships in ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server
• Spatial relationships in ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server
• Join Features expressions