Create range rings

You can create range rings and radials on a map. Range rings can be created interactively or from a known center point and distance between rings values. When creating range rings from known distances between rings, the rings can be drawn at a fixed interval based on a distance from the origin point or cumulatively based on a distance from the previous ring.

Create range rings interactively

To interactively create range rings by clicking the map, complete the following steps:

  1. On the ribbon, click the Map tab.
  2. In the Inquiry group, click Distance and Direction Distance and Direction.
  3. In the Distance and Direction pane, click the Rings tab.
  4. Click Map Point Tool Map Point Tool.
  5. Click a location on the map to designate the center point of the ring or rings.
  6. In the Ring Type drop-down list, click Interactive.
  7. Click the map to designate the diameter of the next ring. Add rings as necessary and double-click to finish.

    Range rings are created and added to the map.

Create range rings using a fixed ring number and distance

To create range rings with a fixed number of rings at a specified distance, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Distance and Direction pane, click the Rings tab.
  2. Enter a coordinate in the Center Point text box or click Map Point Tool Map Point Tool and set a center point for the ring or rings.
  3. In the Ring Type drop-down list, click Fixed.
  4. Enter a value in the Number of Rings text box.
  5. Enter a value in the Distance Between Rings text box.
  6. Enter a value in the Number of Radials text box.
  7. Press Enter or click Create Ring(s).

    Range rings are created and added to the map.

Create range rings by distance from an origin

To create range rings based on an origin and distance from the origin, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Distance and Direction pane, click the Rings tab.
  2. Enter a coordinate in the Center Point text box or click Map Point Tool Map Point Tool and set a center point for the ring or rings.
  3. In the Ring Type drop-down list, click Origin.
  4. Enter a value in the Distances table to set how far the first ring entered will be from the origin point.
  5. Click the Add Distance button Add Distance to add a new row to the Distances table.
  6. Add distances as necessary.

    Note:

    When creating rings using the Origin option, one ring is created for each distance entered regardless of the order in the Distances table.

  7. Enter a value in the Number of Radials text box.
  8. Press Enter or click Create Ring(s).

    Range rings are created and added to the map.

Create range rings by distance between rings

To create range rings based on an origin and distance from the previous ring, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Distance and Direction pane, click the Rings tab.
  2. Enter a coordinate in the Center Point text box or click Map Point Tool Map Point Tool and set a center point for the ring or rings.
  3. In the Ring Type drop-down list, click Cumulative.
  4. Enter a value in the Distances table to set how far the first ring will be from the origin point.
  5. Click the Add Distance button Add Distance to add a new row to the Distances table.
  6. Add distances as necessary.

    Note:

    When creating rings using the Cumulative option, the rings are created based on the order of rows in the Distances table and based on the previous row. For example, values in the Distances table of 100, 350, and 75 result in rings created at distances of 100, 450, and 525.

  7. Enter a value in the Number of Radials text box.
  8. Press Enter or click Create Ring(s).

Change tool units

You can change the units the tool uses to display and label outputs.

  • Use the Number of Radials text box to enter a number of radials to create.
  • Use the Distance Unit drop-down list to change the unit of measure.

Remove and reorder table rows

In addition to adding rows to the Distances table, you can remove and reorder rows.

  • Use the Delete button Delete to remove a row.
  • Use the sort button Custom Sort on the left of the row to drag a row to reorder.