Perform raster analysis

Note:

Analysis tools are now available in Map Viewer, the modern map-making tool in ArcGIS Online. To learn more, see Perform analysis (Map Viewer).

Access to the raster analysis tools in Map Viewer Classic requires the ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online license.

Imagery and raster data contains invaluable information that can be used to identify patterns, find features, and understand change across landscapes. To extract useful information from imagery, you can process or analyze your data. For example, you may need to calculate a vegetation index to get an understanding of vegetation coverage from a multiband image, or you may want to find suitable locations to build solar power plants using statewide elevation and land cover raster data.

You can use built-in raster analysis tools in ArcGIS Online directly in your web map. You can also process raster data with raster functions, and generate raster function chains and templates in the Raster Function Editor.

To run raster analysis tools, you must have privileges to create and publish content, and to perform imagery analysis. For more information, see Configure user type extensions .

To learn more about accessing and running the tools, see Use the raster analysis tools. An overview of each raster analysis tool is below. The analysis tools are arranged in categories, which are logical groupings and do not affect how you access or use the tasks.

If you're a developer, you can access these tools through ArcGIS REST API and ArcGIS API for Python.

Note:

If you do not see the Raster Analysis tools in the Analysis pane in Map Viewer Classic, you might not be assigned the ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online license, or your organization may not have published at least one hosted feature layer. One hosted feature layer must be published before accessing raster analysis tools.

Summarize Data

These tools allow you to use one dataset to define areas you want to summarize from the values of another dataset.

ToolDescription

Summarize Raster Within

This tool summarizes the values of a raster within the zones of another dataset.

Zonal Statistics as Table

This tool summarizes the values of a raster within the zones of another dataset and reports the results to a table.

Analyze Patterns

These tools allow you to explore spatial patterns in your data.

ToolDescription

Calculate Density

This tool creates a density map from point or line features by spreading known quantities of some phenomenon (represented as attributes of the points or lines) across the map. The result is a layer of areas classified from least dense to most dense.

Interpolate Points

This tool allows you to predict values at new locations based on measurements from a collection of points. The tool takes point data with values at each point and returns a raster of predicted values.

Use Proximity

These tools allow you to perform analysis based on proximity and to find optimal paths to get to a destination.

ToolDescription

Distance Accumulation

This tool calculates the accumulated distance for each cell to sources, allowing for straight-line distance, cost distance, true surface distance, and vertical and horizontal factors.

Distance Allocation

This tool calculates distance allocation for each cell to the provided sources based on straight-line distance, cost distance, true surface distance, and vertical and horizontal factors.

Optimal Path As Line

This tool calculates the optimal path from destinations to sources as a line.

Optimal Path As Raster

This tool calculates the optimal path from destinations to sources as a raster.

Optimal Region Connections

This tool calculates the optimal connectivity network between two or more input regions.

Analyze Image

These tools allow you to analyze multispectral imagery.

ToolDescription

Monitor Vegetation

This tool performs an arithmetic operation on the bands of a multiband raster layer to reveal vegetation coverage information of the study area.

Analyze Terrain

These tools calculate slope, aspect, and viewshed surfaces from digital elevation models (DEM).

ToolDescription

Calculate Slope

This tool creates a surface that shows the slope of the input elevation data. Slope represents the rate of change of elevation for each digital elevation model (DEM) cell.

Create Viewshed

This tool identifies the areas that the input observer locations can see, accounting for surface topography. The input point locations can represent either observers (such as people on the ground or lookouts in a fire tower), or observed objects (such as wind turbines, water towers, vehicles, or other people). The results define the areas that can be seen from the observer locations.

Derive Aspect

This tool creates an aspect map from an elevation data source. Aspect identifies the downslope direction of the maximum rate of change in value from each cell to its neighbors. Aspect can be thought of as the slope direction. The values of the output raster will be the compass direction of the aspect.

Watershed

This tool determines the contributing area above a set of cells in a raster.

Manage Data

These tools are used to manage image data, which includes clipping and masking, remapping pixel values, and converting to and from feature data.

ToolDescription

Convert Feature To Raster

This tool converts features to a raster dataset.

Convert Raster To Feature

This tool converts a raster to a feature dataset as points, lines, or polygons.

Extract Raster

This tool can clip a raster to a boundary, either to a rectangular area or to a shape you define interactively on the screen. You can clip to the extent of the area you currently have displayed on your map or by the study area defined by a polygon.

Remap Values

This tool allows you to change or reclassify the pixel values of the raster data. Pixel values are remapped by specifying a range of pixel values to map to an output pixel value. The output pixel value can be a valid value or a NoData value, which are pixels that do not have a known value associated with them.

Sample

This tool creates a table or a point feature class that shows the values of cells from a raster, or set of rasters, for defined locations. The locations are defined by raster cells, polygon features, polyline features, or by a set of points.

Deep Learning

These tools allow you to detect specific features in an image or classify pixels in a raster dataset using deep learning inference tools.

ToolDescription

Classify Objects Using Deep Learning

This tool runs a trained deep learning model on an input raster and an optional feature class to produce a feature class or table in which each input object has an assigned class label.

Classify Pixels Using Deep Learning

This tool runs a trained deep learning model on an input raster to produce a classified raster, and each valid pixel has an assigned class label.

Detect Objects Using Deep Learning

This tool runs a trained deep learning model on an input raster to produce a feature class containing the objects it finds. The features can be bounding boxes or polygons around the objects found, or points at the centers of the objects.

Multidimensional Analysis

These tools allow you to explore temporal patterns in time series imagery and raster data.

ToolDescription

Aggregate Multidimensional Raster

This tool generates a multidimensional raster dataset by combining existing multidimensional raster variables along a dimension.

Find Argument Statistics

This tool extracts the dimension value or band index at which a given statistic is attained for each pixel in a multidimensional or multiband raster.

Generate Multidimensional Anomaly

This tool computes the anomaly for each slice in an existing multidimensional raster to generate a new multidimensional raster. An anomaly is the deviation of an observation from its standard or average value.

Generate Trend Raster

This tool estimates the trend for each pixel along a dimension for one or more variables in a multidimensional raster.

Predict Using Trend Raster

This tool computes a forecasted multidimensional raster using the output trend raster from the Generate Trend Raster tool.

Raster functions

In addition to raster analysis tools, you can use raster functions to perform complex image and raster processing workflows. You can use individual raster functions, or you can use the Raster Function Editor to combine multiple raster functions into processing chains, or raster function templates, using the visual programming tools. Raster function templates can be edited, saved, and shared with other members of your organization.

In the Map Viewer Classic, open the Raster Analysis pane and click the Raster Function Editor button Map Viewer Raster Function Editor to open the raster function editor window. The raster function editor contains a large gallery of raster functions.

To access a previously saved raster function template, or to use one of the built-in raster functions, click the Browse Raster Function Templates button Browse Raster Function Templates in the Raster Analysis pane.

Access raster analysis tools and functions

There are several ways to access raster analysis tools and functions.

Access from Map Viewer Classic

If you have the required privileges to perform raster analysis, you can access the tools and functions from Map Viewer Classic.

To open the raster analysis tools, click Analysis, then click Raster Analysis.

To open the raster analysis functions, click Analysis, then click the Raster Analysis pane and click either the Browse Raster Function Templates button Browse Raster Function Templates or the Raster Function Editor button Map Viewer Raster Function Editor.

Access from ArcGIS Pro

In addition to the raster analysis capabilities listed above, a number of imagery and raster geoprocessing tools and raster functions are available in ArcGIS Pro. For details, see Get started with image and raster processing.

Access from ArcGIS REST API

In addition to the user interface clients ArcGIS Pro and Map Viewer Classic, raster analysis services are also accessible through ArcGIS REST API.

Distributed raster analysis can be performed using a large suite of individual raster service tasks such as image services, raster analysis tasks, and ortho mapping tasks. The image processing tasks can be executed and results persisted by using the Generate Raster analysis task. This task uses a well-defined raster function JSON object as input and performs analysis based on the function definition. You can either directly use the system's built-in raster function supported by ArcGIS REST API or create your own custom raster models.

Developers can use raster function objects for distributed raster analysis processing and storage of distributed output.

Access from ArcGIS API for Python

ArcGIS API for Python allows you to query, visualize, analyze, and transform your spatial data using the raster analysis tools available in your organization. To learn more about the analysis capabilities of the API, see the ArcGIS API for Python documentation.

The raster analysis tools can be accessed through the arcgis.raster.analytics module. The raster analysis functions can be accessed through the arcgis.raster.functions module and the arcgis.raster.functions.gbl module modules. To work with raster function templates, use the arcgis.raster.functions.RFT module. The ortho mapping tasks can be accessed through the arcgis.raster.orthomapping module.