Clip area

The Clip Area tools allow you to define a shape to clip your products along a specified boundary. This is useful when working with oblique images that contain portions of the horizon within the images. Including the horizon in your processing will likely negatively affect your output products. Applying a clip area will remove these problem areas at the perimeter of your project.

Apply the clip area preprocessing to clip all 2D and 3D products. Applying the clip area postprocessing only affects 2D products.

Preprocessing

To apply a clip area to 3D products, you must apply a clip before processing your images.

Draw

Use the Draw tool to manually add a clip area to the project preprocessing.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Clip Area, click Draw.
  2. Click the map to draw a clip polygon.

    Each click adds a vertex to the map.

  3. Double-click to complete the polygon.

    A clip area layer is added to your table of contents, and the clip area displays on the map.

Note:

To redo the clip area, select Clear in the Clip Area on the Home tab, then perform the steps to create the project area.

Import

If you have a feature layer that defines your project area, use the Import tool to apply the feature layer preprocessing.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Clip Area, click Import.
  2. In the Import clip area window, browse to the project area feature layer on your file system, select the layer and click Open.

    A clip area layer is added to your table of contents, and the clip area displays on the map.

Note:

To redo the clip area, select Clear in the Clip Area on the Home tab, then perform the steps to import the clip area.

Postprocessing

If you process your images then decide you want to clip the project area, you can apply the clip area tools postprocessing. Applying the clip area postprocessing will only affect the 2D products. When you clip existing products, clipped products are created without affecting the original products. New Clipped Imagery Products and Clipped DEM Products groups are added to your table of contents containing clipped versions of the original 2D products. You can still view the original unclipped products in your 2D map, and the original products are available in your project Products folder.

Note:

To redo your clip area postprocessing, click Clear in the Clip Area section of the Home tab, then perform the steps to draw or import your clip layer. When you clear and redo a clip on your existing products, the previous clipped products are overwritten and only the new clipped products are stored with the project.

Draw

Use the Draw tool to manually add a clip area to your 2D products postprocessing.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Clip Area, click Draw.
  2. Click the map to draw a clip polygon.

    Each click adds a vertex to the map.

  3. Double-click to complete the polygon.
  4. Click Yes to clip existing 2D products or No to view the project area. To redo the clip area, click Clear in the Clip Area on the Home tab then follow the steps to create the clip area.

Import

  1. On the Home tab, in the Clip Area, click Import.
  2. In the Import Clip Area window, browse to the project area feature layer on your file system, select the layer and click Open.

    You zoom to the clip area and the layer displays in the table of contents.

  3. On the confirmation window, click Yes to clip existing 2D products or No to view the project area. To redo the clip area, click Clear in the Clip Area on the Home tab then follow the steps to import the clip area.