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Select features

In ArcGIS Web Editor, selecting features is the first step in most editing workflows. You can select features on a map, from a table, or using an attribute query.

Make layers selectable

Layers must be selectable to begin selecting and editing features. To make layers selectable, complete the following steps:

  1. Open a map in Web Editor.
  2. On the selection toolbar, click Selectable layers .

    A menu with the layer names from the web map appears.

  3. Check the check boxes for the layers that should be selectable. Uncheck the check boxes for the layer that should not be selectable.

The selectable layers are updated.

Use the Selection pane

Features selected on the map, in a table, or by attribute are viewable in the Selection pane. The following options are available from the more options button for a layer:

  • Zoom to pans the map to the extent of the selected features in the layer.
  • Only select this clears the selected features for all other layers.
  • Select by attribute opens the pane to create a feature query.
  • Unselect removes all features in the layer from the selection.

The following options are available from the more options button for a selected feature:

  • Zoom to pans the map to the extent of the selected feature.
  • Open pop-up shows the fields and attributes for the selected feature.
  • Only select this clears all other selected features.
  • Unselect removes the feature from the selection.

Select features on a map

Selecting features from a map allows you to select features from a particular location on a web map using the Rectangle select, Polygon select, or Lasso select tools.

To select features on a map, complete the following steps:

  1. Open a map in Web Editor.
  2. Update the selectable layers if necessary.
  3. On the editing toolbar, click Rectangle select .

    The rectangle select tool is used to select a single feature or features within a rectangular area.

    Note:

    Rectangle select is the default selection tool when you open a map in Web Editor. If you have previously changed the selection tool, you will see a different option in place of Rectangle select.

  4. From the menu, choose Polygon select or Lasso select to change the selection method if necessary.
  5. Click a feature or draw a shape to select features on the map.

    A blue outline indicates which features are selected.

  6. Use Append to selection or Remove from selection to add or remove features from the selection if necessary.

Select features from a table

Selecting features from a table allows you to use the tabular view to sort and filter attributes for selection.

To select features from a table, complete the following steps:

  1. Open a map in Web Editor.
  2. Update the selectable layers if necessary.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Layers .
    • Use the Alt+Shift+L shortcut for Windows or Option+Shift+L shortcut for Mac.

    The Layers pane appears.

  4. Click Options next to a layer.
  5. Click Show table.

    The table appears.

  6. Check the check box for one or more rows.
    Note:

    You can sort a field ascending or descending using more options .

    Learn more about a layer's table

  7. Click the more options button and choose one of the following:
    • Click Clear selection to deselect features.
    • Click Zoom to selection to view the first selected record in the map.
    • Click Show selection to hide unselected records.

Select by attributes

Selecting by attribute allows you to select features using a query expression. The query expression uses one or more conditions to determine which features are selected. Each query includes a field name, an operator, and a value. If an advanced query is required, you can also group conditions.

To select by attribute, complete the following steps:

  1. Open a map in Web Editor.
  2. On the Content (dark) toolbar, click Selection .

    The Selection pane appears.

  3. Click Select by attributes.
  4. For Select a layer, expand the menu and choose a layer to build a query.
  5. For Selection type, select New, Add to, or Subtract from.

    New clears any existing selections and creates a new selection. Add to adds the queried features to an existing selection. Subtract from removes the queried features from an existing selection.

  6. For Create query, select the parameters for the first condition in the expression as follows:
    1. Click the field selector to expand the Replace field menu and change the field for the condition.
    2. Click the operator selector and select an operator, such as is, is not, includes, excludes, or contains.

      The available conditions depend on the type of field.

    3. In the value input box, enter a value to use in the expression.

      The input box varies depending on the field type and the operator. For example, if you selected the includes or excludes operator, you select from a list of data values in the specified field.

  7. Optionally, add conditions to the expression:
    1. Click Add new and repeat the previous step for each new condition.
      Tip:

      To create a similar condition to the one you created, click the options button for the condition and click Duplicate. Make the necessary changes to the duplicate condition.

      To delete a condition, click the options button and choose Delete.

      By default, the conditions are connected with an AND clause, meaning all conditions must be met to select a feature.

    2. Click All of the following are true and choose Any of the following are true if necessary.

      The conditions are now connected with an OR clause.

  8. Click Apply.
  9. Click Zoom to selection to zoom and pan the map to the selected features if necessary.

Group conditions

To create a more complex and dynamic query, you can create a group of multiple conditions.

Note:

The order in which you set up conditions and groups will determine what features are selected.

To create a query using a grouped condition, do the following:

  1. Follow the first six steps to select by attributes.
  2. On the condition you want to group into a set, click the options button and click Add condition.

    A new set containing the existing condition and a new condition is created.

  3. Add a field, operator, and value for the new condition.

    By default, the conditions are connected with an AND clause, meaning all conditions must be met to select a feature.

  4. Click All of the following are true and choose Any of the following are true if necessary.

    The conditions are now connected with an OR clause.

  5. Optionally, repeat the previous steps to create additional condition sets.
    Tip:

    To create a similar condition to the one you created, click the options button for the condition and click Duplicate. Make the necessary changes to the duplicate condition.

    To delete a condition, click the options button and choose Delete.

  6. Click Apply.
  7. Click Zoom to selection to zoom and pan the map to the selected features if necessary.

Clear a selection

Click Clear selection to deselect all features.