The “Dissolve” and “Pairwise Dissolve” tools are used to merge geographic features based on shared attribute values. These tools effectively consolidate adjacent entities that possess identical values in specific fields of the attribute table. As a result, boundaries between similar features are removed, simplifying the spatial layer. This functionality is especially helpful for generalizing and organizing spatial data.
To access these tools, navigate to the following locations:
Geoprocessing > Toolboxes > Data Management Tools > Generalization > Dissolve
Geoprocessing > Toolboxes > Analysis Tools > Pairwise Overlay > Pairwise Dissolve
When using the “Dissolve” tool, configure the parameters as follows:
- Input Features: Select the layer of points, lines, or polygons to be processed (“dissolve”).
- Output Features Class: Choose the directory or geodatabase where the resulting file will be saved.
- Dissolve Fields: Select the field containing the attributes based on which the entities will be merged (e.g., the “Id” field).
- Statistics Field: Enables statistical calculations of the fields to be dissolved.
Configuration of the “Dissolve” tool.
This operation results in a new layer where adjacent features sharing the same value in the chosen field are merged into single entities. For instance, a set of municipal boundaries can be combined into provincial boundaries if a field exists that identifies the province each municipality belongs to.
Result of dissolving a vector layer by its attributes.
