

The fields POINT_X and POINT_Y will be added to the attribute table. Choose your random point shapefile andĬlick OK. To add the coordinates for each point to the attribute table, open ArcToolbox > Data Management Your points should now be numbered from 1 to N.

Right-click on the field heading CID and choose Field Calculator. Hover over the layer you want to analyze and click the Analysis button. Do one of the following: Click the Analysis button on the map menu bar. Click the Contents button in the Details pane. The points will be created and added to your map.ĭ) If you later need to identify your random points (which is likely), open the attribute table, To access and use analysis tools in Map Viewer, follow these steps: Open a web map containing the feature layer or layers you want to analyze in Map Viewer. Finally, if you need the points to be a minimum distance apart from one another, enter this value (E) and click OK. Enter the number of random points you need. If you have a constraining layer (a forest stand boundary or ownership boundary) select it. This process relies on appropriate raster snappingsettings to ensure that you create features along the centerlines of the raster linear elements. Verify that the data frame has the correct coordinate system defined.ī) Open ArcToolbox and open the Data Management Tools > Feature Class > Create random points tool.Ĭ) Choose an output directory and a file name (random_points is suggested). You can use the Create Features window construction tools and Editor toolbar sketch construction methods tool to generate features to trace rasters and create features. If necessary, select the polygon in which you would like the points contained.

Add any layers you need, including a polygon layer in which you would like to generate random points (e.g., stand boundaries). It applies to ArcGIS 9.x and 10.Ī) Prepare a map document in ArcMap. The tool used to generate random points is found in Arc Toolbox : Data Management Tools > Feature Class > Create Random Points.Ī one-page tutorial on generating random points is available here, or see below. One method is to generate a number of random points in a given parcel of land where sampling will occur.ĪrcGIS can generate a specified number of randomly-placed points within the boundary of a layer or inside a selected feature in a layer. There are several strategies available to perform these assessments. One common activity in the natural resources field is the assessment of resources, such as vegetation, wildlife, or soil, in an area.
