Spatial Operations

The spatial operations tool performs vector overlay operations, spatial predicate queries, and spatial transforms on area, line, and point features. Tabs of the Spatial Operations dialog are dedicated to Operations, Predicates, and Transforms.

To open this tool press the Spatial Operations button from the Digitizer(Advanced) toolbar, or choose the option from the Vector Analysis Menu.

The Spatial Operations Scripting tab can perform the same operations in more complex contexts. This includes scripted building of subsets of the data based on attribute queries and stringing multiple operations together.

To perform a spatial operation do the following steps:

Navigate to the Spatial Operations tool in the Digitizer(Advanced) toolbar or Analysis menu.
From the drop-downs specify the first layer and second layer that will be analyzed. If the layers are not currently visible (checked on in the Control Center) check the option Show disabled layers to view all loaded layers.

Optionally, to perform a spatial operation on a subset of a layer, you may choose to operate on only currently selected features, or to operate on only certain feature types. To use only selected features, select a subset of the layer using the Digitizer tool or Attribute Editor, and then check the option for Only Selected Features. To use only certain feature types, use the Area, Line, and Point checkboxes that appear below the layer. These choices apply to both spatial operations and spatial predicates.
Select the feature types that should be generated for spatial operations, use the Area, Line, and Point checkboxes that appear to the right of the Results label.
Specify how to handle invalid geometries, such as areas that are self intersecting or not fully closed.
Finally name the output layer in the Layer box. A name will be suggested based on the operation selected.
A new intersection layer will be produced that finds the areas of intersection between the first and second layer.