The Overlay Layers tool combines two layers into a single layer using one of two methods: Intersect or Erase.
Workflow diagram
Note:
The Overlay Layers tool is available with ArcGIS Enterprise 10.6.1.
Examples
The department of environmental quality wants to monitor the impact of livestock grazing on the state's water quality. Biologists with the department need to determine where the land deemed to be grazing allotments intersects with certain watersheds. Overlay Layers can be used to find intersecting areas.
A development company wants to build a new golf resort in one of three centrally located counties in their state. Before they can begin planning, they need to determine whether there is enough privately owned land within those counties available to purchase for the resort. Overlay Layers can be used to remove the publicly owned lands from the selected counties.
Usage notes
The Overlay Layers tool requires two inputs: an input layer and an overlay layer. The input and overlay layers must have the same geometry. The two methods are described in the following table:
| Overlay method | Input features | Overlay features | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Intersect
| Points, lines, or areas | Points, lines, or areas | The features or portions of features in the input that overlap with the overlay features are kept. The input and feature geometry must be the same. The output is the same geometry as the input and overlay features. This is the default method. |
Erase
| Points, lines, or areas | Points, lines, or areas | The features or portions of features in the input features that overlap with the overlay features are removed. |
The following table outlines the overlay operations, Intersect and Erase, with different geometry types:
| Input layer (green) and overlay layer (yellow) | Intersect results | Erase results |
|---|---|---|
 Polygon input layer (green) and overlay layer (yellow). |  Intersecting polygons of the input and overlay layers. B is the intersection of B and 2. D is the intersection of D and 4. E is the intersection of E and 5. |  Polygons that are the result of the Erase operation. E has been completely erased, and a portion of B and D have been erased. A and C have not been erased. |
 Line input layer (green) and overlay layer (yellow). |  Lines that are the result of the Intersect operation. B is the intersection of B and 2. D is the intersection of D and 4. |  Lines that are the result of the Erase operation. The feature B has been completely erased, and a segment of D has been erased. A and C have not been erased. |
 Point input layer (green) and overlay layer (yellow). |  Point that is the result of the Intersect operation. C is the intersection of C and 3. |  Points that are the result of the Erase operation. The feature C has been erased. A and B are the result of the operation. |
If Use current map extent is checked, only the features in the input and overlay layer that are visible within the current map extent will be overlaid. If unchecked, all features in both the input layer and the overlay layer will be overlaid, even if they are outside the current map extent.
Similar tools
Use Overlay Layers to combine two layers into a single layer using the Intersect or Erase method. Other tools may be useful in solving similar but slightly different problems.
Map Viewer analysis tools
If you want to overlay layers using the union relationship, use the standard analysis tool Overlay Layers.
If you are combining features of the same type into a single feature layer regardless of the spatial relationship, use the standard tool Merge Layers.
ArcGIS Desktop analysis tools
Overlay Layers performs the function of the Intersect and Erase tools.
To run this tool from ArcGIS Pro, your active portal must be Enterprise 10.6.1 or later. You must sign in using an account that has privileges to perform GeoAnalytics Feature Analysis.