

Repeat this step to add additional clauses as necessary. Choose values from the menus in the new clause as required. Optionally click Add Clause to add another clause to the query.These menus and their values are specific to the underlying source data. Choose values from the menus to construct the clause.Even with multiple definition queries defined for a layer, all can be inactive so that no definition query is applied.Ī new query is created, with a default name and a single, unfinished clause.

#ARCMAP DEFINITION QUERY HOW TO#
See Write a query in the query builder to learn how to work with clauses and queries and how to save and load queries from files.Ī layer can have multiple definition queries associated with it but only one definition query can be active at a time. They are written in SQL syntax, constructed using the query builder. Definition queries and display filters can be used together on a layer, but remember that definition queries limit the features available in the layer, while display filter only limit which features are displayed.ĭefinition queries are comprised of one or more clauses. If you want to limit which features are drawn, but retain all features from querying and processing, consider using display filters instead. That means that a definition query impacts not only drawing, but also which features appear in the layer's attribute table, can be selected, labeled, identified, and processed by geoprocessing tools. From a dataset of parcels, working with only those that are zoned commercial.ĭefinition queries allow you to define a subset of features to work with in a layer by filtering which features are retrieved from the dataset by the layer.From a dataset of hydrology lines, working with only perennial streams.From a dataset of world cities, working with only those with a population greater than 1 million.Sometimes you only want to work with and draw a subset of the features in the dataset. When you add a dataset as a layer to a map or scene, Set definition queries on multiple layers at once.
