Editing feature shapes

To edit the shape of a feature, you work with its sketch. The sketch represents the geometry of a feature—it shows the vertices and segments which form the feature's shape. Vertices are the x,y coordinate pairs associated with a feature, and segments are the lines that connect vertices. Only line and polygon features have sketches, because points have neither vertices nor segments.

In a sketch, the x,y coordinate pairs stored with line and polygon features are represented as vertices. Line features are comprised of two or more vertices that are connected by one or more segments. Polygon features are comprised of multiple vertices connected by segments.

When you edit a feature's shape, you primarily modify its vertices—you move, insert, or delete them. Editing the vertices affects segments. Moving a vertex can change the angle between segments or the length or curvature of a segment. Deleting vertices may delete or shorten segments. Inserting a vertex creates a new segment.

Changes you make to one feature's shape may affect the shapes of other features if they are spatially related. It's important, therefore, to know which features in your data have spatial relationships before you start editing.