Following are some common errors that may occur during editing.
Errors that may occur when you start editing
When ArcMap encounters problems starting an edit session on the data you chose, a dialog box appears providing additional information. You can receive errors, warnings, or information messages.
- Errors
prohibit you from starting an edit session. You are unable to edit any data until you resolve the issue. You can receive an error message if you have no data sources that are editable, there is a licensing issue (such as attempting to edit certain types of geodatabase features while using ArcGIS for Desktop Basic), or you have certain layers inside a basemap layer. - Warnings
allow you to start an edit session but prohibit you from editing certain items in the map. You need to resolve the issue with that particular layer or table before you can edit it. - Information messages
provide additional suggestions to improve performance when editing. You are not required to correct the issue to edit that layer or table, but it is recommended that you do so. For example, if the data you chose to edit is in a different coordinate system than the data frame, an information message appears informing you of this. You can edit data that is in a different coordinate system than the data frame in which it is displayed. However, some editing tasks may give you unexpected alignment or accuracy problems.
Projected coordinate systems
- Editing features that are projected on the fly can slow down the responsiveness of your map.
- Circular and elliptical arcs do not contain vertices along their lengths. As a result, arcs cannot be projected on the fly and may not display or behave as expected.
- Changing the projection in a data frame to a projection and datum that is different from the source data can add a margin of error to your data and snapping tolerance. Spatial transformations can also be affected even when the most accurate transformation method is used.
- Assigning a map projection that is not appropriate for the area in which the data is located can add a margin of error. For example, it would be incorrect to use UTM Zone 10N for data in Quebec.
Coordinates or measures are out of bounds
This error occurs when a coordinate of a feature is beyond the extent of the feature class domain. It can happen when you are creating a new feature or editing the coordinates of an existing one.
Coordinates must fall within the range of the feature class x,y domain, as well as z- or m-domain, if the feature class can store those values. The domain is set when the feature class is created and cannot be edited later. If you need to create a new feature at that x,y location or with those z- or m-values, export the feature class to a new feature class and increase the domain values.
The spatial index grid size is invalid
The spatial index is used to improve performance when working with data in file geodatabases or ArcSDE geodatabases. If you attempt to perform an edit that will result in the new feature being spread across too many spatial index grids, a message appears indicating the spatial index grid size is invalid, and your edit fails. You are most likely to see this if you attempt to create a feature that greatly differs in size from the features that are already in the feature class. If you need to create a very large feature, for example, you should either delete the spatial index altogether or increase the grid size and number of grids. You can add the grid back when you are done editing.
Some examples where you might encounter this error when editing include digitizing a large feature; merging or unioning features across a large area; scaling a feature; editing, reshaping, or moving vertices so that a feature increases in size; or buffering with a large offset.
When the software crashes
You should save your edits periodically so they can be recovered in case a software error occurs. To prevent crashes, ensure that you have installed the latest ArcGIS service packs and patches and that any add-ons or extensions are compatible. In addition, when editing, you may want to run the Check Geometry and Repair Geometry tools to find and fix any data problems that could cause software issues.
If ArcGIS exits unexpectedly, send the automatic error report. You should also consider obtaining support and providing your data and the steps you performed immediately prior to the crash.