Creating a great circle bearing distance

Available with Production Mapping license.

The Bearing Distance (Great Circle) function calculates the output coordinate based on an azimuth and distance. This can be used to create another bearing and possibly create a segment using the Create Segment tool. A line is also created that represents the distance between the input and output points.

1. Start ArcMap.
2. On the menu bar, click Customize > Toolbars > Production Feature Builder.
3. Click the Feature Builder button on the Production Feature Builder toolbar.

   The Feature Builder window appears.

   Tip:

   The Feature Builder window can be placed anywhere in ArcMap, or in the Table Of Contents window, with the aid of the arrows showing the possible placement positions.

4. If the scratch dataset has not been added to the table of contents, click the Add Scratch Data Layers button at the top of the Feature Builder window.

   The dataset is added to the map using the current spatial reference.

5. Choose Bearing Distance (Great Circle) in the list on the Functions tab.

   

6. Define a coordinate for the start point of the polyline by doing one of the following:
   • Click the Pinprick tool on the Production Feature Builder toolbar and click on the map
   • Type the coordinates in the cells on the Input tab in the Coordinates area.

   Tip:

   To view the input coordinates on the map, double-click the row headers for each coordinate.

7. Click the cell next to Azimuth and type the azimuth value.

   The azimuth is the angle at which the output coordinate is going to be calculated. The default unit is degrees.

Tip:

Right-click the parameter name and change the unit of measurement. If you change the unit of measurement after defining a value, the value is converted to the new unit of measurement, and you may need to redefine the value.

8. Click the cell next to Distance and type the distance value.

   The distance value represents the amount of space between the input coordinate and the output coordinate. The default unit is Nautical Miles.

Tip:

Right-click the parameter name and change the unit of measurement. If you change the unit of measurement after defining a value, the value is converted to the new unit of measurement, and you may need to redefine the value.

9. If necessary, click the cell next to MagVar Value and type a value for the magnetic variation.

   This can be a specified value or from a field defined in the MagVar Source parameter. The default unit is degrees.

   Learn more about the magnetic variation value

Tip:

Right-click the parameter name and change the unit of measurement. If you change the unit of measurement after defining a value, the value is converted to the new unit of measurement, and you may need to redefine the value.

10. If necessary, click the drop-down arrow next to MagVar Source and choose a source for the magnetic variation.

    This is the source of the magnetic variation value.

    Learn more about the magnetic variation source

11. If necessary, click the drop-down arrow next to MagVar Year and choose a different year for the World Magnetic Model.

    This is the year associated with the magnetic variation value.

    Note:

    You can only choose a value for MagVar Year if Magnetic Model is selected for the MagVar Source property.

    Learn more about the magnetic variation year

12. Click the Execute button .

A line is created representing a great circle.