Moving a vertex without changing a feature's general shape

If you need to move a vertex but keep the general shape of a feature, you can proportionally stretch a feature's geometry. When you drag a vertex to a new location with proportional stretching on, the proportions of the feature's segments are maintained, thereby maintaining the general shape of the feature.

Below are some examples of how polygon and line features will react to dragging a vertex with and without proportional stretching.

With proportional stretching: When it is on, other vertices are moved too. The sketch of the feature rubber sheets to maintain its shape.

No proportional stretching: When there is not proportional stretching, a vertex moves independently when it is dragged. This is the default setting.

Tip:

You can stretch features when merging data from different data sources—for example, utility lines from one source and subdivision parcels from another. Suppose the data for the subdivision parcels is very accurate, but the data for the utility lines is not as accurate. While the shapes of the utility lines are generally correct, you might want to change the position of one line relative to the parcels by moving a vertex. By stretching the utility line feature proportionally, you can make it fit accurately with the parcels without losing the general shape of the line.

Tip:

Turning on the option to stretch geometry proportionately when moving a vertex is recommended when performing spatial adjustments on data that participates in a geometric network. For more information on adjusting geometric networks, see About spatial adjustment rubbersheeting.

1. Click the Edit tool on the Editor toolbar and double-click the feature you want to edit.
2. Click Stretch Proportionately on the Edit Vertices toolbar.
You can also click the Editor menu, click Options, then check Stretch geometry proportionately when moving a vertex on the General tab. (The button on the Edit Vertices toolbar is simply a shortcut to this editing option.)
3. Select and move vertices as desired. Other vertices in the feature also move to maintain the shape.
4. To turn off proportional stretching, click Stretch Proportionately again.