Nearest Feature Distance

Use it to find the parcels within reach of a road, the buildings nearest a water point, or the features that have no neighbour inside a threshold.

• Source Layer holds the features being measured from; Near Layer holds the features being measured to.
• Maximum Distance caps the search. A source feature with no near-layer feature inside that distance is simply not matched — which makes this a useful way to find isolated features, by looking at what is not selected.
• Distances are measured in the layers' coordinate system units, so both layers should be in a projected coordinate system. Distances from a geographic coordinate system are in degrees and vary with latitude.
• Selection Mode controls how the result combines with the existing selection — New Selection or Add To Selection.
• Two independent restrictions narrow what is considered: Combine them to answer a specific question, such as the distance from one chosen parcel to a particular road segment.
  • Use selected source feature — measure only from the currently selected source features
  • Use selected near feature — measure only to the currently selected near features
• Export Features writes the result as a new dataset rather than only selecting it.

1. Confirm both layers use a projected coordinate system.
2. On the KGA Toolbox tab, in the Data Management group, open the VectorIQ menu, point to Select, and click Nearest Feature Distance.
3. Set Source Layer and Near Layer.
4. Set Maximum Distance.
5. Set Selection Mode and click Select.
6. To find isolated features instead, invert the selection afterwards — what was not matched is what has no neighbour within the distance.
7. To keep the result, click Export Features.

Requires an active KGA Toolbox license. The tool validates the license before running.