Method Overview

Method Details

buffer(geometry, distance, unit, unionResults){Polygon|Polygon[]}

Creates planar (or Euclidean) buffer polygons at a specified distance around the input geometries.

The GeometryEngine has two methods for buffering geometries client-side: buffer and geodesicBuffer. Use caution when deciding which method to use. As a general rule, use geodesicBuffer if the input geometries have a spatial reference of either WGS84 (wkid: 4326) or Web Mercator. Only use buffer (this method) when attempting to buffer geometries with a projected coordinate system other than Web Mercator. If you need to buffer geometries with a geographic coordinate system other than WGS84 (wkid: 4326), use GeometryService.buffer().

Parameters:

geometry Geometry|Geometry[] The buffer input geometry. The geometry and distance parameters must be specified as either both arrays or both non-arrays. Never specify one as an array and the other a non-array.

distance Number|Number[] The specified distance(s) for buffering. The geometry and distance parameters must be specified as either both arrays or both non-arrays. Never specify one as an array and the other a non-array. When using an array of geometries as input, the length of the geometry array does not have to equal the length of the distance array. For example, if you pass an array of four geometries: [g1, g2, g3, g4] and an array with one distance: [d1], all four geometries will be buffered by the single distance value. If instead you use an array of three distances: [d1, d2, d3], g1 will be buffered by d1, g2 by d2, and g3 and g4 will both be buffered by d3. The value of the geometry array will be matched one to one with those in the distance array until the final value of the distance array is reached, in which case that value will be applied to the remaining geometries.

unit String|Number Measurement unit of the distance(s). Defaults to the units of the input geometries. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

unionResults Boolean optional Default Value: false Determines whether the output geometries should be unioned into a single polygon.

Returns:

Type	Description
Polygon | Polygon[]	The resulting buffer(s). The result will be an array if an array of geometries is used as input. It will be a single polygon if a single geometry is input into the function.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.buffer()
• geometryEngine.geodesicBuffer()
• geometryEngineAsync.geodesicBuffer()

Example:

// Buffer point by 1000 feet
var ptBuff = geometryEngine.buffer(point, 1000, "feet");

clip(geometry, envelope){Geometry}

Calculates the clipped geometry from a target geometry by an envelope.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The geometry to be clipped.

envelope Extent The envelope used to clip.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	Clipped geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.clip()

contains(containerGeometry, insideGeometry){Boolean}

Indicates if one geometry contains another geometry.

Parameters:

containerGeometry Geometry The geometry that is tested for the "contains" relationship to the other geometry. Think of this geometry as the potential "container" of the insideGeometry.

insideGeometry Geometry The geometry that is tested for the "within" relationship to the containerGeometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if the containerGeometry contains the insideGeometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.contains()

convexHull(geometry, merge){Geometry|Geometry[]}

Calculates the convex hull of the input geometry. A convex hull is the smallest convex polygon that encloses a group of Objects, such as points. The input geometry can be a point, multipoint, polyline or polygon. The hull is typically a polygon but can also be a polyline or point in degenerate cases.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The input geometry.

merge Boolean optional Dictates whether to merge output geometries.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry | Geometry[]	Usually returns a Polygon geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.convexHull()

crosses(geometry1, geometry2){Boolean}

Indicates if one geometry crosses another geometry.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry The geometry to cross.

geometry2 Geometry The geometry being crossed.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if geometry1 crosses geometry2.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.crosses()

cut(geometry, cutter){Geometry[]}

Split the input Polyline or Polygon where it crosses a cutting Polyline. For Polylines, all left cuts are grouped together in the first Geometry. Right cuts and coincident cuts are grouped in the second Geometry and each undefined cut, along with any uncut parts, are output as separate Polylines. For Polygons, all left cuts are grouped in the first Polygon, all right cuts are grouped in the second Polygon, and each undefined cut, along with any left-over parts after cutting, are output as a separate Polygon. If no cuts are returned then the array will be empty. An undefined cut will only be produced if a left cut or right cut was produced and there was a part left over after cutting, or a cut is bounded to the left and right of the cutter.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The geometry to be cut.

cutter Polyline The polyline to cut the geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry[]	Returns an array of geometries created by cutting the input geometry with the cutter.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.cut()

densify(geometry, maxSegmentLength, maxSegmentLengthUnit){Geometry}

Densify geometries by plotting points between existing vertices.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The geometry to be densified.

maxSegmentLength Number The maximum segment length allowed. Must be a positive value.

maxSegmentLengthUnit String|Number Measurement unit for maxSegmentLength. Defaults to the units of the input geometry. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	The densified geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.densify()

• geodesicDensify()

difference(inputGeometry, subtractor){Geometry|Geometry[]}

Creates the difference of two geometries. The resultant geometry is the portion of inputGeometry not in the subtractor. The dimension of the subtractor has to be equal to or greater than that of the inputGeometry.

Parameters:

inputGeometry Geometry|Geometry[] The input geometry to subtract from.

subtractor Geometry The geometry being subtracted from inputGeometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry | Geometry[]	Returns the geometry of inputGeometry minus the subtractor geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.difference()

disjoint(geometry1, geometry2){Boolean}

Indicates if one geometry is disjoint (doesn't intersect in any way) with another geometry.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry The base geometry that is tested for the "disjoint" relationship to the other geometry.

geometry2 Geometry The comparison geometry that is tested for the "disjoint" relationship to the other geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if geometry1 and geometry2 are disjoint (don't intersect in any way).

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.disjoint()

distance(geometry1, geometry2, distanceUnit){Number}

Calculates the shortest planar distance between two geometries. Distance is reported in the linear units specified by distanceUnit or, if distanceUnit is null, the units of the spatialReference of input geometry.

To calculate the geodesic distance between two points, first construct a Polyline using the two points of interest as the beginning and ending points of a single path. Then use the polyline as input for the geodesicLength() method.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry First input geometry.

geometry2 Geometry Second input geometry.

distanceUnit String|Number Measurement unit of the return value. Defaults to the units of the input geometries. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

Returns:

Type	Description
Number	Distance between the two input geometries.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.distance()

equals(geometry1, geometry2){Boolean}

Indicates if two geometries are equal.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry First input geometry.

geometry2 Geometry Second input geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if the two input geometries are equal.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.equals()

extendedSpatialReferenceInfo(spatialReference){Object}

Returns an Object containing additional information about the input spatial reference.

Parameter:

spatialReference SpatialReference The input spatial reference.

Returns:

Type	Description
Object	Returns an Object with the following specification: Property Type tolerance Number unitBaseFactor Number unitID Number unitSquareDerivative Number unitType Number

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.extendedSpatialReferenceInfo()

• Unit IDs

flipHorizontal(geometry, flipOrigin){Geometry}

Flips a geometry on the horizontal axis. Can optionally be flipped around a point.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The input geometry to be flipped.

flipOrigin Point optional Point to flip the geometry around. Defaults to the centroid of the geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	The flipped geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.flipHorizontal()

flipVertical(geometry, flipOrigin){Geometry}

Flips a geometry on the vertical axis. Can optionally be flipped around a point.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The input geometry to be flipped.

flipOrigin Point optional Point to flip the geometry around. Defaults to the centroid of the geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	The flipped geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.flipVertical()

generalize(geometry, maxDeviation, removeDegenerateParts, maxDeviationUnit){Geometry}

Performs the generalize operation on the geometries in the cursor. Point and Multipoint geometries are left unchanged. Envelope is converted to a Polygon and then generalized.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The input geometry to be generalized.

maxDeviation Number The maximum allowed deviation from the generalized geometry to the original geometry.

removeDegenerateParts Boolean optional When true the degenerate parts of the geometry will be removed from the output (may be undesired for drawing).

maxDeviationUnit String|Number optional Measurement unit for maxDeviation. Defaults to the units of the input geometry. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	The generalized geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.generalize()

geodesicArea(geometry, unit){Number}

Calculates the area of the input geometry. As opposed to planarArea(), geodesicArea takes into account the curvature of the earth when performing this calculation. Therefore, when using input geometries with a spatial reference of either WGS84 (wkid: 4326) or Web Mercator, it is best practice to calculate areas using geodesicArea(). If the input geometries have a projected coordinate system other than Web Mercator, use planarArea() instead.

This method only works with WGS84 (wkid: 4326) and Web Mercator spatial references.

Parameters:

geometry Polygon The input polygon.

unit String|Number Measurement unit of the return value. Defaults to the units of the input geometries. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for area units. Possible Values: acres | ares | hectares | square-feet | square-meters | square-yards | square-kilometers | square-miles

Returns:

Type	Description
Number	Area of the input geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.geodesicArea()

geodesicBuffer(geometry, distance, unit, unionResults){Polygon|Polygon[]}

Creates geodesic buffer polygons at a specified distance around the input geometries. When calculating distances, this method takes the curvature of the earth into account, which provides highly accurate results when dealing with very large geometries and/or geometries that spatially vary on a global scale where one projected coordinate system could not accurately plot coordinates and measure distances for all the geometries.

This method only works with WGS84 (wkid: 4326) and Web Mercator spatial references. In general, if your input geometries are assigned one of those two spatial references, you should always use geodesicBuffer() to obtain the most accurate results for those geometries. If needing to buffer points assigned a projected coordinate system other than Web Mercator, use buffer() instead. If the input geometries have a geographic coordinate system other than WGS84 (wkid: 4326), use GeometryService.buffer().

Parameters:

geometry Geometry|Geometry[] The buffer input geometry. The geometry and distance parameters must be specified as either both arrays or both non-arrays. Never specify one as an array and the other a non-array.

distance Number|Number[] The specified distance(s) for buffering. The geometry and distance parameters must be specified as either both arrays or both non-arrays. Never specify one as an array and the other a non-array. When using an array of geometries as input, the length of the geometry array does not have to equal the length of the distance array. For example, if you pass an array of four geometries: [g1, g2, g3, g4] and an array with one distance: [d1], all four geometries will be buffered by the single distance value. If instead you use an array of three distances: [d1, d2, d3], g1 will be buffered by d1, g2 by d2, and g3 and g4 will both be buffered by d3. The value of the geometry array will be matched one to one with those in the distance array until the final value of the distance array is reached, in which case that value will be applied to the remaining geometries.

unit String|Number Measurement unit of the distance(s). Defaults to the units of the input geometries. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

unionResults Boolean optional Default Value: false Determines whether the output geometries should be unioned into a single polygon.

Returns:

Type	Description
Polygon | Polygon[]	The resulting buffer(s). The result will be an array if an array of geometries is used as input. It will be a single polygon if a single geometry is input into the function.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.geodesicBuffer()

Example:

// point is a Point geometry
var ptBuff = geometryEngine.geodesicBuffer(point, 1000, "kilometers");  // Buffer point by 1000km

geodesicDensify(geometry, maxSegmentLength, maxSegmentLengthUnit){Geometry}

Returns a geodesically densified version of the input geometry. Use this function to draw the line(s) of the geometry along great circles.

Parameters:

geometry Polyline|Polygon A polyline or polygon to densify.

maxSegmentLength Number The maximum segment length allowed. This must be a positive value.

maxSegmentLengthUnit String|Number Measurement unit for maxSegmentLength. If a unit is not specified, the units are considered to be the same as the units of the geometry. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	Returns the densified geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.geodesicDensify()

Example:

// lineGeom is a line geometry
var densifiedGeom = geometryEngine.geodesicDensify(lineGeom, 10000);

geodesicLength(geometry, unit){Number}

Calculates the length of the input geometry. As opposed to planarLength(), geodesicLength() takes into account the curvature of the earth when performing this calculation. Therefore, when using input geometries with a spatial reference of either WGS84 (wkid: 4326) or Web Mercator, it is best practice to calculate lengths using geodesicLength(). If the input geometries have a projected coordinate system other than Web Mercator, use planarLength() instead.

This method only works with WGS84 (wkid: 4326) and Web Mercator spatial references.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The input geometry.

unit String|Number Measurement unit of the return value. Defaults to the units of the input geometry. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

Returns:

Type	Description
Number	Length of the input geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.geodesicLength()

intersect(geometry, intersector){Geometry|Geometry[]}

Creates a new geometry through intersection between two geometries.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry|Geometry[] The input geometry(ies).

intersector Geometry The geometry being intersected.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry | Geometry[]	The intersection of the geometries.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.intersect()

intersects(geometry1, geometry2){Boolean}

Indicates if one geometry intersects another geometry.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry The geometry that is tested for the intersects relationship to the other geometry.

geometry2 Geometry The geometry being intersected.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if the input geometries intersect each other.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.intersects()

isSimple(geometry){Boolean}

Indicates if the given geometry is topologically simple.

Parameter:

geometry Geometry The input geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if the geometry is topologically simple.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.isSimple()

nearestCoordinate(geometry, inputPoint){NearestPointResult}

Finds the coordinate of the geometry that is closest to the specified point.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The geometry to consider.

inputPoint Point The point used to search the nearest coordinate in the geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
NearestPointResult	Returns an object containing the nearest coordinate.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.nearestCoordinate()

nearestVertex(geometry, inputPoint){NearestPointResult}

Finds the vertex on the geometry nearest to the specified point.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The geometry to consider.

inputPoint Point The point used to search the nearest vertex in the geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
NearestPointResult	Returns an object containing the nearest vertex.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.nearestVertex()

nearestVertices(geometry, inputPoint, searchRadius, maxVertexCountToReturn){NearestPointResult[]}

Finds all vertices in the given distance from the specified point, sorted from the closest to the furthest and returns them as an array of Objects.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The geometry to consider.

inputPoint Point The point from which to measure.

searchRadius Number The distance to search from the inputPoint in the units of the view's spatial reference.

maxVertexCountToReturn Number The maximum number of vertices to return.

Returns:

Type	Description
NearestPointResult[]	An array of objects containing the nearest vertices within the given searchRadius.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.nearestVertices()

offset(geometry, offsetDistance, offsetUnit, joinType, bevelRatio, flattenError){Geometry|Geometry[]}

The offset operation creates a geometry that is a constant planar distance from an input polyline or polygon. It is similar to buffering, but produces a one-sided result.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry|Geometry[] The geometries to offset.

offsetDistance Number The planar distance to offset from the input geometry. If offsetDistance > 0, then the offset geometry is constructed to the right of the oriented input geometry, if offsetDistance = 0, then there is no change in the geometries, otherwise it is constructed to the left. For a simple polygon, the orientation of outer rings is clockwise and for inner rings it is counter clockwise. So the "right side" of a simple polygon is always its inside.

offsetUnit String|Number Measurement unit of the offset distance. Defaults to the units of the input geometries. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

joinType String The join type. Possible values: round | bevel | miter | square

bevelRatio Number optional Applicable when joinType = 'miter'; bevelRatio is multiplied by the offset distance and the result determines how far a mitered offset intersection can be located before it is beveled.

flattenError Number optional Applicable when joinType = 'round'; flattenError determines the maximum distance of the resulting segments compared to the true circular arc. The algorithm never produces more than around 180 vertices for each round join.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry | Geometry[]	The offset geometries.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.offset()

overlaps(geometry1, geometry2){Boolean}

Indicates if one geometry overlaps another geometry.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry The base geometry that is tested for the "overlaps" relationship with the other geometry.

geometry2 Geometry The comparison geometry that is tested for the "overlaps" relationship with the other geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if the two geometries overlap.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.overlaps()

planarArea(geometry, unit){Number}

Calculates the area of the input geometry. As opposed to geodesicArea(), planarArea() performs this calculation using projected coordinates and does not take into account the earth's curvature. When using input geometries with a spatial reference of either WGS84 (wkid: 4326) or Web Mercator, it is best practice to calculate areas using geodesicArea(). If the input geometries have a projected coordinate system other than Web Mercator, use planarArea() instead.

Parameters:

geometry Polygon The input polygon.

unit String|Number Measurement unit of the return value. Defaults to the units of the input geometries. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for area units. Possible Values: acres | ares | hectares | square-feet | square-meters | square-yards | square-kilometers | square-miles

Returns:

Type	Description
Number	The area of the input geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.planarArea()

planarLength(geometry, unit){Number}

Calculates the length of the input geometry. As opposed to geodesicLength(), planarLength() uses projected coordinates and does not take into account the curvature of the earth when performing this calculation. When using input geometries with a spatial reference of either WGS84 (wkid: 4326) or Web Mercator, it is best practice to calculate lengths using geodesicLength(). If the input geometries have a projected coordinate system other than Web Mercator, use planarLength() instead.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The input geometry.

unit String|Number Measurement unit of the return value. Defaults to the units of the input geometries. Use one of the possible values listed below or any of the numeric codes for linear units. Possible Values: meters | feet | kilometers | miles | nautical-miles | yards

Returns:

Type	Description
Number	The length of the input geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.planarLength()

relate(geometry1, geometry2, relation){Boolean}

Indicates if the given DE-9IM relation holds for the two geometries.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry The first geometry for the relation.

geometry2 Geometry The second geometry for the relation.

relation String The Dimensionally Extended 9 Intersection Model (DE-9IM) matrix relation (encoded as a string) to test against the relationship of the two geometries. This string contains the test result of each intersection represented in the DE-9IM matrix. Each result is one character of the string and may be represented as either a number (maximum dimension returned: 0,1,2), a Boolean value (T or F), or a mask character (for ignoring results: '*'). Example: Each of the following DE-9IM string codes are valid for testing whether a polygon geometry completely contains a line geometry: TTTFFTFFT (Boolean), 'T******FF*' (ignore irrelevant intersections), or '102FF*FF*' (dimension form). Each returns the same result. See this article and this ArcGIS help page for more information about the DE-9IM model and how string codes are constructed.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if the relation of the input geometries holds.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.relate()

rotate(geometry, angle, rotationOrigin){Geometry}

Rotates a geometry counterclockwise by the specified number of degrees. Rotation is around the centroid, or a given rotation point.

Parameters:

geometry Geometry The geometry to rotate.

angle Number The rotation angle in degrees.

rotationOrigin Point optional Point to rotate the geometry around. Defaults to the centroid of the geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	The rotated geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.rotate()

simplify(geometry){Geometry}

Performs the simplify operation on the geometry which alters the given geometries to make their definitions topologically legal with respect to their geometry type.

Parameter:

geometry Geometry The geometry to be simplified.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	The simplified geometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.simplify()

symmetricDifference(leftGeometry, rightGeometry){Geometry|Geometry[]}

Creates the symmetric difference of two geometries. The symmetric difference includes the parts that are in either of the sets, but not in both.

Parameters:

leftGeometry Geometry|Geometry[] One of the Geometry instances in the XOR operation.

rightGeometry Geometry One of the Geometry instances in the XOR operation.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry | Geometry[]	The symmetric differences of the two geometries.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.symmetricDifference()

touches(geometry1, geometry2){Boolean}

Indicates if one geometry touches another geometry.

Parameters:

geometry1 Geometry The geometry to test the "touches" relationship with the other geometry.

geometry2 Geometry The geometry to be touched.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	When true, geometry1 touches geometry2.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.touches()

union(geometries){Geometry}

All inputs must be of the same type of geometries and share one spatial reference.

Parameter:

geometries Geometry[] An array of Geometries to union.

Returns:

Type	Description
Geometry	The union of the geometries.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.union()

Example:

// pt1 and pt2 are Point geometries to union together
var union = geometryEngine.union([pt1, pt2]);

within(innerGeometry, outerGeometry){Boolean}

Indicates if one geometry is within another geometry.

Parameters:

innerGeometry Geometry The base geometry that is tested for the "within" relationship to the other geometry.

outerGeometry Geometry The comparison geometry that is tested for the "contains" relationship to the other geometry.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if innerGeometry is within outerGeometry.

See also:

• geometryEngineAsync.within()

Type Definitions

NearestPointResult

Object returned from the nearestCoordinate(), nearestVertex(), and nearestVertices() methods.

Properties:

coordinate Point A vertex within the specified distance of the search.

distance Number The distance from the inputPoint in the units of the view's spatial reference.

isRightSide Boolean Indicates if the vertex is on the right side of the geometry.

vertexIndex Number The index of the vertex within the geometry's rings or paths.

isEmpty Boolean Indicates if it is an empty geometry.