Using ArcGIS Desktop

To open the Attributes dialog box, click the Attributes button on the toolbar, or right-click one of the selected features
and click Attributes. The selected features are listed in the left panel; click a feature in the list to display and edit its
attributes.

Select a feature from the

list in the left panel of
the Attributes dialog box
to display the features
attributes and correct any
errors.

Validate Features checks for the different types of errors sequentially, so if a feature has errors of more than one type
it will generate a message if you run it again. For example, if a feature has an invalid subtype and an invalid domain
value, it will generate an error when the invalid subtype is encountered. If you x the error and re-run Validate Features,

a message will be generated when the invalid domain value is encountered.

Validating relationship classes and network connectivity

Validate Features will check to make sure any relationship class rules youve set up in your geodatabase are not broken.
For example, in an electric network, there may be a relationship class between substations and feeders, with a rule that
a substation cannot have more than two feeders. Validate Features will check to ensure there are no violations of the
rule (a substation has no more than two feeders associated with it). Select the feature or features to validate, then click
Validate Features on the Editor drop-down menu. Validate Features displays a message indicating that all features are
valid, or that it has found a rule that has been broken, and the cause. In this case, the tables or features would have to be
edited to modify the relationships between the features.

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Validate Features can be used to check for

relationship class rules that have been broken.
In an edit session, select the feature to validate
(using the Edit tool on the Editor toolbar). Then
select Validate Features on the Editor dropdown menu. In this example, four feeders are
connected to a substation, when a maximum of
two are allowed.

3 Data Compilation and Editing

Similarly, Validate Features will evaluate connectivity for a geometric network. In an electric network, for example, a
substation might be able to connect only to a primary line. If a substation is added and connected to a secondary line,
running the Validate Features tool will reveal this, and display a message. To correct the error, the feature would have to
be deleted or moved to connect to a differentprimaryline.

Use Validate Features to check the correct

connectivity between feature classes in a
geometric network (in this example, a substation
on an electrical network is connected to the
wrong type of transmission line).

Validating topology rules

A topology is a set of rules that dene the spatial relationships between features. The rules ensure, for example, that

parcels dont overlap or that census tracts completely nest within counties. If youve made edits to a feature that
participates in a topology, you need to validate the topology to identify any violations of the rules that have been
dened for the topology.

ArcMap includes tools for validating geodatabase topology. (The tools are not available for map topology. For more
on geodatabase topology see Ensuring spatial data integrity in Chapter 2. For more on map topology, see Editing
connected features in this chapter.)
Topology validation occurs within an edit session in ArcMap, using the Topology toolbar. After starting an edit session,
click the Editor drop-down menu, point to More Editing Tools, and click Topology.

Open the Topology toolbar

in ArcMap to validate
geodatabase topology.

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