Poly-Build Level of Detail

[neilgallen]

I'm attempting to build custom trade areas using zip codes and the level of detail (points in the polygons) isn't as detailed as I'd like.  I have a .shp file with the zip code boundaries in it, with a sufficient level of detail:

However, after joining to a dataset containing my trade area IDs and performing a poly build, I get very generic results:

any suggestions on how to avoid this?

[CharlieS · Accepted solution]

The reason you're getting those results is the default setting on the Poly-Build tool is "Convex Hull". If the trade areas you're trying to build are a combination of several neighboring ZIP codes: use the Spatial Combine function of the Summarize tool.

That would be the easiest way if the ZIP polygons are in the same field. If they are in different fields, the same function can be found in the Spatial Process tool (Action: Combine Objects), or the Formula tool (use "ST_Combine(").

[neilgallen]

@CharlieS - Thanks! That's exactly what I needed it to be. I completely forgot that the summarize tool has spatial functions.