Exporting Selected Raster Graphics using ArcGIS Desktop?

Question

I'm having a problem exporting raster graphics using ArcGIS 10. It seems simple enough, but for some reason I cannot get ArcMap to work with me. Here are my steps:

1. Add a raster to ArcMap
2. Open the raster's Attribute table and select some values
3. Right click on the raster in the ArcMap table of contents --> Data --> Export Data
4. I am given 3 options for the data extent (a) Data Frame, (b) Raster Dataset, (c) Selected Graphics. The last option (which is the one that I want) is grayed out.

I have not been able to activate the "Selected Graphics" option in the Export Raster Data dialog. The strange thing is that my colleague has the exact same version of ArcMap and when repeating the steps above, the option to export Selected Graphics is not grayed out. I'm assuming that there is some setting that I have to adjust. Does anyone know what can be causing this?

Answer 1

The problem is not in the licensing or action of the export function. It is a matter of understanding how the Export Raster function works.

Based on your description, you are trying to select some number of cells from the raster, then do as you would a standard feature class in ArcMap and Export using a right click on the Layer Name.

If you did this on a Featur eclass with features selected, the window that comes up would look like this:
By default, the "Selected Features" option is used when there are features selected in the layer.

Rasters work somewhat differently when you export them. Here is the export window on a Raster, showing the Selected Graphics option grayed out, as you mentioned.

This Help document explains about Exporting a raster in ArcMap. In it, you see this section about Selected Graphics:

The Selected Graphics (Clipping) will clip and export the raster dataset based on the selected graphics in the display; this option will retain the data inside the graphic. Alternatively, you can check the Clip Inside option to remove the data within the graphic and keep the rest of the data.

What this is referring to, is not about selecting specific records from the attribute table that you want to export, but rather selecting a graphic in the Data Frame, that you want to clip your raster to, like the polygon below:

You can create Graphics with the Draw toolbar (more information here).

Right clicking to export the raster with the graphic selected, gives you the following option enabled in the window:

If you do want to Export Records from your Raster Attribute Table, you need to follow the procedure from this Help Document: Exporting a raster attribute table

Answer 2

I think you may be after the following:

Option one:

• Use: Spatial Analyst Tools - Extraction - Extract by Attributes

Option two (a work around when you don't have access to Spatial Analyst Tools):

1. Convert the raster to polygon with the attributes of interest in the 'Field' Conversion Tools - From Raster - Raster to Polygon
2. Select the attributes of interest in the polygon - right click - Data - Export Data etc.
3. (optional) Convert the polygon shapefile back to raster Conversion Tools - To Raster - Feature to Raster (with the attributes of interest in the 'Field')

Answer 3

I had the same problem - although I had created a graphic and selected it, the "Selected graphics (Clipping)" option was still greyed out. I realized that this method only works from the data View, not the Layout View. That means you have to create your graphics in the Data View to make this work.

Answer 4

@get-spatial's answer is thorough but I don't think it achieves what the original question asked... I'm interpreting it as How to Export Selected Raster Cells.

To accomplish this use the Extract by Attribute tool in ArcGIS's Extraction Toolset.