Iterating two different feature classes based on sequential order and clip

Question

I have a watershed feature class with 273 polygons, in the attribute table there is a SiteID column that is populated as so: A1 A2 A3 A4 etc.

I also have a buffer feature class with 273 polygons with a SiteID column populated as so: B1 B2 B3 B4 etc.

I want to use model builder to iterate through each of the features classes and to clip Watershed polygon labeled A1 with Buffer polygon A1, and the Watershed B2 with Buffer B2 and so on.

I have tried model builder but couldn't get it to run properly, I tried batch processing after splitting both feature classes based on their SiteID column but it wont populated the input and clip parameters properly..

How can I make this happen?

I searched but did not find this exact question here on GIS Stack Exchange.

ArcPy 10.0 iterate through shapefile1 clip shapefile2 to shapefile1's polygons

How to Batch Clip in ArcGIS Desktop 10 using Python/ArcPy?

Answer 1

As your data follows a pattern of A1 matches B1 and A2 matches B2, etc you can achieve your processing using a FOR iterator and inline substitution to pass the matching numeric part.

The model would look as below:

By selecting from each layer their matching counterparts (e.g. A100 and B100) the clip tool will honor these selections during the clip. Make sure the output of the Clip tool has a unique file name too, this is done with the inline substitution.