Digitizing Points
This tutorial walks through the process of digitizing points using the tools available in ArcGIS Pro to create features.
Included in this tutorial:
Setting Up for Digitizing
Adding Point Features
Modifying and Deleting Point Features
Additional digitization tools
Software version in examples: ArcGIS Pro 3.5.0
Credits: Sally Kaye and L. Meisterlin (2026)
The overall process of digitizing is simple:
Access the Create Features pane.
Add and edit features within your editable layer.
Save changes to your editable layer.
Related Tutorials:
Setting Up for Digitizing
To access the Create Features pane, click Edit in the top ribbon > Create.
activating the Create Features pane
In the Create Features pane, select the relevant data layer (the layer that will contain the new digitized points) by clicking the layer name. In this example, we select the “Test Points” feature class, which has already been created.
options for creating point features
Clicking on a layer will open digitization options for the corresponding data type. You can hover over each icon to find descriptions of these options, i.e. creating points at the end or along an existing line. In this tutorial, we click the first icon to use the Point tool, which creates a simple point feature.
Adding Point Features
With the Point tool activated, your cursor will become a crosshair in the map view. This means you are ready to start creating point features.
Click anywhere in the map frame to add a point feature. You can add one or as many points as you would like before saving the new points.
Once you are satisfied with the point(s) you have added, right-click and click Finish (or select finish from the large icons at the bottom of the map frame). Then, click Save in the edit ribbon to save changes to the layer.
In this example, we are digitizing points on an empty map. More likely, you may be digitizing features over a basemap or other layers.
Note & Tip: In the example below, we digitize a multipart point feature by clicking four times before “finishing” the feature.
creating and saving point feature
canceling unsaved point features
If you are dissatisfied with the points you’ve created, right-click anywhere on the map frame and click Cancel to remove your work.
Modifying and Deleting Point Features
Modifying Features
If you aren’t happy with your points, they can be modified using tools from the Modify Features pane. To open this pane, click Edit > Modify.
In this example, we demonstrate accessing the Modify Features pane and moving a point. To do this, we click the Move tool, select the point we want to move, and drag it to a new location. Click Save again to save changes.
moving a point using tools from the Modify Features pane
Deleting Features
Points can also be deleted from the data layer. Select the feature(s) to be deleted, then click Edit > Delete.
finding the delete button in the Edit ribbon
Snapping
Depending on the nature of your work, it may be beneficial to have the points you’re creating snap to vertices or lines of features in other feature classes. (Snapping allows you to maintain topologically accurate geometries and avoid generating “spaghetti data.”)
adjusting your snapping settings
You can adjust your snapping settings by navigating to Edit (from the top ribbon) > Snapping. You will see there are a number of snapping options available to you. You can hover over each icon to learn more, and decide which may be most helpful for you, given the nature of your work.