Bug: ArcMap Buffer Wizard does not buffer all the features


Sometimes the ArcMap Buffer Wizard will not create output for all of the features being buffered.


There are a few possibilities that may be inhibiting the creation of buffers:

A. The features being buffered are in a single data frame and are spread out across the entire world. There is a known limit buffering features at this scale.

B. The geometric complexity of the buffers being constructed are such that non-simple shapes are the result.

C. The features being buffered are multipart polygons or multipart features using attribute values as buffer distances.


A. To buffer at a world scale.

1. Select a subset of the features.
2. Buffer the subset; save as a feature class.
3. Switch the selection.
4. Buffer the rest of the features; save as a feature classes.
5. Using the GeoProcessing Wizard, Merge the two buffer results into a new shapefile.

B. If not buffering at a world scale, enforce a simplification procedure during the buffering process.

1. Start the ArcMap Advanced Settings utility.
<a href='http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/17341' target='_blank'>How To: Change the processing parameters for the ArcMap Buffer wizard</a>
2. Check the Force geometric simplification during buffer processing checkbox.
3. Click Apply.

Forcing Simplification will slow down the buffering process.

C. If you are buffering multipart features you may need to create a new feature layer in which all the polygons are single features.
<a href='http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/22084' target='_blank'>Problem: ArcMap buffer results are incorrect when buffer distance is an attribute value</a>