Merge features

Merging features is useful for creating larger regions in a map. For example, if you were converting a map of states, you could merge the states (the features in this example) into larger North, South, East, and West regions.

Keys. Select the map key containing the feature labels that will help you identify the features you want to merge.

Features. Click the first feature that you want to merge. Ctrl-click the other features that you want to merge. (On macOS, use Command-click.) Note that the features will also be selected in the map preview. You can click and Ctrl-click (or Command-click on macOS) the features directly in the map preview in addition to selecting them from the list.

After selecting the features that you want to merge, click Merge to display the Name the Merged Feature dialog box, where you will be able to apply a label to the new feature. You may want to check Color the map preview after merging features to ensure that the results are what you expect.

After merging features, you may also want to move the label for the new feature. You can do that in the Edit the feature labels task. See the topic Edit the feature labels for more information.