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Feature Vertices to Points

Overview​

The Feature Vertices to Points tool extracts key control points from line or polygon geometries. It converts complex line or polygon features into a set of discrete point features and supports extracting all vertices, start and end points, midpoints, or dangle points.

Use Cases​

  • Topology analysis preprocessing: Extract the start and end points of line segments to identify road intersections or utility network connection points.
  • Geometry feature extraction: Extract all vertices along polygon feature boundaries to analyze boundary complexity or vertex density.
  • Data sampling: Extract the midpoint of a line feature as a position reference for attribute association or spatial sampling.
  • Quality inspection: Extract dangle points from line features to locate utility network segments or road sections that are not connected correctly.

Parameters​

ParameterDescriptionNotes
Input featuresThe source dataset from which vertices will be extracted.Supports line or polygon features.
Point typeSpecifies the logical location of output points.Options include all vertices, midpoint, start point, and end point.
Output pathThe folder where the result is stored.Select the target folder.
Output file nameThe name of the output feature dataset.Text without a file extension.

Steps​

  1. Start the tool: Open the Geoprocessing Toolbox, go to Vector Tools > Feature Conversion, and start the Feature Vertices to Points tool pane.
  2. Set the input: Select the target Input features.
  3. Configure parameters: Select Point type, such as ALL to extract all vertices or START to extract only start points.
  4. Configure the output: Specify the output path and output file name.
  5. Run the tool: Click Run. The generated point dataset is automatically added to the current layer list.

Notes​

  • Attribute preservation: Each generated point feature inherits all attribute information from its source feature.
  • Data growth: For complex polygons with very dense vertices, extracting all vertices can create a very large number of output features. Estimate the output size before running the tool.
  • Empty geometry handling: The tool automatically skips invalid records without geometry coordinates. Run Check Geometry before conversion to ensure vertex positions are accurate. iXGIS recommends running this tool in a projected coordinate system. The midpoint (MID) coordinate is calculated as the geometric center in a linear projection.