About Creating Expressions

An expression is the part of a query that specifies the conditions. For example, you can create an expression to specify all parcels whose area is larger than 4000 square feet. A query containing that expression displays or selects only parcels that meet those criteria.

A complete query also specifies the set of data to which the conditions are applied and the action to apply. For example, you can query a feature layer in a map and display or hide its data based on whether it meets the query conditions.

In practice, you specify the data set by selecting the feature class or layer to query before you build the expression. You specify the action to apply when you select the command or option for building the expression. For example, in AutoCAD Map 3D toolset, select Add To Map With Query or Search To Select.

The title bar for the dialog box in which you create expressions is different, depending on the command you choose. The contents of the dialog box are much the same, no matter what it is called. In AutoCAD Map 3D toolset, you can create expressions for geospatial features from the following locations:

Command	Title Bar Contents
Home tab Data panel Search	Search For Features Across Multiple Layers
Right-click Display Manager layers Query To Filter Data.	Create Query
Data Table Search To Select	Search To Select
Data Connect Add To Map With Query	Create Query
Data Table Options Create A Calculation	Create A Calculation
Data Table Set Split And Merge Rules	Split or Merge Rule Expression
Style Editor Style Label Property To Display	Create/Modify Expressions

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Procedures	To create an expression
Workflows	Find and Select Features By Attribute and Location Find and Select Features Within a Buffer Zone
Related topics	Evaluating Properties Creating a Calculation Performing a Conversion Creating Text Expressions Creating Numeric Expressions Filtering by Location Creating Expressions - Reference

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Videos	Show me how to create a calculated field. Show me how to set the number of decimal places for labels.
Tutorials	Exercise 5: Create a calculated property Exercise 2: Add labels that use an expression