Surface Length (3D Analyst)
Summary
Calculates the surface length for each polyline or polygon feature based on a raster, triangulated irregular network (TIN), or terrain dataset surface.
The surface length information is stored as an attribute of the input feature class.
 Legacy:
Legacy:This is a deprecated tool. To learn more about how this tool works click here to view archived documentation. This functionality has been added to the Add Surface Information tool.
Usage
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Use a smaller sampling distance to increase the accuracy of the surface length calculations. 
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Use {out_length_field} to give the length field a custom name. 
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Only polyline and polygon feature classes are valid inputs for this tool. 
Syntax
| Parameter | Explanation | Data Type | 
| in_surface | The input raster, TIN, or terrain dataset whose values will be used for interpolation. | TIN layer; raster layer; terrain lLayer | 
| in_feature_class | The input polygon or polyline feature class. | Feature layer | 
| out_length_field (Optional) | The name of the attribute field to contain the surface length. | String | 
| sample_distance (Optional) | The surface spacing at which the length is calculated. By default, the sampling distance is the natural densification of a TIN or the cell size of a raster. | Double | 
| z_factor (Optional) | The factor multiplied by input surface values to store new values in the length field. The Z factor is used to convert z-units to match x,y units. | Double | 
| method (Optional) | The interpolation method. For raster surfaces, the only option is BILINEAR. Select LINEAR or NATURAL_NEIGHBORS. | String | 
| pyramid_level_resolution (Optional) | The z-tolerance or window-size resolution of the terrain pyramid level that will be used by this tool. The default is 0, or full resolution. | Double | 
Code Sample
The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in the Python window:
import arcgisscripting
gp = arcgisscripting.create()
gp.CheckOutExtension("3D")
gp.workspace = "C:/data"
gp.SurfaceLength_3d("elevation_tin", "lines.shp", "Length3D")