What type of output does the U anchor of the Spatial Match tool provide?

The U anchor of the Spatial Match tool provides the target records that did not match during the spatial join process. This functionality is essential for understanding which records in the target dataset did not find corresponding entries in the universe dataset used for matching. When performing spatial joins, it is often not only important to identify matches but also crucial to recognize what did not match.

By focusing on the U anchor, users can determine any gaps in the match process, which can inform subsequent analysis or data cleaning steps. This capability is particularly useful in scenarios where it's important to evaluate all records, ensuring that decisions are made based on complete insights, including those records that might need further investigation or different handling.

The other potential outputs from the Spatial Match tool, such as combined records from all inputs or a summary report of matches, do not specifically focus on the unmatched records, which is what the U anchor highlights. Therefore, identifying unmatched target records assists in achieving a thorough understanding of the data sets being analyzed.