Drop the geometry column from a simple features object

drop_geometry removes the active geometry column from a simple features (sf) object and strips the sf class, returning a plain data frame or tibble suitable for tabular-metadata workflows. If the input is not an sf object it is returned unchanged.

Usage

drop_geometry(x)

Arguments

x

An R object, typically a data frame, tibble, or simple features (sf) object.

Value

If x inherits from class "sf", returns x as a plain data frame or tibble with the active geometry column removed and the "sf" class dropped. Otherwise returns x unchanged.

Note

drop_geometry is an internal helper used by write_attributes, write_factors, and read_attributes to avoid a hard runtime dependency on sf::st_drop_geometry() in those tabular workflows. It is not exported.

The geometry column is identified via the sf_column attribute of the object, which is set by the sf package when the object is created. Only that column is removed; all other columns are preserved.