Creating File Geodatabases
1. Open the Catalog pane
2. Right-click Databases or a folder under Folders in the Catalog pane and click New File Geodatabase
3. On the New File Geodatabase dialog box, browse to the location where you want to create a file geodatabase, type a name, and click Save
4. A file geodatabase is created in the location you selected and is automatically added to the project under Databases in the Catalog pane
Creating Feature Classes
1. In the Catalog pane, right-click the geodatabase in which you want to create a feature class
2. Point to New –> Feature Class. This opens the Create Feature Class wizard
3. On the Define page of the wizard, type a name for the feature class in the Name text box. To create an alias for this feature class, type one in the Alias text box
4. Choose the type of features that will be stored in this feature class from the Feature Class Type drop-down list
5. If your new feature class will require m- or z-values, check the appropriate checkboxes under Geometric Properties
6. Optionally, use the Add output dataset to the current map check box to specify whether the feature class will be added to the active map upon completion of the wizard.
7. Click Next
8. On the Fields page of the wizard, you can add fields to the feature class. To add a field to the feature class, click the final row where it says Click here to add a new field. A new row will be added to the list of fields. In the Field Name column, type a name
9. Click the drop-down menu in the Data Type column and choose a data type for the new field
10. In the Field Properties section at the bottom of the pane, you can make edits to the properties of the new field
- The properties displayed will depend on what you've chosen as the data type for the field. To create an alias for this field, click the text box next to Alias and type an alias.
11. To prevent nulls from being stored in this field, click the drop-down arrow next to Allow Null Values, and choose No
12. To associate a default value with this field, click the text box next to Default value and type the value
13. To set other properties specific to the type of field, either click the property in the drop-down list or type the property
14. Repeat steps 8 through 13 until all the feature class fields have been defined
15. You can only have one field of data type Global ID or Raster in your feature class
16. If you want to import field definitions from another feature class or table, click Import and browse to its location, select the feature class or table, and click OK
17. You can also import field definitions stored in files of type .dbf, .txt, .csv, and .xlsx
18. When editing fields in the Create Feature Class wizard, options for Cut, Copy, and Paste can be found on the clipboard, the right-click context menu, and as keyboard shortcuts
- To use any of the clipboard options on a field, click in the leftmost column of the data grid to select the row. Then use the Clipboard section of the ribbon, the right-click context menu, or the appropriate shortcut keys to cut, copy, or paste the row
- If you cut and paste, or copy and paste, it will produce a copy of the field with the same name. A red indicator signifies that there is a duplicate name and it must be renamed to a unique field name before the Finish button becomes active again
19. If you want to change the order of the fields you've added, you can click a field and drag it into another position above or below its current position in the fields list. Note that the OBJECTID and SHAPE fields are unavailable and immovable
20. Click Next when you are done managing fields
21. On the Spatial Reference page of the wizard, you will set the spatial reference for the new feature class. The box for Current XY is highlighted. Under XY Coordinate Systems Available, browse to the coordinate system you want to use. This control has search and filter options to help you locate a specific coordinate system
- You can also base the coordinate system for the new feature class on a layer in the current map, create your own coordinate system, or import a coordinate system from another feature class. To learn more about specifying a coordinate system, see Specify a coordinate system
22. If you chose to include z-values on the first page of the wizard, check the box under Current Z and browse to the z-coordinate system you want to use
23. Once you have chosen a coordinate system, click Next to continue with the wizard. You can also click Finish at this point to accept the default values for tolerance, resolution, and configuration keywords and create the feature class
24. On the Tolerance page, enter an x,y tolerance or accept the default value
25. If the feature class will have z-values, enter the z-tolerance or accept the default
26. If the feature class will have measures, enter the m-tolerance or accept the default
27. If you make changes to the x,y, z-, or m-tolerances and want to revert to the default value, click the Reset To Default button
28. Click Next.
29. On the Resolution page, by default, the Accept default resolution and domain extent (recommended) checkbox is checked. The default resolution and extents are sufficient in most situations, but if you know that your data needs these properties changed you can uncheck the Accept default resolution and domain extent (recommended) checkbox and edit the x,y, z-, or m-resolution values as well as the minimum and maximum values for the z- and m-domain extents
30. Click Next
31. On the Storage Configuration page of the wizard, you can customize how the feature class will be stored. If you want to specify a storage configuration for the new feature class, click Use Configuration Keyword and choose the appropriate configuration keyword from the drop-down menu
32. Click Finish to create the feature class
Editing Data
Note: The Modify Features pane contains the primary editing tools with which you modify features. Tools that can switch between feature and topological editing modes show Features and Edges tabs
1. On the Edit tab, in the Manage Edits group, turning on map topology allows you to edit topologically shared geometry
2. On the Edit tab, in the Features group, click Modify Features.
3. To show tools that perform specific edits, type the name, category, or part of a name in the Search box
4. Edit the feature following the steps prescribed by the specific tool.
5. To finish the feature, right-click and click Finish, or press the F2 key.
6. On the Edit tab, in the Manage Edits group, click Save
Troubleshooting Data
- Certify that geometries are correct
- For errors where polygons intersect, note the feature IDs of the intersecting polygons in the error and correct any potential intersects associated with said feature IDs.
- Check the projected coordinate system to ensure it matches with the original data and that it is displayed over the correct locations
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Terms or Data |
Meanings, Explanations, Technical Information |
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Feature Class |
Feature classes are homogeneous collections of common features, each having the same spatial representation (such as points, lines, or polygons) and a common set of attributes |
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File Geodatabase |
A file geodatabase is a collection of files in a folder on disk that can store, query, and manage spatial and nonspatial data |
For more information, see: