View data from a database in ArcGIS

You can view the data in your database tables by dragging them from the Catalog window in ArcMap to the map.

ArcGIS follows these rules when working with data:

• Data types that do not map to an ArcGIS data type will not appear in ArcGIS.
• Feature classes must contain one spatial reference and one type of geometry: either points, lines, or polygons. ArcGIS determines the spatial reference and geometry type from the table metadata or from the first row. If the spatial reference cannot be determined, you will be prompted to provide spatial reference information. Only features of that type and spatial reference will be displayed.
• Feature classes can contain only one spatial column. ArcGIS uses the first spatial column it encounters, reading the feature class table from left to right.
• ArcGIS does not place delimiters around table and field names. Tables with names or field names that require delimiters cannot be displayed in the map. See Database data and ArcGIS for more information.
• Features must pass ArcGIS geometry validation.

The following steps describe how you can view your data in ArcMap:

1. Start ArcMap, open the Catalog window, and connect to your database.

   You see a list of tables to which you have access in the database. Tables that contain a spatial column (feature classes) have a table icon with a square at the bottom .

2. Click the table in the Catalog tree to select it.

   If the data contains a spatial column, double-click the table to connect to it. The icon changes to reflect the geometry type that ArcMap has determined is stored in the table.

3. To view the data, drag the table from the Catalog window to the table of contents or the map.
4. If ArcMap cannot determine some of the information necessary to display the feature class, the New Query Layer dialog box will open to allow you to define the missing information. Click Finish when you have provided the required information.
5. If you dragged in a feature class, ArcMap calculates the spatial extent of the data.
   • If the feature class does not contain a large number of features, let ArcMap complete its calculation; it likely will not take long and will be more accurate.
   • If you are adding a feature class that contains a lot of features, though, extent calculation can take awhile. If you know the extent of the data or want to use the extent of your spatial reference instead of waiting for ArcMap to calculate the extent, you can do so. Click the appropriate button on the Calculate Extent dialog box. If you click Input Extent, you must type a valid extent that includes all the features in the table. If you click Use Spatial Reference Extent, the data extent is set to the full extent of the spatial reference of the feature class.

   The feature class (or table) is listed in the table of contents and spatial data is drawn on the map.

6. To see the attribute data in both feature classes and tables, right-click the table in the table of contents and click Open.

If you need to change what data is displayed, open the query layer definition and change the properties or query. See Modify a query layer for information on changing the properties and definition of a query layer.