SQL Server data types supported in ArcGIS
When you create a table or add a column to a table in the database, columns are created as a specific data type. Data types are classifications that identify possible values for and operations that can be done on the data, as well as the way the data in that column is stored in the database.
When you access database tables from ArcGIS, you can work with specific data types. When accessing the database table through the Database Connections node in the Catalog tree or through a query layer in ArcMap, ArcGIS filters out any unsupported data types. If you access your database table directly, unsupported data types won't be displayed in the ArcGIS interface and you cannot edit them through ArcGIS. Similarly, when you copy tables containing unsupported data types with ArcGIS, it will only copy the supported data types; when you paste the table to another database or a geodatabase, the unsupported data type columns will not be present.
When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS or add a column to an existing table or feature class using ArcGIS, there are 12 possible ArcGIS data types that can be assigned to a field. Database data types that don't correspond to these types cannot be used directly in ArcGIS client applications.
The first column lists the ArcGIS data types. The second column lists the SQL Server data type that will be created in the database. The third column shows what other SQL Server data types (if any) map to the ArcGIS data type when viewed in ArcGIS.
|
ArcGIS data types |
SQL Server data types created | Other SQL Server data types that can be viewed |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
BLOB |
VARBINARY(MAX) | BINARY, IMAGE, TIMESTAMP, VARBINARY(n) |
|
|
DATE |
DATETIME2(7) | DATETIME2(n), DATETIME, SMALLDATETIME |
|
|
DOUBLE |
NUMERIC(p,s) | DECIMAL, FLOAT, MONEY, SMALLMONEY |
The precision and scale specified in ArcGIS can affect the resultant data type created in the database. See ArcGIS field data types for more information. |
|
FLOAT |
NUMERIC(p,s) | REAL |
The precision and scale specified in ArcGIS can affect the resultant data type created in the database. See ArcGIS field data types for more information. |
|
GEOMETRY |
INT, GEOMETRY, GEOGRAPHY | In an enterprise geodatabase, the SQL Server data type that is created depends on the GEOMETRY_STORAGE parameter of the DBTUNE configuration keyword used when the feature class was created. SDEBINARY = INT; GEOMETRY = a GEOMETRY column; GEOGRAPHY = a GEOGRAPHY column. In desktop and workgroup geodatabases, the GEOMETRY type is always used. In a database, you specify whether to use GEOMETRY or GEOGRAPHY when the feature class is created. |
|
GLOBAL ID | UNIQUEIDENTIFIER | Only supported in geodatabases. | |
|
GUID |
UNIQUEIDENTIFIER | ||
|
LONG INTEGER |
INT | ||
|
RASTER |
INT, ST_RASTER |
Raster data types are only supported in geodatabases. In desktop and workgroup geodatabases, rasters are always created as INT data types. In enterprise geodatabases, the SQL Server data type that is created depends on the DBTUNE configuration keyword used when the raster column is created. If the keyword's RASTER_STORAGE parameter is set to BINARY, an INT column is created; if set to ST_RASTER, an ST_Raster column is created. You must separately configure ST_Raster in the enterprise geodatabase if you want to use it. See Installing the ST_Raster type in SQL Server for instructions. |
|
|
OBJECT ID |
INT(4) when created in an enterprise geodatabase INTEGER with IDENTITY property when created in a database | The ArcGIS type ObjectID is the registered row ID column for the table (or feature class.) Only one may exist per table. |
|
|
SHORT INTEGER |
SMALLINT | BIT, TINYINT |
|
|
TEXT |
VARCHAR, NVARCHAR, VARCHAR(MAX), NVARCHAR(MAX) | CHAR, NCHAR |
If you create a VARCHAR or VARCHAR(MAX) field in a SQL Server database, it will be mapped to the ArcGIS TEXT data type when viewed in ArcGIS. If you create a TEXT field in a SQL Server database from ArcGIS, either NVARCHAR or NVARCHAR(MAX) is always used. In an enterprise geodatabase, if the DBTUNE UNICODE_STORAGE parameter is set to FALSE and the text field is 7,999 characters or fewer, VARCHAR is used. If the DBTUNE UNICODE_STORAGE parameter is set to TRUE and the text field is 3,999 characters, NVARCHAR is used. If the DBTUNE UNICODE_STORAGE parameter is set to FALSE and the text field is 8,000 characters or more, VARCHAR(MAX) is used. If the DBTUNE UNICODE_STORAGE parameter is set to TRUE and the text field is 4,000 characters or more, NVARCHAR(MAX) is used. |