An overview of the Attachments toolset

The Attachments toolset contains tools for managing geodatabase attachments. The attachments functionality provides a powerful way to associate nongeographic data with your geographic information. With these geoprocessing tools you can more easily incorporate attachments into your workflows and automate the process of adding and removing attachments.

Some common use cases for attachments are:

• Attaching picture files to geographic features (pictures represent conditions at a specific time)
• Attaching HTML documents to table records
• Attaching reports or graphs that provide additional information about features (for example, a profile graph created by a line-of-sight analysis for a waypoint or track)

Learn more about working with the Attachments geoprocessing tools

License:

The tools in the Attachments toolset require an ArcGIS for Desktop Standard or Advanced license.

Tool	Description
Add Attachments	Adds file attachments to the records of a geodatabase feature class or table. The attachments are stored internally in the geodatabase in a separate attachment table that maintains linkage to the target dataset. Attachments are added to the target dataset using a match table that dictates for each input record (or an attribute group of records) the path to a file to add as an attachment to that record.
Disable Attachments	Disables attachments on a geodatabase feature class or table. Deletes the attachment relationship class and attachment table. Learn more about geodatabase attachmentsLearn more about working with the Attachments geoprocessing tools
Enable Attachments	Enables attachments on a geodatabase feature class or table. Creates the necessary attachment relationship class and attachment table that will internally store attachment files.
Generate Attachment Match Table	ArcGIS geoprocessing tool that creates a match table to be used with the Add Attachments and Remove Attachment tools.
Remove Attachments	Removes attachments from geodatabase feature class or table records. Since attachments are not actually stored in the input dataset, no changes will be made to that feature class or table, but rather to the related geodatabase table that stores the attachments and maintains linkage with the input dataset. A match table is used to identify which input records (or attribute groups of records) will have attachments removed.

Tools in the Attachments toolset