Adding attachments to features

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

You can add and update attachments during an edit session using the Attributes window or table window. To add attachments, attachments functionality must be supported on the feature class or table.

If you want to add multiple files at once, the Add Attachments geoprocessing tool allows you to attach the contents of a folder to one or more features or records. Similarly, the Remove Attachments geoprocessing tool can delete multiple attachments.

Steps:

1. Click the Editor menu on the Editor toolbar and click Start Editing.
2. To use the Attributes window, follow these steps:
   1. Click the Edit tool on the Editor toolbar and click the feature.
   2. Click the Attributes button on the Editor toolbar.
   3. Click the Open Attachment Manager button—the paper clip icon just above the grid of attribute values.
3. To use the table window, right-click the gray cell to the left of the record you want to add attachments to and click Open Attachment Manager.
4. Click the Add button, browse to the file, then click Add.
When a file is attached, the attachment is stored in the geodatabase table and no longer has a linkage to the original source file. If you update the source file, you need to re-add the attachment.
5. Once the attachment has been added, you can do the following:
   • To open the attachment, double-click it or click Open. The attachment is opened using the default Windows application for that file type. If no default application has been specified, you are prompted to choose the application to use when opening that type.
   • To save a copy of a file to disk, click Save As and browse to the location to save the attachment.
   • To save a copy of all the attached files to disk, click Save All and browse to or create the folder in which you want to save the attachments.
   • To remove an attachment, click Remove. This removes the file from the geodatabase. If you need to access the file again later, you need to re-add the attachment from disk.
6. Click OK.