An overview of adding datasets to the geodatabase

There are several ways to add datasets to a geodatabase using ArcMap and the Catalog tree:

• Creating new datasets—You can create new datasets in the Catalog tree.
• Copy and Paste—You can copy a dataset and paste it into another location.
• Importing datasets—You can import datasets into a geodatabase.
• Exporting datasets—You can export a dataset directly to a geodatabase or to an XML workspace or XML recordset.
• Loading data—You can load data into an existing table or feature class using the Simple Data Loader from the Catalog tree, the ArcMap Object Loader, or via XML recordset and XML workspace documents.

ArcGIS for Desktop contains tools that import data from a wide variety of formats into the geodatabase. Here are some of the commonly imported data types and where you can find more information.

Importing data into the geodatabase

External Data Types	Import Tasks
ArcInfo Workstation coverages	Importing coverage feature classes Importing INFO tables Loading data into existing geodatabase feature classes and tables Importing coverage annotation
Esri shapefiles	Importing shapefiles Importing dBASE tables Loading shapefile data into existing geodatabase feature classes and tables
Computer-aided drafting (CAD) files	Importing CAD entities into feature classes Importing tiled CAD datasets Loading CAD data into existing geodatabase feature classes Importing CAD text into geodatabase annotations
Raster files	Importing raster files Mosaicking raster datasets Creating raster datasets in a geodatabase

Importing data into the Geodatabase