Creating a personal geodatabase

Creating a new personal geodatabase involves creating an .mdb file on disk. This can be done using ArcCatalog, the Catalog window in ArcMap, or geoprocessing tools.

How to create a new personal geodatabase using ArcCatalog or the Catalog window in ArcMap

Steps:

1. Right-click the file folder in the Catalog tree where you want to create the new personal geodatabase.
2. Point to New.
3. Click Personal Geodatabase.

   A new personal geodatabase is created in the location you selected.

4. Type a new name for this personal geodatabase and press ENTER.

Tip:

Personal geodatabases that correspond to older releases of ArcGIS can be created by using the Create Personal GDB geoprocessing tool. This ability will facilitate sharing data with users who have older releases of ArcGIS, since older releases of ArcGIS may not be able to open newer releases of the geodatabase. For more information on this, see Client and geodatabase compatibility.