ArcGIS Pro

Get Started with Joins

Attribute Joins

Learn More about Attribute Joins

An attribute join is used to append the fields of one table to another based on a common field. In order for an attribute join to work, the common field needs to be the same field type (e.g., string, numeric, etc.) and have identical formatting. The column names do not need to match in order for the attribute join to work.

For example, an attribute join could be used on the following fields (FIPS and ct10_id) to help append American Community Survey data to a shapefile showing Massachusetts census tracts. The column names don't match, but the fields have identical formatting and the same field type (text). Once the attribute join is complete, the variables from the appended American Community Survey table can be visualized on the map by census tract.
          

There are multiple ways to create an attribute join in ArcGIS Pro. 

• Option 1: The Joins and Relate toolset includes tools that can be used to create a one-to-one attribute join. It also include tools to create a one-to-many or a many-to-many relate based on a common field. Go to the Analysis tab > Tools to open the Geoprocessing toolbox. Search for specific tools by name or use the browse feature to see all of the available tools by toolset.
  
   
• Option 2: Right-click the geospatial boundary file (e.g., MA census tracts) in the Contents pane, then go to Joins and Relates > Add Join. This will open the Add Join tool, which will let you select your input and target tables, the join fields, the features you'd like to retain, etc. When creating an attribute join, the spatial layer (e.g., MA census tracts) should be selected as the input layer and the standalone table should be selected as the join layer. 
  
   

Note: When you first create an attribute join, it's a temporary in-memory process. You will need to export your joined layer as a new feature layer in order to make the changes permanent. Right-click the joined layer's name in the Contents pane. Then go to Data > Export Features to export your joined data as a new feature layer.

Spatial Join

A spatial join uses geographic proximity to combine two or more spatial features on a map. A spatial join can visualize target features that intersect, completely contain, fall within a specified distance, etc. of the join features. 

Modify Field Types

ArcGIS Pro includes multiple tools that can help users convert field types and auto-populate field values. These tools can be used if the fields needed for an attribute join aren't the same field type and need to be converted to a matching field type in order for the attribute join to work.

Add Field

The Add Field and Calculate Field (Data Management) tools can be used to add a new field to a vector or raster layer's attribute table then calculate the values for the field. The Add Field tool can be used to specify a field name, type, precision, alias, and domain.
 

Data Engineering

The Data Engineering tools in ArcGIS Pro can also be used to convert field types or perform other data cleanup for an attribute or spatial join.