Note: This topic was updated for 9.3.1.

NOTE: Although relationship classes can be both created and edited in ArcInfo and ArcEditor, they are read-only in ArcView. The feature classes participating in a relationship class will also be read-only in ArcView.

Any relationship class—whether simple or composite, of any particular cardinality—can have attributes. Relationship classes with attributes are stored in a table in the database. This table contains at least the foreign key to the origin feature class or table and the foreign key to the destination feature class or table.

An attributed relationship can also contain any other attribute. The example in this subtask shows how to create a simple relationship between a feature class that stores water laterals and a feature class that stores hydrants.

Water lateral objects have their own attributes, and hydrant objects have their own attributes. The relationship class in this example describes which water laterals feed which hydrants. Because you want to store some kind of information about that relationship—such as the type of riser connecting the two—you can store this information as attributes in the relationship class.

Learn more about creating a simple relationship class.

Learn more about creating a composite relationship class.

1. In the ArcCatalog tree, right-click the geodatabase or feature dataset in which you want to create the new relationship class.
2. Point to New.
3. Click Relationship Class.
4. Type the name for the new relationship class.
5. Click the Origin table or feature class.
6. Click the Destination table or feature class.
7. Click Next.
8. Click Simple (peer-to-peer) relationship.
9. Click Next.
10. Type the forward and backward path labels.
11. Click the message notification direction.
12. Click Next.
13. Click the first cardinality option. In this example, an owner can own a single parcel and a parcel can be owned by a single owner, so this is a one-to-one (1:1) relationship.
14. Click Next.
15. Click the first option to add attributes to the relationship class.
16. Click Next.
17. To add a field, click the next row in the Field Name column, then type a name.
18. Click in the Data Type field next to the new field's name, then click its data type.
19. Set the new field's properties in the dialog box below.
20. Repeat steps 17 through 19 until all the relationship class's fields have been defined.
21. Click Next.
22. Click the drop-down arrow to see a list of fields from the Origin table or feature class. Click the primary key for this feature class or table.
23. Type the name of the foreign key field for the Origin table or feature class.
24. Click the drop-down arrow to see a list of fields from the Destination table or feature class. Click the primary key for this feature class or table.
25. Type the name of the foreign key field for the Destination table or feature class.
26. Click Next.
27. Review the options you specified for your new relationship class. If you want to change something, you can go back through the wizard by clicking Back.
28. When satisfied with your options, click Finish to create the new relationship class.

Tip In an attributed relationship, the Relationship table must have fields that act as foreign keys to the Origin and Destination feature classes or tables. These foreign keys relate to the primary keys on the Origin and Destination feature class or table primary keys.