Creating a Project File Geodatabase using ArcCatalog in ArcMap 10.2

CLICK ON THIS LINK AND WATCH THE VIDEO DEMO

Task
To create a geodatabase for a project using ArcCatalog.
The project objective is to digitize parcels, streets and trees on an image of a layout to produce a geodatabase.

In ArcGIS, the simple hierarchal structure for arranging datasets in a geodatabase is thus:
File/Personal Geodatabase > Feature Dataset > Feature classes

Procedure

Click catalog label to the far right of the screen or Click on the ArcCatalog icon on the menu bar if the catalog label is not present on the far right. .In the catalog window- Connect the Project Folder to the Catalog Tree using the Connect Folder tool (see icon in red box).Our Project Folder from C drive is –Making a ArcCatalog geodatabase



To start building the Geodatabase- Right Click on the Project Folder- Making a ArcCatalog geodatabase > New > File Geodatabase

The File Geodatabase appears under the Folder. Double Click on it and rename it.The name the demo used is –Layout Geodatabase (blue highlight).

Following the hierarcy, the next step is the Feature Dataset. A Feature Dataset houses different type of Feature classes that share the same geographic extent and source.
Right Click on the File Geodatabase > New > Feature Dataset


A dialog window will open. Fill in the name of the Feature dataset- Layout_Cadastral for the demo, Click Next, Set the Coordinate Reference System – WGS 1984 for the Demo, the rest of the pages can be left as default and then click Finish.


The Feature dataset (red boxed) is created under the File Geodatabase.


Next is to create our feature classes. Taking a cursory look at the image, the demo will represent the trees as points, Land parcels as polygons and the unpaved streets as lines.
The feature classes- Trees, Parcels and Streets will be created in the Layout Feature dataset as they all share the same geographic extents.
Right Click on the Feature dataset- Layout > New > Feature Class

In the dialog window there are pages. Name the Feature Class- Parcels, and select the feature type by clicking the drop down button and picking polygon from the list. Click Next- For the Parcels feature class, we will require a field to record the Plot numbers. Click on the empty row under field name, type in Plot_No and for Data type, choose Short integer from drop down list. Click Finish to create the Feature class- Parcels.


The Parcels feature class is added as a layer on the Table of Contents and also appears as a subset of the Layout_Cadastral feature dataset (See on the catalog window).

Next is to create the Street feature class
Right Click on the Feature dataset > New > Feature Class
The New Feature Class window will open. Fill in the name- Streets, and choose Line Feature from the drop down list. Click Next, and for the demo, the streets will have an additional field for their names. So we fill in Street_name in an empty row under Field Name and corresponding Data type is Text. Click Finish to create the Feature Class- Streets.

The Streets feature class is added as a layer on the Table of Contents and as a subset under the Feature dataset- Layout_Cadastral.

Repeat the same process to create the Feature Class- Trees (this is a point feature). After creating the Feature Class, it should be a subset of the same Feature dataset as seen in the catalog window highlighted in blue.


The Project – Making a ArcCatalog Geodatabase now has a File geodatabase- Layout Geodatabase > Feature dataset- Layout_Cadastral > Feature Classes- Parcels, Streets and Trees.  See all in the red box in the Catalog window.