What is the name of a field in a table that relates to the identifier in another table?

Renaming fields

You can rename fields in a table or feature class on the Fields tab on the Properties dialog box. Fields in a geodatabase from the ArcGIS 10 release and later support renaming, and fields in database tables can be renamed.

To rename a field, right-click the feature class or table in the Catalog tree and click Properties. Click the Fields tab to see a list of fields in that table or feature class. Click the text of the field you want to rename and type a new name. Click OK to apply your changes and close the Properties dialog box.

The following fields cannot be renamed:

• ObjectID and globalID fields
• Any shape-related field; Shape, shape length, shape area
• The enabled, ancillary role or network weight fields of a network feature class
• Representation fields
• Fields in a feature class participating in a network dataset, terrain, or parcel fabric
• Fields used for editor tracking
• Relationship class primary key and foreign key fields
• The subtype field
• Raster fields

Field name rules and limitations

The following table lists the supported field name character rules:

Character	Start of name	Other position	In alias
Letters (A–Z)
Underscore ( _ )
Digits (0–9)
Spaces
Symbols (other than underscore)
Superscript letters and digits
Subscript letters and digits

Additional field name rules and limitations are as follows:

• Field names cannot contain reserved words, such as all or result.

  Consult your database management system (DBMS) documentation for additional reserved words.

• The length of field (column) names depends on the underlying database.

  See File geodatabase size and name limits or Database data and ArcGIS for more information about database-specific limitations.

Field aliases

Field aliases allow you to assign an alternate name for a field. You typically use field names that are as short as possible to convey what data is stored in that field. You also cannot use spaces or special characters in the field name, and as shown above, certain fields appear in the table with their fully qualified names. In these cases, you can use a field alias to give the field a more descriptive name. For example, if you have a field named ST_SUFX that stores the type of street, which is indicated by the suffix used on the street name, you can give this field an alias of Street name suffix.

Learn how to set a field alias

Types of attribute domains

There are two types of attribute domains you can use to restrict field values: coded value domain and range domain.

A coded value domain uses codes to define a set of allowed values for a field that stores discrete data.

You can use a coded value domain for any data type. For the eye color field, you could create a coded domain using one of the following example code sets:

• Example 1
  • Blk = Black
  • Brn = Brown
  • Blu = Blue
  • Grn = Green
  • Hzl = Hazel
  • Gra = Gray
  • Vlt = Violet

• Example 2
  • 1 = Black
  • 2 = Brown
  • 3 = Blue
  • 4 = Green
  • 5 = Hazel
  • 6 = Gray
  • 7 = Violet

A range domain defines a range of allowed numeric values for a field.

The field must be a numeric or date data type to use a range domain. For example, you can apply a range domain to a field that stores data on birth weights for single live births of western lowland gorillas in zoos. The range can run from the lowest weight (1 kg) to the highest (2.5 kg).

For additional information on attribute domains, see A quick tour of attribute domains.

To learn how to create an attribute domain, see Creating a new attribute range domain and Creating a new coded value domain.

1. Ensure that the field to which the subtype will be applied is a short or long integer field. If it is not, add a short or long integer field to the table or feature class. In most cases, short integer should suffice. However, if there is any possibility your subtype values will exceed 32,767, use a long integer field.

   For example, for a feature class of rivers, you can add a short integer field named Watershed to create subtypes based on the watershed to which the river contributes.

2. On the Subtypes tab of the Properties dialog box for the table or feature class, specify the subtype field by choosing it from the first drop-down list.

   For the rivers example, choose the Watershed field from the Subtype Field list.

   A new subtype is automatically added to the Subtypes table. This default subtype has a code of 0 and a description of New Subtype.

3. Double-click in each of these fields and type the subtype code and description.

   For example, change the first code to 1 and the description to the name of the first watershed.

4. Optionally continue adding subtype codes and descriptions to the Subtypes table.

   In the field below code 1, you could add a code 2 with a corresponding watershed name in the Description field, and below that, add a code 3 with a corresponding watershed name, and so on, until you have created codes and descriptions for all the watersheds represented in your rivers feature class.

5. To specify different default values or domains per subtype, click a subtype in the Subtypes list. In the Default Values and Domains list, optionally type a default value for any of the fields in the list. To apply a coded or attribute domain to fields in the list, click in the Domain field and choose a domain from the drop-down list. If no domains exist, create one by clicking the Domains button at the bottom of the Properties dialog box, which takes you to the Workspace Domains dialog box.

   The default values and domains you specify apply only to the subtype you chose from the Subtypes list. If you click another subtype in the Subtypes list, the default values and domains are either empty (if you haven't specified default values and domains for this subtype) or contain different values.