Grouping features using subtypes

Subtypes provide a way to group features in a feature class or objects in a nonspatial table into subsets that share the same set of attributes.

Subtypes are useful because they allow you to group similar features without creating a new feature class. For example, you could group parcels into residential, commercial, and agricultural subtypes and associate different attribute domains with each group.

Why use subtypes when you could just create multiple feature classes? The main reason to use subtypes is performance. A geodatabase with a dozen feature classes that have subtypes will perform better (e.g., faster queries) than a geodatabase with a hundred feature classes. Subtypes also make editing data faster and more accurate because you can set up default attribute values and domains.

There are some situations, however, when subtypes can't be used. For example, if you're working with a multiuser geodatabase and different access privileges are required for different groups of features, then each group must be stored in a separate feature class. Similarly, when some features are to be accessed through versions and some are not, you must create separate feature classes.

Subtype Functionality
ArcView	Display subtypes
ArcEditor/ArcInfo	Create, edit, and use subtypes