Anatomy
of a subtype
You create
subtypes for a feature class or nonspatial table in ArcCatalog. You must have an ArcEditor
or ArcInfo license to create subtypes. You cannot
create subtypes with ArcView.
Subtypes are a property of a
feature class. Here, three subtypes have been created for a feature class
called Country_lanes. The subtypes are associated
with the Lane_Type field.
Subtypes
are defined using a code and a description. The subtype codes for a feature
class are stored in the designated subtype field in the feature class table.
The subtype codes are stored in the
subtype field in the feature class table.
When you
add a feature class that has subtypes to ArcMap, the
subtypes display automatically in the Table of Contents with their descriptive
names.
The three subtypes in the Country_lanes layer display in the ArcMap
Table of Contents with unique symbology.