In ArcGIS, a stand-alone table contains attribute data but does not have any associated spatial features. The term stand-alone refers to this lack of association, whereas an attribute table displays the attributes of its associated geographic features.
Learn about attribute tables in ArcGIS Pro
Because stand-alone tables are not associated with geographic features by default, many interactions with stand-alone tables in ArcGIS Pro involve creating a layer from the table, or creating a join or relate to the table. When a stand-alone table is selected in the Contents pane of a map or scene, the Standalone Table tab appears in the ribbon. This tab includes tools that help you visualize and interact with your stand-alone table, including creating a layer from the table or establishing a join.
The unique capabilities of stand-alone tables in maps and scenes are discussed below. Like other tabular data, you can interact with stand-alone table views as well as perform statistical analysis, make charts, and filter data.
Add and organize stand-alone tables in a map or scene
When added to a map or scene, stand-alone tables are listed in the Contents pane under the Standalone Tables group header.
Follow these steps to add a stand-alone table to a map or scene view:
- Open a catalog view or the Catalog pane, if not already open.
- Navigate to a location in your folder directory containing the table.
- Right-click the table and click Open Table
, or drag the table to the Contents pane of the map or scene.
After it is added to the Contents pane, you can select, copy, and paste stand-alone tables within the pane and into other maps and scenes.
Group stand-alone tables with layers
Stand-alone tables can be moved into a group layer in the Contents pane and re-ordered with other tables or layers in the group layer.
Follow these steps to group stand-alone tables with other layers.
- Choose a stand-alone table in the Contents pane to highlight it. Hold Ctrl and highlight any other tables or layers you want to group with the stand-alone table.
- Right-click the selection of tables and layers, and choose Group
.The stand-alone tables appears as a sublayer with the other tables and layers in the map's drawing order.
You can also click and drag a stand-alone table into an existing group layer to move it into the group layer.
Remove stand-alone tables
Follow these steps to remove one or more stand-alone tables from a map or scene.
- Choose a stand-alone table in the Contents pane to highlight it.
- Right-click the table, or a selection of tables, and choose Remove
. You cannot remove a table and layer simultaneously.
Create a layer from a stand-alone table
Many workflows with stand-alone tables in ArcGIS Pro involve creating a layer from the data in the table. Depending on the structure of the data, you can create geographic features from your table.
If your stand-alone table contains coordinate data (in x,y format), you can add the data as a feature layer. If you do not want to save the data in another format, you can also use the Make XY Event Layer tool to create a temporary layer from your stand-alone table. In both cases, stand-alone tables with z-coordinates can be added to scenes as 3D content.
If your stand-alone table contains address information, you can build a layer by geocoding the addresses.
Save a stand-alone table as a layer file
A stand-alone table can be saved as a layer file (*.lyrx). This is useful if you need to review or edit the file's definition in a text editor or share the file in a different format. Follow these steps to save a stand-alone table as a layer file:
- Choose a stand-alone table in the Contents pane to highlight it.
- On the Share tab, in the Save As group, click Layer File
. - In the Save Layer File dialog box, browse to a location and type a name for the stand-alone table layer file.
- Click Save.
Stand-alone tables can also be shared as a hosted table or map image layer that references registered data to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise.