HOW TO

Create a raster catalog table in a geodatabase in 8.x

Last Published: October 1, 2025

Summary

Instructions provided describe how to create a raster catalog in a geodatabase. Raster catalogs are supported in the file system and in geodatabases.

Procedure

Select a procedure below.

ArcGIS 8.x

Create a table for the raster catalog in the geodatabase where all the rasters are stored. The table must have at least the following five fields: IMAGE, XMIN, YMIN, XMAX, and YMAX. The format for the IMAGE field is:

Code:
[<database>].<owner>.<raster_name>

Where:

[<database>] - name of the database in the ArcSDE/RDBMS. This is not
required for certain RDBMS (ie. Oracle).

<owner> - name of owner of the files.

<raster_name> - name of the individual raster.

The IMAGE name field should be a string type, and the extent fields can be any integer or float numeric type.

You are able also able to create a raster catalog (.dbf file) by using the 'Create Raster Catalog From a Directory' sample script on the Raster section of the ArcObjectsOnline webpage (https://arcobjectsonline.esri.com/).

ArcGIS 9.0

For details on creating the table in a geodatabase (ArcGIS 9.0 and above), see the online help under:

Working with geodatabases > Creating new items in geodatabases > Creating tables > How to create tables > Creating a table to store simple objects.

Note:
All the rasters in a raster catalog must be in the same geodatabase connection.

Article ID: 000003184

Software:
  • ArcMap 8 x
  • ArcMap 9 x

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