Is it possible to enable or add attachments to a geodatabase feature class?

Answer

Note:
This article applies to ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Pro Basic license level users only.

Note:
ArcMap is in Mature support and will be retired March 1, 2026. There are no plans for future releases of ArcMap, and it is recommended that you migrate to ArcGIS Pro. See Migrate from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro for more information.

With a Basic license in ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro, it is not possible to enable or add attachments to a geodatabase feature class or table. An ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro Standard or Advanced license is required when using the Attachments toolset. The Basic license only allows users to view and read the attachments.

When enabling attachments, ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro creates a new table to contain the attachment files and a new relationship class to relate the features to files. Relationship classes are used to maintain linkage when using the tools in the Attachment toolset, and relationship classes can only be created with Standard or Advanced licenses. Thus, only users with a Standard or Advanced license can enable or add attachments.

In ArcGIS Online, if the attachments are allowed when exporting data to geodatabase feature classes, neither the feature geometry nor attributes are editable in ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro.

Note:
From ArcGIS Pro 3.3 onwards, it is possible to enable or add attachments with an ArcGIS Pro Basic license.

Note:
Users with the appropriate licensing level can enable attachments by using ArcCatalog or running the Enable Attachments tool.