Remove red exclamation points and relocate an ArcMap data source

Summary

Instructions provided describe how to remove red exclamation points and relocate an ArcMap data source. When data has been relocated after the creation of an ArcMap .mxd, relative path names no longer work. A red exclamation point appears next to the feature classes in the ArcMap table of contents.

Note:
The content in this article pertains to ArcGIS versions 9.x only. Later versions of ArcGIS may contain different functionality, as well as different names and locations for menus, commands and geoprocessing tools.

Procedure

Follow the steps below.

1. Right-click the layer with the red exclamation mark.
2. Click Data > Set Data Source.
3. Navigate to the location of the data.
4. Click Add.

Note:
All other data that has been moved from the same .mxd and is relocated in the same folder is updated automatically.