FAQ: Where is the 'Add OLE DB Connection' Command in ArcGIS Desktop 10.1?

Answer

Connections to tables in supported databases can be made through Database Connections in ArcGIS 10.1. (See the ArcGIS 10.1 RDBMS system requirements link in Related Information for supported databases.)

To connect to other tabular, non-spatial data sources, use the 'Add OLE DB Connection' command. At version 10.1, this command is no longer displayed under Database Connections in the Catalog tree view in ArcCatalog or in the ArcMap Catalog window.

The 'Add OLE DB Connection' command can be added to an ArcCatalog toolbar using the following procedure:

1. Start ArcCatalog.

2. On the Customize menu, click Customize Mode and click the Commands tab.

3. In the Categories list, select ArcCatalog, and the Add OLE DB Connection command appears in the Commands list.
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4. Drag this command onto a toolbar, such as the Standard toolbar in ArcCatalog. The tool icon is a cylinder representing a database.

5. Close the Customize dialog box to activate the command. Clicking the tool icon displays the Data Link Properties dialog box as it did in earlier versions of ArcGIS.

6. The icon can be changed from a cylinder to another image, if desired.

a) In ArcCatalog, open the Customize Mode dialog box (just leave the dialog open without doing anything in it).
b) On the toolbar containing the tool, right-click the tool icon, and click Change Button Image.
c) Select a different icon.
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