A quick tour of registering tables with the geodatabase

Data that you create or add to your ArcSDE geodatabase using ArcGIS Desktop software is automatically registered with ArcSDE and the geodatabase.

If instead you create spatial or nonspatial tables in the database management system (DBMS) using structured query language (SQL) or import data using the ArcSDE application programming interface (API), the tables may not be registered with ArcSDE, and they will not be registered with the geodatabase.

In most cases, to use the table with ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Engine, or ArcGIS Server, you must register it with both ArcSDE and the geodatabase. However, you do have different registration options, which vary depending on whether the table is spatial (contains a geometry column; can be vector or raster data) or not. The following table indicates what functionality exists for tables depending on how they are registered:

Table type	Not registered with ArcSDE or the geodatabase	Registered only with the geodatabase	Registered only with ArcSDE	Registered with both ArcSDE and the geodatabase
Nonspatial tables	Can be previewed in ArcCatalog Can be added to ArcMap to participate in joins or relates	Same functionality as a nonregistered table plus can participate in relationship classes and use subtypes, domains, and validation rules Cannot be edited in ArcGIS or registered as versioned	Same functionality as nonregistered table plus can be edited (nonversioned) in ArcMap and registered as versioned* Cannot use subtypes, domains, validation rules, or relationship classes	Full geodatabase functionality is available.
Spatial tables	Can be added to ArcMap as a query layer	Not possible; must be registered with ArcSDE before registering with the geodatabase	Can be previewed in ArcCatalog Can be registered as versioned* Can be added to ArcMap as a query layer	Full geodatabase functionality is available.

*Registering a table as versioned automatically registers it with the geodatabase.