File Icons

Polylineshapefile_polyline-display GeodatabaseFeatureClassLine32-displayA spatial file. Contains only polylines.
Green= shapefile; Blue= feature class
Polygonshapefile_polygon-display GeodatabaseFeatureClassPolygon32-displayA spatial file. Contain only polygons.
Green= shapefile; Blue= feature class
Pointshapefile_point-display GeodatabaseFeatureClassPoint32-displayA spatial file. Contains only points.
Green= shapefile; Blue= feature class
Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)TINFile32-displayA vector representation of elevation over a landscape
Network DatasetFileNetworkDataset32-display GeodatabaseNetworkDataset32-displayNetwork Datasets are used to create complex analysis of transportation networks utilizing detailed attributes regarding how each feature interacts with the others.
Green= outside geodatabase;Black= inside geodatabase
Raster (Image file)FileRasterGridBand32-display raster_geodb-displayAny image file. May or may not be associated with spatial data.
Yellow= outside geodatabase; Blue= inside geodatabase
GeodatabaseEditingUnselectedGeodatabase32-displayThe biggest “container” for spatial data. Can contain vector or raster data.
Feature DatasetFeaturedataseticon-displayA container for similar vector files. Can contain points, lines, or polygons (not rasters).
Raster Catalograster_catalog-displayCollections of rasters which are organized and defined by a key. Can not contain vectors.
TopologyGeodatabaseTopology32-displayA GIS topology is a set of rules and behaviors that model how points, lines, and polygons share coincident geometry.
Excel TableExceltableicon-displayExcel table. Contains non-spatial data. Often is ‘joined’ or ‘related’ to spatial data.
Other Data Table (various kinds)Tableicon-display TableINFO32-displayTables without the specific .xls file extension. May contain non-spatial numeric or text data, or may contain numeric data associated with a spatial object. Tables are not specifically spatial, but often make up a crucial part of spatial data.
Other Icons
Text FileText_File32-displayText files are used for any sort of textual or paragraph data storage, such asmetadata(information about the spatial data) or methods/other notes. While ArcGIS can read text files, they do not serve any sort of analysis purpose for us.