The supported data format for time values are described in ArcMap: Supported field formats. When specifying time values in these field data types, the Time field must be specified. Time values can also be stored in string or numeric field types. Avoid using shapefiles for any kind of temporal analysis or date time calculation. The nonsupport of time in Date fields can be a serious limitation for any tool that performs temporal analysis, such as those found in the Space Time Pattern Mining toolbox. In shapefiles, the Date field supports only date, not time. The default format of the Date field is mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss, with a specification of AM or PM. It is recommended to store time values in a Date field, which is a special database field type specifically for storing time and date information. How are Date (time) values stored, and what are the supported formats? * Negative numbers require additional precision to store the negative sign. The following table provides examples on how numeric data can be stored in an enterprise, workgroup, or desktop geodatabase. Numeric values with fractional values within specific range Numeric values without fractional values within specific rangeĦ–10 (Oracle and PostgreSQL) 6–9 (DB2, Informix, Netezza, and SQL Server) Numeric values without fractional values within specific range coded valuesġ–5 (Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Netezza) 5 (DB2, Informix) The table below describes the storable range, applications, precision (field length), scale (decimal places), and size (bytes) for each of the numeric data types. Factors such as range and fractional values must be considered. It is important to select the right numeric data type to store data. Converting numbers for viewing may result in values that are less exact than expected. Values in numeric fields in a geodatabase and shapefile are stored in the binary format. Double (double-precision floating-point numbers).Float (single-precision floating-point numbers).Numeric data can be stored as one of the four data types below. If working with fields in a shapefile, refer to ArcMap: Geoprocessing considerations for shapefile output - Attribute limitations for more information on allowed field types. The allowed field types for shapefiles are: The allowed field types for file geodatabases are:įor more information, refer to ArcMap: ArcGIS field data types. Outlined below are some of the technical definitions and differences in the file format and precision/scale of shapefiles, DBFs, and file geodatabases. To learn more, read ArcMap: Geoprocessing considerations for shapefile output. In general, if working with data outside of ArcGIS, it is recommended to use shapefiles to store data. This is due to general technological improvements in data storage since the creation of the shapefile data model by Esri. To answer this question, it is important to understand the strength and agility of data stored in shapefiles, when compared to file geodatabases (FGDBs). How are item types defined for shapefiles and file geodatabases? FAQ: How are item types defined for shapefiles and file geodatabases? Question