Lesson 2: Analyze Data With External Information Using Joins

Join the parcels layer to a Microsoft Access database that contains owner information.

To connect to an Access database from AutoCAD Map 3D toolset, first set up an ODBC connection for that database using a control panel in Windows. Then, connect to this source using Data Connect, just as you connected to the physical data sources in your map. The only difference is that you do not add the ODBC data to the map because it has no spatial properties.

The database source contains a field that you can match to a field in the Parcels layer. You can join the data to the parcels and style or analyze all the resulting data seamlessly.