Related Objects

You can use ArcFM to establish relationships between features, between features and objects, and between objects in your geodatabase. To do so, a relationship class must exist for each type of relationship. Information about creating a relationship class is available in the ArcFM Solution Configuration Guide.

There are multiple methods for creating a relationship between features, objects, or between features and objects:

Add Related Object: Associate related features or objects with a feature or object before it is placed on the map.
Create Related Object: Create a new feature or object and relate it to an existing feature or object.
Locate and Relate Object: Uses the Locator tool to search for an existing feature or object and relate it to a selected feature or object in the map.

Cardinality: All relationships are created with cardinality rules (e.g., one to one, one to many, many to many). ArcFM respects this cardinality when establishing relationships between features. For example, a user may wish to related a Support Structure and a Transformer:

One to One: Only one Support Structure may be assigned to one Transformer and vice versa. ArcFM allows neither multiple Support Structures on a single Transformer nor multiple Transformers on a single Support Structure.

One to Many: Assume the cardinality is set such that one Support Structure can have multiple related Transformers (this is an example; yours may be different). It will not allow multiple Support Structures to be assigned to a single Transformer. ArcFM does not enforce custom business rules regarding cardinality (e.g., the specific number of Transformers that may be assigned to a Support Structure).