topic Re: 1:M join not working in ArcGIS Pro Questions

1:M join not working

dsinha — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:08:37 GMT

Hello,

I am trying to do a 1:M join between a spatial layer (parcels) with a table (rental data). The table has multiple records related to same parcel. The join fields in both are indexed and they are in the same FGDB.

However, the join operation is only resulting in 1:1 joins and only the first record in the table is getting joined to the parcel layer.

Not sure what I am doing wrong. Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Deb.

Re: 1:M join not working

CodyPatterson — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:16:16 GMT

Hey @dsinha

I'm seeing in this post here it may be the format of the table, either missing OBJECTIDs or possibly it not being a GDB table, I would try these conversions to see if you're able to get it that way!

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-questions/add-join-will-not-create-a-1-m-join/m-p/1104050#M46248

Cody

Re: 1:M join not working

dsinha — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:59:22 GMT

Hi @CodyPatterson, I did see that post. It is a GDB table and both have OBJECTIDs.

I tried an experiment. I joined the table to the spatial layer (which always worked), and copied over the join field from the feature layer to the table (even though they are both same). Then I redid the original join (spatial layer to the table) and it worked!

Re: 1:M join not working

CodyPatterson — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:13:06 GMT

Hey @dsinha

Great work! Thank you for sharing your solution as well!

Cody

Re: 1:M join not working

RTPL_AU — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 06:01:52 GMT

Hi @dsinha

I've experienced more issues with Joins in Pro 3.5 than before. Sometimes just closing/restarting Pro and opening the project again will make the Join work. It's not always possible to edit/change the source data so knowing it may start working after a restart can be handy.

Keep an eye on definition queries using a mix of fields from the joined datasets. Make sure the results you get are what you expect.

Re: 1:M join not working

dsinha — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 13:20:22 GMT

Hi @RTPL_AU, we are using 3.2 but planning to upgrade to Pro 3.5 soon, so I will keep your suggestions in mind.

I have always found joins to be a buggy feature in Pro. I used to be a GIS instructor, and join exercises were always tricky (it would work as expected for one student and not for the other).