Best way to relate a list of references to a shapefile?

[JessicaRutherford]

Hello 

I am not too sure if this is the forum I should be directing this question to, however I am seeking some advice on what is the best way to create a relationship between a shapefile and another table? Specifically, I have a geodatabase that contains a shapefile of geological Faults and then have a Excel table which contains a list of references specific to each Fault in my database. I have looked to see if in Arcmap tools of Join or Relate could be useful, or if using the Relationship Class and Create attachment tools in Arc Catalogue would be better. 

Basically I am trying to create the same type of database as the US Quaternary Faults interactive Map (link here ArcGIS Web Application) with the associated popups. 

In this application there is a related tables section that has appended the Fault Reference table to each fault (see image below)_. I would like to recreate this, and I am unsure of how to or the best way to do this is? 

If someone could kindly lead me in the right direction I would be grateful.

Thanks

Jessica 

[GarrettSeay1]

Do both tables have a one to one relationship or a one to many?

[JessicaRutherford]

It would be a one to many relationship - i believe. The idea is to use the fault Id (Fault_Name) and link that to the references associated with that fault. The end product is to have this show up on the Interactive Map as seen in the US Fault Maps sent in my original message ArcGIS Web Application 

This is going to be my Fault Database ...

This is the Excel table i would like to be link to each Fault Name...

I hope this helps.

[JessicaRutherford]

Hi Garrett 

Any ideas on which way I should proceed with this? When I look at the US Fault Map they seem to have a common Fault Id that is also linked to the reference_Id. I am hoping to so something link this as well. 

Cheers

jess

[GarrettSeay1]

Jess,

First, I would convert my excel to a table using the Excel to Table tool, just to get it in ESRI format. Excel To Table—Conversion toolbox | ArcGIS Desktop

Then, I would create a relationship class between your shapefile and the new table. Creating a simple relationship class—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop 

Lastly, publish your map as a hosted feature service with the Feature Access option enabled. Publish hosted feature layers—ArcGIS Online Help | Documentation

When you click on Faults then you should be able to see your related records in the popup or in the attribute table.

I found this is how someone did it on stack exchange: How to add table of non-geo data to Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS? - Geographic Information Systems Stac...

Let me know if it works for you.