A possible way around it is to create a new feature layer where you join the attribute table of your layer to the hyperlinks table, in essence creating new features for each hyperlink record. Some features will overlap since you have many hyperlinks per feature. You could then make your new hyperlink layer features transparent in your map. When a user uses the hyperlinks tool they will only see the blue feature layers, which when selected will give you a list of which hyperlinks at that particular location. Hopefully you get the gist.
This won't work because of the one-to-many relationship. You could use the Make Query Table tool to handle the join instead. It will multiply the feature geometry for as many table records that exist. Read the help for it here.
A relate works with the Identify tool to access the hyperlink fields if you enable all hyperlinks in the options of ArcMap. You have to expand the relate tree to get at the hyperlink field, so it is a few clicks, but the records can be sorted on a Display field, which I like better than the hyperlink tool.
How do you enable hyperlink fields in layer properties?
Fields in the related table are not listed in the drop down menu.
I didn't manage to get this working! the "lightning bolt" of the hyperlinks doesn't even light on! I can see the correct field in the identify window but it isn't highlighted and it doesn't work.. the field is text type, I am storing relative path names so I did wrote the hyperlink base in the map document properties, the arcmap options are the same of rfairhur24's images..
what did I do wrong?
please help!
I don't know if Relative Paths works for hyperlinks. As far as I know the URL has to make sense to the browser or application apart from any settings in ArcMap. So you should try pasting the link directly into the application or browser and see if it works. Adjust it until it does work. I always put the full URL or File path, although I try to use domain names rather than mapped drive letters to try to keep the link from breaking when servers retire and to make it more universal across computers in my domain.