With this function you can transfer attributes of a source to a destination table or theme by joining them via data fields or spatially via the Shape field (the field attributes of the source are added to the destination table/theme between the records with matching data values or according to the spatial relationship of their features - read Hints to join attributes for more information).

In this dialog you can create joins between tables or themes in a comfortable and quick way (compared to the normal, quite complicated process in ArcView). You just have to select a source and a destination table and select a join field. You can also select several destination tables and create multiple joins in one step. All existing joins of the project are displayed, therefore you can analyze which tables are already joined via which fields. All joins are recorded in a log, thus by choosing two tables, the most likely join fields are proposed automatically.

• Destination Tables: Shows all tables of you project and all themes of the active view that have an attribute table. Select the destination table(s) to which you want to add the attributes of a source table. Tables with existing joins are displayed with an asterisk * behind the name.
• Unjoin: With this button you can remove all joins of the selected destination tables. This is necessary if you want to change existing joins of the destination table (if you create a new join, it will be added to the already existing ones - the table would have multiple joins then).
• Destination Field: Shows the numeric and text fields of all selected destination tables. Select the field which values should be matching with the Source Field. Select the Shape field of themes to create a Spatial Join. You can also use a field that has already been joined from another tables for a new join.
• Source Table: Shows all tables of your project and all themes of the active view that have an attribute table. Select the source table which attributes you want to add to the destination table(s). Tables with existing joins are displayed with an asterisk * behind the name.
• Source Field: Shows the numeric and text fields of the selected source table. Select the field which values should be matching with the Destination Field. No joined fields are listed here, as in ArcView only the fields of the base table itself can be joined and not the joined fields from other tables.
• Automatic preselection: By selecting a table or a field the best matching tables and fields are activated automatically. This is achieved by analyzing and recording the existing joins each time the project is opened or this function is called. To ensure the preselection works best you should keep the following order: First select Destination Tables, then Source Table or Destination Field and finally Source Field. Once you have selected a source table or a destination field, these are not changed unless you select a new destination table.
• If you select a destination table that has a current join (marked with a *), its parameters are activated. If the selected table(s) have varying or multiple joins, the parameters of the last join are shown - you will hear a beep and see an appropriate warning. If the selected table has no active join, the source table and the fields that were joined to it most frequently are activated (according to the log of former joins). When no corresponding joins are found in the log, the source field with the same name as the destination field is activated if existing.

• Click on to close the dialog window or (if you have modified some parameters) to join the source table to the selected destination table(s) via the selected fields. Existing joins of the destination tables are kept. Click on Apply to apply the changes and keep the dialog open to create further joins.

• No Source Field selected: You didn't select a join field in the source table.
• No Destination Field selected: You didn't select a join field in the destination table.
• Source Table may not be selected as Destination Table too: You selected the source table in the destination tables too. The join of a table with itself (normally) makes no sense.
• There is no numeric or string field in the selected Source Table: Data tables can only be joined via numeric or text fields (themes can also be joined spatially via the Shape field). There is no suitable join field in the chosen source table though.
• There is no common field in the selected Destination Tables: You have selected several destination tables but those have no data field with the same name (Destination Field is empty). Select only those destination tables that contain the desired join field. If this field has different names in the destination tables, you must call this function several times or rename the differing fields with the function Rename Fields before.
• Field type of the Destination Field isn't unique in the Destination Tables: You have selected several destination tables and a Destination Field that exists in all tables but its field type is varying (numeric or text). You can identify fields of this kind as no field type is displayed (fields with an unique type have "N" or "S"). Select only the destination tables that contain the join field of the desired type. If one field has a wrong type you can change it with the function Modify Fields before.
• Destination Field has different field type as Source Field: The type of the join fields in source and destination table must correspond (number, text or shape). You have selected fields with a different data type at Destination Field and Source Field.
• Only a Polygon Source Theme can be joined to a Polygon Destination Theme: If you want to create a spatial join via the Shape field, a destination theme of type polygon can only be joined with a source theme of the same type. You have selected a point or line as source and at least one polygon theme as destination.

When themes are joined spatially via the Shape field, it depends on the type of the source and destination theme how their features are related (read Hints to join attributes for more information):