Creating Reports Using ArcGIS 9.x
ESRI's ArcGIS version 9.x must be installed to make use of the capabilities demonstrated here. This tutorial contains 3 sections that demonstrate how to create a geodatabase, link external data into the database and create a thematically formatted map from the database content.
The underlying geometry has been specifically formatted to ensure referential integrity with the linked data. This requires that certain attribute values are present in the imported shape file data but it is relatively straightforward to adjust the attribute content after it has been imported to a geodatabase.
It should be noted that the example given is not the only valid method for delivering the database driven thematic formatting. For example, instead of building the data query in the MS Access geodatabase a view could have been created in the ODBC linked Microsoft SQL database - this approach would dispense with the need to use a make table query. An SQL approach would also ensure that the data is automatically refreshed instead of having to take manual steps in MS Access.