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I'm trying to use ArcMap to make a basemap and I currently have an unzipped folder full of files including .atx, .gbdindexes, .gdbtable, .gdbtablx, and .spx. I'm well aware that these files cannot be 'added' into the ArcMap database as is. So I've made a .gdb file and I can find the .gdb in both the Catalog and 'Add Data' menus. However, I am not sure how to add the files mentioned above (atx, gdbindexes, etc) into the .gdb in order to add map data into the map.

Can someone help me out? I'm not familiar with these other file types and how the folders work together.

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    That unzipped folder sounds like a gdb already. Try opening the folder with ArcMap to see its contents. If it looks a database silo, instead of a folder, it is a gdb.
    – Barbarossa
    Commented Jan 7, 2014 at 18:28
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    If you have the original zip. You might try unzipping and either leave or rename the folder you unzip to with a .gdb extension. Then as stated in the other comment arcmap will see that folder as a file gdb.
    – Brad Nesom
    Commented Jan 7, 2014 at 18:41
  • I downloaded the zipped file again, and just found out that it is indeed a .gdb file already (with all the content stored inside it). I was able to open the folder in ArcMap just fine and I can see the map layers now. Thanks to all for clarifying this issue - I somehow managed to make it more complicated that it needed to be.
    – Michael
    Commented Jan 7, 2014 at 20:25

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Speaking from personal experience, it is easy to corrupt a GDB if you manipulate the files individually outside of ArcGIS (i.e. ArcMap or ArcCatalog) with something like Windows Explorer. The individual files that you describe make up the guts of a GDB. Instead of adding these individually to a folder, you should be able to locate, view and utilize the GDB directly as long as you are using ArcMap or ArcCatalog. A folder containing the files you mentioned without a .gdb extension is likely a corrupted GDB.

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