Automated reconcile and post
This topic applies to ArcEditor and ArcInfo only.
For large, multiuser editing operations, it is usually best to automate the reconcile and post processes. This helps streamline edit operations, reduce version administration overhead, and ensure all the changes made to versions are automatically propagated through the version tree as required. These two processes can be automated with a batch version reconciliation tool or by implementing a version reconciliation service. Both of these are available as ArcGIS developer samples.
Reconcile ArcSDE versions in batch mode
Batch reconcile
The batch reconcile utility allows an editor or project manager to connect to a versioned geodatabase, select a version, reconcile, and (optionally) post every version beneath that version. If reconciliation and posting are successful—that is, no conflicts were detected—you have the option of deleting the child versions. Any conflicts detected would halt the reconcile process. Conflicts must be addressed in the usual manner using the tools available in ArcMap. This administrative task could be performed at the end of every day or week or at whatever time interval is appropriate. The batch reconcile utility can be customized to start automatically at a predetermined time with some operating parameters that you can configure.
Batch reconcile and post programs work well for organizations with work orders to process at the end of each day or week. The versioning scenarios that would benefit include these:
- Multiple projects
- Multiple projects with a protected, published database
- Multiple projects with subprojects
- Distributed data management, replication, and disconnected editing
Version workflows that are unsuitable for batch reconcile and post include the following:
- Concurrent editing of the DEFAULT version—Since all the reconcile operations are automatic, this does not support batch reconcile and post.
- Projects that progress in phases—Since this would require some specific application logic to determine which versions to reconcile and post with which parent, these are generally unsuitable for batch reconciles.
Version reconciliation services
A version reconciliation service is a program that runs as a background process on a client machine. Once an editor has completed editing a version, the editor submits the version to the reconciliation service. The reconciliation service periodically checks whether versions have been flagged as ready to reconcile. If any such versions are detected, the service will automatically reconcile and post these to their parent versions. The reconciliation service utility can be customized to alter how often the service checks for new versions to reconcile and post.
Automating the version reconciliation process this way helps manage the workflow by delegating the responsibility for reconciling to the reconciliation service. Data editors are then free to continue with other tasks. By streamlining the workflow in this manner, your data editing operations can more easily scale to support additional data and editors.