Specifying predefined attributes to associate objects/features and schematic features

Schematic features managed by the Network Dataset builder and the Standard builder (when it operates from GIS features highlighted in a map after a selection or trace operation) are automatically associated with the GIS features from which they have been generated. For diagrams based on the XML builder, such associations with GIS features or objects stored in any geodatabase may also be automatically managed if the particular <UOID>, <UCID>, and <DataSourceName> XML tags are found in the input XML data. Then, when using the Identify tool on a schematic feature that is associated with an object or GIS feature, the Identify window that opens doesn't only display the clicked schematic feature properties but also the associated GIS feature/object properties. In the same way, when schematic features and their associated GIS features are contained in the same MXD document, the Propagate Schematic Selection To Map and Propagate Map Selection To Schematic commands work without any particular specification.

These associations are one-to-one associations; that is, each built schematic feature is associated with only one GIS feature or object. To manage multiple associations or to specify associations on schematic features built by custom queries, three predefined schematic attributes can be configured—FOID, FCN, and FDSN.

• The FOID predefined attribute is expected to return the OBJECTID of the feature or object you want to be associated with the schematic feature.
• The FCN predefined attribute must return the feature class name or table name of the feature/object you want to be associated with the schematic feature.
• The FDSN predefined attribute specifies the name of the data source used to connect the geodatabase that contains this associated feature or object (this data source must use an ESRI connection—ESRI Access GDB, File GDB, SDE GDB, and so on).

When such attributes are configured on schematic feature classes, Schematics automatically manages these new associations and supplements the one-to-one associations that may already be managed by the builder.

Note:

For existing diagrams, depending on the evaluation mode configured for these predefined attributes, the new configured associations will be reflected on the schematic features they contain only after they have been updated or after they are loaded in memory.

The FOID predefined attribute may be configured without the FCN and FDSN being configured. In the same way, the FOID and FCN may be configured without the FDSN being configured.

• If the FCN predefined attribute is missing, Schematics automatically tries to deal with the feature class/table configured on the Associated Object Class field parameter for the schematic feature class.
• If the FDSN predefined attribute is missing, Schematics tries to deal with the geodatabase containing the schematic feature class itself (CURRENTDS) or, for a schematic feature class configured with a custom query, with the data source that connects the database on which this custom query operates.

The FOID, FCN, and FDSN predefined attributes may return a unique OBJECTID, feature class/table name, and data source name or a list of OBJECTIDs, feature class/table names, and data source names—that is, they can be used to associate a schematic feature with several features/objects stored in different feature classes/tables even if they come from different geodatabases. In this case, the attribute values are expected to be formatted so each value in the list is separated by a semicolon (;) character. For example, if you want a schematic feature to be associated with two features stored in the feature class FC1 (these feature OBJECTIDs being 1 and 2) and three objects stored in the T1 table (which OBJECTIDs being 101, 102, and 103), the FOID predefined attribute value for the schematic feature must return 1; 2; 101; 102; 103, and the expected FCN predefined attribute value is FC1; FC1; T1; T1; T1. Note that in this example, the FCN attribute value may also be FC1; FC1; T1, the last T1 value being then automatically applied for all the OBJECTIDs starting from the third position in the FOID list.