When to update schematic diagrams

At a given time, the schematic features contained in a schematic diagram may not be up-to-date with the current state of the input data that was initially used to generate the diagram. This happens in these circumstances:

• The associated input elements (that is, the associated GIS features/objects, XML elements, network elements, and so on) no longer exist.
• Some attribute values on the original input elements have changed.
• Some new input elements are now detected as initial data—that is, the results of the initial trace, network analysis, custom query, select by attribute operations, and so forth, that have been used as the initial input data just before diagram generation now return some new elements.

The following sections detail how these changes can be reflected in the diagram content when updating depending on the builder on which the diagram is based.

Standard builder diagram updates

A schematic diagram template based on the Standard builder can be configured to work with different input data:

• GIS features organized into a geometric network when such features are highlighted in a map document after a trace or a selection operation
• Custom queries configured on all its associated schematic feature classes that determine the content

The changes expected in the diagram after updating depend on the type of input data the Standard builder has to work with:

When the diagram content is based on GIS features organized into a geometric network

In this case, schematic diagrams are generated from GIS features highlighted in the map after trace or selection operations. When any diagram is generated, Schematics builds the schematic features associated with those highlighted features and puts them into schematic feature classes in the schematic dataset before the diagram is displayed. Then, each time the diagram is reopened, schematic features are directly queried from the schematic dataset's feature classes, not from the GIS feature classes. If changes were made to the GIS data, such as feature state changes or feature removals, they are not automatically reported in the schematic dataset, and your schematic diagram content may be inconsistent with the GIS dataset content.

An update of the schematic diagram can then be launched so the schematic dataset is synchronized according to the GIS data and the changes on GIS features are reflected in the diagram.

The table below shows which kind of changes will be reflected in the updated diagram depending on the update option you choose:

Type of changes on the initial GIS features	Synchronize against original selection/trace/query	Refresh attributes	Append new features to the active diagram	Overwrite the active diagram
Removed GIS features are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes	No	Yes	Yes (See note 4 below.)
New GIS features are included in the updated diagram.	Yes, when the diagram generation was based on a trace result returned as drawings in the map (See note 1 below.) No, when the diagram generation was based on a selection set (See note 2 below.)	No	Yes	Yes (See note 4 below.)
Changes on GIS feature attributes are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes (See note 3 below.)	Yes (See note 3 below.)	Yes (See note 3 below.)	Yes (See notes 3 and 4 below.)

Note:

1. When a Standard builder diagram has been generated from a trace result returned in the map as drawings, the trace parameters are automatically stored in the schematic dataset. Then, when the diagram is updated with the Synchronize against original selection/trace/query option, Schematics automatically reexecutes the trace operation and uses the new trace result in memory to update the diagram content. This means that for any new GIS feature that is now returned by the resulting trace, a new schematic feature is created in the updated diagram.
2. When a Standard builder diagram has been generated from a set of GIS features selected in the map, there are many possible operations that could have been done in the map to create this initial selection set, for example, a manual selection, a selection operation using the Select By Attributes or Select By Location command, a trace result returned as a selection set, or a combination of several of these operations. In that case, during diagram updating, Schematics has no way to automatically retrieve the GIS features that should be returned by the same operation(s) in the map. This means that for diagrams initially based on a selection set, when updating with the Synchronize against original selection/trace/query option, no new schematic features are created in the updated diagram for new GIS features that may have been created in the map; the diagram content is only updated regarding the same initial GIS feature selection set. If you want to reflect such changes in the diagram after it's updated, you must reexecute the same selection operation(s) in the map and update the diagram using the Append new features to the active diagram or Overwrite the active diagram option.
3. Schematics attributes can be configured to be automatically reevaluated each time the diagram is loaded in memory, for example, each time an edit session is started on the diagram. In that case, when these attributes are linked to any field of the associated GIS feature class, changes on the GIS feature field values are automatically reflected in the diagram when the edit session starts. You only need to save the diagram edits so these changes persist in the schematic database. After saving, the diagram is not updated, but these attribute values are up-to-date.
4. When using the Overwrite the active diagram option, the content of the diagram after updating can be completely different from its content before updating.

During diagram updating, Schematics not only reflects the changes that could have impacted the GIS features associated with the schematic features contained in the diagram, but some operations like schematic rules execution can also be reexecuted during the update process. The table below shows which kind of operation is systematically reexecuted during diagram updating according to the chosen update option:

During the Schematics update process	Synchronize against original selection/trace/query	Refresh attributes	Append new features to the active diagram	Overwrite the active diagram
If trace parameters persist in the schematic database, the trace is automatically reexecuted during updating.	Yes	No	No	No
Rules are reexecuted during the update.	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Specific editing operations, like schematic feature removals, reductions, and schematic link reconnections, persist in the updated diagram.	Yes or No (It's an option.)	Yes or No (It's an option.)	Yes or No (It's an option.)	Yes or No (It's an option.)

When the diagram's whole content comes from custom queries

In this case, schematic diagrams are generated from a set of configured queries that returns a set of records from database tables. When any diagram is generated, Schematics builds the schematic features associated with the set of records expected in the diagram and puts them in schematic feature classes in the schematic dataset before the diagram is displayed.

When the diagram is reopened, the schematic features are usually queried from the schematic dataset's feature classes, not from the real database tables. This means that if changes have impacted the real database content, they are not automatically reflected in the schematic feature classes or in the diagrams. To reflect those changes, the schematic diagram needs to be updated.

The table below shows which kind of changes will be reflected in the updated diagram depending on the update option you choose:

Type of changes on the record set returned by the custom queries	Synchronize against original selection/trace/query	Refresh attributes
Removed features/objects are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes	No
New features/objects are included in the updated diagram.	Yes	No
Changes on feature/object attributes are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes	Yes

Note:

When the queries specified for the schematic feature classes associated with the Standard builder diagram template are configured to be dynamically reexecuted each time the schematic diagrams are loaded, the diagram content reflects the changes in the real database as soon as the diagram is loaded, without updating the diagram. However, in that particular case, the content of the schematic feature classes in the schematic dataset stays inconsistent with the diagram content until the schematic diagram is updated or an edit session is started on the schematic diagram and the edits are saved.

Learn more about configuring the Standard builder diagram template with dynamic queries

During diagram updating, other specific operations, like schematic rules execution, can also be reexecuted during the update process. The table below shows which kind of operation is also reexecuted during diagram updating:

During the Schematics update process	Synchronize against original selection/trace/query	Refresh attributes
Rules are reexecuted during updating.	Yes (See caution below.)	No
Specific editing operations, like schematic feature removals, reductions, and schematic link reconnections, persist in the updated diagram.	Yes or No (It's an option.)	Yes or No (It's an option.)

Caution:

During diagram updating, rules only apply on schematic features coming from schematic feature classes with custom queries configured to be launched at the diagram generation and update—that is, queries with the Query on Generate/Update evaluation mode. The schematic features coming from schematic feature classes with custom queries configured to be launched at the diagram loading—that is, queries with the Query on Start Editing evaluation mode—are processed after executing the rules.

Network Dataset builder diagram updates

When using the Network Dataset builder, schematic diagrams are generated from solved network analysis layers. When any diagram is generated, Schematics builds the schematic features associated with the in-memory features that compose this network analysis layer and puts them into schematic feature classes in the schematic dataset before the diagram is displayed. Then, each time the diagram is reopened, schematic features are directly queried from the schematic dataset's feature classes. If changes were made in the network dataset that cause the solved network analysis layer to be different, the changes are not automatically reported in the schematic dataset. In that case, you might want to update your schematic diagram content to reflect these changes. Before updating the diagram, you need to resolve the network analysis layer.

The table below shows which kinds of changes are reflected in the updated diagram:

Type of changes on the in-memory features that compose the network analysis layer	Update
Removed network elements are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes
New network elements are included in the updated diagram.	Yes
Changes on network element attributes are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes

During diagram updating, Schematics not only reflects the changes that could have impacted the network elements associated with the schematic features contained in the diagram, but some operations like schematic rules execution can also be reexecuted during the update process. The table below shows which kinds of operation are also systematically reexecuted during diagram updating:

During the Schematics update process	Update
Rules are reexecuted during the update.	Yes
Specific editing operations, like schematic feature removals, reductions, and schematic link reconnections, persist in the updated diagram.	Yes or No (It's an option.)

Note:

Nothing prevents users from updating a diagram initially based on a particular solved network analysis layer, from any other solved network analysis based on a different part of the network dataset, or from another type of network analysis. This means that the diagram content after updating can be completely different from its content before updating.

XML builder diagram updates

When using the XML builder, schematic diagrams are generated from input XML data. When any diagram is generated, Schematics builds the schematic features associated with the XML elements in input and puts them into schematic feature classes in the schematic dataset before the diagram is displayed. Then, each time the diagram is reopened, schematic features are directly queried from the schematic dataset's feature classes. Changes in the input data are not automatically reported in the schematic dataset. To reflect those changes, you need to update your schematic diagram content.

The table below shows which kinds of changes are reflected in the updated diagram:

Type of changes on the initial XML elements	Update
Removed XML elements are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes
New XML elements are included in the updated diagram.	Yes
Changes on XML elements attributes are reflected in the updated diagram.	Yes

During diagram updating, Schematics not only reflects the changes that could have impacted the XML elements associated with the schematic features contained in the diagram, but some operations like schematic rules execution can also be reexecuted during the update process. The table below shows which kinds of operation are also systematically reexecuted during diagram updating:

During the Schematics update process	Update
Rules are reexecuted during the update.	Yes
Specific editing operations, like schematic feature removals, reductions, and schematic link reconnections, persist in the updated diagram.	Yes or No (It's an option.)

Note:

Nothing prevents users from updating a diagram initially based on given input XML data or from any other input XML data. This means that the diagram content after updating can be completely different from its content before updating.