Comparing geodatabase versions

The Version Differences command allows you to view differences between the geodatabase version you are editing (the current version) and any other version of the geodatabase (the compare version). The two versions can be compared to check for the following conditions.

• Adds—Features that are present in the current version but not the compare version
• Deletes—Features that are present in the compare version but not in the current version
• Modifies—Features that have different attributes or geometry in the current version than the compare version

Adds and modifies can be viewed on the Browse Features window or written directly to the Reviewer table for later inspection. You can only search for deleted features if you write to the Reviewer table because no feature will exist in the current version that can be selected with the Browse Features window.

You can choose to find items that are considered non-conflicts or conflicts, or both. Non-conflicts are differences, such as feature additions, deletions, and modifications, that have only occurred in the current version. Conflicts are differences that exist between the current version and the compare version, including deletions and updates in one geodatabase version or the other, and conflicting updates in both.

There are also options to only compare the layers currently loaded in the map or the entire geodatabase. You can also choose to only view results for features that are in the current extent instead of the entire geodatabase.

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap.
2. If necessary, load data in the map.
   Note:

   The data must be versioned to use this tool.

3. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Data Reviewer.
4. Optionally, start a Reviewer session in one of the following if you want to write the comparison results to the Reviewer table.
   • A file, personal, or SQL Server Express geodatabase
   • An ArcSDE workspace
   • An existing Reviewer workspace
5. On the Data Reviewer toolbar, click Data Reviewer > Version Differences.

   The Version Differences dialog box appears. The Current Version field is automatically populated with the version that is loaded in the map.

   
6. Click the Compare Version drop-down arrow and choose the version you want to compare to the current version.

   The versions that are listed vary based on your permissions for the ArcSDE geodatabase.

7. Choose a method for reviewing the comparison results in the Review Method area.
   • To display the results in the Browse Features window, choose the Selection option.
   • To write the results directly to the Reviewer table, choose the Write to Reviewer Table option.
8. If necessary, uncheck the check boxes next to the types of differences you do not want to find.
   • Adds—Features that are present in the current version but not the compare version
   • Deletes—Features that are present in the compare version but not in the current version
   • Modifies—Features that have different attributes or geometry in the current version than the compare version
9. Check the Include non-conflict differences check box if you want to find differences that are not conflicts.
10. Choose an option for detecting conflicts in the Conflict Detection Level area.
    Note:

    Results for both options include features that have been modified in one version and deleted in the other. However, you can only view differences due to deleted features if the results are written to the Reviewer table. This is because the geometry of the deleted feature cannot be shown in the current version if that is the version where the feature has been deleted.

    • If you want the comparison results to include features where any attribute or the geometry has been modified in both the current version and comparison version, choose the Object (row) option. Object conflicts occur even if you have edited different attributes. This is the default option.
    • If you want the comparison results to include features where the same attribute or the geometry has been modified in both the current version and comparison version, choose the Attribute (column) option.
11. Choose an option for the selection set to be compared in the Review Features area.
    • If you only want to compare features in the layers currently loaded in the map, choose the Visible Layers option.
    • If you want to compare all the layers in the geodatabase, including those that are not loaded, choose the All Layers (including those not loaded) option.
      Note:

      This option is only available if you choose the Write to Reviewer Table option in the Review Method area. This is because you cannot browse to features that are not visible in the map using the Browse Features window.

12. Optionally, check the Only return features in the current extent check box if you only want to compare features within the current map extent.
13. Click OK.

    The Versions Differences window appears with a progress bar while the current version is compared to the comparison version.

Depending on the option that has been chosen in the Review Method area, the Browse Features window appears so you can browse the results or the Table Writer message appears and notifies you of the number of records that have been written to the Reviewer table.