Workflow: Reporting chart changes

The Change Reporter tool allows you to view the changes made to individual feature classes and tables within a geodatabase. The changes are time-/date-based, and the result is tabular. The changes are reported using Data Reviewer and can be viewed in the Reviewer table. The geodatabase on which changes are reported must have archiving enabled. Archiving can only be enabled on an ArcSDE geodatabase.

To see how this tool is used in a data information management and chart production environments, see the sample production tutorials that are available with the Aeronautical Solution setup.

Enabling the geodatabase for versioning

Versioning must be enabled on the geodatabase on which the Change Reporter tool is run.

Versioning isolates your work across multiple edit sessions, allowing you to edit without locking features in the production version or immediately impacting other users.

Learn more about versioning

Steps:

1. Start ArcCatalog.
2. In the Catalog tree, right-click a feature dataset, feature class, or table.
3. Click Register As Versioned on the context menu.

   This opens the Register As Versioned dialog box.

4. Optional: If the Register the selected objects with the option to move edits to base is available and you want edits saved to the DEFAULT version—whether edited directly or merged in from other versions—to be saved in the business tables, check Register the selected objects with the option to move edits to base.

   See Deciding how to register data for more information on the move edits to base option.

5. Click OK.

Enabling the geodatabase for archiving

Archiving in ArcGIS provides the functionality to record and report changes (adds/modifications/deletes) made to any or all data in a geodatabase. Geodatabase archiving is the mechanism for capturing, managing, and analyzing data changes. The archiving model supports the complete geodatabase data model. Stand-alone feature classes, feature datasets, tables, relationship classes, networks, topologies, and terrains can all participate in archiving. Once archiving is enabled, all changes that are saved or posted to the DEFAULT version are maintained in the corresponding archive class. The archive class is a complete copy of the archive-enabled class, plus all the edits that have been saved or posted to the DEFAULT version. The Change Reporter tool provides a way to query the historical archives, read changes from the geodatabase history tables, and write those changes to a Reviewer table. You can select which feature classes and/or tables are to be searched and specify a date and time range. Any records within the feature classes or tables that changed within the specified date and time range are recorded in the Reviewer table.

Learn more about archiving in ArcGIS

Geodatabase archiving allows you to analyze your data as it changes over time. It helps preserve data changes and assists in identifying the type of changes made. The Change Reporter tool accesses these archiving tables and writes those changes to the Reviewer table.

Steps:

1. In the Catalog tree, browse to the geodatabase on which you want to enable archiving.
2. Select and right-click a feature dataset, feature classes, and/or tables and choose Archiving > Enable Archiving.

Starting a Reviewer session

Data Reviewer allows you to conduct visual and automated reviews of data in support of database production. The Data Reviewer environment is made up of a series of tools that supports the visual review of geodatabase and shapefile data quality. It is used to analyze data in your geodatabase and identify anomalies where corrections, additions, and deletions must be made to spatial data and its attributes. Data validation is performed during Reviewer sessions using data checks as well as the analysis tools that are part of Data Reviewer. Features are symbolized in a consistent manner to facilitate interpretation.

A Reviewer session needs to be started for the Change Reporter tool to write the records in the Reviewer table. The Change Reporter tool is not enabled until a Reviewer session is started. In a Reviewer session, you have the ability to review your data, write records to the Reviewer table, and interact with records in the Reviewer table.

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap.
2. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Data Reviewer.
3. Click the Reviewer Session Manager button on the Data Reviewer toolbar.

   The Reviewer Session Manager dialog box appears.
4. Click Browse in the Reviewer Workspace area.

   The Reviewer Workspace dialog box appears.

5. Navigate to the geodatabase in which the Reviewer dataset is going to be stored.
6. Click Add.
7. Click New to start a new Reviewer session.

   The Reviewer Workspace Properties dialog box appears.
8. Choose an option for the spatial reference.
   • Use Default Spatial Reference (WGS-84)—Sets the Reviewer dataset's spatial reference to GCS_WGS_1984. This is the default spatial reference for ArcMap.
     Note:

     In most cases when using ESRI Aeronautical Solution, choosing the Use Default Spatial Reference (WGS-84) option is suggested.

   • Use Active Data Frame Spatial Reference—The Reviewer dataset's spatial reference matches that of the active data frame.
   • Browse To Spatial Reference—Sets the Reviewer dataset's spatial reference to one you choose.
     Note:

     If you choose Browse To Spatial Reference, the New Spatial Reference wizard appears so you can choose the spatial reference you want to use with the Reviewer dataset.

   Note:

   The spatial reference selected for the Reviewer dataset should match the spatial reference of the data you are validating. This allows the error geometry to be stored in the feature classes within the Reviewer dataset.

9. If necessary, choose the Use configuration keyword option in the Select Configuration Keyword area to choose a different configuration keyword for the database.
Note:

Perform this step if working with an ArcSDE geodatabase licensed for ArcGIS Server Enterprise .

10. Click the Use configuration keyword drop-down arrow and choose a configuration keyword.

    The keywords available in the list are dependent on what the database administrator has specified in the DBTUNE table as configuration keywords.

Note:

Perform this step if working with an ArcSDE geodatabase licensed for ArcGIS Server Enterprise.

11. Click OK.

    The ID and Name text boxes are automatically populated in the Session area.

12. If necessary, type a custom name for the current Reviewer session in the Name text box.

    By default, the name matches the ID.

13. Click the Reviewer Dataset Version drop-down arrow and choose the geodatabase version to be used.

    The geodatabase version you choose from the list is the one in which the Reviewer table records are going to be stored.

Note:

Perform this step if working with an ArcSDE geodatabase licensed for ArcGIS Server Enterprise or an ArcSDE geodatabase for Microsoft SQL Server Express licensed for ArcGIS Server Workgroup.

14. Click Start Session.

    The button name changes to End Session.

15. Click Close.

The Change Reporter tool is enabled.

Finding changes in tables and feature classes using the Change Reporter tool

The Change Reporter tool allows you to discover the changes made to individual feature classes or an entire geodatabase between specified dates and times. The changes are reported using Data Reviewer.

The Change Reporter tool operates by pointing to an archiving-enabled geodatabase and allows you to select the feature classes or tables and a date/time range. The tool then queries the historical records and populates a Reviewer table with information on the changes.

Steps:

1. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Aeronautical Data Management.
2. Click the Change Reporter button on the Aeronautical Data Management toolbar.

   The Change Reporter dialog box appears.

   Note:

   The Change Reporter tool is also available as a geoprocessing tool in the Aeronautical Tools toolbox.

3. Click the ellipsis button (...) next to the Select Geodatabase text box to choose a geodatabase.
   Note:

   The Change Reporter tool can only be used to report changes on an ArcSDE software-enabled geodatabase.

4. You can change the beginning date and time by performing one of the following steps in the Beginning Date field:
   • Select a date by clicking the drop-down arrow.
   • Select a date/time field and press the UP and DOWN arrow keys on the keyboard.
   • Type directly over the default date/time listed.
   Note:

   Be sure to not set a start date earlier than when archiving was enabled on the geodatabase. This will result in every feature in the database being marked as a change.

5. You can change the End Date by performing one of the following steps:
   • Select a date by clicking the drop-down arrow.
   • Select a date/time field and press the UP and DOWN arrow keys on the keyboard.
   • Type directly over the default date/time listed.
6. Choose the type of changes to be reported by checking the Adds, Modifications, and/or Deletes check boxes in the Change Types area.
7. Check the check boxes next to the feature classes and tables to be interrogated in the Feature Class(es) To Process list.

8. Click OK to start processing.

   A message appears and notifies you when processing is complete.

9. Click OK.

Viewing changes in the Reviewer table

The Reviewer table displays the changes made to feature classes and tables in a specified geodatabase once the Change Reporter tool processing is complete.

After the Change Reporter tool has been run, the Reviewer table is populated with records identifying changes to the specified feature classes and tables. Each change is categorized as Add, Modification, or Delete.

Field		Description
RECORDID		Sequential record number that is autopopulated by Data Reviewer.
OBJECTID		Data-driven feature identifier; each feature in the geodatabase has an OBJECTID.
CATEGORY		Type of table changed in the geodatabase: Feature Record or Table.
SESSIONID		Reviewer session identifier.
ORIGINTABLE		Feature class or table from which the change was detected.
ORIGINCHECK		The process that created the change records in the Reviewer table.
PARAMETERS		Start, End Date, and Time parameters on which the Change Reporter tool was run.
SEVERITY		The default severity is 5, but can be changed by you.
REVIEWSTATUS		Change type: Add, Modification, Delete.
REVIEWTECHNICIAN		The user name from the Reviewer session.

Steps:

1. Open the Reviewer table to see the records. The records can be corrected and evaluated as needed.
2. Optionally, you can stop the Reviewer session.

This workflow is a step-by-step description of working with the Change Reporter tool. It elaborates steps that need to be completed before running the Change Reporter, explains the relationship between geodatabase versioning and archiving and the Change Reporter tool, and describes detailed steps for starting a Reviewer session. Finally, the workflow guides you through running the tool and reviewing the results in the Reviewer table. The outcome of the workflow is a table that contains the records of all the changes made to feature classes and tables within the specified geodatabase and date/times. These records can then be corrected and evaluated as needed.