The field configuration table

Using Production Mapping, you can define and manage the visibility and behavior of attributes through the field configuration table. Field Configuration Manager is used for creating and updating the field configuration table. Through Field Configuration Manager, you can configure different types of settings for attributes used by various tools in Production Mapping such as Feature Manager and Production Dissolve.

Types of settings

There are three basic types of settings: field display, dissolve, and feature-level metadata.

Field display settings

The field configuration table is used to define how fields are displayed on the Create Attributes and Update Attributes windows. You can define field visibility (bold, hidden, disabled) and field order for each field in a feature class, subtype, or table. For instance, there could be a length (LEN_) attribute value that is automatically calculated for road features that you do not want to be editable by other production staff. The field configuration table would allow you to disable the LEN_ field of the feature class so it could not be edited on the Update Attributes window.

The field configuration table also defines the type of control that is used when editing a field. For instance, if you have a text field called Install_Date, you can set the field to display a calendar control that will be used when editing the value of this field. You can also configure additional help that will be displayed to the user when a field is edited.

Dissolve settings

The Production Dissolve tool allows you to automatically merge features based on predefined attribute rules. Using Field Configuration Manager, you indicate which fields must have matching values for the features to be merged. You can also determine the way other fields are processed when the features are merged. For instance, the values in the name field could be combined when features are merged using the Production Dissolve tool.

Feature-level metadata settings

Feature-level metadata is attributes on a feature that are used to store metadata about the individual feature. Typical feature-level metadata attributes store information such as the source used when a feature is edited, the user name of who performed the edit, or the date on which a feature is created or modified. Feature-level metadata is configured using Field Configuration Manager, where you choose what fields contain metadata attributes, whether the fields will automatically be populated with the date or user name, and if the field will be populated when you create and/or modify a feature. Once you have specified which fields are feature-level metadata fields, the Metadata tab on the Manage Features window is used to create metadata favorites, which store the values that will be populated in feature-level metadata fields when edits occur.

Field configuration and the product library

The product library is used as the central location for storing the field configuration table. When stored in a central location, the field setting can be used for any database with the same schema.

If you already have an existing product library, you can create the field configurations by accessing the product class properties. You need to ensure that you have a data model version (schema) for your data associated with the product class. For more information about configuring field settings through the product library, see Creating a field configuration table for a product class version.

If you do not already have a product library, you can use Field Configuration Manager to automatically create the product library and necessary components for you. See Creating a field configuration table using a new product library for more information about creating a product library using Field Configuration Manager.

Field configuration settings

The attribute fields can be modified based on the following settings. These settings allow you to control the visibility of the attribute fields, the controls used to configure them, whether or not they are used for merging with Production Dissolve, and how they are populated if they are not merged. You can also associate rich text files with attributes or provide text that appears in the status bar. The field configurations also allow you to specify that a field is considered feature-level metadata and how the field is going to be populated.

Setting name	Description	Options	Configuration notes
Field Visibility	Controls the appearance of the attribute on the Create Attributes and Update Attributes windows and determines whether or not it is editable.	Normal—The attribute appears as normal text. This is the default. Bold—The attribute appears in boldface. Invisible—The attribute does not appear at all on the Create Attributes and Update Attributes windows. Visible but Disabled—The attribute is visible but is not editable on the Create Attributes and Update Attributes windows.
Field Type	The type of control used to configure the attribute. This setting is only configured if the field is one where the assigned domain is going to be overridden or if a custom control is going to be used.	Date—Launches a calendar so you can choose a date for an attribute value. A specific date format is also applied. Custom Application—Launches a specified application when the attribute is edited. List Field—Allows you to choose more than one domain value for the attribute value. The field must be defined as a string type. Domain Override—Allows you to replace the schema domain. Typically the replacement domain is a subset of the schema domain. Nothing—Allows you to type the value or use a domain to edit the attribute.	Options for the date format are the following: MM—Displays the number associated with the month with zeros before months that are less than two digits MMDD—Displays the numbers associated with the month and day with zeros before months and days that are less than two digits CCYY—Displays the year as a four-digit number CCYYMM—Displays the year and the number that corresponds with the month CCYYMMDD—Displays the year and the numbers that correspond with the month and day CCYYMMDDThhmmss—Displays the year, numbers that correspond with the month and day, and the time in hours, minutes, and seconds To use a custom application with an attribute field, the GUID for the application must be provided. For a list field, the field should not have a domain defined as part of the schema. You choose a domain when you configure the field configuration table. For a domain override, you choose the domain whose values will be used to populate the attribute. This is useful for a schema where the appropriate values for a subtype are a subset of the schema domain.
Dissolve Field	Indicates whether or not the attribute is used in the merge process when using the Production Dissolve tool.	When this is checked, the attribute value is merged if all the features to be merged share the same attribute value. When this is unchecked, the attribute value can be merged based on the method specified in the Ignore Dissolve setting. This is the default value.
Ignore Dissolve	The method used to populate the attribute value when features are merged using the Production Dissolve tool.	First In—Populates the attribute with the first value encountered during the merge. This is the default. Concatenate/Sum—Populates the attribute with a concatenated version of the attribute values if they are strings or the sum of the values if they are integers. Database Defaults—Populates the attribute with the default field value. Null—Populates the attribute of the merged feature with a null value.
Rich Text Help	Provides a way to associate rich text files with attributes. The setting allows you to browse to the rich text file you want to use as context help for the attribute.	None. The default is to not have a rich text file associated with the field.	You need to browse to the rich text file on your local or network file system to associate it with the attribute. The path to the file is stored in the field configuration table. Field Configuration Manager searches the <installation location>/ArcGIS/Desktop10.0/Help/ directory for the rich text files. You can browse to or add files to the directory so they can be associated with an attribute. As needed, you can remove files and their associations to attributes. You can also add a new directory for storing the rich text files. Note: The rich text files need to be copied to the <installation location>/ArcGIS/Desktop10.0/Help/ directory on all machines that are going to be used to view the rich text help.
Field Help	Provides a way to present a description of the attribute in the status bar. There is a text box where you can type in the text you want to appear in the status bar. The text appears in the status bar when the attribute is selected and the F3 key is pressed.	None. The default is to have no field help.
Metadata Field	Determines whether or not a field is managed as feature-level metadata.	None. The default is to not be a feature-level metadata field.	This option can only be set on the Edit Shared Fields dialog box.
Metadata Type	The type of control used when setting the metadata favorite for a metadata field. This setting is only configured if the field is set as a metadata field.	Date—Automatically populates the field with the current date and time stamp when an edit is made to the feature. User Name—Automatically populates the field with the current system user name when an edit is made to the feature. Domain—Allows you to specify a domain that will be used when a value is set for the metadata favorite. Other —Provides a text box for defining a value when setting the metadata favorite.	This option can only be set on the Edit Shared Fields dialog box.
Metadata Events	Determines when the metadata field is populated. This setting is only configured if the field is set as a metadata field.	Create—- Automatically populates the metadata field with the value from the metadata favorite when a new feature is created. Modify—Automatically populates the metadata field with the value from the metadata favorite when an existing feature is modified.	By default, both options are enabled. Disable an option if you do not want the field populated when a feature is created or modified. This option can only be set on the Edit Shared Fields dialog box.

Field configuration table settings

Configuring fields

Once you choose the tables, there are two ways you can edit the field configurations: individually or based on shared fields across feature classes. Editing the field configuration for each feature class allows you to customize the way each field appears and is configured for a specific feature class or subtype. However, if you have several feature classes with common fields, editing shared fields among all the feature classes can allow you to control how the field is configured across a database.

Editing field configurations for individual feature classes

When you edit the configuration individually, you only manage single attribute fields. This method would be used primarily if you have a database that does not contain a lot of feature classes or one that requires different settings for individual feature classes. For instance, you may need to set the ZV2 as a required field for contours, but it could be optional for building points.

The attribute fields are managed on the Field Configuration Manager dialog box, where all the tables that can be edited are listed. Field configuration can only be edited on an attribute-by-attribute basis, and the configuration only applies to the single attribute field that has been modified. The configuration cannot be transferred to other field attributes in other feature classes.

The field configuration for a single feature class

The order of the attribute fields in the feature class can be changed by dragging the field names within the list for each feature class or subtype.

Editing field configurations across several feature classes

For those product classes that have several feature classes, you can choose to set the configurations for multiple fields across different feature classes. By editing shared fields, you can change common fields across several feature classes at once. When you modify the configuration for the fields, you can indicate which feature classes are going to have the settings applied. This means that you can choose to make the OBJECTID attribute visible but disabled and not apply the change to all the available feature classes.

Shared fields edited for a field configuration table

You can also control the order in which the attribute fields are displayed on the Create Attributes and Update Attributes windows. On the Edit Shared Fields dialog box, you can choose fields and reorder them by indicating whether they should be moved to the top or bottom of the list. Once you indicate whether the fields should be moved to the top or bottom, you can still move them up and down within the Move To Top and Move To Bottom lists. Feature-level metadata properties of fields can only be configured through the Edit Shared Fields dialog box.

Viewing attributes according to their settings

Once the tables to edit are selected, you can choose a method for displaying the current field configurations set for attributes in the feature classes. These methods include the following:

• Visibility—The attributes are displayed based on their current Field Visibility settings. The way they appear in Field Configuration Manager matches the way they appear in the Feature Attributes window.
• Type ENV—The attributes are displayed based on the Field Type setting. For the attributes that do not have any field configuration methods, such as external applications or a specific date format, the names appear in red and are struck through.
• Dissolve—The attributes are displayed based on the Dissolve Field setting. Attributes that are not used to dissolve features using the Production Dissolve tool appear in red with the name struck through.
• Ignore Dissolve—The attributes are displayed based on the Ignore Dissolve settings.