EditorTask control

In this topic

About the EditorTask control
Using the control
Members
EditorTask events
Editor events
EditorTask event arguments

About the EditorTask control

The EditorTask control has a suite of tools for Web based editing of feature layers in ArcGIS Server map services. The runtime dialog box provides tools to modify, add, and remove feature geometry and attributes. The EditorTask can also be customized and extended to filter attributes, manage tools, handle events during the editing process, and manage panels. For more information, see Customizing the EditorTask control.

The following set of requirements applies to the EditorTask capabilities:

The EditorTask requires an ArcGIS Server local map service.
The ArcGIS Server map service can be pooled or non-pooled.
The map service must host a map document (MXD). Map service definition (MSD) based services are not supported.
Versioned and non-versioned layers can be edited in non-pooled services, while only non-versioned layers can be edited in pooled services. At runtime, the Editor panel contains a set of sub panels containing different items depending on the purpose and feature type being edited. Editing non-versioned data changes the availability of some commands on the Editor panel. When using non-versioned data with a pooled service, the Editor panel will not contain Undo, Redo, or Save buttons for pooled services. When using non-versioned data with a non-pooled service, the Undo and Redo buttons are not available. Undo and redo are capabilities of a versioned geodatabase. The Save option is a capability defined by a non-pooled service.
While the map service can contain many different data types, editable layers for the EditorTask must be ArcSDE enterprise or workgroup layers.
Shapefiles and personal geodatabases cannot be edited with the EditorTask, but they can be used for other operations, such as snapping.
The data frame in the map service that contains an editable layer cannot be projected on-the-fly by the Web Application Developer Framework (ADF) or projected in the .mxd file.
If more than one feature layer shares the same name in a map service, only one is editable. Assign each editable layer in a map service a unique layer name.

Using the control

To use the EditorTask control, add supporting controls to the page. Set up a Web application with, at minimum, a MapResourceManager and Map control. Other controls can be added, such as a Toolbar control for zooming and panning operations.
Add the EditorTask control to the page. For the steps in this topic, the EditorTask does not need to be contained within a TaskManager control. If using the Web Mapping Application template, a TaskManager is used to handle the opening of the task from the left-hand console list of tasks. The page does not need a TaskResults control, since the EditorTask does not create an output of results. The EditorTask inherits from the FloatingPanel and automatically appears in a floating window at runtime.

See the following screen shot that shows the page in Visual Studio:
Set the properties for the EditorTask control. You can access the required properties from the smart tag menu by hovering the cursor over the right side of the EditorTask control. Click the arrow to expand the smart tag menu. Alternatively, you can set the properties using the Properties window for the control.

See the following screen shots that show the Properties window and the smart tag menu options:

Click Select Resource To Edit on the smart tag menu or on the Properties window, click the ellipsis button for the MapResource property. The Select Map Resource Editor dialog box appears.

See the following screen shot that shows the Select Map Resource Editor dialog box:

On the Select Map Resource Editor dialog box, click the drop-down arrow to select the previously added Map control. Select a service from the Resource drop-down list. If no services appear in this list, check that an ArcGIS Server local resource is in the MapResourceManager and that the resource references a service that hosts a .mxd map document (MSD based services are not supported).
Click Select Editable Layers on the smart tag menu in the EditorTask control or on the Properties window, click the details button for the EditableLayers property. The Select Editable Layers Editor dialog box appears. It can take time for the dialog box to find the editable layers, during which time the dialog box information is unavailable. When the available layers are found, the Select Editable Layers Editor dialog box appears with available information.

See the following screen shot that shows the Select Editable Layers Editor dialog box:

If no layers appear in the list, verify that the map service is using ArcSDE layers. If multiple ArcSDE databases have been added to the map service, use the Database drop-down list to select the one you want to use. Also, if a versioned geodatabase is used in the map service, you can select to edit as versioned or as unversioned. If you select unversioned, only layers not set as versioned can be enabled for editing.

The "Layers not available for editing" area on the Select Editable Layers Editor dialog box lists layers that you can enable for editing. Click a layer to highlight it, then click the arrow (>>) button to move it to the Editable Layers area. Only layers in the Editable Layers list will be available for editing.
Click Select Editable Versions on the smart tag menu or on the Properties window, click the details button for the VersionIDs property. Set this item if you are using a versioned ArcSDE database. If editing an unversioned database, this option is not available. The Select Editable Versions Editor dialog box appears.

See the following screen shot that shows the Select Editable Versions Editor dialog box:

Available versions are shown under the "Versions not available for editing area." To make versions available to users, click a version, then click the arrow (>>) button to move it under the Editable Versions area. Only versions appearing under the Editable Versions area are available to users.
By default, no snapping is used when editing. Snapping forces a click near an existing feature to be set exactly on a part of the nearby feature. This allows features to exactly coincide along their borders. To add snapping to the application, click Set Snapping Rules on the smart tag menu or on the Properties window click the details button for the Snapping property. The Set Layer Snapping Editor dialog box appears.

See the following screen shot that shows the Set Layer Snapping Editor dialog box:

The Set Layer Snapping Editor dialog box shows all layers that can be enabled for editing, even if the layers have not been added to the editable layers list. This is because snapping can occur across layers. For example, if you enable snapping to a parcels layer and are adding a new building feature, new vertices can be snapped to a parcel within the snapping tolerance.

The following snapping types are available:

Vertex—Snapping occurs to x,y points defining the shape of a feature.
Edge—Snapping can occur anywhere along a feature.
End—Snapping occurs to the endpoints of a feature.

See the following illustration that shows the snapping types:

Illustration showing the snapping types.

(Optional) Filter attributes for display and interaction. You can use the AttributeDisplay property to define the fields in each editable layer that are hidden, read-only, or editable at runtime. On the Properties window, click the ellipsis button next to the AttributeDisplay property. The Attribute Display Editor dialog box appears. To set the appropriate properties on each field, select from the editable layers to display the layer fields. By default, all fields are editable.

See the following screen shot that shows the Attribute Display Editor dialog box:
Applications using an ArcGIS Server local resource must contain an ArcGIS identity to enable use of the resource. To add an identity, right-click the Web application in the Solution Explorer, and click Add ArcGIS Identity. The Add ArcGIS Identity dialog box appears. On the dialog box, type the user name, password, and domain or machine name. Click OK to insert the identity, which is stored in the web.config file of the application.

If an appropriate identity is not added to the application, an error, such as "An object reference is not set to an instance of an object" can appear when you start the Web application.
For more information about using the EditorTask, see the Web Mapping Application Help system in Visual Studio. Do the following to access a copy of this Help system when you create a Web site in Visual Studio:

To create a Web site in Visual Studio, click File, New, Web Site, then choose the Web Mapping Application template. If you already have a Web site created, see Step b.

You can also create a Web site from the ArcGIS Server Manager or ArcIMS Web Manager. In either case, a Help folder is included in the Solution Explorer for the Web site.

Right-click the Default.htm or EditorTask.htm file in the Solution Explorer, then select View in Browser.
Click Editing data on the Web Mapping Application Help page to open the Editing data Help page.

The EditorTask can create ADF graphics layers to manage client interaction at runtime. Remember this when traversing map resources used by the map.

See the following screen shots that show the Web Mapping Application Help page and the files in the Solution Explorer:

Members

The following table shows a list of properties related to the EditorTask control. For more reference information, see the EditorTask control in the library reference section.

Property name	Type	Description
AttributeDisplay	AttributeDisplay	Defines the display properties of attributes in editable layers at runtime. At design time (in Visual Studio), this property shows a dialog box to modify field properties.
ConflictLevel	ConflictLevel	How conflicts are defined when a second user edits the same feature (row), or only when editing the same attributes of a feature (column).
ConflictResolution	ConflictResolution	Whether conflicting features are replaced by their representations in the target version or the current edit session.
CreateNewFeatureTitle	string	Text title of the section for creating features.
EditableLayers	StringList	List of the layer IDs for all layers editable by the Editor.
EditAttributesTitle	string	Text title of the section for editing feature attributes.
EditExistingFeatureTitle	string	Text title of the section for modifying the geometry and position of features.
EditorSettingsTitle	string	Text title displayed in the section for changing edit settings for snapping and feature selection.
EnableChangeSettings	bool	Determines if you can change edit settings for snapping and feature selection.
EnableEditAttributes	bool	Determines if you can change attributes for features.
EnableEditExistingFeature	bool	Determines if you can modify the geometry or position of existing features.
EnableNewFeatureCreation	bool	Determines if you can add new features.
FeatureHighlightColor	Color	Color used to highlight the feature selected for attribute editing.
FeatureSelectionColor	Color	Color to highlight features when selected by the user.
FeatureSelectionMode	FeatureSelectionMode	How features are selected with the SelectFeature tool.
MapResource	string	Map resource to be edited.
NotifyOnConflicts	bool	Whether to show a notification message when conflicts are detected and resolved while saving edits.
SelectionLimit	int	Maximum number of features you can select.
SelectionTolerance	int	Distance, in pixels, when clicking to select features or vertices, that the cursor can be from an object and still be selected.
ShowFeatureHighlight	bool	Indicates if the feature whose attributes are shown in the attribute editor panel should be highlighted.
ShowSnapCircle	bool	Whether to show a circle around the cursor indicating the snapping distance.
Snapping	StringList	Snapping rules to use when editing.
SnapTipColor	Color	When you use a tool with snapping enabled and press S on the keyboard, a marker displays with this color at the location snapped to.
SnapTolerance	int	Pixel distance where snapping to a feature occurs.
TaskResultsContainers	BuddyControlCollection	Controls in which results from this task display.
Title	string	Text shown on the Editor task window's title bar.
VersionIDs	StringList	List of all versions editable by the Editor. If the editable layers are unversioned, this property is ignored.
VertexColor	Color	Color of vertices when shown by the user.

EditorTask events

The following table shows a list of events related to the EditorTask control. For more reference information, see the EditorTask control in the library reference section.

EditorTask event type	Description
EditorPanelsCreated	Occurs when the editor panels (create feature, edit feature, edit attribute) are created. Can be used to add a custom panel to the main EditorTask panel.
PostAttributeEdit	Event fired when an attribute edit has completed.
PostCommandExecute	Editor command that completed execution of its server action.
PostToolExecute	Editor tool that completed execution of its server action.
PreAttributeEdit	Event fired when an attribute edit is being made. It can be used for input validation or cancellation of the edit.
PreCommandExecute	Editor command about to execute its server action.
PreToolExecute	Editor tool about to execute its server action. Allows you to target specific edits and possibly abort, based on your criteria or logging.
SettingsPanelsCreated	Occurs when the Settings panel is created (when the Settings link in the main EditorTask panel is clicked). Can be used to add a custom panel to the Settings panel.
SetVersion	Fired when a version is selected from the version list. The version of the layers in the workspace being edited are set to the selected version.
ToolsCreated	Occurs when the tools in an existing toolbar and Editor panel are created. Can be used to add a custom tool to an existing toolbar.

Editor events

The following table shows a list of events related to the Editor class. For more reference information, see the Editor class in the library reference section.

Editor event type	Description
LayerChanged	Occurs when the current edit layer changes by the drop-down list in the Editor or when setting the geodatabase version. Can be used to interact with the edit layer via the ArcObjects IFeatureLayer interface.

EditorTask event arguments

The following table shows a list of event arguments related to the EditorTask control. For more reference information, see the EditorTask control in the library reference section.

EditorTask event argument type	Description
EditorPanelsCreatedEventArgs	Created when the EditorPanelsCreated event occurs. Provides access to the existing panels on the main EditorTask panel.
PostAttributeEditEventArgs	Created when the PostAttributeEdit event occurs. Provides access to the feature and dataset that was edited.
PostCommandExecuteEventArgs	Created when the PostCommandExecute event occurs. Provides access to the editable feature layer and server context.
PostToolExecuteEventArgs	Created when the PostToolExecute event occurs. Provides access to the editable feature layer and server context.
PreAttributeEditEventArgs	Created when the PreAttributeEdit event occurs. Provides access to the feature and dataset being edited.
PreCommandExecuteEventArgs	Created when the PreCommandExecute event occurs. Provides access to the editable feature layer and server context.
PreToolExecuteEventArgs	Created when the PreToolExecute event occurs. Provides access to the editable feature layer and server context.
ToolsCreatedEventArgs	Created when the ToolsCreated event occurs. Provides access to the toolbars in the EditorTask.