Question on how to properly reconcile and post branch versions

Question

I have a parcel fabric in portal that is utilizing branch versioning. There are two edit versions. I usually use the "Manage Versions" window from the Versioning tab to reconcile and post edits. When I reconcile and Post, Version A reconciles to default. Since we do not edit default, no changes are pulled down into Version A. Then Version B reconciles to default. Since Version A's changes are already in Default, Version B is now fully up-to-date. But Version A does not have the changes from Version B. Hopefully all of that makes sense.

What is the intended method for handling this? I would like for all versions to be in sync after a reconcile and post.

George Thompson · Answer

Like Josh said, if you automate this, I would add a reconcile at the end to get all the versions at the same state of the data.

If you have multiple editors, then having them reconcile (not post) during the day would be best.

Here is a similar workflow to look at: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/data/geodatabases/overview/the-version-editing-process.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_1C03A896762346179AA7DC6E6A32D02F (I know it is for traditional versioning) but the reconcile / posting part is still helpful.

jcarlson · Answer

You could write a script or maybe build a model to do this automatically, but I'm not sure how you'd get that to handle a changing number of versions.

In our department, we just encourage editors to reconcile often, even if they're not ready to post. That way you always get the most recent edits into your version, and possible conflicts are identified earlier. If you make a habit of reconciling before and/or after working on a parcel fabric record, or every couple hours, you'll probably be fine.