Repairing Data sources with Exclamation point: Repair all broken links, regardless of workspace factory type.

AlfredBaldenweck — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:54:14 GMT

Pro version 3.1.3

I've been running into this problem recently.

In short, using the Exclamation point to fix broken links has limited functionality.

TLDR: the Exclamation point will repair Esri data types (except mobile geodatabases) + and maybe one thing else, even if everything is in the same folder.

This is not a problem if using the catalog pane to update a map's sources with a find/replace.

In the screenshot below, I have several layers and views pointing to data of the following types:

TINs
File Geodatabase Vector and Tabular Data
Mobile Geodatabase Vector Data
CAD data
Excel Data
Shapefiles
KMLs

Here's the thing. All of these data sources, as you can see, are in the same folder.

If I use the exclamation point to repair the sources, I get the following results:

Note: I am starting from a fresh map each time.

Thing repaired	Yield	Picture for proof
DBF or SHP or TIN or file Geodatabase Contents or standalone rasters	SHP, TIN, DBF, Standalone raster datasets File Geodatabase feature classes and tables Also caused graphical bug where the broken file geodatabase persisted despite having nothing pointing to it.
CAD data	SHP, TIN, DBF, Standalone raster datasets File Geodatabase feature classes and tables And exactly one repaired CAD layer, even though there are 10 others in the same place
Mobile geodatabase	SHP, TIN, DBF, Standalone raster datasets File Geodatabase feature classes and tables Mobile Geodatabase contents Also caused graphical bug where the broken file geodatabase persisted despite having nothing pointing to it.
Geopackage	SHP, TIN, DBF, Standalone raster datasets File Geodatabase feature classes and tables Geopackage contents Also mistakenly repaired the link for layer pointing to a feature class of the same name in a mobile geodatabase
KML	Repaired that KML and nothing else
Excel Sheet	SHP, TIN, DBF, Standalone raster datasets File Geodatabase feature classes and tables That Excel sheet

Please improve the functionality of this workflow to properly repair all data sources at once.

Re: Repairing Data sources with Exclamation point: Repair all broken links, regardless of workspace factory type.

JurajKrumpolec — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:37:35 GMT

Repairing broken sources is a very poorly thought out functionality in ArcGIS Pro, just like it was in ArcMap. Robust and automated repair of lost sources, which helps the user quickly solve such a tricky problem, is a much-missing functionality in ArcGIS Pro.

Why not learn from those who can do it better? Adobe After Effects, for example, has an excellent and user-friendly solution for repairing lost sources.

Re: Repairing Data sources with Exclamation point: Repair all broken links, regardless of workspace factory type.

AlfredBaldenweck — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:26:48 GMT

idea Repairing Data sources with Exclamation point: Repair all broken links, regardless of workspace factory type. in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

Repairing Data sources with Exclamation point: Repair all broken links, regardless of workspace factory type.

Re: Repairing Data sources with Exclamation point: Repair all broken links, regardless of workspace factory type.

Re: Repairing Data sources with Exclamation point: Repair all broken links, regardless of workspace factory type.