topic Re: File Geodatabase Compatibility in ArcGIS Pro SDK Questions

File Geodatabase Compatibility

EdwardBlair — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 15:32:21 GMT

I got a Utility Network asset package as a file geodatabase from Schneider Electric. This opens and behaves as expected in ArcGIS Pro. When I try to open several of the classes in ArcCatalog I get "Unable to instantiate class for XML schema type: ArrayOfFieldGroup".

Is there a problem with this FGDB, or are File Geodatabases not guaranteed to be sharable between Pro and ArcGIS 10x?

Thx,

Re: File Geodatabase Compatibility

AyanPalit — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 15:38:34 GMT

@EdwardBlair ArcGIS Utility Network can be viewed and accessed through ArcGIS Pro. ArcMap/ArcCatlog is not compatible with Utility Network.

Re: File Geodatabase Compatibility

EdwardBlair — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 17:30:58 GMT

Ayan -

Thanks for the info, but my question is specifically about the File Geodatabase data structure. Is there something about a File Geodatabase created or edited in ArcGIS Pro that makes it incompatible with use in ArcCatalog?

Re: File Geodatabase Compatibility

AyanPalit — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 18:58:34 GMT

@EdwardBlair Basic File Geodatabase data structure is the same. Note that there are several enhancements and capabilities in ArcGIS Pro that are not backward compatible with ArcMap.

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/data/geodatabases/overview/types-of-geodatabases.htm

https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/manage-data/geodatabases/types-of-geodatabases.htm

Examples of where this incompatibility may surface:

File GDB implementation of ArcGIS Utility Network, Trace Network, Parcel Fabric, Pipeline Referencing. All these solutions were developed primarily for ArcGIS Pro and comprise of GDB objects that can only be read by ArcGIS Pro.
GDB functions like Attribute Rules, Contingent Values.

Re: File Geodatabase Compatibility

EdwardBlair — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 18:50:28 GMT

Ayan - Thanks for the additional detail. This helps.

Re: File Geodatabase Compatibility

RichardFairhurst — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 15:50:16 GMT

The overall file geodatabase is still compatible with ArcCatalog/ArcGIS Desktop, but the individual feature classes and datasets within it can be rendered incompatable with the enhanced features listed by Ayan. While all editing has to be performed in ArcGIS Pro to take advantage of the enhanced capabilities as intended by the data designer, it is still possible to create a simple feature class in that file geodatabase or in SDE that duplicates the schema without the enhanced capabilities and use the Truncate and Append tools in ArcGIS Pro to create a feature class that can be opened in ArcCatalog/ArcMap for a version of the feature class used for viewing publication only purposes. Of course it then has to undergo scheduled updates to periodically be synchronized with the edit version thereafter and cannot otherwise remain current with the edit version.