Synchronizing local Edits with Server

[SamuelWarner]

I have a subscription to AGOL for organizations and found an issue when editing a local copy of my feature services and syncing the edits back online. 

In this example I wanted to updated the XY (attributes not location) of a points layer in my feature service.  I added the service to 10.1 desktop and created a local copy for editing. I updated the XY attributes by "Calculating Geometry" and synced the local edits with the server.  The sync was surprisingly quick but when I go to view the feature online the edits were not saved.  I tried again but this time I actively started editing the layer in the feature class by opening an editing session and then synced to the the server.  This time the edits were saved.

My question, even though I just documented the answer, can you make edits to a feature services without going into an edit session (using calculate geometry or the field calculator)?  Would I have similar results if I ran a tool that modified attributes but didn't actually open an editing session?

[HeatherMcCracken]

Thank you for this feedback.

The behavior you are seeing when editing with Calculate Geometry and Calculate Fields are bugs in the current release.  The changes should be synchronized to the server.

We were aware of Calculate Fields issue, and it has been fixed in 10.1 sp1.  But Calculate Geometry still has the issue.  I have relayed this message to the development team, and they are planning to fix this for the next service pack.

The underlying issue is as you describe - the edits were being performed outside of an edit session.  The tools need to recognize that the workspace being edited is being used for synchronization (replication) and handle this case. 
If you are making edits yourself through custom code, always do them within an edit session to ensure they will be included in synchronizations.

A workaround for the Calculate Geometry issue - is to start an Edit Session before running it.

Thanks,
-Heather