Don't acquire schema locks by default on feature classes in open maps

[Skyler]

Simply opening a map in ArcGIS Pro causes a schema lock on all of the feature classes that are sources for the map layers. This causes frequent problems in my organization, since one user might have a map containing dozens of layers open just to view the data, and meanwhile no one else is able to fix issues with any of the those feature classes that require schema changes.

Since the vast majority of the time that a user opens a map they won't be editing the schema of any of the feature classes, it would be ideal for the default behavior to be not to acquire any schema locks, until the user actually tries to edit a feature class' schema.

I would think it should be possible to edit a feature class' data without locking the schema, but if allowing that isn't practical, please at least allow the option of opening a map in read-only mode so that other work isn't held up whenever someone is viewing data.

[AlfredBaldenweck]

One way to get around this is to make sure everyone is using manual edit sessions, iirc.

[Skyler]

@AlfredBaldenweck: I just tried enabling manual edit sessions and turning off layer editability by default for newly added layers, but it didn't make a difference. As soon as I added a layer to the map, a schema lock was added to its feature class. I tested and confirmed that I was prevented from making any changes to the feature class' schema from anywhere else, even though editing was disabled.

This behavior appears to align with Esri's documentation, which states "any time a dataset is accessed—such as when you add it to a map in ArcGIS Pro or when a dataset is used by a web layer—a shared schema lock is acquired on the dataset." (See: Enterprise geodatabase locks.) The documentation doesn't say anything about a schema lock being acquired only if an edit session is enabled.

[AlfredBaldenweck]

Hmm. I guess I was mixing it up with something else.