ArcPad Nightmare

[RobinWilson2]

Hello, We have purchased Mesa units for our street department to upgrade the street signs. Initially, when we started this project, we were running ArcMap 9.3. This seemed to work fine when we tested it, but then we upgraded to 10.0. We have had problems trying to export the data to ArcMap ever since. Errors for the attribute tables were preventing us from exporting the data. We would fix one group of errors, re-try the export, and have a totally new set of errors. The last time we attempted this, the error said that the data we were working with would not accept NULL values and that the <NULL> was too many characters for the field. We were told by ESRI Support to try doing a Field calculation to have the fields take NULL values. This seemed ridiculous, so we shelved the problem for the time being. Now, we have upgraded to 10.1 with the hope that this version would work better. Now when I try to export the data, it won't let me select the signs layer for export. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks

[BrettBlack1]

In the ArcPad Data Manager tool the second to last screen has a toggle button to "Validate feature classes prior to check out"....have you tried turning this feature off?

[RobinWilson2]

In the ArcPad Data Manager tool the second to last screen has a toggle button to "Validate feature classes prior to check out"....have you tried turning this feature off?

Brett,
Thanks for your response, I tried your suggestion and it exported "successfully" but when I open up the ArcPad device and look at the map, the preview shows correctly, but when I open the map, only about half of our signs show up.
I don't understand this.

[DeniseKing]

Hi guys,

I am going to have to strongly disagree with the recommendation to toggle off "Validate feature classes prior to check out" option at bottom of Get Data For ArcPad - Select Output Options dialog as validation is an ArcGIS Desktop process and it is an important step in ensuring the success of your mobile GIS project.  Additionally you should know that if you toggle off the "Validate feature classes prior to check out" option, ArcGIS Desktop will allow you to check out data that is invalid yet ArcGIS Desktop will not allow you to check in any invalid data features.  When toggled on, the geodatabase layers and features selected for check-out will be            validated before checking out.  The validation process will stop at the first occurrence of            invalid data and report the invalid data.  The invalid data should be corrected, and            the check-out process runs again (with the validate option checked) until no invalid data            is reported.  All invalid data will need to be corrected in order to check out the layer.  The validation occurs in the following sequence:

1. Validate any subtypes.


2. Validate any attribute rules (such as domains).


3. Validate any network connectivity rules.


4. Validate any relationship rules.


5. Perform any custom validation (using optional class extensions).

ArcPad requires that all data be valid according to the defined domains.  Although the            validation process takes some time for larger datasets, it is highly recommended that you            validate your data when using Get Data For ArcPad for the first time.  This will detect            and report any invalid data and provide you with an opportunity to correct the data.

Using the ArcPad Data Manager to Check Out and Check In Data
http://arcpadteam.blogspot.com/2011/11/using-arcpad-data-manager-to-check-out.html
http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcpad/10.0/help/#/Get_Data_for_ArcPad/00s100000068000000/

Preparing your data for use with ArcPad 7.1
http://arcpadteam.blogspot.com/2008/02/preparing-your-data-for-use-with-arcpad.html

Validating Features and Relationships in ArcMap
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#//01m90000000n000000
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#/Validating_features_and_relationships_in_A...
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#//01m900000009000000

I hope this additional information is helpful and encourage you to contact Esri Support if you are still experiencing challenges with your data and your ArcPad project.

Cheers,
Denise