Reconcile and post edits to a branch version

Available with Standard or Advanced license.

As data edits are made in a version, the versions begin to differ from one another. After a named version is created, all edits are tracked in the default version and the named version. Edits in the default version can include edits posted by other versions.

When you finish editing data in a version, you can perform the reconcile and post processes to merge your edits into the default version. The process that retrieves changes from the default version and merges them with your named version is called reconcile. Next, you send the changes you made in the named version to the default version using the post process.

If the same feature is edited in the named version and the default, this is considered a conflict. You can define what changes constitute a conflict before you run the reconcile process.

Tip:
The following sections describe how to perform the reconcile and post processes from the Versioning tab, which you open from the Contents pane of the map. You can also reconcile and post versions using the Reconcile Versions geoprocessing tool or the Reconcile/Post button Reconcile and Post on the Versions tab when you are in the Versions view.

Reconcile process

When you're working in a named version, reconciling detects conflicts between the named version that you are currently connected to and the default version.

Note:

When reconciling branch versions, be aware of the following:

  • The target version is always the default version.
  • A warning is returned if you attempt to reconcile and there are unreviewed conflicts.

To change how conflicts are handled and what prompts you receive during each reconcile operation, see Versioning options.

To reconcile your named version with the default version, complete the following steps:

  1. Add the web feature layer that contains the named version to the map.
  2. In the Contents pane, click the List By Data Source button List By Data Source.
  3. Click the web feature layer data source ArcGIS server to activate the Versioning tab.
  4. Click the Reconcile button Reconcile on the Versioning tab.

    The Reconcile dialog box appears.

  5. Specify how to define conflicts using the following options:

    Define conflictsDescription

    By attribute (column)

    Only changes to the same attribute (column) of the same row or feature in the target and edit versions will be flagged as a conflict. This is the default.

    By object (row)

    Any changes to the same row or feature in the target and edit versions will be flagged as a conflict.

  6. Click OK.

Note:

When reconciling branch versioned datasets, be aware of the following:

  • Conflicts are always resolved in favor of the edit version.
  • The undo and discard operations cannot be used to revert changes made after a reconcile operation is completed.

To prevent conflicts from being identified when the same attribute is updated in both versions, you can use the Add Field Conflict Filter geoprocessing tool to define the set of fields to filter from conflicts. A field conflict filter allows you to tag a field or set of fields in a feature class so that they are not included in conflict detection. Conflicts will not be returned during the reconcile operation if only fields with conflict filters are edited. This is only applicable when you are defining conflicts by attribute, not by object (row). To learn more, see Field-level conflict filtering.

If the reconcile process finds conflicts, you can review and manage these in the Conflicts view. To learn more about the Conflicts view, see Manage branch version conflicts.

After reviewing conflicts, complete the merging process by posting your changes to the default version.

Post changes

To post edits to the default version, the current portal user must have access to edit this version. This means the default version must have the access property set to public, or the portal user must be the version administrator.

Learn more about version access

To post changes to the default version after you reconcile and review conflicts, click the Post button Post in the Versioning group on the Versioning tab.

Conflicts can also be discovered during the post process. This occurs when data edits are performed on the default version after your reconcile but before you post your edits to the default version. These edits can be from users editing data in the default version, or from edits that have been posted from other named versions. If this occurs, an error is returned and you must perform the reconcile operation again before posting.

Be aware of the following additional information about the post process:

  • Once changes are posted, they cannot be undone, because you are applying changes to the default version.
  • If there are conflicts that have not been explicitly marked as reviewed, a dialog box appears when you post, warning that unreviewed conflicts will be automatically resolved. Click Yes to automatically resolve conflicts with the options you chose on the Reconcile dialog box and post the changes to the target version.
  • After posting, you can continue to make edits to the data in your named version. To apply these changes to the default version, you must perform the reconcile, conflict resolution, and posting processes again.

If posting marks the end of your workflow, you can optionally delete the named version you have been editing.

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