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Upgrade a file geodatabase

There are currently only three versions of the file geodatabase: 9.2, 9.3, and 10.0. If you are using currently supported versions of ArcGIS clients, upgrade 9.2 or 9.3 file geodatabases to 10.0.

You can use the Upgrade Geodatabase geoprocessing tool or a Python script to upgrade a file geodatabase. The tool can be opened from the Database Properties dialog box in ArcGIS Pro or from the Data Management toolbox.

Note:

  • Upgrades from beta versions of the geodatabase are not supported.

  • There is no formal mechanism to downgrade a geodatabase to a previous version. If after upgrading to a newer version you decide you need the older version of the geodatabase, use the backup copy of the old geodatabase that you created.

To upgrade a 9.2 or 9.3 file geodatabase from ArcGIS Pro, complete the following steps:

  1. Start ArcGIS Pro and open the Catalog pane.

  2. Connect to the folder that contains the file geodatabase to upgrade.

  3. If you do not already have a backup of your data, make a backup copy of the geodatabase before proceeding.

    1. Right-click the geodatabase and click Copy.

    2. Right-click the folder into which you want to place the backup and click Paste.

      A backup copy of the geodatabase allows you to revert to the previous version of the geodatabase if needed.

      Tip:

      If you paste the copy into the same folder as the original, the name of the copy will have _1 appended to it.

  4. Right-click the geodatabase to upgrade and click Properties to open the Database Properties dialog box.

  5. On the Database Properties dialog box, on the General tab, expand the Upgrade Status section.

    If an upgrade is possible, the Run Upgrade button is active.

    The Upgrade Geodatabase geoprocessing tool appears.

  6. Leave both the Perform Pre-requisite check and Upgrade geodatabase options checked and click Run Upgrade.

    A dialog box appears showing the process of the prerequisite check and upgrade. If there are any errors in the process, they will appear on this dialog box and the GDBUpgrade<n>.log, which can be found in the system TEMP directory.

    The tool places an exclusive lock on the file geodatabase, which puts it in a read-only state and prohibits other connections. The tool also ensures that all datasets can be opened. If the tool can place an exclusive lock and all datasets can be accessed, the tool proceeds with the upgrade. If the tool cannot obtain an exclusive lock or datasets are inaccessible, the tool terminates, and you must correct the problems before you run the Upgrade Geodatabase tool again.

  7. When the upgrade operation completes successfully, click OK to close the dialog box.

    The geodatabase is now upgraded.

If the geodatabase contains datasets that require upgrading—such as parcel fabrics—you must upgrade them separately. These dataset upgrades are optional; however, if you do not upgrade them, you will not have access to the latest functionality in the dataset.