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Upgrade Attachments (Data Management Tools)

Summary

Upgrades the attachments functionality on the data.

When attachments are enabled on a feature class, an attachment table and relationship class are created to store the attachment data when an attachment is added to a feature. The attachment table that is created includes fields that are used to store information about the attachment.

Usage

  • At ArcGIS Pro 2.7, this tool adds two more editable fields (KEYWORDS and EXIFINFO) to the attachment table that can be used to store additional information about the attachment. These fields can be used by apps such as ArcGIS Survey123 that set their values through the feature service. For example, an app may set keyword values in the keywords column, which it later uses to query for specific attachments through the feature service.

    Learn more about using ArcGIS Survey123 with existing feature services

  • Attachments must be enabled on the input dataset before running this tool.

  • If the data is stored in an enterprise geodatabase, this tool must be run as the data owner.

  • This tool adds the following fields to the attachment table: KEYWORDS, EXIFINFO, ATT_TITLE, ATT_ALT_TEXT, ATT_CAPTION, and ATT_CREDIT. Each field is editable and nullable.

    • KEYWORDS—Adds searchable keywords that will be associated with the attached file. For example, if the attachment is deemed critical for review, and if the keyword critical is added to this field, the attachment will appear in a search if the query contains the keyword critical.

    • EXIFINFO—Stores additional metadata about the attached file. This field is not used at this time when accessing services in ArcGIS Pro.

    • The ATT_TITLE, ATT_ALT_TEXT, ATT_CAPTION, and ATT_CREDIT fields store alternative text (alt text) information about the attachment, such as a title, caption, or credit information. This information is extracted from the EXIFINFO field. These alt text fields can be added to the attachment table by setting the Upgrade level parameter to Exif And Alt Text Fields.

  • Both the KEYWORDS and EXIFINFO fields are supported and used by ArcGIS Online hosted feature services. The KEYWORDS field as well as limited support for the EXIFINFO field are supported by hosted feature services starting at ArcGIS Enterprise 10.8.1. You do not need to run this tool prior to publishing a hosted feature service, as these fields can be enabled after publishing.

  • If you are upgrading the attachments used in an existing service that was previously published through ArcGIS Desktop, you must republish the service using ArcGIS Pro 2.6 or later to support the upgraded attachments.

  • When the Upgrade level parameter is set to EXIF Fields, the minimum client version of the attachment table is set to ArcGIS Pro 2.6.

  • When the Upgrade level parameter is set to Exif And Alt Text Fields, the minimum client version of the attachment table is set to ArcGIS Pro 3.7.

    Note:

    Only services published from ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS Enterprise 10.8.1 and later support upgraded attachments.

    Caution:

    If the attachments are upgraded, the minimum client version of the attachment table is set to ArcGIS Pro 2.6 ( KEYWORDS and EXIFINFO columns) and set to ArcGIS Pro 3.7 (all six metadata fields). This results in the following limitations when working with the data in earlier versions of ArcGIS Pro:

    • The attachment table cannot be opened.

    • You can add features or records to the dataset that has attachments, but you cannot delete features or records.

    • If ArcGIS Desktop was used to create a replica of this data, attachments will not be a part of the replica.

  • To downgrade attachments to an earlier version, use the Downgrade Attachments tool.

Parameters

Label Explanation Data type

Input Dataset

The feature class with attachments enabled.

Table View

Upgrade level

(Optional)

Specifies the level to which the attachments functionality will be upgraded. The upgrade level determines which fields will be added to the attachment table.

  • EXIF Fields—The EXIFINFO and KEYWORDS fields will be added to the __attach table. This is the default.

  • Exif And Alt Text Fields—The alternate text fields ATT_TITLE, ATT_ALT_TEXT, ATT_CAPTION, and ATT_CREDIT will be added. The EXIFINFO and KEYWORDS fields will also be added to the __attach table.

String

Derived output

Label Explanation Data type

Updated Dataset

The updated dataset with upgraded attachments.

Table View

Environments

This tool does not use any geoprocessing environments.

Licensing information

  • Basic: Yes
  • Standard: Yes
  • Advanced: Yes