The version tree view

The version tree allows you to view the hierarchy of parent and child versions and how versions relate to one another. The tree view also helps you visualize which versions can be reconciled with one another, which can be deleted, and which child versions will be affected by a cascade delete. You can also create new versions, rename existing versions, delete versions, and edit version properties from this subtab.

Viewing versions in the version tree

The version tree is accessed from the Tree View subtab of the Versions tab of the Geodatabase Administration dialog box. You can access this by right-clicking a geodatabase connection in the Catalog tree, pointing to Administration, clicking Administer Geodatabase, then clicking the Versions tab. At the bottom of this tab is the Tree View subtab. Click it to see a hierarchical view of versions in the geodatabase.

In this version tree, you can see the following relationships:

• The gdbv, asv_pub_chg, and v_elec1 versions are all children of the DEFAULT version.
• The rev_1 version is a child of asv_pub_chg.
• The v_elec1a and v_elec1b versions are both children of v_elec1.

This information helps you determine which versions you can reconcile with. For example, you can reconcile elec1b with elec1, or DEFAULT because they are in the same branch; you cannot reconcile rev_1 with v_elec1 because they are not in the same branch.

You can also see what effect deleting a specific version will have. If you delete v_elec1, v_elec1a and v_elec1b will also be deleted. Similarly, if you delete asv_pub_chg, rev_1 will be deleted. Therefore, you don't want to delete the parent versions unless you are sure the child versions have been reconciled and posted to a target version and are no longer needed.

Managing versions from the version tree

While in the tree view, you can create, reconcile, and delete versions by right-clicking the version in the tree view and clicking New Version, Reconcile Version, or Delete Version, respectively. By creating a version in the tree view, you can immediately see how it relates to other versions in the tree.

Reconciling from the tree view is useful because, when you click Reconcile Version, the Reconcile Versions geoprocessing tool opens. The versions in this tool appear in a list so you can't see how they are related. By having the version tree still open, you can quickly see which target version you should choose in the tool to reconcile your version against.

It is best to delete versions from the tree view since, as mentioned in the previous section, this allows you to see if there are child versions that will also be deleted when you delete a version.

You can also see what locks are held on a version if you are connected to the geodatabase as the version owner or geodatabase administrator. Right-click the version in the version tree and click View Locks to open the Locks tab and see what locks, if any, are currently held on a specific version.

Additionally, you can edit the name, description, or access privileges of a view while in the tree view. See Version properties for more information.