Remember the ArcFM Solution Object Converter

Friday, July 30, 2010 8:42 Posted by Melia Brush
Posted in ArcFM Desktop
3 Comments

ArcFM Solution Object Converter

Business data tables are not fully compatible with ArcFM functionality until an administrator converts them to ArcFM or Designer objects via the ArcFM Solution Object Converter.  This is an easy task to complete, but also an easy task to forget, especially when you are busy with many other configuration tasks.  To help you remember the ArcFM Solution Object Converter, here is its what, why, when, where, and how:

What the ArcFM Solution Object Converter does:

The ArcFM Solution Object Converter changes the geodatabase’s hidden internal records for this table from one of the ESRI object types to one of several ArcFM or Designer custom object types.  Additionally, converting an table to Designer adds some attributes to it.  This process is sometimes called “ArcFMifying” or “Designerifying” an object.

Why the ArcFM Solution Object Converter matters:
Many ArcFM/Designer tools – including some critical autoupdaters – are programmed to run only on ArcFM/Designer objects, or rely on changes made to those objects during the conversion process.  If a table is not ArcFMified/Designerified, the ArcFM/Designer tools you want to use may not work on its data.

When to run the ArcFM Solution Object Converter:

  • When first configuring a geodatabase for ArcFM/Designer, run the ArcFM Solution Object Converter on any existing utility business data tables (so not MM system tables) after you have run the  Create/Update ArcFM Solution System Tables and Upgrade ArcFM Solution Database commands.
  • When you create a new business data table, run the ArcFM Solution Object Converter on it.
  • When you create or recreate a network, run the ArcFM Solution Object Converter on all the tables in the network, as network creation causes tables to revert to ESRI objects.
  • Running the ArcFM Solution Object Converter repeatedly on the same tables, or converting repeatedly back and forth between object types, does not damage the tables.

Where to run the ArcFM Solution Object Converter:
In ArcCatalog, right-click on an individual table or at the dataset level (to convert all tables in the dataset) and choose ArcFM Solution Object Converter.

How to run the ArcFM Solution Object Converter:
For an SDE geodatabase, login as the table owner and connect to a version which you are allowed to edit.  Personal and file geodatabases do not require these connection properties.

Object Converter in ArcCatalog2

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3 Responses to “Remember the ArcFM Solution Object Converter”

  1. Brad Fisher says:

    November 3rd, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Hi Melia,

    I am correct to assume that if i do not have ArcFM suite & i’ve received data that still includes your custom feature class extensions, i’m unable to drop these myself without ArcFM Solution Object Converter. 

    Thanks brad

  2. Melia Brush says:

    November 29th, 2011 at 10:42 am

    Thanks for visiting the ArcFM Buzz blog, Brad!
    As long as you have the necessary permissions on the database, you should be able to drop (delete) an entire table whether it is an ArcFM object or not, even if you have no ArcFM products installed.  You won’t, however, be able to edit the data in an ArcFM table, nor delete individual ArcFM feature records.
    If you’d like to view the data prior to deleting an ArcFM table, you can install the free ArcFM Object Reader from http://www.telvent-gis.com/support/objectreader.shtml.
    In an ArcFM 9.3.1SP2 or earlier database, you can also convert ArcFMified tables back to Esri tables manually (without the ArcFM Object Converter tool), by editing the GDB_OBJECTCLASSES table, although in that case you would probably want to contact our support team (http://www.telvent-gis.com/support/contact.shtml) to confirm the best approach for this.  So far there is no manual conversion route in ArcFM 10 and higher, as the extension data are now being stored in a blob field.
    Ideally, of course, the person supplying the database to you could run the ArcFM Object Converter tool on it prior to sending it, so you’d have only Esri data from the start.
     

  3. Sayan Banerjee says:

    February 25th, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    Hi, Does ArcFM solution object convertor to convert into ArcFM object safe to run without zero direct connection to the database?

    Thanks and Regards,
    Sayan

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