Types of schematic attributes

When creating a schematic attribute, you have to specify its type. Some attribute types are dedicated to schematic feature class only, and others can be configured on both a schematic feature class and a schematic diagram template. The type of a schematic attribute determines how the attribute values are computed. In most cases, type also implies the schematic attribute evaluation and storage modes even if it doesn't fix them—that is, it implies when the attribute values should be evaluated and where they should be stored. The table below lists the different types of schematic attributes that can be configured on schematic feature classes and schematic diagram templates as well as the storage and evaluation modes that are set by default when they are created.

Type	Description	Apply on	Default storage	Default evaluation
Associated Field attribute	Values are retrieved from a field stored in the feature class or table with which the schematic feature class is associated (see the Note below).	Schematic feature only	Field	On Generate/Update
Constant Attribute	Value is a constant.	Schematic feature & diagram	No Storage	As Needed
Field Attribute	Values are found in a field returned by the custom query specified for the diagram template or schematic feature class that it is related to.	Schematic feature & diagram	Field	On Generate/Update
Formatted Attribute	Attribute spawns its own values by formatting other existing attribute values.	Schematic feature & diagram	Field	On Generate/Update
Function Attribute	Values are computed by an applicative function.	Schematic feature & diagram	Field	On Generate/Update
Geometry Attribute	Values are X coordinate, Y coordinate, or list of vertices decoded from geometry data specific to ArcGIS features. This attribute works only from this specific data.	Schematic feature only	No Storage	On Start Editing
PropertySet Attribute	Values are automatically managed—that is, stored, removed, updated, and so on, by a schematic rule (for example, the Expand Links rule), any schematic builder (for example, the XML builder), or any other custom component.	Schematic feature only	Field	On Generate/Update
Query Attribute	Values are returned by a query other than the custom query that may be specified for the diagram template or schematic feature class that it is related to.	Schematic feature & diagram	Field	On Generate/Update
Script Attribute	Values are returned by a VB script.	Schematic feature & diagram	Field	On Generate/Update

Note:

With ArcGIS Schematics prior to 10, there were two other types of attributes, Dynamic and Static. The new Associated Field attribute replaces those at Schematics 10. Since Static attributes were evaluated each time diagrams were generated/updated with previous versions of ArcGIS Schematics, creating an Associated Field attribute with the On Generate/Update evaluation mode is exactly the same within ArcGIS Schematics 10. Associated Field attributes with the On Start Editing evaluation mode are similar to the previous Dynamic attributes. To have the exact equivalent in that case, you also need to configure your diagrams to be automatically loaded in memory at their opening.

• Learn about schematic attribute evaluation mode
• Learn about loading schematic diagrams automatically in memory