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Jobs in ArcGIS Workflow Manager (Classic) sometimes require users to edit data in the multiuser geodatabase. Geodatabase archiving allows you to view the changes that have happened to your data. In the realm of Workflow Manager (Classic), these edits can be associated with a specific job. Workflow Manager (Classic) provides tools that allow you to view this information. Information such as who edited features, when the features were edited, and what features were edited is accessible through the Workflow Manager (Classic) geodatabase history tools.
See geodatabase archiving for more information on enabling archiving on your database.
Load Historical Data dialog box
From the Load Historical Data dialog box, you can load historical data from the geodatabase archive tables to view in ArcMap at any time. The Load Historical Data dialog box provides you with different options for querying these edits. Clicking the Load Historical Data button opens the dialog box.
Edits can be loaded based on the following criteria:
- Date range—This will load all edits that were posted between the specified dates.
- Job—This allows you to query the database for edits that were posted based on job ID or job name. This will load all the edits that match the values provided. For example, you can load all edits that were posted on Job ID 1.
- User—This allows you to query the database for edits that were posted by a specific Workflow Manager (Classic) user. The drop-down list will contain all the registered users in your Workflow Manager (Classic) system. For example, you can query all the edits posted by John Doe.
- All Visible Layers—This allows you to query the database for edits posted on all the visible layers in the current map document.
- Selectable layers—This option provides you with the flexibility of querying the database for edits made to a specific layer of interest. You can choose one or more layers from the list on the dialog box.
Once the layers are added to the map, you can access the layer properties to change the symbology of the various types of modifications. For example, you may want to signify your deletions in a more meaningful color, like red, on the map.
Inspect Historical Data tool
You can use the Inspect Historical Data tool to interactively identify a feature on a map and view the lineage of changes for that feature. When a feature is selected on the map, the tool mines the history sessions table in the Workflow Manager (Classic) repository and matches the edits with posted edits using the geodatabase archiving tables to retrieve edits that were posted that matched the feature identified.
The result is presented using a tree view that allows you to step back through each of the previous states of the feature. If a geometry change has occurred, you will be able to see the past geometries overlaid onto your ArcMap session for visual inspection.
Click the Inspect Historical Data button 
and click a feature on the map. The Inspect Historical Data window is opened in ArcMap. The tree view shows the feature ID and data and time stamp including the job ID that the edits were posted on.
If the feature has any geometry change, it will be symbolized according to the type of transactions: Add, Modify, Delete.
On the right panel of the Inspect Historical Data dialog box, there are more details on the edit sessions.
- Class Name—The name of the feature class/table that this transaction references
- Job ID—The ID of the job session where this change was logged
- Date—The date and time the edits were posted
- Transaction type—The type of edits that were made—add, modify, or delete
- Logged By—The user name of the user who logged the change
The tool also provides you with a graphic view of the feature before and after the edits were posted and highlights the differences to show what part of the feature was modified.
The Transaction History option allows you to use this tool to inspect transactions for historical data added using the Load Historical Data tool.
Reconciling edits
Before any transactions can be viewed or queried, they must be logged. This process is done as part of the posting command. Prior to posting, you must reconcile to remove any conflicts that have occurred due to other editors modifying the same features. Although on the Workflow Manager toolbar, this command is the same that can be seen on the standard Versioning toolbar. It is here for convenience.
Posting edits
You can post your edits at any time throughout the life span of a job using the Post command. On the Workflow Manager toolbar, this command is the same as can be seen on the standard Versioning toolbar. It is here for convenience.