Loading Objects to Table in Arc10

[MikeRomankiewicz]

Hello,

I am trying to load objects from a table into another table in an editing session in Arc10 (ArcInfo), SP3, running on Windows XP. Both tables are in the same SDE database, and the target table has dynamic geocoding tied to it; thus, when the new objects from the source table are added to the target table, they get dynamically geocoded.

Within my .mxd in Arc10, I have added the Load Objects... command from the Data Converters toolbar to my table context menu.

When I begin my edit session, I right-click the appropriate table, click the Load Objects... command and a wizard/dialog pops up, asking me what data source I'd like to load. I select the appropriate source table (matches schema of target table) and Click the Next button. The next dialog box that appears asks me to what data layer I'd like to add the source data...the only options are feature classes. I want to add the source data to a table, and in 9.3.1 this 'choose the target data layer' dialog never appeared when I was loading objects into the target table as described thus far. As far as I can tell, that dialog should not even be prompted- it should instead bring up a dialog box which allows the user to match the schema of the target table to the source data.

The process worked seamlessly in Arc 9.3.1...can't seem to replicate the same functionality in Arc10. Is there something I am missing? Has the functionality of the Load Objects... command been altered in 10?

Thanks for your help,
Mike

[RhondaGlennon]

With ArcGIS 9.3, the Load Objects command used the target layer on the Editor toolbar as the destination into which the data will be loaded. This meant that you needed to set the target before you started the wizard, which made it likely that you could inadvertently load data into the wrong layer. Since the Editor toolbar was redesigned in ArcGIS 10 and there is no longer a target layer, the new panel you are seeing on the wizard allows you to set the target within the wizard itself. (This same thinking applies to other commands, such as Buffer on the Editor menu, where you now set the target within the command.) The location of the Load Objects command on the user interface has no effect on the target layer, so many people just put it on the Editor toolbar menu.

The Load Objects command is not intended to be used to load data into tables; it is for feature classes only. It was actually a bug that it may have worked in a few cases in the past. You need to use the Simple Data Loader or an import geoprocessing tool in ArcMap to load data into a stand-alone table.

[MikeRomankiewicz]

Thanks for the insight into the command.
Bug or not, it certainly seems that you should be able to load objects into a table, but I guess you are saying that functionality is limited to simple data loads?

Unfortunately, using the simple objects loader fails when attempting to load into the particular table because the data is not of a simple data type (I am assuming because of the relationship class present from the dynamic geocoding). Additionally, I like the ability to add the objects in an edit session in case I need to undo the object load. Do you have any other suggestions? Is the append geoprocessing tool supposed to work with non-simple data types (haven't tried it)?

[RhondaGlennon]

I understand what you are saying about the benefits of the Object Loader and an edit session. The original bug ID is NIM039906, which does have a workaround listed of using the Append tool. In my quick test between tables with relationship classes, Append did at least complete successfully. If it does not work for you, you might drop a line to Esri Support so an analyst can help you find the optimal workflow for your data.

[DianeMcConnaughey]

ArcGIS 10 Sp4 Windows 7.  Is there a way to "strectch" the windows or get the object loader to reveal the full name of the source field for the matching target?  Unfortunately the original field names are long due to using Excel initially and joined tables.  So many of the fields start with the same "prefix", and the dialog box does not show the full name of the field

[RhondaGlennon]

Sorry, I don't think you can resize the Object Loader dialog box or the list of fields in it. Again, you might try Append or another geoprocessing tool here.