Note: This topic was updated for 9.3.1.

To synchronize replicas in a connected environment, you can use the Synchronize Changes wizard in ArcMap or ArcCatalog. To learn about synchronizing in a connected environment, see Connected synchronization.

The wizard provides the following options:

Direction

Connected synchronization allows you to choose the direction in which the changes will be sent. For example, for two-way replicas, you can send changes to the relative replica and get changes from the relative replica to move changes in both directions. For checkout replicas, only the option to send changes from the child replica to the parent replica is available. For one-way replicas, only the option to send changes from the parent replica to the child replica is available. If you choose both directions, changes are first sent in one direction and then sent in the opposite direction, all in one operation.

Reconcile Options

During synchronization, a reconcile and post may occur between the synchronization version and the replica version. For information on the synchronization and replica versions and on when reconciles occur, see Synchronization and versioning. During this reconcile, conflicts may occur. You can choose a reconcile policy to define how to handle these conflicts. Reconcile policies include the following:

• Manual—With this policy, if a conflict occurs, the reconcile operation is aborted and the replica is marked as being in conflict. This gives you an opportunity to perform the reconcile afterwards, either manually or by running some custom reconcile code. Once the reconcile is applied and the changes are posted to the replica version, the replica is no longer in conflict. While the replica is in conflict, it can continue to receive changes but cannot send changes.
Learn more about resolving synchronization conflicts manually.
• In favor of the geodatabase1—In this case, the representation in geodatabase1 is automatically used over the representation in geodatabase2 if there is a conflict. Since the conflicts are resolved automatically, the replica is never in a conflict state after synchronizing with this policy.
• In favor of the geodatabase2—In this case, the representation in geodatabase2 is automatically used over the representation in geodatabase1 if there is a conflict. Since the conflicts are resolved automatically, the replica is never in a conflict state after synchronizing with this policy.

The default policy is for the parent replica's representation to be used. This can be in favor of either geodatabase1 or geodatabase2, depending on which one contains the parent replica.

For two-way replication, if you choose to synchronize in both directions, you cannot choose a manual reconcile policy.

You can also choose between column-level and row-level conflict detection for this reconcile.

Learn more about reconciling a version.

To see an example video of creating and synchronizing connected replicas, click here.

NOTE: The import phase of the synchronization process occurs within a transaction. The second phase of a synchronization includes a reconcile, which also occurs in a transaction. Resources, such as undo space or logical log files, will vary with the amount of changes to be synchronized. If the import phase completes but the reconcile phase results in an error, the replica will appear as if in conflict and you can later go in and complete the reconcile manually.

1. To activate the synchronize wizard in ArcMap, click the Synchronize button on the Distributed Geodatabase toolbar. The synchronize wizard supports both local and remote geodatabases. Remote geodatabases are accessed in ArcMap through map services that have the geodata access capability enabled.
2. To get more information on synchronization, click the About Getting Replica Changes button.
3. In ArcCatalog, right-click the geodatabase you want to synchronize with and open the Distributed Geodatabase pull-right menu. Right-click geodata services published through ArcGIS Server to access remote geodatabases. Click Synchronize Changes.
4. Choose the replica that you want to synchronize. Once selected, the dialog box will show the replica type.
5. Browse for the local or remote geodatabase containing that replica. Note that if the connection information for the relative replica is stored with the replica, it appears automatically and you don't need to browse.
6. Choose the direction in which you would like to send changes. If the replica is checkout/check-in or one-way, then you may only choose the appropriate direction. If the replica is two-way, then you can send changes from geodatabase 1 to geodatabase 2, from 2 to 1, or in both directions.
7. Click Next.
8. For checkout replicas, there is an option to reconcile and post with the parent version upon synchronization. For two-way and one-way replicas, this is always checked on.
9. Next, choose how you would like to define conflicts: By Object or By Attribute. Defining conflicts by object will detect conflicts by row, while defining them by attribute detects conflicts by column.
10. You also have a choice of how you want conflicts resolved: in favor of geodatabase 1, in favor of geodatabase 2, or to resolve conflicts manually.
11. Click Finish.

Tip The import phase of the synchronization process occurs within a transaction. The second phase of a synchronization includes a reconcile, which also occurs in a transaction. Resources, such as undo space or logical log files, vary with the amount of changes to be synchronized. If the import phase completes but the reconcile phase results in an error, the replica will appear as if in conflict and you can later go in and manually complete the reconcile.