Edit the Schema

Editing the schema is a critical step in the implementation process and features heavily in the workshops led by your implementation team. In the workshops you will discuss mapping your GIS fields to support Designer XI functionality. Think of the schema as a great translator between the enterprise feature classes and the design components.

In the schema, you establish the following configurations:

• Map Designer XI components and fields to geodatabase features/object tables and fields.

• Map Designer XI coded value domains to geodatabase domains.

• Determine import (GIS to Designer XI) and push (Designer XI to GIS) rules for field attributes.

• Determine where Designer XI components should go in the geodatabase (in other words, what feature class or object class should receive the component) when saving the design.

  IMPORTANT: To achieve high performance and maintain a lightweight app, Designer XI combines many features into common component types. When the design is pushed back into the GIS, these are then separated back to specific feature classes via layer and subtype rules (GN) or asset groups and asset types (UN).

• Include other attributes (not driven by the CU or equipment specification) for designers to edit.

The Solution Center Schema Editor chapter has detailed instructions on how to configure the functions above. The Solution Center > Designer plugin > Catalog > Electric GIS Schema (or Gas GIS Schema) tab includes several functions, accessed through the left-hand drop-down menu. Your implementation team will guide you through these steps.

In brief, these selections provide the following functionality:

• Tables allow you to map the Designer XI fields to their equivalent fields in the geodatabase and define whether they are only for import (GIS features to Designer XI components), only for push (Designer XI components to GIS features), or for both import and push. See the Table Mapping for Complex Edges topic to learn how Designer XI handles complex edges in the GIS. Tables may also be used to map Work Location fields in the schema—see the Solution Center topic Configure Work Locations to Push to the GIS.

• Coded Value Domains map the code, or GIS name of a component, to the Designer XI description or value. When a CU with an attribute from a coded value domain is pushed to the GIS, only the Code is sent. The two fields can be the same or different.

  • Coded Value Domains in Designer XI are mappings between a value in Designer XI and a GIS field from the selected feature that is domain bound. The GIS domain applicability can optionally be further refined by Subtypes or Asset Groups.

  • Coded Value Domains are bidirectional—when a component is imported, the indicated field is translated and its value used in that translated state. When pushed, the source of the field data being pushed is translated before it is sent to the GIS.

  • Coded Value Domains are not necessary when the target field is a GIS attribute. Applying them in this case may cause issues with displaying imported data.

• Layer and Subtype Rules (GN only) help Designer XI assign components to the right GIS feature type. When creating the assignments, keep the most specific conditions at the top as conditions are reviewed in order until a match is found. For UN implementations, Layer rules roughly equate to asset groups while subtype rules roughly equate to asset types. These associations are made in the Tables view.

• GIS Attributes are attributes that the administrator configures for display in or entry by the designer in Designer XI. They are inherently pushed to the GIS.

• Feature to Spec Mapping provides a way to view and validate the attributes from the GIS that are used to inform equipment specs. This component level analysis can return the number of features that match a spec, the most populous spec, unmatched features, and features that are assigned to generic specs.

There are several ways for Designer XI to push attributes back to the GIS. And occasionally there can be conflicts when data is coming from different sources. We recommend reading Attribute Push Priority to understand the implications of setting attributes at the equipment specification, CU, Macro CU, or GIS Attribute level.