Trace All Feeders is run on a new geodatabase to properly initialize the Feeder Manager fields. When changes are made to the data after the initialization, Feeder Manager autoupdaters are designed to maintain the FeederID, FeederID2 and FeederInfo fields (and ParentCircuitSourceID for EFM users). There are minimal types of edits that can cause Feeder Manager autoupdaters to NOT maintain that information accurately (i.e., use of Esri's Connect and Disconnect tools may be the only examples of this type of edit). If this type of edit occurs, select the Trace All Feeders or Trace A Feeder option to update affected conductors and devices in all feeder systems or a selected feeder system. Only one instance of Trace a Feeder or Trace All Feeders may be run at one time. The tools to trace feeders are available in the following locations:

Trace a Feeder (ArcCatalog): This tool traces a single feeder until it comes to the end of the feeder or encounters a de-energized feature.
Trace a Feeder (ArcMap): This tool traces a single feeder until it comes to the end of the feeder or encounters a de-energized feature.
De-Energized Features: Trace A Feeder stops tracing when it encounters a de-energized feature.
Trace All Feeders (ArcCatalog): This tool traces all feeders in the geometric network, including those that have no source junction (island) and any feeders downstream from a de-energized junction.
Trace All Feeders (standalone executable): This tool traces all feeders in the geometric network, including those that have no source junction (island) and any feeders downstream from a de-energized junction. This tool also compresses the database after tracing each feeder, making Trace All Feeders faster than when it's run in ArcCatalog.
De-Energized Features: If Trace All Feeders encounters a de-energized feature, it assigns the FeederID field a value of Null.

Database Connection

You must be logged in as the SDE user to run Trace All Feeders. Follow these steps to establish a connection to run the TraceAllFeeders functionality (from ArcCatalog or as a standalone utility).

In ArcCatalog, expand the Database Connections folder and double-click Add Database Connection.
Select the Database Platform. If using an SQLServer database, populate the Instance field with the name of the database containing the business tables. If using Oracle, you may enter SDE in the Database field or leave it blank. Any other entry will generate errors.
Select the Authentication Type.
Enter your User Name and Password.

Select the checkbox labeled Save User Name and Password. This step is necessary only if you are using the standalone version of TraceAllFeeders.

If you are not using the standalone version of TraceAllFeeders, do not check the Save User Name and Password checkbox.

Click OK.

Figure 1

Use this connection ONLY for the TraceAllFeeders.exe (standalone version). Do NOT use it for any other applications. Only versions that are public or are owned by the user can be processed by this utility.

Trace a Feeder (ArcCatalog)

Trace a Feeder performs the same task, whether run in ArcMap or ArcCatalog. It traces a specific feeder until it encounters a de-energized feature or the end of the feeder.

To execute this tool, right-click the geometric network in ArcCatalog and select Feeder Manager | Trace a Feeder.
In the Feeder Selection window, select the feeder to be traced and click OK. You can select multiple feeders. However, if you wish to trace multiple feeders, Telvent recommends using the Trace All Feeders standalone executable.

Figure 2

Trace a Feeder (ArcMap)

Trace a Feeder performs the same task, whether run in ArcMap or ArcCatalog. It traces a specific feeder until it encounters a de-energized feature or the end of the feeder.

Trace a Feeder is not enabled until you have an edit session started.
Click the Trace a Feeder button. You may need to add this button to the ArcFM toolbar (it's not displayed by default). Select it from the ArcFM Solution category on the Commands tab of the Customize menu.
In the Feeder Selection window (Figure 2), select the feeder to be traced and click OK. You can select multiple feeders. However, if you wish to trace multiple feeders, Telvent recommends using the Trace All Feeders standalone executable.

Trace All Feeders (ArcCatalog)

Use this tool to trace all feeders in the network. If you choose to access Trace All Feeders in ArcCatalog, note that it does not compress after each feeder and may take longer to finish tracing all feeders than the standalone version. If you're tracing feeders in a large network with a large number of feeders, you may prefer to use TraceAllFeeders.exe as it is faster. Trace All Feeders will trace downstream of any de-energized features and therefore locate ALL energized features as well as any islands that may exist in the network.

To execute this tool, right-click the geometric network in ArcCatalog and select Feeder Manager | Trace All Feeders. When it's complete, the Trace All Feeders tool will display a window that shows how long the trace took.

Figure 3

Trace All Feeders (standalone executable)

The standalone version of Trace All Feeders does compress the database after each feeder which allows it to trace faster than the ArcCatalog version. The standalone version also allows you to trace a set of feeders (rather than the entire network). This application will prompt the user if the geodatabase needs to be updated using the Upgrade ArcFM Solution Database tool.

TraceAllFeeders.exe requires that the database connection information include a saved user name and password. When creating your SDE database connection, select the checkbox to save the user name and password. Without this information saved with the connection, TraceAllFeeders.exe will continually prompt the user for the user name/password without executing the trace.

Trace All Feeders (TraceAllFeeders.exe) may be run in two different ways. By default, TraceAllFeeders.exe is installed here: Program Files\Miner and Miner\ArcFM Solution\Bin. You can double-click the executable to trace all feeders in the network. Optionally, you can execute TraceAllFeeders.exe using a command prompt. Using a command line allows you to trace a group of feeders rather than the entire network.

Double-Click TraceAllFeeders.exe

If you double-click TraceAllFeeders.exe, it will prompt you to select a geometric network, then trace all feeders in that network. When the tool is finished tracing all feeders it will display a dialog box (Figure 3). Executing Trace All Feeders by double-clicking the executable allows you to only trace all feeders in the network; it does not allow you to trace a subset of feeders.

Execute TraceAllFeeders.exe in Command Line

This allows you to trace all feeders in the network or trace a designated subset of feeders using command line arguments. You can execute TraceAllFeeders.exe with the optional arguments shown in the table below. If you include no arguments, the tool will trace all feeders in the selected geometric network (you will be prompted to select a network if more than one exists).

TraceAllFeedersSnapshot.dat: This file contains information from the previous feeder trace. Reference this file if you wish to run a trace that picks up where the last trace left off. This file is deleted once Trace All Feeders has traced all feeders in the network. This prevents Trace All Feeders from tracing the last batch of feeders repeatedly. The selected snapshot file MUST be compatible with the database and version. If you use a snapshot from another database or version, you will encounter errors.

-n

This argument specifies the number of feeders to be traced. If the number provided is less than the number of feeders in the network, then feeder information is saved to the TraceAllFeedersSnapshot.dat file. If this file does not exist, the user is provided with a Yes/No prompt to create the file. Select Yes to create the file and No to stop the trace without creating the file. Reference this file in future traces to pick up where your current trace left off. The following example traces 10 feeders:

    TraceAllFeeders.exe -n 10

You will be prompted to select a geometric network. When the trace is finished, the Trace All Feeders tool will display a window (Figure 3) that shows how long the trace took.

-f

This argument specifies the path name of a snapshot file that TraceAllFeeders.exe will use. Use this argument if you wish to pick up where the last incomplete trace left off. For example: Use this trace if TraceAllFeeders.exe uses too much memory. Tracing all feeders in chunks will reduce the amount of memory used.

        TraceAllFeeders.exe -f  "D:\Sandbox\TraceAllFeedersSnapshot.dat"

If you do not specify a path to TraceAllFeedersSnapshot.dat, then TraceAllFeeders.exe assumes this path: %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Miner and Miner\ArcFM\TraceAllFeedersSnapshot.dat

You will be prompted to select a geometric network. When the trace is finished, the Trace All Feeders tool will display a window (Figure 3) that shows how long the trace took.

-n -f

You may use both arguments for a single trace. The -n argument determines the number of feeders to be traced. The -f argument points to the TraceAllFeedersSnapshot.dat file that indicates which feeders were last traced and picks up where the last trace left off.

      TraceAllFeeders.exe -n 10 -f  "D:\Sandbox\TraceAllFeedersSnapshot.dat"

You will be prompted to select a geometric network. When the trace is finished, the Trace All Feeders tool will display a window (Figure 3) that shows how long the trace took.

Database Compression

When running the standalone version of Trace All Feeders, two consecutive attempts are made to compress before any editing is done. If either of the first two attempts fails, then a message displays that says the compress is not succeeding and gives the user the option of either continuing with no further attempts to compress or to abort the operation.

ALL attempts to compress, including the first two, will generate an entry in the application event log when event logging is turned on. This is in addition to the “continue yes/no?” message that is issued when either of the first two compress attempts fails.

If the first two compress attempts succeed, errors will be recorded in the event log. If any attempt fails, then no more attempts will be made during the current run of the TraceAllFeeders function.

A user can discover whether the compress attempt stopped at some point during a run of TraceAllFeeders in two ways:

While TraceAllFeeders is still in progress, the title bar of the progress dialog displays whether any attempt to compress has failed. If all attempts have succeeded, the title bar says “Tracing all feeders...” If any attempt has failed, the title bar reads “Tracing all feeders (no compress)...”
Upon completion of TraceAllFeeders, a message displays indicating the start date/time, the finish date/time, and the total elapsed time. The phrase at the top of this message indicates whether all attempts at compression were successful. If they were successful then that phrase reads: “TraceAllFeeders complete.” Otherwise it reads: “TraceAllFeeders complete (without compressing).”

Failed Compression: If Trace All Feeders hangs during compression, contact your Database Administrator to run the following command. This command executes compress on the database. Next, run Trace All Feeders again. Running the compress from the command line inspires the compress to work properly during Trace All Feeders.

   sdeversion -o compress -s <server_name> -i <service> -p <db_user_password>

Creating a Shortcut

If you consistently use the same arguments to trace feeders in batches, you may wish to create a shortcut. Follow the steps below:

Browse to TraceAllFeeders.exe. By default, this file is installed here: Program Files\Miner and Miner\ArcFM Solution\Bin.
Right-click TraceAllFeeders.exe and select Create Shortcut. This creates a file in the same directory called Shortcut to TraceAllFeeders.exe. You may rename this file.
Right-click Shortcut to TraceAllFeeders.exe and select Properties.
On the Shortcut tab, place the arguments in the Targets field after the path already listed there.

Figure 4
Click OK to save changes and dismiss the Properties window.