Moving a geodatabase using an XML document

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

You can use geodatabase XML workspace documents to copy and move a geodatabase. This option creates a readable XML document of the geodatabase contents.

You can load the resultant XML document into an empty geodatabase. This requires that you set up the new geodatabase in the location to which you want to move the geodatabase. Essentially, using an XML document to move the geodatabase moves the schema and the data from one geodatabase to another.

Note:

The resulting geodatabase XML document can be huge when you copy both the data as well as the schema. Generally, this alternative is not recommended for copying geodatabase data. Alternatives for making a geodatabase copy include the use of the Copy tool and the Extract Data Wizard in ArcMap to copy subsets of the information.

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap and open the Catalog window.
2. Follow the instructions in Copying a geodatatabase using geodatabase XML workspaces to export the geodatabase schema and data to an XML document.
3. If necessary, copy the XML document to a different server.

   You might have to do this if the geodatabase to which you are moving is on a different network or in a different physical location.

4. Create an empty geodatabase in the new location to which you want to move it.
5. Follow the steps in Importing feature datasets, classes, and tables from an XML workspace document to import the contents of the XML document to a new, empty geodatabase.