ArcGIS Publisher PMF Version Compatibility

Question

Does anyone know of version compatibility issues of creating a PMF? Or links to that documentation? I have not seen anything from Esri. I have asked Esri Support, and will update with their response.

Scenario 1:

• ArcMap 10.2 with publisher

• Microsoft SQL Sever Enterprise Geodatabase

• 10.1 Geodatabase

• Contractors use ArcReader 10.1 64 Bit

Scenario 2:

• ArcMap 10.2 with Publisher

• 9.3 File Geodatabase

• Contractors use ArcReader 10.1 64 Bit

Scenario 3:

• ArcMap 10.2 with Publisher

• 10.2 File Geodatabase

• Contractors use ArcReader 10.1 64 Bit

I have the above 3 scenarios available. What compatibility issues would I have (or have to consider) when creating a PMF in my ArcMAP 10.2 for users with ArcReader 10.1?

Obviously it would be appropriate for the users to upgrade their ArcReader to the latest version or for whatever version the creators of the PMF are using, but I do not have that control (contract limitations).

Thoughts?

Answer 1

Here is the result received from Esri:

While investigating the issue, I was able to find the following:- pmf files act differently with different versions of the software. For example, Published map files (.pmf) created with ArcGIS Publisher 10.0 or higher, are not backward compatible with arcreader 9.3 or earlier versions:

http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#/Saving_a_map/006600000253000000/

However, from the Help topic 'What's new in ArcGIS 10.2', 'Document compatibility between ArcGIS 10.1 and 10.2':

http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/index.html#/What_s_new_in_ArcGIS_10_2/016w0000005s000000/

'ArcGIS 10.1 and 10.2 map, globe, and scene documents are directly compatible with each other. You can open an ArcGIS 10.2 document in ArcGIS 10.1 without any special steps.'

Although the documentation does not mention pmfs specifically, it still applies. Opening a simple 10.2 pmf was opened in 10.1 successfully.

Furthermore, that's not the case with 10.0. Maps or pmfs created in 10.2 or 10.1 are not readable in 10.0. An error is displayed in ArcMap: 'Opening the selected ArcMap document failed.’

I would have to assume that geodatabase versions do not play a role in PMF/Reader compatibility. Esri seems to be forward compatible. Geodatabase functions remain consistent with the version being applied, however.