Code Works in Python Window but not Script

Question

This code successfully completes inside the ArcMap Python window but fails as a script with identical code in a toolbox. The source data is a collection of feature classes directly inside an enterprise geodatabase.

import arcpy
from arcpy import env

env.workspace = "Database Connections\\ClevestDataReload (As SA on GIS).sde"

# Enable archiving on feature classes and tables
arcpy.AddMessage("Beginning to enable archiving on feature classes and tables...")
arcpy.AddMessage("------------------------------------------------------------")

featureTable = ["CapacitorBank", "DynamicProtectiveDeviceBank"]
iter = 0
while (iter < len(featureTable)):
    arcpy.AddMessage("   Starting to enable archiving on " + featureTable[iter] + "...")
    archiveString = "Database Connections/ClevestDataReload (As SA on GIS).sde/ClevestDataReload.DBO." + featureTable[iter]
    arcpy.EnableArchiving_management(archiveString)
    arcpy.AddMessage("   Finished enabling archiving on " + featureTable[iter] + ".")
    iter += 1

arcpy.AddMessage("---------------------------------------------------------------")
arcpy.AddWarning("Completed enabling archiving on all feature classes and tables.")

Here's the error from the script:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\zbettis\Desktop\EnableArchiving.py", line 15, in <module>
    arcpy.EnableArchiving_management(archiveString)
  File "c:\program files (x86)\arcgis\desktop10.2\arcpy\arcpy\management.py", line 73, in Enable Archiving
    raise e
ExecuteError: Failed to execute. Parameters are not valid.
Error 001540: Enable archiving is not supported for a dataset in a feature dataset.
The feature dataset containing the dataset must be enabled for archiving.
Failed to execute (EnableArchiving).

Failed to execute (EnableArchiving).

Answer 1

While I believe the error is correct and you shouldn't be able to enable archiving on an individual Feature Class (FC) within a Feature Dataset (FD), you can get around this in three ways (that I've tested so far). I'll outline what should be happening, and also what I found in my testing.

Everything in a FD is done as a group (the entire dataset) - Spatial Reference, Versioning, Archiving, etc., you cannot (or shouldn't be able to) enable archiving on individual feature classes in a FD.

Enable Archiving option not present at FC level within a FD:

Enable Archiving option available at FD level:

If I run your script from the python window it completes successfully. Also if I run it straight from python (outside of ArcGIS Desktop) it completes successfully. The screenshot below is the properties of a FC within my FD - the FC was enabled using the script, the rest of the FD was not enabled:

You can see now at the FD level that I have both Enable and Disable options!

Running your script from a tool in ArcGIS I get the same error as you:

ExecuteError: Failed to execute. Parameters are not valid.
ERROR 001540: Enable archiving is not supported for a dataset in a feature dataset. The feature dataset containing the dataset must be enabled for archiving.
Failed to execute (EnableArchiving).

However, if I changed my tool to run in the background it ran successfully.

Executing: xxTestArchiving
Start Time: Thu Jul 14 19:40:48 2016
Running script xxTestArchiving...
Completed script xxTestArchiving...
Succeeded at Thu Jul 14 19:40:55 2016 (Elapsed Time: 7.44 seconds)

So, in order to get your script tool to work you could set your tool to run in the background.

That said, I don't believe this is how it's supposed to work, and there could be potential for errors to occur, so use at your own risk!