Reviewing service workspaces in ArcGIS Desktop

It can sometimes be challenging to keep track of which folders and databases your services are using, especially if your server machine and your publishers' machines are referencing different data locations. To help you with this, ArcGIS Desktop allows you to review the workspaces used by your service.

Service workspaces are a listing of the folders and databases containing datasets currently referenced by your service. Each dataset name within the service is listed, along with the file path locations and database connection properties of your data. This information can guide you to the location of the data referenced by your service.

Keep in mind that service workspaces are only supported for map, feature, image, and geodata services. However, service workspace information is not available for the preconfigured SampleWorldCities map service that is installed with ArcGIS Server.

To view your service workspaces in ArcGIS Desktop, follow these steps:

1. In the Catalog tree, expand the GIS Servers node.
2. Double-click Add ArcGIS Server and establish a publisher or an administrator connection type to the server. If you already have one of these connections set up, you can skip this step. For instructions on how to connect, see About connecting to ArcGIS Server in ArcGIS Desktop.
3. Within your connection to ArcGIS Server, right-click the service for which you want to review service workspaces and choose Service Workspaces.
4. Depending on how you published your service and its associated data, you'll need to select one of the following tabs:
   • The Referenced tab displays datasets referenced by the service in which the publisher's machine and the server's path to the data are identical. For a list of common scenarios in which this would occur, see About registering your data with the server.
   • The Replaced tab displays datasets referenced by the service in which the publisher's machine and the server's path to the data are different. For a list of common scenarios in which this would occur, see About registering your data with the server.
   • The Copied tab displays datasets referenced by the service that were automatically copied to the server during publishing. For a list of common scenarios in which this would occur, see Copying data to the server automatically when publishing.
5. Review the service workspace properties and metadata. It may be helpful to record the data paths for later use.
6. Close the Service Workspaces dialog box.