Enterprise geodatabases work with a variety of DBMS storage models and support native SQL spatial types for all supported database management systems. Third-party application or SQL can be used to create spatial or nonspatial tables in the database management system (DBMS) and you can view and query these datasets in ArcGIS Pro.
Attempting to edit these datasets in ArcGIS Pro does however result in the following error message: ‘No editable layers‘
When clicking on the information icon next to the error message, more detailed information is provided as to why these datasets can’t be edited in ArcGIS Pro.
The error message indicates that datasets in an enterprise geodatabase are only editable if they are registered with the geodatabase.
When you create spatial or nonspatial tables in the database management system (DBMS) where your geodatabase is stored using structured query language (SQL), the tables are not automatically registered with the geodatabase.
To use any geodatabase functionality, such as topology, replication, archiving, networks, or versioning, you must register it with the geodatabase.
To register a dataset with the geodatabase, use the Register with Geodatabase geoprocessing tool. To register data in an enterprise geodatabase, you must be connected as the owner of the input dataset.
Registering a table with the geodatabase records information about the table in geodatabase system tables, including the extent, the spatial reference, and the feature type (such as point, line, or polygon).
Once the datasets are registered with the geodatabase, editing as well as other geodatabase functionality is enabled and available in ArcGIS Pro and other ArcGIS clients.
Resources
- SQL Server spatial types and ArcGIS
- Configuration keywords for enterprise geodatabases
- ArcGIS functionality available for tables that are not registered with the geodatabase
- Register a table or view with the geodatabase
Sam P.
Esri Australia Technical Blog 