Fixing broken data sources with MapDocument.findAndReplaceWorkspacePaths()
The MapDocument.findAndReplaceWorkspacePaths() method is used to perform a global find and replace of workspace paths for all the layers and tables in a map document. You can also replace the paths to multiple workspace types at once.
Getting ready
We need to cover some definitions before examining the methods used to fix datasets. You'll see these terms used frequently when discussing the methods used to fix broken data sources, so you'll need to understand what they mean in this context. A workspace is simply a container for data. This can be a folder (in the case of shapefiles), personal geodatabase, file geodatabase, or ArcSDE connection. A workspace path is the system path to the workspace. In the case of file geodatabases, this would include the name of the geodatabase. A dataset is simply a feature class or table within a workspace, and finally, a data source is the combination of the workspace and dataset...
