The correct topology of a utility network is the basis for managing information and maintaining connectivity between features. Therefore, all included features of a utility network must comply with the rules of the utility network.

Areas that have been edited or where changes have been made to the geometry of network features are marked as Dirty Areas and displayed in a separate layer. Dirty areas must be validated before being transferred to the dataset to ensure a correct network topology.

For more information, see Network Topology on the Esri website.

Dirty Areas is a term from Esri terminology. For more information, see Dirty Areas on the Esri website.

To validate topology:

1.Go to the Home tab > Validate, or the toolbar > Validate > Network Topology. The Validate topology tab opens in the left side panel.
 
Via the tab Validate topology the following functions are available for validating the network topology rules (e.g. correct snapping of objects):

a.Extent only: The network topology in the current map section is validated.

b.All: The entire network topology is checked.
 

The mode for the topology check can be selected via the action menu . The default setting is Standard. For more information, see Validate Network Topology on the Esri website.

Depending on the size of the network, the check with the "Rebuild" and "Force rebuild" modes may take longer.

If the validation is successful because all topology rules have been recognized as correct, the area previously marked as Dirty Area is automatically removed from the layer.
If inconsistencies are detected during the validation, they are displayed in a list below the map window and the user must manually correct the features that led to this dirty area.
After a manual correction, the validation must be performed again. This iterative process of Validation - Correction - Validation must be executed until there is no Dirty Area left.

2.Evaluate result
The topological inconsistencies found during the validation are displayed in a list. With Change item grouping it is possible to switch to a view grouped by error type.
The following functions are available via the action menu :

The visibility setting on the "Layer" tab affects the visibility of the results displayed here!

3.Show detail result
Clicking on a validation result will display further notes about the error and indicate possible actions to clean it up.

4.Filter results
The results displayed can be filtered by domain (e.g. electricity, gas, water) and error type (e.g. geometry, connectivity). Filtering affects the results list and the map.