"copy features" tool not updating shape when ran as a service

Question

Hi

This whole arcgis thing seems very hard for me, so maybe what i'm asking is something very very simple.

I have a model that uses the "copy features" tool and writes down a shape file. When i run it as a tool, the shapefile is created. But when i export the tool as a service, if invoke the service the shapefile is not updated.

if i delete the shapefile created when i ran the tool, the service invokation does not create the shapefile either. No errors, no logs, no nothing. Maybe i'm missing some conceptual stuff here.

Thanks

DanPatterson_Retired · Answer

I don't do service stuff...but in ArcMap, if I need to use it, I ensure that the file is removed from the arcmap session (to remove file locks), then I delete (using Delete_Management in ArcToolbox) or I use FeatureClassToFeatureClass if caught in a pinch sometimes necessitating creating a new file (with the old one deleted later).

In short, whatever you are using/doing, the file can only be overwritten if it is not being referenced by something else.  I normally work in code with little involvement or interest in the visual result, so use my suggestions as a guide since my workflows will undoubtedly differ from yours

davidzornosa · Answer

hi dan, thanks. would you suggest an alternative tool?

DanPatterson_Retired · Answer

the copy features tool is one of those tools that won't overwrite existing files even if overwriting outputs is specified.  This is the case within ArcMap anyway, so I imagine the same applies if the underlying code is shared