How to create hosted feature views including tables

JonathanGaudreau1

Hi,

I am trying to create some hosted feature layer views that include the tables as well and I can't seem to find a way to do it. Using the Python API, I am able to either 1) Create a new empty service (as_view), or 2) Create a view from the FeatureCollection, but this leaves away the tables.

This code creates a view with only the feature layers, not the tables:

service = gis.content.get('my_id')
flc= FeatureLayerCollection.fromitem(service)
theVw = flc.manager.create_view("newly_created_view)

This code creates a new service, but it is empty:

gis.content.create_service(name="myTableView",is_view=True)

When I look at what's happening in ArcGIS Online, when I create a view, I see a combination of 3 REST Calls: 1) Create Service, 2) addToDefinition and 3) update. I am trying to replicate this in Python using the add_to_definition fuction, but it does not work, since I would need to run it on a particular layer or table (.e.g. theVw.tables[0].manager.add_to_definition), but if I don't have them in the view, I cannot do anything.

Thanks! Any help is appreciated!

EarlMedina

Hi Jonathan,

Your problem intrigued me so I decided to take a look at the create_view source code. I remember at least 3 other people seeking this functionality and found it's actually quite simple to implement. The behavior was logged as a defect by a colleague, but if you review the source code I think an Enhancement is more appropriate. The information I present here should not be taken as a solution. Rather, I want it to serve the purpose of bringing awareness to the situation and to provide some insight into how one might troubleshoot these matters. The accepted, supported solution is what I described previously: create the view manually or use the 3 individual methods.

Anyhow, the file we're interested in arcgis/features/managers.py - this contains the create_view method. As you may have guessed, this method basically calls the createService and addToDefinition REST operations. Currently, it is written to only handle layers in the FeatureLayerCollection object and not tables - this is where that limitation comes from.

The important snippet is this one (here I'm just showing one occurrence but it occurs twice):

add_def = {
           "layers" : []
          }
if view_layers is None:
    for lyr in fs.layers:
        add_def['layers'].append(
        {
            "adminLayerInfo" : {
                "viewLayerDefinition" :
            {
                "sourceServiceName" : os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(fs.url)),
                "sourceLayerId" : lyr.manager.properties['id'],
                "sourceLayerFields" :  "*"
            }
            },
            "name" : lyr.manager.properties['name']
         })‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>

Basically, all that needs to be done to enable tables to be created in the view is this:

add_def = {
           "layers" : [],
           "tables" : [] # Add this key
          }
if view_layers is None:
    for lyr in fs.layers:
        add_def['layers'].append(
        {
            "adminLayerInfo" : {
                "viewLayerDefinition" :
            {
                "sourceServiceName" : os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(fs.url)),
                "sourceLayerId" : lyr.manager.properties['id'],
                "sourceLayerFields" :  "*"
            }
            },
            "name" : lyr.manager.properties['name']
         })‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

    # Add the below loop
    for tbl in fs.tables:
        add_def['tables'].append(
        {
            "adminLayerInfo" : {
                "viewLayerDefinition" :
            {
                "sourceServiceName" : os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(fs.url)),
                "sourceLayerId" : tbl.manager.properties['id'],
                "sourceLayerFields" :  "*"
            }
            },
            "name" : tbl.manager.properties['name']
         })‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>

Thanks for asking about this - I hope the information here can help expedite a more permanent solution.

-Earl