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Getting Metadata into AGOL from ArcGIS Pro

JoeBorgione

In this post I ask about getting metadata into AGOL. However, I was using ArcMap at the time and things in the metadata world have changed considerably.

I'm using ArcGIS Pro 2.6 and am faced with the same problem of translating ISO 19139 to an ArcGIS Standard xml to then load that xml into AGOL. How does one achieve this?

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Aleta Vienneau

The Feature Class to Feature Class problem is a known issue that has a Salesforce number: ENH-000093237. However, you are correct that if you download the data from the web browser the metadata does come down with it. It's a completely unrelated issue.

JoeBorgione

@AletaVienneau - thanks for the explanation on sharing.

Now I have another fight for another day: when I add my newly published AGOL layer (that has metadata) to an ArcPro session and then perform a feature class to feature class to down load the data locally, none of the metadata makes the trip.... Sigh.....

Edited minutes later: Looks like you need to download it from the AGOL metadata viewer/editor interface and then re-import it to your local copy...

Anonymous User

Thanks @AletaVienneau

Aleta Vienneau

Glad you have it sorted out. Just in case someone finds this thread in the future...

What I meant was that in the original publishing operation, it was the entire Pro map that was published as a web feature layer. In that scenario the Pro map's metadata goes on the web feature layer portal item, and the feature class's metadata goes on the layer within the web feature layer (the sublayer, if you will).

ArcGIS Metadata is the format used internally by the ArcGIS platform. You create it by creating metadata using any of the metadata editors provided with ArcMap/ArcCatalog, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, or ArcGIS Enterprise portals.

JoeBorgione

Actually I published it as a feature , not a map. The key for me seems to be using ‘save as’ rather than export to create the xml. That apparently creates the ArcGis format that is referred to several times on several help pages. I googled a number of ArcGis Format Metadata iterations and never found any mention of how to actually create it.

The saving grace is AGOL metadata is one and done. Now that my feature layer has it there isn’t any need to return to it.

Aleta Vienneau

Since what you published was the map, the portal item's metadata will reflect the metadata that you had on the Pro Map, and that's what you'll see when you click the big blue Metadata button. If you had only authored metadata for the feature class and not for the map, then there wouldn't have been any metadata to transfer to the portal item from the map.

The dialog that comes up is the ArcGIS Online metadata editor. You can change the metadata there if you want. Yes, you can upload the feature class metadata here if you want to copy it to the portal item. This would be roughly equivalent to the workflow you followed when you used ArcMap.

However, in ArcGIS Pro, you can simplify this workflow. Try this: right-click the map layer that points to your feature class, click Sharing > Share As Web Layer in the layer's context menu. This way you are only publishing the layer itself, and if the layer is set to use the feature class' metadata it will be placed on the portal item as a direct result of the publishing process. Then you don't have to save metadata to a file and upload the file.

In both cases, the feature class metadata is available on the layer within the portal item. So, from the portal item's page, find the Layers heading. Click the layer in that list corresponding to your feature class. It will take you to a page with information just about that layer and a separate Metadata button. Your feature class metadata will be available here in both cases.

JoeBorgione

Thanks- I figured out what that error was all about.

I'm not trying to edit any metadata at all: that's all done. I just want to publish my centerlines to AGOL and have the metadata that I painstakingly created be available to AGOL users.

Our Egdb features have attribute rules associated with them, so prior to publishing them, I write them from the EGDB to a FGDB and publish from there. Prior to publishing, I can view the full metadata from the fgdb feature class in a Catalog View; it is complete all the way to attribute descriptions.

If I perform a 'save as' XML file from the Meta Data group in the Catalog Group on that fgdb feature class, I can read that xml file in catalog by simply navigating to it, and it appears complete.

From a map in ArcGIS Pro, with the Share tab I share the fgdb feature class as a Weblayer to my AGOL account. In AGOL, I click on the item's metadata button and select 'view' and I'm given this window:

After clicking save and view, this is what is returned:

I then use the overwrite option and use the local xml that I created with the save as step. Save and view then returns a bit more metadata in a browser window.

What exactly is the big white window that opens? Is that considered a viewer or editor? Depending on the the tab I select, certain items are on or off, but if I search long enough I can dig down deep enough to get to the contact info and attribute descriptions and other details that I expect to see.

Aleta Vienneau

OK, the warning has to do with the layer's metadata setting. This is discussed in the View and edit metadata topic in the Pro help under the heading "A warning appears when you try to edit metadata". The layer can either have its own metadata or point to the data source's metadata. If the layer is pointing to the data source's metadata, then you have to directly access the data source in the Catalog view and edit its metadata from there. At the current time you can't shortcut accessing the data source from the map layer (the data source might not be directly accessible from the Catalog pane/view at all).

I'm not clear if the layer whose metadata you are trying to edit from the map (in such a way that you are getting the warning) is accessing the local data or the web layer.

Without seeing what is going on, I can't offer any insight into why you don't see the expected results when you upload the ArcGIS metadata XML document to ArcGIS Online. What do you see in Pro if you browse to the saved copy of the ArcGIS metadata XML file and view the metadata it contains in the Catalog view?

Where was the metadata before the web layer was published? How exactly did you publish the web layer? Right-click an individual layer? Publish the Pro map as a web layer?

Edit: where do you see the metadata you created in Pro?

2ndEdit: typos in the description of the layer's metadata property

JoeBorgione

@AletaVienneau ; thanks for your response!

When you create data in Pro and then publish it to ArcGIS Online, the metadata should just go with it.

Yep; that's what I thought and that's what it says in this link as well :

For hosted feature layers, layer-level metadata is also included when you publish from ArcGIS Pro.

With respect to saving a copy of the metadata, the steps outlined on that page include using Save As xml for the option. Which I have done. I can then 'overwrite' the existing metadata in agol; at least I don't get an error. When I check the metadata however, it's empty.

I've already created metadata in ArcGIS Pro, and editing an AGOL item's metadata in Pro does not sound appealing to me at all. I get this message when I try to:

What does this mean exactly?

If the metadata is supposed to follow the feature layer to AGOL, why does it not?

If my metadata is in the proper ArcGIS format, why when exporting to or saving as an xml file and then importing that xml into AGOL not produce the desired results?

Surely I am not the first guy to try this. As shown in my OP, back in the ArcMap days, I was able to get this to work, but we are strictly an ArcGIS Pro shop now: I don't even have ArcMap installed on any of my computers anymore.

Aleta Vienneau

Check out the following ArcGIS Online help topic: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/manage-data/metadata.htm Your question is addressed under the question heading "Can I import metadata formats other than ArcGIS metadata format?"

When you create data in Pro and then publish it to ArcGIS Online, the metadata should just go with it. Otherwise, there are a couple options following your current workflow depending on the type of item you are working with and if it is available in ArcGIS Pro.

- Access the portal item in ArcGIS Pro, and edit its metadata directly with the Pro metadata editor: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/view-and-edit-metadata.htm

- Access the portal item directly in ArcGIS Pro, and copy metadata from your local item to the portal item... look for the heading "Copy metadata from a local item to a portal item": https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/copy-or-import-metadata-to-an-item.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_CBEEC645902D40788F69C54C4DC8A471

- Save a copy of the item's metadata in Pro in the ArcGIS Metadata format (don't export it to a standard metadata format): https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/save-a-copy-of-an-item-s-metadata.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_6C818AD079E645BAB9414E1D49C67F4A, and then upload the ArcGIS metadata XML document to the portal item via the ArcGIS Online metadata editor as you are doing now

Anonymous User

oh interesting, ok standby

JoeBorgione

Funny you should mention that; the upgrade option is grayed out. When I look at the Metadata Details in a Catalog view it shows that it's 'upgraded' already:

One of the gazzillion help pages I looked at had me do a text search in the metadata display to look for that, and said in effect that if it says ArcGIS 1.0, it's upgraded....

🤔

Anonymous User

And down we go, heh. Did you try upgrading your metadata in the catalog view on ArcGIS Pro?

JoeBorgione

Well, that was a rabbit hole too.

The export to xml options only provide three choices:

And when I then try to import or overwrite the meta data in my AGOL item, I'm told:

JoeBorgione

Thanks for your response @Anonymous User . I've been pouring over the help docs and they don't seem to guide me as well as I prefer. That said, I just found this: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/save-a-copy-of-an-item-s-metadata.htm and I'm going to see if that is the ticket for me...

Anonymous User

Hey @JoeBorgione ,

I found this resource on the Pro documentation pages, let me know if it helps:

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/upgrade-metadata-to-the-arcgis-format.htm

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