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Sort Domain Alphabetically in ArcGIS Online

JasonBritton1

Hello all. I've got a Coded Value list of street names in and AGOL feature service. The list has grown to over 1200 and as a matter of convenience, I'm tired of having to scroll to drop the new value in its appropriate location. Anyone have a fix to sort the list of of values with a couple of clicks?

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GIS_Fox

Hi @JasonBritton1 , in AGOL, you can open the attribute table from the content page in the map, go to the field header and when clicking it, choose either sort ascending or descending. This will sort the field and tables accordingly. However it sounds like your problem is more specific than just this sorting feature. I've done similar work and the short answer is usually no, I've gone through datasets with over 100,000 features on the same work flow and sorting in this manner has been a great boon to have but you still have to scroll unless you select by attributes or by location. One other option is using excel spreadsheets and feature updates or overwrite workflows to help with large datasets; however this is very technical and can put more constraints on the data than it sounds like what you need or want. Hopefully this will help, could you describe your workflow and maybe there is something more specific that can be identified?

Best,

JasonBritton1

I'm trying to get the value list to sort alphabetically, not the attribute table. We need the drop down list that field crews select from to be in order.

GIS_Fox

Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the details then. I haven't encountered this personally but am aware of the workflow. Now I understand why >1200 is so much for this scenario, I've gone to 100 but nothing of that scale. Even in Survey123 there are no ways to alphabetize these lists that I am aware of. There may be a way to code it so it shows alphabetically, but I digress from my knowledge and would defer to the other ESRI contributors.

One solution I can think of it having a preset feature service where your field and dropdown automatically draws from the list rather than manually entering them, however that sounds about what you are already doing so I don't see any benefit specifically.

JoeBorgione

Doesn't having 1200 values more or less negate the purpose of a domain? I can't imagine scrolling through that many choices.

GIS_Fox

It may be a benefit to keep unchangeable fields to select from over having field users manually enter it. Errors with street names can be costly. However after 1000 entries maybe having a select location, using location services on devices, or project specific actions may also be of benefit. I'm interested on having dropdowns like this to select from the entirety of a layer's attribute list but weighing out options would be good if you are concerned for size and time spent scrolling and working out of the data like this. Like I said I am not specifically well versed on that scale so I look forward to the solution.

JasonBritton1

The use of the Domain is to ensure that the field crews don't misspell the road name or have some that use Dr instead of Drive, etc, etc. All the different spellings caused some issues with reporting

JasonBritton1

Our field crews have a pick list that is generated when they type the first few letters

GIS_Fox

Come to think of is @JasonBritton1 & @JoeBorgione , there was a workflow described at one of the ESRI UC conferences in the past two years where you would preload the domain list of feature attributes based on location services. For example, in a survey123 or collector form, (i forget which) some of the fields could be automatically loaded from a hosted feature service based on proximity to the feature. If you are within 2nd Street by a matter of a few yards closer than 3rd street, the field would choose 2nd street for example. This would retain the domain, allow you to not have to alphabetize your lists and dropdowns, as well as streamline your field workers efforts and yours alike. Perhaps this would be of greater benefit to look into?

JoeBorgione

Street Types I can see, but all the different street names is a tall order. We deploy ESRI's Address Data Managment Solution and it uses a domain of street names. I opted not to use it at all.

GIS_Fox

@JoeBorgione , I can attest to the scale of using all street names. I've had to map out the street names manually of Rio Rancho, NM before and it is a time consuming task and can definitely leave room for errors or misspellings. I like the idea of a type field where you can type it out and be given a list in addition to a set domain. Nominally a geolocator which draws from a hosted feature service of a streets database has been the closest I've encountered to this but I am not sure it would solve @JasonBritton1 's inquiry specifically. Whether the ESRI solution or your own geocoding I don't think there is a short solution for how quickly that type of feature can grow to scale, although I am very curious how since I've used both the geolocators and solutions.

It's when you get to 700,000 fields on a parcel domain is when you really stretch scale and time lol. Always good to be an optimist in GIS, there's always a bigger dataset. Haha XD

JoeBorgione

post it and lets have a look....

JasonBritton1

from arcgis.gis import GIS gis = GIS("home") # Open the layer from arcgis.features import FeatureLayer MY_LAYER_URL = "https://services6.arcgis.com/your/full/path/here/FeatureServer/0" layer = FeatureLayer(MY_LAYER_URL, gis=gis) # Get the field definition. MY_FIELD_NAME = "yourFieldName" targetFieldDef = None for fieldDef in layer.properties["fields"]: if fieldDef["name"] == MY_FIELD_NAME: targetFieldDef = fieldDef break # Get the Coded Value List, sort it and push it back on the field def. codedValues = targetFieldDef["domain"]["codedValues"] sortedCodedValues = sorted(codedValues, key=lambda cvPair: cvPair["name"]) targetFieldDef["domain"]["codedValues"] = sortedCodedValues # Get the layer's manager interface and modify its definition. layerMgr = layer.manager updatedDef = {"fields": [targetFieldDef]} layerMgr.update_definition(updatedDef)

GIS_Fox

Is there a planned streets layer you could draw out of in combination to existing instead of updating the layer 2 days a week? It seems too complicated for what it should be, I am not nearly code-savvy enough to implement this but I follow the syntax well enough. Civil authorities will change or add names as they need to with request/petition/growth, and this is not to say growth can outstrip this, but I am curious if there are more pragmatic planning and delivery methods of this data than having 2 days a week dedicated to this work. Seems grueling but unfortunately realistic in today's market and such. On note of the code is there an editing group involved with this or is it just you?

JoeBorgione

I can't really make heads or tails out of that code either even after putting in my python ide.

JasonBritton1

There is a group of about 20 editors for this particular layer. There definitely has to be a better way, but I don't know what it is. The positive part is that I don't dedicate a full two days a week to it, but rather work on it maybe for an hour or two on the days I add roads. This is actually related to a point file used for water meter sets and drop ins where the field crews are required to input the billing address associated with the meter. Workflow is that I create the new centerline and then I have to add the new road name to the meter layer.

JasonBritton1

Me either.

GIS_Fox

Well, the day is young and I would say keep on it as others reply to this or your Reddit post. Keep us posted, glad it's just a few hours at a time than 48-ish straight over work periods. Thanks for posting & thanks to @JoeBorgione . This has been most interesting.

Cheers @JasonBritton1

cartezj1

I know it's been a while since you've posted but this is for reference for folks. I can't speak to how to easily make the values alphabetical in the feature layer. I'm not super skilled at coding so the one provided doesn't make sense for me in the AGOL environment.

Since it's primarily for the field folks, I'm making the assumption that data is being collected using Collector, Survey123 or Field Maps. Perhaps Survey123 would be worth considering the most.

My first suggestion doesn't lend itself well to workflow, but if wanting the initial change up to alphabetical order: export data back to geodatabase. Create the domain with the values in alphabetical order using Excel then table to domain, and reupload as new hosted feature layer. This is not great if you have this layer on a bunch of maps. But the values will be in ABC order.

The second is creating a survey using the existing feature service. You'll need to use Survey123 Connect which allows for creating a survey in Excel. Updates to choices is pretty easy when the feature service is published again. The survey can be created to depict the choices as a drop down in that's still searchable in the field but will be in the order that has been set in S123 Connect. With a list that's super long you'll want to use linked content-csv instead. You might use pulldata or external choice lists. Check out this link by ESRI that leads to explaining more.

The quest continues otherwise to figure out how to get these rearranged behind the scenes on the actual feature layer for when working at the computer in AGOL or Pro.

cartezj1

This is the best way to update lists/domains in a hosted feature layer. The quest has been completed. Create a map in AGOL save it then open in Field Maps (the web browser version not the phone). The layer is in the Field map version. Follow steps as if you are creating a survey for field collection. That is, add the fields that have the lists you want to amend. When you add a field in the window to the right it has the option to manage lists depending on which field item you've selected. You can drag and drop a CSV with your amended list in ABC order or with updates. This will update immediately to the hosted feature layer. If you are wanting to create a new list, first create a list in the hosted feature layer because otherwise the default option for the item in Field Maps is a text field rather than radio. I've simply added "Other", saved the list, then refreshed back in field maps. The choice options should show "Other" now with radio. Drag and drop the CSV.

CMV_Erik

Exactly what I was looking for - thanks!

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