Overwrite AGOL feature service without overwriting field aliases and descriptions

Trippetoe

Hello. I am using the FeatureLayerCollection.manager.overwrite() function to overwrite an AGOL hosted feature service with the contents of a csv file. Something like this:

lookup_table = connection_to_agol.content.get(file['agolItemId'])     
feature_layer_collection = FeatureLayerCollection.fromitem(lookup_table)
response = feature_layer_collection.manager.overwrite(csv_file)

 

This is working as expected, but all field aliases and descriptions for the hosted feature service are also overwritten when i overwrite the data. I'd like to not have to re-create that information every time the feature service is updated programmatically. Is there a different approach i can use to overwrite the data from a csv file while preserving the field aliases and descriptions?

 

thank you

EarlMedina

You have two options: 

1. Keep doing what you're doing but add an additional step that updates the feature layer definition to reapply the aliases and descriptions. For this, you'll need to access the FeatureLayer you want to update from the FeatureLayerCollection and then save the fields properties somewhere before you overwrite (FeatureLayer.properties.fields). On overwrite, you will use the FeatureLayer.update_definition() and supply the fields.

 

2. Truncate/append instead of overwriting. I like this option better because it's faster and results in less service downtime.

This example assumes you have geometry to parse. If you don't then use "df" instead of "sedf" :

 

 

import pandas as pd
from arcgis import GIS
from arcgis.features import GeoAccessor, GeoSeriesAccessor
from arcgis.features import FeatureLayer

gis = GIS()
url = "https://sampleserver6.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/Earthquakes_Since1970/FeatureServer/0"
fl = FeatureLayer(url, gis)

csv_path = "/path/to/xy.csv"
df = pd.read_csv(csv_path)
sedf = pd.DataFrame.spatial.from_xy(df=df, x_column="LONGITUDE", y_column="LATITUDE", sr=4326)

adds = sedf.spatial.to_featureset()
fl.manager.truncate()
fl.edit_features(adds=adds)

 

 

 

Note for this to work you have to point to individual layer you want to update with new data.