Background
When a web map is created or published without editable layers, ArcGIS Field Maps correctly displays the map as read-only.
However, if editing is later enabled on one or more layers that are already part of the web map, Field Maps may continue to display the map as read-only even though:
- the layer is editable;
- users have the required editing permissions;
- layer sharing settings are correctly configured.
As a result, the "+" editing button does not appear in Field Maps.
Typical Workflow
This issue can easily occur in common workflows such as:
Scenario 1: Publishing from ArcGIS Pro
- Publish a web map using the Exploratory configuration.
- Enable editing on one or more hosted feature layers afterward.
- Open the map in Field Maps.
Scenario 2: Creating a web map from existing layers
- Create a web map using layers that are initially non-editable.
- Enable editing on one or more layers later.
- Open the map in Field Maps.
In both scenarios, the map may remain read-only despite the editing capabilities being correctly configured.
Possible Cause
According to information shared by Esri staff in this discussion, a "Data Editing" keyword is added to the web map when editable content is detected.
Field Maps appears to rely on this metadata to determine whether editing should be enabled.
The problem seems to be that when a layer's editing settings are modified after the web map has already been saved, the web map metadata is not automatically refreshed. As a result, Field Maps may continue to treat the map as read-only.
Current Workaround
The commonly suggested workaround is to save the web map again after enabling editing on the layer.
In practice, however, this is not always sufficient.
Based on my testing, the following sequence is required to reliably enable editing:
- Enable editing on the feature layer and save the layer settings.
- Refresh or reopen the web map.
- Save the web map again.
- Refresh the map list in Field Maps (pull-to-refresh) or restart the application.
- Use Reload Map from the map options menu instead of opening the map directly.
Steps 2,4 and 5 are important and may be related to cache invalidation and metadata refresh.
Suggested Enhancement
When editing is enabled or disabled on a layer that is already part of a web map, ArcGIS should automatically:
- refresh the web map editing metadata;
- update any keywords or properties used by Field Maps to determine editing capability;
This would ensure that Field Maps immediately reflects the actual editing capabilities of the map without requiring administrators and users to manually re-save, reload, or troubleshoot the web map.
Benefits
- More intuitive behavior.
- Reduced troubleshooting and support requests.
- Better alignment between layer permissions and Field Maps behavior.
- Improved experience for organizations that initially publish maps as read-only and enable editing later in the project lifecycle.
