How do I reorder the list of attributes in a web service?

Question

Hi all,

I have a map document containing a customized layer file. I wish to publish this layer/map document as a service through my Portal. I have done a lot of customization to the layer file, including applying aliases and reordering the fields so when the user queries a feature, they are presented with the most important attributes at the top of the list.

When I publish this layer/map document as a service and query a feature in a web map, I notice that the order of attributes reverts to the original order of attributes. Is there a way to overcome this issue?

Anonymous User · Answer

Good morning Justin Odell‌,

I came across this today whilst pondering your issue.

How To: Configure Portal for ArcGIS with custom symbology

I am not sure how much access you have to the back end of your Portal but it may be worth a look.

I will let you know if I find anything else.

Thing is, I can remember doing exactly what you are trying to do about 2 years ago and was able to publish up the custom symbology, but for the life of me I can not remember exactly the process that I used 
.

Hope that we can find the solution soon,

Michael

hydronaut · Answer

Thanks Michael,

I have created relevant layer files to preserve the symbology and the table view of the data. I am satisfied with how this is working in ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro.

Unfortunately when I publish the service the complex symbology and table view are not being preserved. I've tried publishing a hosted service using the following methods:

* In ArcMap, using the File > Share As > Service method, and
* In my Portal, under 'Content', clicking 'Add Item' and adding a 'zipped geodatabase'.

Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to integrate my symbology into a geodatabase just yet. I understand it is possible to create representations, however when I click 'Convert Symbology to Representation' I am presented with an error stating "The workspace for this feature class doesn't support representations." if I attempt to create it directly from the shapefiles.

Alternatively if I load all my features into a geodatabase then re-map the data sources of the layer files to point to this new location, then I encounter FDO/FID errors on my labels as shapefiles start at FID 0, whereas feature classes start at FID 1; so something does not compute there.

Anonymous User · Answer

All good Justin, thanks for the clarification.

Symbology - At present Portal does not support complex symbology when publishing the feature the way you are.
Try this:
with the adjusted layer in the mxd,  create a layer file.  That should preserve the symbology and the table view of the data.

Use the layer file in a new mxd (or the one that you are currently using) and publish the new mxd to the Portal.
you may have to publish the layer file by itself to the portal.

If you are just using the layer in Web maps/apps and are only using the Pop-ups to display the table information, then configuring the pop-ups would be the best route.
You can use the "Custom" option to display the data in the way you want, and if you are using the same layer over many Web Maps then you can copy the "Custom" config to a word doc and import that config into each Web Map where the layer resides.

Thanks,

Michael