How does one force Portal to stop using times in a date field?

Question

I have created a Portal Web Map that will be used to track pollution incidents.  This map will require user input (add and delete points, plus updating attributes etc.).  I have about 95% of it working, however, I'm running into issues with the date field.  It works perfectly in ArcMap...I have the default date showing up as 1/1/2017.  It works perfectly in Portal's Web Map...the default dates will show up correctly in both the popup as well as the attribute table.  However, when I launch the Web Mapping Application it behaves differently (and it's the web app that we want users to use).

In the web app the popup will show the correct default date, but when one view's the attribute table it will show the correct date, but for some reason Portal adds a totally useless time stamp, and of course one cannot edit the attribute table in the Web App (and this only occurs in the Web Mapping Application...not the Web Map).

We're asking the users to manually add both an incident reporting time stamp as well as a time stamp for when the tracker was updated (editor tracking doesn't allow them to override and update the times the way they're needed).  Having a system generated time stamp as a part of a date field is only going to confuse the users and the readers of the reports. Each table is typically exported to a CSV file to be shared with external agencies and that system generated date-time stamp carries over to that file, and we would prefer not to have to manually edit fields in the spreadsheet every time we need to send out reports.

Is there a way to force Portal to stop creating this annoying time stamp in the Web Mapping Application? I always thought that the Web Mapping Application referred to the Web Map for data and configuration...perhaps I'm misunderstanding this?

Thanks

MarkHotz · Answer

Jonathan:

Thanks...it is appreciated.  After some serious head-banging I have only just learned that this is actually a bug in version 10.4, but the good news is that it has also been resolved in version 10.5.  We're planning to upgrade our ArcGIS Desktop as well as our ArcGIS for Server and Portal for ArcGIS to version 10.5 probably within a month (maybe 2) so this is probably good timing on our part.  At least I don't have to continue struggling trying to find a solution...because there isn't one in version 10.4 
.

I built all of our Web Mapping Applications using the Web Application Builder, but now we know the reason why the web mapping application wasn't honoring the settings I made in the web map.  It was only in the attribute table where this annoying problem is occurring so it was confusing, but now it's just a matter of when we can upgrade.  Everything was fine in both the web map and web mapping application popups though.

I have been building some of our web mapping applications with the expectation that some users will be able to update the data themselves (points on the spatial side, and attributes as well).  When one creates a Feature Map Service in Portal (as opposed to a standard Map Service) it allows direct editing of data in the enterprise geodatabase.  This is especially useful to us when using the mobile apps such as collector as the users are then able to update the geodatabase directly from the field (we will be using this rather than AGOL as we have strict policies against using cloud based services).  But with the current desktop web mapping application they can at least edit this after they return from the field, which is sometimes easier to use if they make a mistake entering data etc.

JonathanQuinn · Answer

When you modify the fields in the web map, you're not modifying the data behind the values, you're just modifying how the data is shown.  When you export the data to a CSV, it's exporting the "raw" data which is why you see the time values so that behavior is expected.  I'm not sure why the web app doesn't honor the settings you made within the web map.  What specific application are you using?  There are a few templates available, (Basic Viewer, etc), as well as the Web Application Builder.

MarkHotz · Answer

Jonathan:

Thanks for the response...much appreciated.  I'm currently using ArcGIS for Server 10.4....and ArcGIS 10.4.1.  I have configured the popup to use the 1/1/2017 date format and it works really well in the Web Map.  And when I open the layer's attribute table in the web map it is all perfect too.  The problem I'm having is when I open the same web map using the Web Mapping Application.  The popup is fine, but when I open the layer's attribute table there's this incorrect date stamp that has been added to the field (I did not ask for that throughout my entire workflow).

This is a pain because the users will be using the Web Mapping Application, and it is policy to provide the necessary agencies with the records of data after an incident; hence, they will be exporting the attribute table to CSV...and those incorrect time stamps are then exported to the CSV as well.

The time stamps will only cause confusion to the users and the recipients of the downloaded data...and we most certainly do not want to be editing the CSV records every time either.

I have been using Microsoft's Edge browser, but the same problem occurs when using Chrome, and we've never had much luck using Firefox for any of this here so we just don't use it.

I'm wondering (and hoping that it's not) a bug.