idea Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!! in ArcGIS API for Python Ideas

Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

Clubdebambos — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 14:50:28 GMT

In the API version 2.3.X and lower there was a lovely WebMap object method called get_layer() that allowed you to retrieve the layer definition using a title parameter and supplying in the name of the layer as a string. See the docs here.

With 2.4.0 this neat functionality has been removed. We now access the layer via m.content.layers[index_position], which means I need to know the index of the layer in the first place. I now have to write a custom method to get the layer of interest based on the title!

Please reinstate this functionality and bring back a way for us to get the WebMap (Map) layer by the layer title!

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

NanaeAubry — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 12:53:51 GMT

Thanks for posting this. When making such a big shift it's difficult to gauge the importance of certain methods and properties that were previously available.

Since a lot of methods now rely on layer index we will make a method that allows you to get the layer and the index of said layer more easily.

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

Geraldine — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:02:19 GMT

Yes please, bring this back!

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

jkarmon — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 13:51:23 GMT

I second this! Any word on when this will be resurrected?

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

BBarbs — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 16:48:09 GMT

I'd also like to add my voice to bring this feature back!

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

RichardHowe — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 11:27:55 GMT

Why would you remove this? Please bring it back

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

NanaeAubry — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 07:25:53 GMT

Hello everyone,

Thank you for adding your voices to this. At version 2.4.1 of the API we have brought back the `get_layer` and `get_table` methods so you can search by title.

To make layer indexing better as well we added two new methods called: `layer_info` and `table_info`

You can call them like this:

```

m = Map()

m.content.layer_info()

```

This will return a dataframe of the layers, their index, and some other info.

Hope this helps!

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

RichardHowe — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 08:22:56 GMT

@NanaeAubry Excellent!

Re: Get Web Map Layer by title removed in 2.4.0, bring it back!!

Clubdebambos — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 20:01:15 GMT

Hi @NanaeAubry,

Unfortunately this is not what the get_layer() functionality used to be. This function now returns a FeatureLayer object, which is pretty useless when dealing with WebMaps, instead of the layer definition (Dict/JSON). We can create a FeatureLayer object from the url in the layer definition if needs be. Returning a FeaturLayer object from the get_layer() for a WebMap offers no advantage when you want to get/manipulate/update the layer JSON definition, which is what I expect most workflows would entail.

Maybe another method called get_layer_def() perhaps?

All the best,

Glen