Field Maps Templates - Can default values be saved ONLY to web map, not to layer? Map Viewer vs. Field Maps Designer for Configuration

LinzMess — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 22:47:13 GMT

Workflow

I created a web map TEMPLATE containing 2 editable feature layers and several view-only feature layers.

Intent is for users to 'save as' the web map for each unique 'project' data is being collected for. This way, feature layers can be filtered to only show data for a specific project while data for multiple projects is written to the same 2 feature layers.

My issue

When I configure templates in Map Viewer for a 'save as' version of my webmap, the default values entered are saved to the feature layer and not the web map. Thus, any web map containing the feature layer now possess identical default configurations. This is problematic because each web map is for a different project and thus the 'project_name' field in each template needs to reflect the project name for the specific web map which is inherently different across all web maps using the same feature layer.

The below ArcGIS Blog confirms my experience that templates configured in Map Viewer when saved, save changes to the layer, not the web map.

https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-online/data-management/optimize-templates

I primarily use Map Viewer to configure forms & templates for Field Maps, but do know Field Maps Designer is intended for this purpose. Recently, I discovered in Field Maps Designer that template configurations could be saved to EITHER the web map or feature layer. Do I need to configure templates for my workflow in Field Maps Designer and choose the 'Save to Map' option? If so, I am currently unable to adopt this workflow because I am not seeing the different options for saving for this particular web map in Field Maps Designer. Additionally, I have recently encountered issues when some configuration occurs in Map Viewer and some in Field Maps designer. Documentation I have found suggests configuration in Map Viewer overrides configuration performed in Field Maps Designer. Are there recommendations for best practices on where to configure templates for use in Field Maps?

topic Field Maps Templates - Can default values be saved ONLY to web map, not to layer? Map Viewer vs. Field Maps Designer for Configuration in ArcGIS Field Maps Questions

Field Maps Templates - Can default values be saved ONLY to web map, not to layer? Map Viewer vs. Field Maps Designer for Configuration