topic Re: Non-Editable Reference Only Layers in Offline Field Maps in ArcGIS Field Maps Questions

Non-Editable Reference Only Layers in Offline Field Maps

emoreno — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 18:23:39 GMT

Hello ESRI Community!

I am having an issue similar to that expressed in this post: Taking map with some non editable layers offline - Esri Community

We have a layer that we'd like our Field workers to use as reference only, but that layer needs to contain live data. We've published it from our .sde to our Portal (10.9.1) and shared through a distributed collaboration to our AGOL so we can use Field Maps Designer for better functionality. However, this layer is preventing us from taking our map offline, as there is the need for GlobalIDs and to enable sync.

Is there a way to have non-editable, reference only layers in an offline field map without adding having a versioned sde, adding global IDs, and enabling sync? Our sde is versioned already, but the entire sde is overwritten every night with updated data, so the globalID value would change every night that the script runs. Would the globalID's changing nightly even matter if this layer wouldn't be edited?

Additionally, I understand that the globalIDs would be used to track changes made to that feature when the map is taken offline, but why is it necessary if I've configured the layer to be noneditable? What if I was not the owner of the layer and did not have the ability to make these updates, as expressed in the post above?

Any insight on this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Re: Non-Editable Reference Only Layers in Offline Field Maps

ChristopherCounsell — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 08:26:28 GMT

The documentation does a reasonable job of covering it

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/data/geodatabases/overview/prepare-feature-layer-data-for-offline.htm

The globalid requirement works both ways. The replicas created for offline use would need them for syncing the changes you made overnight on the server side.

Re: Non-Editable Reference Only Layers in Offline Field Maps

ConorFlynn — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 21:25:10 GMT

That is a good resource, but it sounds like the answer to the specific question is “no”, you can’t take a layer offline without creating replicas.

That help document assumes that users would only takes layers offline to edit, but what about reference layers??