topic Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting in ArcGIS Online Questions

"Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

MaryEllen_Perko — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 21:10:27 GMT

Hi. I am unable to find much information on the "Keep track of created and updated features" setting for a hosted feature layer in ArcGIS Online. I'm looking for anything on what exactly is tracked and how it is used or can be used.

I'd appreciate any information or a link to information in addition to the sentence or two in the ArcGIS Online help.

Thank you.

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

XiaolongFeng1 — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 21:24:08 GMT

Hi Mary,

Hope this link is what you're looking for:

Manage hosted feature layers—ArcGIS Online Help | ArcGIS

Thanks,

Xiaolong

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

MaryEllen_Perko — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 21:52:21 GMT

Thank you for the link. However, that's the link I've already reviewed and doesn't seem to provide the in-depth information I'm trying to find.

Thanks again.

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

JayantaPoddar — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 04:58:58 GMT

See more details in Enable editor tracking on a feature layer—Portal for ArcGIS | ArcGIS Enterprise

But there is a known bug due to which you won't be able to enable track edits for hosted feature service in ArcGIS Online.

NIM102295: If the editor tracking fields (Creation Date, Creato..

Bug NIM102295
If the editor tracking fields (Creation Date, Creator, Last Edit Date, Editor) are present in a hosted feature service, Track Edits cannot be enabled on the feature service in ArcGIS Online.

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

MaryEllen_Perko — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 12:41:46 GMT

Hi. Thanks for everyone's help so far. I may be making this more complicated than it is, but I'm looking for why and how to use the AGOL setting in the red box below. It doesn't appear to be necessary to track the who and when of edits. If I’ve simply missed it in the links already provided, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks.

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

JayantaPoddar — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:04:04 GMT

Manage Hosted Feature Layers - Keep track of created and updated features

Check Keep track of created and updated features to track changes made to the hosted feature layer's spatial and nonspatial attributes.
Keep track of created and updated features allows applications to determine what features have been added, updated, or deleted.
If you enable Keep track of created and updated features, you cannot subsequently overwrite the hosted feature layer.

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

ChrisWhitmore — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 17:44:29 GMT

Hi Mary, very astute! The new tracking capability essentially allows for applications to 'query' for changed features (including added or removed). It's not a historical log of edit transactions with the feature layer, however.

No apps currently use the capability (that I am aware at least) but are expected to soon (AGOL itself likely will as well in one of the next releases). As apps leverage this feature, expect to hear more. Despite no current usage, we wanted to make the capability available as some apps may be using it before the next Online release.

Hope this helps clarify-

Chris

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

AllysonReynolds2 — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 20:35:47 GMT

Is there any way to disable this, once enabled?

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

ChrisWhitmore — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 15:38:32 GMT

Hi Allyson - yes, unless you have a tile layer (with automatic tiles enabled) published from the feature layer, you should be able to disable. If not, there might be something going on.

Thanks,

Chris

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

ChadMinteer — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 17:46:41 GMT

Hi Chris Whitmore, 18 months later is there a way to tell which apps use this capability? Looking for ways to leverage this, but first have to understand it better. I'm not able to find documentation which helps explain this, we still have the same ArcGIS Online help article that Jayanta Poddar‌ mentions above, no more info than that still that I can find. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but I can't find it.

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

ChrisWhitmore — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:15:44 GMT

Hi Chad, other than the functionality I mentioned above (automatic tiles), the capability is still not yet used by esri apps to my knowledge (but certainly could be an app using it that I'm not aware).

Here is developer documentation around the feature that should help with understanding it and get you in the right direction if you want to play around with it.

Extract Changes (Feature Service)—ArcGIS REST API: Services Directory | ArcGIS for Developers

Cleanup Change Tracking—ArcGIS REST API: Services Directory | ArcGIS for Developers

Cheers,

Chris

Re: "Keep track of created and updated features" Feature Layer Setting

AshneyDaniel — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 18:10:00 GMT

These are very poorly named. They would seem to do the exact same thing but who could tell?

"Keep track of who created and last updated features" add 4 fields to your service: Creation Date, Creator, Edit Date and Editor. These get automatically populated as edits are made. This has a similar function to enabling editor tracking on a feature class. I still can't tell what "Keep track of created and updated features" actually does.

Yes, you can disable this feature but you must manually delete those 4 fields if you don't want them any more. They'll be there but no longer get updated.

A bit of caution - enabling "Keep track of created and updated features" seems to come into conflict with editor tracking imported when you create a service from a feature class with that enabled. The editor tracking from the feature class will work (fields continue to update) until "Keep track of created and updated features" gets enabled and then they stop updating. Even if you then disable it that relationship will be broken. Ideally you should not be allowed to have both enabled because that doesn't really make sense but currently thats how it is.