topic Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite in ArcGIS Online Questions

Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Mon, 08 May 2023 14:37:28 GMT

I have a hosted feature layer in ArcGIS Online that I need to periodically overwrite. It appears in four maps. When I overwrite it, all layers sourced to this feature layer become disconnected with an error message 'An error occurred loading this layer.' There is nothing wrong with the layer. No fields change. The source GIS layer is the same each time (new features are swapped out for old - and that's when I need to overwrite the layer.). I reload it and reconfigure it when this happens. This is time-consuming.

Does anyone know what causes this? I overwrite hosted feature layers regularly and this is not a normal occurrence.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is very disruptive to an important workflow.

Thank you,

Randy McGregor

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

JamesShreeve — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 11:15:02 GMT

I've noticed this recently too. I swear it didn't happen previously, I work for a local gov organisation and there are plenty of layers which are consumed by multiple maps. As you say @RandyMcGregor3 it's very time consuming to go into each map and re-point, especially if pop-ups/symbology etc. is complex. I use the overwrite tool quite frequently and it would be good to know why the maps online now seem to be struggling to recognise the updated layers.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 13:15:36 GMT

Agree it seems like a new thing. It only affects layers within maps (so far). I have layers populating dashboards that I can overwrite without incident (Thankfully - reconfiguring those would be a nightmare). Like you, I do have complex popups, filtering and symbology which have to be redone from scratch. I have had to write all the parameters down because after the overwrite the layers are100% dead. I cannot get any information from them.

This is what I see after an overwrite for every incidence of the layer in a map. 😞

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

JamesShreeve — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 14:16:58 GMT

Yeah I've only noticed it within maps, although I don't have anything concrete in dashboards. Definitely not ideal for users having to re-do all that work when the overwrite function shouldn't (and hasn't previously) act in this way. I also realised I had loads of decorated URLs which linked from our website to individual polygons, which obviously had to be re-done too.

That's the same error I see on our maps too. I know there are other ways around it e.g. truncate and append in MB, but if the function is there to overwrite then it should work, as it has done before. Hopefully someone sees this post and can offer some feedback!

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 14:25:09 GMT

Thanks for the input. Interesting. What does truncate and append in MB refer to? I do a delete append in the the feature class when features are updated then use the updated feature class to overwrite the hosted feature layer (then reconfigure the broken links).

I have wondered about creating layer views with filtering and symbology. I don't know if they would get killed on the overwrite, but if not at least I could (I think) load those in after the overwrite. Either way - YES - It should not be necessary. Awkward because we are on a budget.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 17:59:24 GMT

When I check the feature layer 'Data' tab, several fields are not visible, including some that are used in filters and labelling. I am trying to make them visible, but it's not sticking. I wonder if this has something to do with it. When I set the ones I need to be visible, it doesn't stick. When I refresh the screen, it reverts to being not visible by default.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

MaxwellESRI — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 16:36:59 GMT

Hi @RandyMcGregor3,

I am Maxwell, an product engineer on the ArcGIS Online team here at Esri. I have been looking into this issue, and you are right this should not be happening. If the layers are public would you mind sharing the hosted feature layer that is having this issue. If not that is totally okay! Regardless, do you mind giving me a brief rundown on your workflow and the changes made to the HFL. Thanks!

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

JamesShreeve — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 11:15:22 GMT

Apologies for the slack reply, went on annual leave over the festive period. Truncate and append in ModelBuilder, so I've used that to automate some daily updates to my hosted feature layers. Truncate just removes the whole table and re-populates using the append. Not hugely different to delete append.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

JamesShreeve — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 11:19:09 GMT

Hi @MaxwellESRI, hope you don't mind me replying to your question too. So, i've noticed the issue recently when using the "Overwrite web layer" tool in ArcGIS Pro. I work in local government so our process is to amend the feature class locally (so we have a copy outside of AGO for business systems) and then I would simply use the "Overwrite web layer" tool in Pro to then overwrite the HFL. Previously, I've had no issues whatsoever with the tool and the HFL would simply show the updated polygon shape or textual change, but now we seem to get the error message/situation that has also been explained by @RandyMcGregor3. Thank you for looking into this. If I can help at all please just let me know.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 14:46:38 GMT

Thanks for responding Maxwell. I can't share the layer, but I think I have a clue. (FYI - Since overwriting the layer risks breaking maps I can't test it now. We know of the issue and next time we HAVE to update the layer, we know this may happen, but I can't risk it at this time.)

The issue I submitted below, which as successfully resolved, may be it, but I can't be sure until we test. I noticed some columns were defaulting to being not visible and did not respond to being made visible. These columns are used for labelling, filtering and symbology.

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-online-questions/columns-not-visible-in-hosted-feature-layer/m-p/1243612#M49500

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 15:00:30 GMT

As far as a rundown of procedures, similar to @JamesShreeve , I have an fgdb feature class that I update regularly. I delete all old features and append in new features, then do an 'Overwrite Web Layer' from the layer in ArcGIS Pro (not from a map), then (for now) repair broken links.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 15:02:33 GMT

You can do a truncate/append directly on an HFL? (A little embarrassed asking this, but...).

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

JamesShreeve — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 15:21:03 GMT

Yeah I didn't realise you could either until I found something on the community pages. So I have created the attached Model which then enables me to run them as a scheduled tool (as I didn't know Python well enough to create a script). The XY table to point is creating a layer from a database of planning applications which then appends into the truncated WFL, as seen on the bottom row.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 15:26:22 GMT

Wow. That workflow is amazingly similar to mine, but I do an append/delete, rather than truncate/delete. xy values come from a database and are used to create points that replace current points (then I overwrite the layer as we have been discussing). I will look into a direct update of the HFL, but I do like having the feature class as a back up. Thanks!

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

MaxwellESRI — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 17:59:43 GMT

Hi @RandyMcGregor3 and @JamesShreeve,

After doing some testing, I think I might have found the issue. It seems that when overwriting a web layer inside ArcGIS Pro the layer IDs are sometimes being changed regardless of unique IDs being enabled for all layers in a map project. To correct this issue from within ArcGIS Pro, first validate that "Allow assignment of Unique numeric IDs for sharing web layers" is turned on in map properties > general.

Next, open up the layer properties for the web layers you are looking to overwrite. Under the general tab, validate that the Layer ID matches the Layer ID in the ArcGIS Online Rest Service.

If they do not match, change the Layer ID in ArcGIS Pro to match that of the Layer ID on ArcGIS Online. Then you should be able to overwrite the layer without breaking any links. Let me know if this resolved the issue and or if you have any more questions. We also offer overwriting hosted feature layers through ArcGIS Online. You can do this by going to the item details page for the layer, and selecting the Update Data > Overwrite Entire Layer. This will only work if the HFL is published on ArcGIS Online. This workflow won't work with ArcGIS Pro derived layers. You can read more about that here Overwrite HFL ArcGIS Online.

Thanks!

Maxwell

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 18:34:41 GMT

This looks interesting. The first time I had this problem, one of my dashboards did get messed up and I had to change the layer id from '0' to '1' in some arcade code. The dashboard has been stable after that despite some overwrites, which is why I had said they aren't affected. Maybe they were, but changing the arcade line to access the new id was a more permanent solution for dashboards, while the maps are still getting confused.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 18:50:03 GMT

This is what I see for the layer id in the ArcGIS Pro document:

This is what I see in the actual feature layer:

Looks like I need to change the Layer ID in ArcGIS Pro from 2 to 0. Also, 'Allow assignment of unique ids' was NOT checked. I have checked that.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

JamesShreeve — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 14:52:59 GMT

Hi, thank you for your detailed explanation and guide. I checked my map properties and the "Allow assignment of Unique numeric IDs for sharing web layers" was ticked, so I then moved onto checking the Layer ID for the WFL in Pro and on the Rest Services. Both of these were the same, so seemed like I was going to struggle but when I checked the local copy of the data I was editing prior to using the "Overwrite web layer" tool, the Layer ID of that was different from that of the WFL. So, hesitantly I changed the Layer ID on the local copy of the data and used the tool as normal. All worked as expected! All the maps with the layer saw the updated test polygon appear with no error messages. Thank you @MaxwellESRI for your help with identifying the issue, much appreciated.

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 15:25:25 GMT

The layer id in your feature class was different from the layer id of the service(layer)? That is my situation and I also changed the layer id of the feature class in ArcGIS Pro to match the hosted feature layer and am hopeful this will work. (Can't test because no budget for reconnection if that proves necessary). I think I've seen this before and forgot. It's a VERY tricky thing. If you move a layer within an ArcPro map, it might be assigned a new layer id, or it might not (??). If it is assigned a different layer id from the one it had when the layer was published originally, it gets weird fast when you overwrite. I might be having this issue with another layer that's blowing up when I overwrite it...

Re: Map rejects hosted feature layer after overwrite

RandyMcGregor3 — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:44:29 GMT

I did this on a different project that was having this problem. It worked! I was overwriting the feature layer with newly created features that were given a new layer id. I changed the layer id manually to match HFL id and had no problem overwriting it. All content that uses this layer is fine! This really is a tricky one. When you run 'Analyze' before you overwrite a feature layer, 'Layer id of input does not match layer id of layer' should be a warning. This will break content. I appreciate your help Maxwell!