topic Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer in ArcGIS Pro Questions

ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MarcWeinshenker1 — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 16:43:49 GMT

I am doing a lot of testing with ArcGIS Enterprise (v10.5.1), federating ArcGIS Server with Portal, and ArcGIS Pro for publishing. One specific task I have just tested is overwriting a service created by ArcGIS Pro, or to use the latest terminology, overwriting a Web Layer.

In ArcGIS Pro (v2.1.2), when I chose Overwrite Web Layer I was presented with a warning reading, "If you overwrite this web layer, any popups configured or changes made to the web layer after it was initially published will be lost. This may affect existing clients using the layer by changing layer order or available fields." I had previously added the Portal map layer item to a map and configured a popup. As it turned out, the popup was not affected following the Overwrite, but I was more than a bit worried.

That warning message is very disconcerting. Why is this warning given, and under what circumstances will popups or other configurations be lost? Not knowing when configurations may be lost is not a good place to be.

Thanks!

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

JakeSkinner — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 16:59:49 GMT

Hi Marc,

When overwriting a web layer the new layer you are publishing can have an entirely different schema than the existing layer. If the schema differs (i.e. different field names, new fields, deleted fields) than the pop-ups will be lost and need to be re-configured. If the schema is the same, then the pop-ups should maintain.

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MarcWeinshenker1 — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:15:07 GMT

Thanks, Jake. That's what I sort of expected and it's consistent with what I am used to with publishing services from ArcMap, but I have to question the wording of the warning as it leaves no room for uncertainty. It says that configurations and changes "will be lost." I think it is alarming and, by your explanation, it is also inaccurate. At the very least, I believe "will" should be changed to "may" and, even better, a concise explanation should be included.

Thanks.

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

JakeSkinner — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:48:51 GMT

I agree, this would be more intuitive. I would suggest entering this idea on the ArcGIS Ideas page.

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MarcWeinshenker1 — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:51:59 GMT

Okay. Thanks much.

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

TimOrmsby — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 18:01:51 GMT

Yes, please add to the ArcGIS Ideas page. Also, fyi your observations have been passed to the Pro development team that works on this.

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MarcWeinshenker1 — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 18:04:19 GMT

Thanks, Tim!

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

KoryKramer — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:33:05 GMT

Cross-referencing https://community.esri.com/ideas/14642‌

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MelanieSummers — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 19:50:03 GMT

To clarify a bit more, when you overwrite from Pro, the pop-up is completely overwritten - if you had originally authored your pop-up in Pro and are overwriting using the same map, it might look like the pop-up is being maintained when it actually isn't.

We have plans to make this a better experience where you will be given a choice to either maintain the web layer pop-up or replace it with what you have in Pro but as of right now, it always replaces.

Thank you,

Melanie

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MarcWeinshenker1 — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 19:53:07 GMT

Melanie,

This is not the behavior I am observing. The popup for my test layer in Pro is Enabled (that state appears to be the default when adding a layer) and all fields are checked ON to be included. In the Portal map with the shared and registered layer in it, the popup is configured with only a subset of fields checked ON. When I overwrite the Web Layer to Portal I do not see a change to the set of fields checked ON in the layer within the map in Portal, nor do I see a change in the popup itself . As another test, I UNchecked one of the fields in the Pro layer, and again there was no change to the popup for the layer in the Portal map, and the field UNchecked in Pro remained checked ON in the Portal map.

Have I done something incorrectly so as not to see the behavior you described? Or, were you just adding to what Tim stated and saying that the popup is completely overwritten only when there is a schema change?

Thanks,
Marc

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MelanieSummers — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 17:25:07 GMT

Hi Marc,

Sorry for the slow response. What you are seeing is expected behavior - the updates to the pop-up you made are stored with the web map, not the web layer so when you overwrite the web layer, even though the web layer's pop-up is overwritten, the web map is displaying the pop-up configuration you saved with it. Similarly, if you save a copy of the original web layer with a different pop-up, that configuration stored with the copied layer is not going to be updated when you overwrite the original web layer.

TL;DR: The original web layer is always overwritten with what is authored in Pro, any configurations saved with different layers or web maps are not updated when the web layer is overwritten.

Hope that explains it,

Melanie

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

GrantHerbert — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 20:12:08 GMT

That makes sense now. If no configuration overrides are made in a web map, will it pull changes made to an underlying layer with respect to popups etc?

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

MelanieSummers — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 20:16:01 GMT

Yes, if the web map is just referencing the web layer, it should display whatever was stored with the web layer.

Melanie

Re: ArcGIS Pro: Warning when overwriting Web Layer

Anonymous User — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 16:28:34 GMT

I have a current case open regarding the overwrite process and retaining pop-ups. A common workflow I have been doing for years is to overwrite hosted feature services and as long as the schema has not changed or the service ID's have not changed there has not been a need to reconfigure the pop-ups. I typically configure the pop-up, save the layer (that way users can pull that configured layer into other web maps and use the cleaned up version), then save the map.

As of recently, when I overwrite the service with the workflow above I lose all configuration and layer properties (e.g. labels) in both the layer pulled into a new map as well as in my originally configured and saved web map.

The ESRI folks I am working suggested first saving the web map then the layer. Doing this in reverse order then overwriting retains the pop-up within my original configured web map only but not if a user pulls the saved layer into a new web map. In other words, it partially fixes the issue.

My issues are:

- Since when and why do I need to perform the saving steps in reverse order in order to partially retain the pop-ups?

- What does 'save layer' do if an overwrite completely blows away all configuration? Again, in my case no schema changes and no service ID changes.

- What have others experienced regarding this? Am I way off basis as to the "expected" behavior of overwriting a hosted feature service?

Note, I have tested the above publishing hosted feature services from Pro 2.4, 2.4.1, ArcMap both to AGOL and Portal 10.6.1. I don't recall ever having this issue in the past. Please help.

Jared