How can I make Create Local Copy for Editing work?

[deleted-user-zpcJw1u0IXiO]

I have a feature service I am trying to enable for offline editing in Collector. The feature classes in the service are unversioned, and each has archiving enabled. 

In ArcMap with the feature service loaded in, when I right-click the service in the ToC and then click Create Local Copy for Editing, after several minutes of progress bar  it reports:

A local copy could not be created.

The specified feature dataset extension type was not found.

What does this mean, and how do I correct it? The user needs this enabled, and so I would like help, please.

Thanks,

Justin

ArcGIS for Server 10.5.1

[DerekLaw]

Hi Justin,

> The specified feature dataset extension type was not found.

What kind of data are you trying to enable for offline editing?

> I have a feature service I am trying to enable for offline editing in Collector. 

FYI: Collector for ArcGIS works with web maps that contain editable feature layers. So you will have to leverage either ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS as well. You'll need to register the feature service as a feature layer, then add it to a web map to use it in Collector.

• Prepare maps for offline use—Collector for ArcGIS | ArcGIS 
• Go offline—Collector for ArcGIS | ArcGIS 

Hope this helps,

[deleted-user-zpcJw1u0IXiO]

Thank you Derek. The data are municipal infrastructure feature classes created by a consultant using Esri Canada's Canadian Municipal Data Model (CMDM), and published in four feature services in ArcGIS Server 10.5.1 

We do not use Portal here, yet your mention of the need for AGOL or Portal might be pertinent, because as things stand, I simply have the feature services loaded into AGOL, rather than any of their feature classes being in there as individual feature layers, if that's what is needed. But so far I have only tried editing by loading the data into ArcMap from the feature service in the GIS Server connection I can access it from. 

But I have another issue that may or may not be related. Of the four feature datasets, on one I cannot enable sync capability without getting this error:

ERROR: Service failed to start,
Machine: WA-IO-KUATO.BCMAIL.LOCAL [ Layer(s) or table(s) are not configured for Sync.]

GlobalIDs are present and the layers are non-versioned, but I cannot access any archiving control on the feature dataset The archiving options in the context menu are greyed out. This must be the cause of the error, i.e. archiving is not enabled.

Yet for the other three feature datasets, I do have full and proper control. How can I get around this to enable archiving on this specific feature dataset?

Thanks,

Justin

[DerekLaw]

Hi Justin,

> ... I simply have the feature services loaded into AGOL, rather than any of their feature classes being in there as individual feature layers

I'm not sure what you mean by "loaded into AGOL" - can you please elaborate? FYI: The feature services need to be registered with AGOL, when they are, then you will have feature layers, which can be added to a web map, which Collector can then use.

> GlobalIDs are present and the layers are non-versioned, but I cannot access any archiving control on the feature dataset The archiving options in the context menu are greyed out.

A couple of items:

1. From the screenshot your posted, it does not appear that GlobalIDs are enabled on the feature dataset - because the 'Add GlobalIDs' option shows as available.
2. FYI, non-versioned archiving is supported on tables and sql spatial types such as SQL Server Geometry, ST_GEOMETRY and SDO_geometry but not on older geometry types such as SDEBINARY or SDELOB. Is your data stored in one of these formats?

Enabling archiving—ArcGIS Help | ArcGIS Desktop 

Hope this helps,

[deleted-user-zpcJw1u0IXiO]

By "loaded into AGOL" I mean as an ArcGIS Server Map Service I brought into ArcGIS Online using Add Item | From the web. Does that qualify as being registered with AGOL?

Regarding your #1, the option to add GlobalIDs appears on the other three feature datasets that do have Sync enabled. From my experience, Add GlobalIDs is always active despite the fact all content of the feature dataset already has GlobalIDs. For #2, it's all in Geometry format

[DerekLaw]

Hi Justin,

> By "loaded into AGOL" I mean as an ArcGIS Server Map Service I brought into ArcGIS Online using Add Item | From the web. Does that qualify as being registered with AGOL?

Did you "add item" in the AGOL Map Viewer app to a web map? Then the answer is "no". Or did you do it on the Contents page? Then the answer is "yes", you likely registered the web service as a web layer, see the help topic:

Add items—ArcGIS Online Help | ArcGIS 

> Yet for the other three feature datasets, I do have full and proper control. How can I get around this to enable archiving on this specific feature dataset?

I'm unfamiliar with the Esri Canada's Canadian Municipal Data Model (CMDM) - so I'm not sure what the issue might be. It seems like your dataset meets the archiving requirements. I suggest you ask the 'consultant' you worked with, if perhaps that particular feature dataset has some special configuration(s) or please contact Esri Tech Support.

Hope this helps,

[deleted-user-zpcJw1u0IXiO]

What I've noticed today, Derek, is the feature dataset has a topology, while the other three feature datasets loaded as contents in AGOL that cause no problem for me do not. I found this difference today after having created a new feature dataset in the SDE geodatabase and loading all feature classes from the original into it. I was able to enable archiving on the dataset, but then I noticed it lacks the topology of the original, and wondered if maybe that be why I could not enable archiving on the original. Can you tell me, is having a feature class participating in a topology a problem for archiving? I strongly doubt it, but maybe it hurts for enabling creating a local copy for editing from the feature service it's published in? 

Thanks,
Justin

[deleted-user-zpcJw1u0IXiO · Accepted solution]

I've reached my goal in this!

Thank you to Derek Law for his ongoing help. In the CMDM there are feature attachments on the streetlights feature class. I found that only by deleting the relationship class for the attachments was I able to enable Sync when republishing the map service (fear not, there were no actual attachments). It was still not possible to edit from the service in ArcMap, but by loading it into ArcGIS Online specifically from the Contents page and adding and saving it into a new map (as Derek described above), I could then load it into ArcMap by right-clicking My Hosted Services in the Catalog pane, logging into ArcGIS Online from the context menu, and searching for and adding the map I'd saved.

Having completed the mentioned steps, I was able to right-click the service name in the Table of Contents and choose Create Local Copy for Editing. As a test, I changed a sign feature attribute, then clicked Synchronize Local Edits with Server, and saw the change in ArcCatalog.

Thanks again for the help,

Justin

[JTessier]

Derek Law‌ based on the solution here, is this a known issue?  We are about to endeavor in more formal editing processes using feature services, but stumbling upon this thread gave me pause.  The eGDB modelers may be proposing to add relationship classes to many layers in the database, but not attachments based ones.  If this is an issue can you add it to the doc for ArcMap (and Pro if still an issue there).  Thanks!   Also, are there any plans to allow the editor to specify a polygon to use as an AOI for this "Create Local Copy for editing."  This would make a lot of sense for multiple editors to work on their campus/installation though they may fall in the same extent..

[DerekLaw]

Hi J Tessier,

> ... based on the solution here, is this a known issue? 

I'm not clear on what you mean by this statement, can you please clarify?