Is it possible to export, save, or otherwise find the Esri locator files for a geocoding service?

[Dan_Call]

I have a geocoding service running fine on an ArcGIS Server 10.4.1 machine, it was created years ago and its origins are unknown to me. I do have admin rights on the server. I need to recreate this geocoding service on a new 10.7.1 site. In order to do that, I need the locator files (.LOC file, etc.) used by the current geocoding service. Is there a way to save or export those files using only the service itself, or at least a way to examine the service and, somewhere in its details or properties, find the path where the locator files used by the service are stored? There is no useful information in the service's Item Description or other metadata.

If this were a map service, I could look in Service Properties > Parameters and the Original Document field would tell me the path to the .MXD that was used to create the service. But there doesn't appear to be any equivalent for a geocoding service: There's no way I can find to look at the geocoding service properties and find the path to the locator files it's using.

[ThomasHoman · Accepted solution]

Hi Dan,

You present an interesting question so I had to go look lol! My server is current 10.8.1 but I have a locator that was created before the in-place upgrade from 10.4.1.

If you go into the config-store folder on the server -> services -> your locator -> esriinfo there are various json and xml files that should illustrate the origins and construction of your particular locator. For instance the Manifest\manifest.xml file lists the machine and user that created the locator while the metadata\metadata.xml shows me how the locator was built.

Hope this helps for your case.

Regards,

Tom

[Dan_Call]

thanks! The <servicename>.json file in the service's folder was the simplest to read: the "locatorWorkspacePath" property lists the path to the locator, and the "locator" property is its name. If the locator is in a geodatabase, the JSON lists a "locatorWorkspaceConnectionString" property instead.