Issue with ArcGIS for Excel Update – Forced "Hosted Feature Layer" Sync

[SoniaRicciardi]

Hello,

The latest update has made ArcGIS for Excel unusable for my workflow. It is forcing a "Hosted Feature Layer" conversion that creates redundant new sheets and fails to sync my data updates into the web app.

This has made my previous work unfunctional. I need to revert to the older version that supports local data plotting without forced sheets.

[ShannonCardoza]

Good afternoon @SoniaRicciardi, 

Thank you for posting. As we develop our add-in, we collectively try to consider all the many, many workflows our users may need to complete their work. I'd love to understand a bit more on what your need is, what type of data are you working with and how we can get you back in working order! 

With that said, there are two ways, right, in which we add data in ArcGIS for Excel. (1) Adding directly from an Excel sheet and plotting it on the map and (2) adding from ArcGIS Online feature layer with or without attribute tables and essentially a third (3) those that start in Excel and want to share their data which ends up being a hosted feature layer. 

If you work with the same feature layer and attribute data, we could assume the excel workbook is saved and if edits or updates are needed then we would use that same layer each time which would allow you to sync the data (edits) from excel to the hosted feature layer (not needing to create a new sheet each time).

If you are working in Excel and dont necessarily need it to be hosted then you would perhaps make edits or updates in Excel only and use the map a visual tool. 

Are you starting with a blank worksheet each time or different datasets each time? And how are you adding your data (from Excel or AGOL)? Are you making edits that need to be maintained in your org?

We have some resources that maybe helpful. Check out our work with map data documentation or Add and Edit ArcGIS layer attribute table blog. 

Looking forward to your reply and understanding your workflow and how we can get you moving forward. 

All the best, 

SC

[SoniaRicciardi]

Hi Shannon,

Thank you for the quick response! To clarify my workflow: I don't necessarily start a new sheet every time, but I do frequently add new lines of data to my existing tables. Or update the existing info. Data is mostly addresses and numbers (sales) related to those addresses. 

I actually use all three methods you mentioned, depending on the project. My current workbook contains many sheets that I display on the map simultaneously. However, I’ve been running into major stability issues lately. Not only does it crash when I try to share the data to the ArcGIS web environment, but sometimes the Add-in won’t even let me view the map within Excel itself. 
This workflow used to work perfectly for me, so I’m wondering if a recent update has changed how the Add-in handles multiple layers.

Best,

[ShannonCardoza]

@SoniaRicciardi Updates are two fold, right!? Some things become fixed and somethings appear to change. I can reassure you we are monitoring performance constantly. I would like to share that Microsoft reports intermittent manifest file instability issues which often causes errors during Office add-in loading, ClickOnce deployment, or application startup, frequently appearing as "manifest failed" or "not valid" errors.

Our team has reported this behavior to Microsoft as well. If I get any updates I will be sure to circle back and post here! 

Thanks again, 

SC

[SoniaRicciardi]

Hi Shannon,

Thank you for the update. I appreciate that troubleshooting these technical integrations can be complex.

Good news: the map button is now working. However, I’m still having trouble with the hosted Excel sheets. When I try to Share, it runs for a long time (likely because the file is large and it wants to convert it into a hosted layer) and then fails. As a result, I'm not able to see the data in the ArcGIS web viewer.

Are there any plans to change this update or offer it as an option?

Could you also give me a potential timeline for a fix? This is very time-sensitive in my end, and I need to know if I should start moving to an alternative solution for now to avoid delays on our end.

Best,

[ShannonCardoza]

Hello @SoniaRicciardi, 

You are welcome!

We do have some performance improvements in the works. This undertaking can be complex and requires careful considerations for our users. This is slated for end of year release (fingers crossed).

As for the workbook that fails to share, are you able to share that with me? I could take this back to our team and debug it and see if there is something we can capture to fix.

Thank you, 

SC

[SoniaRicciardi]

Hi Shannon,

Thank you for your response! Unfortunately, I cannot share the file as it contains confidential data.

Could you please explain why the tool is creating new sheets? Is it possible that I use an older version of the add-in?

Best,

[ShannonCardoza]

@SoniaRicciardi No worries on the confidential data. I, alongside our Product Manager took your workflow to our greater team. I think we have a solution coming here shortly. Initially, the idea of the new sheet was part of the sharing workflow, assuming more users would prefer to have a hosted feature layer to capture edits, so on as well as be able to sync their work but we need to consider all possibilities so stay tuned...I will post updates as I have them.

[IanSteel1]

Hi Shannon, do you have any update on this?

[ShannonCardoza]

Hello @SoniaRicciardi ! I do, thank you for reaching out. We will be adding an option to either create a new sheet or proceed without one. You should see this feature in an upcoming release (early October). 

Thank you, 

SC