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Enable multiple users to overwrite hosted feature services

2684
5
08-31-2017 12:14 PM
Status: Open
MegHoole
Frequent Contributor

Business case:  Multiple users maintain a source dataset outside of ArcGIS Online (AGO).  The dataset is published to AGO as a hosted feature service (hfs) via ArcMap.  Edits to the source data require that the hfs be updated using the overwrite publishing option.

The workflow to create the original hosted feature service (hfs):

  • Publish hfs from ArcMap to AGO
  • Edit source data in ArcMap
  • re-Publish hfs from ArcMap using overwrite option.

Problem:  Only the owner of the hfs can overwrite the hfs in AGO.

Currently the only options I can think of – which I consider cumbersome, not ideal, and workarounds at best are:

  • Change ownership of the content to facilitate another user overwriting (this may require user to have additional privileges - cumbersome and not ideal)
  • Share credentials for an account that owns the content that multiple people need to be able to overwrite (again – not ideal and a workaround at best)

Related ideas on Geonet:

https://geonet.esri.com/ideas/10992

https://geonet.esri.com/ideas/11177

5 Comments
ThomasColson

I've solved this problem by using Task Scheduler to overwrite the HFS, which avoids the multiple people sharing one account violation (of ESRI TOS). Multiple methods here https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2017/03/14/updating-your-hosted-feature-services-with-arcgis-pro-...  

JacksonTrappett

I up-voted this and I agree with it, and would like the functionality to also be available in ArcGIS Portal.  Our workflow is that we have services that are published from ArcGIS Pro for organizational maps that are updated and maintained by everyone on our team.  We would like the ability for one member of the team to publish a new Web Layer (Map Image Layer/Service), that will be going into a web map and/or app, and then share it with a group, with overwrite permissions, so that when changes are needed, any other member of our team would be able to make the updates in ArcGIS Pro, and then overwrite that web layer from Pro.

YoavRappaport

There is a similar idea with more votes here https://community.esri.com/ideas/10992  so vote for both! Currently we are achieving this by making all members of our group admins, then going in and changing the ownership when you want to overwrite someone else layer. But first you have to share the layer with a group that doesn't have "update" capabilities. Sounds counter intuitive, but that's how it is. Then to share that layer with a wider group you must create a View fs. 

Eric_Andersen

Absolutely needed.

I know there is a workaround with Admins being able to either update or change ownership, but that is not a workable solution for many layers that need updating.

My hope was that by sharing the layer with a group that had update privileges, that would suffice.  No luck.  I think all Esri would need to do is to allow for that functionality - if a user is part of the group, any data shared with the group would be updateable by that user.

MappyIan

If I've understood this correctly, only the owners of hosted feature layers can overwrite the layer in ArcGIS Online from Pro if the item is shared with a 'Shared Update Group'.  If the item is not shared with a 'Shared Update Group' then any users who are Administrators can overwrite the hosted feature layer from Pro.

This seems counter intuitive and it feels like the solution should be that items that are in Shared Ownership Groups should be able to be overwritten by anyone else in the same group.  It seems odd that an item in a 'shared ownership group' can't be overwritten but can be edited by other members of the group.