AGOL feature service won't load or only one layer from a multilayer feature service loads in ArcMap 10.4

[AndyFairbairn]

Hi folks, I'm hoping someone might be able to give me a clue as to why I'm getting some strange behaviours when trying to load data hosted on ArcGIS Online in ArcMap. I have a number of feature services with multiple layers (max about 12 layers) hosted on ArcGIS online (originally published from file geodatabases).  When I add them in ArcMap using Catalog > My Hosted Services they all load fine.  However, if I try to use the ArcGIS Online option on either the File menu or the Add Data button one feature service doesn't load anything at all (no error messages, nothing appears in TOC), one only loads the first layer of 6, and one loads all layers fine. I get the same behaviour in ArcMap 10.4 and 10.2.2.

The feature service that only loads one layer was loading all 6 no problem until just now.  I have had this problem previously, and only managed to fix it by deleting the old feature service and then republishing from the file geodatabase again - but this only worked if I used a different name for the feature service.  And I really don't want to have to keep on doing this.  I've no idea whether this is what triggered it, but between this one loading ok and then not, I did do some label and popup management on the Visualisation tab of the feature service on AGOL.  Reversing these changes has not helped.

It is important to have the File menu/Add data button route to loading data working as I need other users to be able to load, view and edit these feature services in ArcMap.  They can't use the Catalog route to load the data as they're not the publishers of it. 

Any ideas? 

Thanks, 

Andy.

[AmyHaas]

Hi Andy - we are experiencing a similar issue and I'm wondering if you found a solution yet?

[AndyFairbairn]

Hi Amy

No, unfortunately I don't have a good solution (just trying again using a different name for the feature service is the only thing that has worked temporarily for me). 

I'd be interested to know if you are getting any layers to load from the feature service? Did it work and then stop, or just never work?

Thanks, 

Andy.

[AndyFairbairn]

Same problem in ArcMap 10.5 - all work fine when added in Pro 1.4.

[KellyGerrow]

Hi,

Please contact technical support to look into this issue further.

Are you able to load multiple layers if you make a server connection to your ArcGIS Online rest endpoint or if you add the feature service from the Add Data>ArcGIS Online console in ArcMap?

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-Kelly

[AndyFairbairn]

Thanks Kelly.  I have a case with technical support now who have replicated this problem, will post if there is a solution or work around. 

Yes, the affected multilayer feature services seem to work fine if loaded by creating a server connection to the rest endpoint (Catalog > Add ArcGIS Server > Use GIS Services), but I can only see stuff that has been published as Public using this method, even when credentials are put in.  Also fine through Catalog > My Hosted Services.

But they do not load or only partially load when added from Add Data>ArcGIS Online or File > ArcGIS Online, which is what my users need to do. 

Cheers, 

A.

[AndyFairbairn]

Ok, so the upshot of the support ticket was that this is a known bug - 

http://support.esri.com/bugs/nimbus/QlVHLTAwMDA5ODI2Mw== (2016)

and I think I'm also seeing this in the case where none of the layers in my feature service load when using "Add Data from ArcGIS Online", or something like it,

NIM104467: Multiple feature classes published as a hosted featu..  (2014)

And there is a thread about it here.

Only see layer 0 in ArcMap when adding data from ArcGIS Online. BUG?? 

The work around I'm using is to create .lyr files for these multilayer services, or create .mdx files with the layers already in them so that other users can access and edit this data without having to use “Add Data from ArcGIS Online” in ArcMap.  Another suggestion from the thread was to use the "Open in ArcGIS Desktop" option for a Web map in ArcGIS Online and then distribute the downloaded .pkinfo file - I wouldn't have been keen on this solution for various reasons, but this only seems to work in the case when I only get the first layer of the service loading, in the other case, where no layers load from "Add Data from ArcGIS Online" at all, the .pkinfo method doesn't work (whereas .lyr and .mdx files do).  Different but perhaps related bugs...?

EDIT: Just to add another gotcha if you go down the .mdx route to share view/edit access with other users to your multilayer services on AGOL, if they don't load properly in ArcMap using “Add Data from ArcGIS Online”.  In both ArcMap 10.2.2 and 10.5, if I use such an .mdx as a template (New), again, only the first layer loads, the others don't connect .  However, if I open the same .mdx directly (Open) then they all work fine.

[LeeGraham · Accepted solution]

This solution worked fine for us and only took seconds to do after we had previously published a number of multi-layer feature services from Pro that some users wanted to add in ArcGIS Desktop.

Utilise ArcGIS Online Assistant.

1. Log into ArcGIS Online via ArcGIS Online Assistant.
2. Next to the search box, use the drop down menu 'I want to..' and select 'View an item's JSON'.
3. On the left-hand side of the site, navigate to the service and click on it. Two windows open on the right, 'Description' and 'Data'.
4. Remove all text from the 'Data' window. Replace with {}
5. Save changes and add the service via the 'Add data' button.

[AndyFairbairn]

Thanks Lee.  This worked as you said - haven't noticed any difference from deleting all that stuff, except that all the layers now load in ArcMap via Add data button as you said. 

Cheers, 

Andy.

[Anonymous User]

I am experiencing this same issue, does this process effect any existing data in the service?