Keep, Maintain, or Delete Excel Files that are published as hosted feature tables?

[AmyRoust]

I have created a dashboard using data from a hosted table that is published from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The user wants to be able to update the dashboard directly from the Excel spreadsheet that they maintain, which is why I went this route instead of migrating the data management into a geodatabase.

Since I had to upload the Excel spreadsheet as an item before it could be published as a hosted table, that copy is still in ArcGIS Online even though I don't need it anymore. I tested updating the Excel spreadsheet's data, and it has no impact on the hosted table. But, when you look at the item page for the hosted table, it tells you clearly that it was created from the Excel file, so I'm unclear on whether that Excel file is necessary or not.

What's the best practice for the Excel spreadsheet item? Do I:

A. Keep the original Excel file in ArcGIS Online and do nothing with it.

B. Keep the original Excel file in ArcGIS Online, and have my user update both the Excel file and the hosted table?

C. Delete the original Excel file in ArcGIS Online and only update the hosted table.

[bbollin · Accepted solution]

hi @AmyRoust! 

So first off, while you technically can delete the source item (in this case an excel file but could also be a service definition file or other file type). We recommend that you do not as it may cause unexpected issues particularly with overwriting. What I would recommend is that you:

1. Ignore the excel file 
2. Share the hosted table item to a shared update group or transfer ownership to the user who will be updating 
3. Whenever they want to update the hosted table, they can use Update Data to easily and quickly upload the information from the excel file. 

Hope this helps!

[AmyRoust]

Thank you for taking the time to respond! This is exactly what I needed.

[bbollin]

Happy to help!