Question about Hosted Feature Services

[JamesBoggs1]

I am trying to create a web app where I can use the search function to find parcel polygons based on their attributes. My understanding is that in order to configure the search feature it has to be a hosted feature service. How do you get the feature in your "My Content" section to be hosted services?

So far I have uploaded my shapefiles in a .zip and created a map using the shapefiles. I’ve also created a web app using the “Finder” template and added my created map to it. All of my attributes are there and they appear in a popup when I click on a parcel. But when I am configuring the app it says that “No find layer has been configured” and “No layers available. Check your web map for valid layers”. How do I actually host a layer so that I can configure the search feature?

I have tried configuring the feature search based on the documentation, but I do not have the “Find Locations” setting available under the application settings.

Also, I am using a 60 day trial of ArcGIS Online if that makes a difference.

Attached are screenshots to help explain my problem.

Thanks.

[RussRoberts]

It sounds like the map you created is using a shapefile layer and not a hosted feature service. You will need to publish your shapefile and then you will be able to use the hosted feature service to configure a find places off of that search.

Publish features—ArcGIS Online Help | ArcGIS

Cheers

Russ

[JamesBoggs1]

Russ,

When I am uploading my shapefile as a .zip folder, I am not getting the option to check the box "Publish this file as a feature layer" that is mentioned in the docs. Any ideas to why this wouldn't be an option for me?

When I edit the properties of the file after it is uploaded, I do not see any option to publish it there either.

Thanks,

James

[LaneHowerton]

Hi James,

How is your data normally stored (PGDb, FGDb, Enterprise GDb)? Do you have ArcGIS Server?  Knowing this may keep you from having to upload anything as you can create a feature searchable map without the data being hosted on arcgis online depending on your answers above.  For example, if your data is stored in an EGDb behind a firewall not facing the public side of the internet and you have ArcGIS Server, you can use ESRI's WebAdapter as a reverse proxy server to expose it and allow your data to feed to your AGO maps.

However, if you have to upload data, I don't think feature searching will work on a shape file. It must be a FGDb. Which you should be able to create and upload. You also, don't have to create an app for features to be searchable. You can just go to the details of the map and enable searching by layer, tell it the layer name and attribute to search on, and whether the search value should be an exact match or just contain the value.

[JamesBoggs1]

Lane,

Essential what I am trying to do is create a web map for the public to use that works exactly like the one at this link. http://kcassessor.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Solutions/s2.html?appid=6011913fb81f49dbb25f323ecc68ccf9

I'm pretty sure this map is simply using the "Finder" template for their web app. The office I currently work for is paying several thousand dollars a year for a company to host our maps online and we only get two online updates per year. I'm pretty sure they are using geoserver as their backend to host our maps, but whatever they are using doesn't seem to work as smoothly as the ESRI hosted maps at the above link. I am currently using a 60 day trial of AGO, but figured that the annual $2500 subscription would be less than what we pay the company we are currently working with, we could update the maps as needed, and the service would be smoother and easier to use for the public.

Would I need ArcGIS Server to achieve results similar to those on the link above? While one of the primary reasons to do this is to be able to update our own online maps when needed and make them easier to use for the public, if it ends up costing more than what we currently are paying, I doubt the office would go for it, so I'm not sure paying for ArcGIS server would be in the cards.

While I am able to upload my shapfile, I am unable to publish it as explained in my reply to Russ, so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it not being searchable. I will attempt to create an FGDb and upload it to AGO tomorrow at the office, and let you know the results.

Thanks,

James.

[RussRoberts]

The account you are using in your subscription is it the admin of the org or were you invited into the trial? Can you go into your profile page you sign into AGOL with and see what your role is?

Thanks

Russ

[JamesBoggs1]

I created the trial account. To my knowledge the organization I work for didn't have a previous AGOL account. When I view my profile I do not see a role listed. It only has my name, email, username and bio. When I visit My Esri though, it says that I am not currently connected to an organization. Do I have to be connected with an organization to publish features?

Thanks,

James

[RussRoberts]

When you login to the trial account you created you should see under your My Profile under arcgis.com trial org:

Role

Administrator

Did you create your trial under this link?

https://www.arcgis.com/features/free-trial.html

Once you get signed up here you should get an email to activate your free trial and from there you setup your organization and will be able to upload that shapefile and check the box that says publish and create a hosted feature service.

[JamesBoggs1]

Russ,

I'm pretty sure that is the link I used to sign up. I tried signing up again and it said that the email was already used to sign up for a trial. Here is a screenshot of my profile as I see it. I did receive an email to activate my account. I thought I clicked the link, but am not certain. When I click it now it says "The token has expired or is invalid". Would I even be able to create maps and apps if my trial wasn't activated? Thanks for all the help, James

[RussRoberts · Accepted solution]

this is a public/free account and not a trial account. You should be seeing your account profile under your orgs URL which would look something like jameswv.maps.arcgis.com . Right now you are just under arcgis.com and that is a view that public accounts would see. Also the role information would be displayed in the same colum as region, units.  You would also see organization and organization URL on this page.

Can you try and spin up a free trial under the URL i posted in a comment above.

Thanks

Russ