Getting Metadata into AGOL from ArcGIS Pro

[JoeBorgione]

In this post I ask about getting metadata into AGOL.  However, I was using ArcMap at the time and things in the metadata world have changed considerably. 

I'm using ArcGIS Pro 2.6 and am faced with the same problem of translating ISO 19139 to an ArcGIS Standard xml to then load that xml into AGOL. How does one achieve this?

[Anonymous User]

Hey @JoeBorgione ,

I found this resource on the Pro documentation pages, let me know if it helps:

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/upgrade-metadata-to-the-arcgis-format.htm

[JoeBorgione]

Thanks for your response @Anonymous User .  I've been pouring over the help docs and they don't seem to guide me as well as I prefer.  That said, I just found this:  https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/save-a-copy-of-an-item-s-metadata.htm  and I'm going to see if that is the ticket for me...

[JoeBorgione]

Well, that was a rabbit hole too.  

The export to xml options only provide three choices:

And when I then try to import  or overwrite the meta data in my AGOL item, I'm told:

[Anonymous User]

And down we go, heh. Did you try upgrading your metadata in the catalog view on ArcGIS Pro?

[JoeBorgione]

Funny you should mention that; the upgrade option is grayed out.  When I look at the Metadata Details in  a Catalog view it shows that it's 'upgraded' already:

One of the gazzillion help pages I looked at had me do a text search in the metadata display to look for that, and said in effect that if it says ArcGIS 1.0, it's upgraded....

🤔

[Anonymous User]

oh interesting, ok standby

[AletaVienneau]

Check out the following ArcGIS Online help topic: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/manage-data/metadata.htm Your question is addressed under the question heading "Can I import metadata formats other than ArcGIS metadata format?"

When you create data in Pro and then publish it to ArcGIS Online, the metadata should just go with it. Otherwise, there are a couple options following your current workflow depending on the type of item you are working with and if it is available in ArcGIS Pro.

- Access the portal item in ArcGIS Pro, and edit its metadata directly with the Pro metadata editor: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/view-and-edit-metadata.htm

- Access the portal item directly in ArcGIS Pro, and copy metadata from your local item to the portal item... look for the heading "Copy metadata from a local item to a portal item": https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/copy-or-import-metadata-to-an-item.htm#ESRI_S... 

- Save a copy of the item's metadata in Pro in the ArcGIS Metadata format (don't export it to a standard metadata format): https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/metadata/save-a-copy-of-an-item-s-metadata.htm#ESRI_SE... and then upload the ArcGIS metadata XML document to the portal item via the ArcGIS Online metadata editor as you are doing now

[JoeBorgione]

@AletaVienneau ; thanks for your response!

When you create data in Pro and then publish it to ArcGIS Online, the metadata should just go with it.

Yep; that's what I thought and that's what it says in this link as well :

For hosted feature layers, layer-level metadata is also included when you publish from ArcGIS Pro.

With respect to saving a copy of the metadata, the steps outlined on that page include using Save As xml for the option.  Which I have done.  I can then 'overwrite' the existing metadata in agol; at least I don't get an error.  When I check the metadata however, it's empty.

I've already created metadata in ArcGIS Pro, and editing an AGOL item's metadata in Pro does not sound appealing to me at all.  I get this message when I try to:

What does this mean exactly?

If the metadata is supposed to follow the feature layer to AGOL, why does it not?

If my metadata is in the proper ArcGIS format, why when exporting to or saving as an xml file and then importing that xml into AGOL not produce the desired results?

Surely I am not the first guy to try this. As shown in my OP, back in the ArcMap days, I was able to get this to work, but we are strictly an ArcGIS Pro shop now: I don't even have ArcMap installed on any of my computers anymore.

[AletaVienneau]

OK, the warning has to do with the layer's metadata setting. This is discussed in the View and edit metadata topic in the Pro help under the heading "A warning appears when you try to edit metadata". The layer can either have its own metadata or point to the data source's metadata. If the layer is pointing to the data source's metadata, then you have to directly access the data source in the Catalog view and edit its metadata from there. At the current time you can't shortcut accessing the data source from the map layer (the data source might not be directly accessible from the Catalog pane/view at all).

I'm not clear if the layer whose metadata you are trying to edit from the map (in such a way that you are getting the warning) is accessing the local data or the web layer.

Without seeing what is going on, I can't offer any insight into why you don't see the expected results when you upload the ArcGIS metadata XML document to ArcGIS Online. What do you see in Pro if you browse to the saved copy of the ArcGIS metadata XML file and view the metadata it contains in the Catalog view? 

Where was the metadata before the web layer was published? How exactly did you publish the web layer? Right-click an individual layer? Publish the Pro map as a web layer? 

Edit: where do you see the metadata you created in Pro?

2ndEdit: typos in the description of the layer's metadata property