Background:
I have a SQL dataset that is the most up to date for our company. We also have copies of the feature classes from that SQL dataset hosted on AGOL to be utilized in Field Maps for offline areas. With the SQL dataset and the hosted feature layers having the same metadata schema, it is easy to append the data from AGOL to SQL. I typically sync the offline data after field work and I immediately batch append the feature layers when I get back in the office, however the last time we went out into the field we forgot to immediately append the data back to SQL. Since we were last in the field, many of the features have been altered in the SQL database but not on the copy of the hosted AGOL feature layers. I want to append the image attachments from the AGOL features to the SQL dataset without overwriting any of the other fields and that is why I cannot utilize the Append Geoprocessing Tool.
Questions:
1) Is there a way to only maintain image attachments from one feature class to another without overwriting the other data fields of the feature class that is being appended to (the two feature classes have identical field schema and matching ObjecIDs)? I have to do this for several feature classes, so if there is a script to batch append all features at once, that would be the best option.
2) Is there a way to register a SQL dataset in AGOL like you can on an Enterprise Portal? Ultimately this would save the most amount of time from not having to append features manually.
3) This is kind of a side note: Our company has two time zones that data is tracked in. Thus, we have two SQL datasets with different coordinate systems to account for the areas being in different time zones. Both datasets track the exact same assets and thus have identical schema as far as data fields go. When I create dashboards to encompass both areas, I do not wish to have two separate features for the same type of asset (i.e. Asset1_TimeZone1, Asset1_TimeZone2, Asset2_TimeZone1, Asset2_TimeZone2, etc.) Rather to reduce the clutter on the dashboards, I append the asset class for both time zones into one feature class with a shared projected coordinate system.
The issue with this is that this can be quite time consuming when you have to manually append the features each time the two separate SQL datasets are updated (which is often). Is there a script or model builder web to automate this process, or better yet something that can do this behind the scenes on its own (have the SQL layers automatically get converted to merged/appended hosted feature layers, with a shared coordinate system, every time a change is made to the SQL dataset)? This could be in real time or at scheduled times (reminder: this is on AGOL web services, not an Enterprise Portal).
