Survey123 question - updating existing data

[AdrianWelsh]

I hope this is an easy question but I fear it is not. 

I want to make a Survey that has existing tabular data (things like project name, description, dates, etc.) that I will create in a CSV or whatever. Then I want the user to be able to open one of these existing data rows and go in and add one element to this record - a location element (geopoint). Then the user can go to the next data row and add locations there too, and so on. I hope that makes sense.

I saw some info regarding pulldata and other things but I am not sure that is the same thing. Is this request possible with the current version of Survey123? 

tagging: James Tedrick‌

[JamesTedrick · Accepted solution]

Hi Adrian,

Yes, this can be done, though it might take a bit of setup - you would need to publish your table as a feature service with a point geometry.  This might be best done by creating a new feature service with the columns of your table (say, using the ArcGIS for Developers website - ArcGIS for Developers  ) and then append the data into the layer (without location).  You can then create a survey with Inbox enabled to collect data from the now-existing feature service.

[AdrianWelsh]

Thanks James Tedrick‌, this sounds really promising and I have been working on this method (just slowly). I guess I don't understand why I need to need to publish a layer, and append it to another layer,as opposed to just one big layer (but I am guessing I will figure it out when I do this process). I'll keep you posted!

~Adrian

[JamesTedrick]

Hi Adrian,

The main issue causing a bit of a detour is that you presented a scenario where you did not have any existing geography.  The normal method of creating a layer from a table relies on having either coordinates or something that could be geocoded to populate the geometry field.

[AdrianWelsh]

Ok James, stupid question. In my CSV table (that has my original data), does that go into the point feature class that I am publishing (without geometry)? Or is that in the feature class I'm creating in AGOL from scratch? Or am I misunderstanding? 

Thanks!

[JamesTedrick]

After the new feature layer/class is created, I would append the data from the CSV table into it (without geometry).  The ArcGIS Online tools may still expect an existing geography from the CSV table; if so, you could either use ArcGIS Pro's Append tool or manually edit the data in.

[AdrianWelsh]

James Tedrick, thanks again for the help and feedback. I feel like I'm missing one step here and not sure how to complete the process. I have a feature class I made from a CSV table. I put it in Pro and published it to AGOL (I do have one point with a location, so I'm not sure if that messes things up or not, but I can get rid of that one).

I also created a survey in Survey123 Connect with the same fields as my feature class. I have the Enable Inbox thing checked on in the settings. But, once I have these two items, how do I append my existing data into my new Survey123 feature class (or am I not thinking properly here)?

I know I can append stuff in Pro but that's just a desktop feature and wouldn't reflect in the cloud (to my knowledge). Is there a way to read my existing feature class into my newly created Survey? Or join them together in ArcGIS Online somehow? I didn't see an Append option in my AGOL Analysis tools. Or would that be like a Join?

Thanks again!

[JamesTedrick]

Hi Adrian,

What I had intended for the instructions is to create the feature class first and then build the survey on that (now existing) feature class (as opposed to a new one authored by Survey123).  If you have a feature class authored by Survey123 you could use ArcGIS Pro's Append tool to load the data; so long as you are working with the feature layers in your ArcGIS Online account, the changes will be reflected in the cloud.

The append capability in ArcGIS Online is at the Item Details page.  The Join tool is for what you would expect a join to be - connect 2 tables by a common piece of data (like ID).

[AdrianWelsh]

James,

This is helpful. I guess I didn't realize that when creating a new survey you could build one from a Feature Service......... 

Kind of a bone head move on my part! That practically solves my problem! I guess I need to test it with the user now and see how it goes. I also guess I didn't realize that working with AGOL files (feature services) directly in ArcGIS Pro that normal operations (like Append) worked. That's a great feature to have too! Now I just need this to work and I'm good to know. I'll report back when I get a chance.

Thanks again!

EDIT: It looks like that in order to work on existing rows/feature, the user would have to use the Survey123 app instead of the web browser.

EDIT2: Alright James, quick question that I hope has an easy answer. When I look at the Inbox of surveys, it's messy. 

Is there a way to make it cleaner to where it only shows certain things? Is that where I would use the Query Expression in the Inbox Settings? (I think I answered my own question - yes. I just need to figure out how to make it look best!).

[SMauri]

Is there a way to make it cleaner to where it only shows certain things? Is that where I would use the Query Expression in the Inbox Settings? (I think I answered my own question - yes. I just need to figure out how to make it look best!)

Hi Adrian,

you should use Instance name—Survey123 for ArcGIS | ArcGIS for "control what information is used to uniquely identify every response in the lists".

You can use also concat function for create somthing new...

Sample: concat (${City}, " ", ${Client_Name})

Cheers

Stefano