Custom Attribute Table Widget?

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11-30-2021 09:36 AM
James_Kellough
New Contributor III

Does anyone know of a 3rd party, custom attribute table widget I can use to replace the default ESRI attribute table widget?

The default ESRI widget has been plagued with various issues for years. In may case, I don't know the exact trigger(s) but if any change is made to a web map or its web app, the attribute table widget crashes and fails to load. The "fix" seems to be to "reset" the widget by opening the widget configuration and waiting for the layer list to populate then closing it and saving the app. This is the case in both AGOL and Portal.

When  you maintain over two dozen, highly dynamic production web apps, fixing the attribute table widget after every single change quickly becomes a full-time job in and of itself. I longer have the patients or the time to continue using this widget in my apps. I need something reliable. Any suggestions?

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5 Replies
ABishop
MVP Regular Contributor

Hello James,

I totally feel your pain on this one!  Not sure about a replacement widget, but I may be able to give you some tips on how to optimize the attribute widget.  Some of which you have probably already know or have tried, but I thought I would give my two cents.

First, if you don't need all of the data showing in the attribute table, you can uncheck those layers as showing up in the attribute widget when opened.  Also, there is a way to limit the fields being loaded and you can also set the widget to only show records in the current view.  

I hope this helps.  Let me know if you need further guidance.

Amanda Bishop, GISP
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James_Kellough
New Contributor III

Thanks Amanda. Though users shouldn't need to do these things if the widget is well designed and supported, I have implemented many of your suggestions in the past to no avail. 

Interestingly, I may have stumbled upon a solution for Portal users. I've been transitioning many of my Map Services from our Enterprise GIS Servers into Portal Map Image Layers to help alleviate the many popup configuration headaches that arise from the use of rest endpoint Map Service web layers. Though more testing is required, and I would like to hear from other people on this, it appears the benefits of using Map Image Layers added to web maps directly from Portal are not limited to popups. After replacing all of my Map Services with Map Image Layers in a web map, the attribute widget in the corresponding web app has stabilized and works perfectly (fingers crossed) for all Map Image Layers. However, in web apps with a combination of Map Services and Map Image Layers, it can still be flakey for Map Services.

Cheers,

James

HelenCooper
Occasional Contributor III

Hi James,

I don't have an answer I'm afraid, but I am also beyond frustrated with the attribute table widget, and have lost hours of time to it.   I have had a long, drawn out technical support call with ESRI, and was told to log what I perceive to be a bug as a 'feature request'. 

I have two main issues: 

1. if you use the 'synchronise with layer visibilities' option, the configuration of each layer's field aliases, etc. does not work correctly.

2. if a viewer opens the attribute table on the app before toggling a layer to 'on', the field aliases don't appear correctly. (I've recorded a short loom video to explain this issue and sent it to tech support this morning). 

Like you, I've also had to go and reset all of my configurations after a minor change to the map - it's not sustainable and not how the software should be functioning!

So, also on the lookout for an alternative. 

I looked at whether Experience Builder would be a better replacement (as it should then be possible to use things like grouped layers, pop up boxes with a combination of text and a list of fields, and a wider range of symbols); but I couldn't get the formatting of the layer widget to be the same as it is in Web App Builder, where it works well. 

Frustrating!

Helen

James_Kellough
New Contributor III

Hey Helen, not sure if you're a Portal user, if so you may wish to test the Map Image Layer (potential) solution I noted above to @ABishop. Hope it works!

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HelenCooper
Occasional Contributor III

Hi James, thanks for that - I'm not currently a Portal user so I can't give it a go, but glad it's working better for you!  Out of interest, I heard from ESRI today that they have logged one of my issues with the Attribute Table widget as a bug, so hopefully it will get fixed at some point in the future...!