Field Descriptions in GDB

[Sarah_of_Lubbock]

Just read this article on Field Descriptions in ArcGIS Online.  I think that's a wonderful idea!  I went to look up it's equivalent for making the same thing for our Enterprise GDB, and I cannot find anything.

It would be amazing if we could put field descriptions in our GDBs and then when we host our data online - that metadata can go over with it.  This would be extremely valuable to those who edit data on the backend, to be able to look up what different fields are.  Also, if for whatever reason a service has to be deleted - all that metadata does not disappear with it..

[Y_Maree]

Is it possible to provide an option to add long field descriptions and value types to a feature class in ArcGIS Pro so that it appears when you publish the layer as a hosted feature layer?

I have several layers in my ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online organization that need to be updated regularly. The source data is published from ArcGIS Pro as a hosted feature layer.

My portal layers have configurations applied to their attribute table in the table view:

• field alias
• field description
• field value type

Table view in ArcGIS Online

I would like to be able to overwrite / update the portal item without having to reapply these configurations each time. As it stands, the field alias can be configured in the geodatabase, but not the long description and value type selected from the drop-down in portal.

[SSWoodward]

Thanks for this Idea.

The enhancement to add field descriptions to the geodatabase model can be supported at the link below.  

https://community.esri.com/t5/data-management-ideas/field-descriptions-in-gdb/idi-p/1253078

@Y_Maree If you like, I can merge this idea with the one linked above.  I can also refine this idea to focus on the value type property.  

[Y_Maree]

@SSWoodward amazing thank you! Yes, I agree with the linked post - it would save duplication of effort to have the field properties carry over from desktop. Would really appreciate any enhancement here!

[jfisher]

I'm surprised that this isn't a thing. Defining field names and descriptions is usually the first thing I do when designing a database. It makes up the bulk of any dataset user documentation I produce. We use it across apps (survey123: details Field Maps details) to improve data collection efficiency and stream-line on boarding new users. We add them to the description section of our feature service portal items. It is literally the definition of our data, and the first thing a new user needs to begin interacting with our data.

The implementation of this feature is important, it should be easily available, front-and-center wherever the data is consumed, and especially encouraged during dataset definition. Its crucial that it is interoperable across platforms to facilitate a single source, as no one want to be manually maintaining carefully worded field definitions across different sources and interfaces.