[GIS] Upload File Geodatabase without Server, Credit Usage

arcgis-collectorarcgis-onlinefile-geodatabasepricing

Instead of going through a server to publish an arcgis web service hosted layer, I want to go right from my local machine to AGOL so that my server is NEVER exposed.
I want to eventually put this File GDB into Collector.
I have credits to use, but not many.

I zipped the .gdb and uploaded it to my content. I then want to publish it, but before I do this how many credits will it use and will it reuse credits everytime I overwrite? What is the best way to manage a GDB (I need to coded value domains) in AGOL so I can access it on Collector, WITHOUT using a server?

Best Answer

My original question stemmed from my trials and errors. I wanted to know the credit usage because I tried to publish the FGDB one way and CVDs were not transferring for some reason. I have since found the reason that the CVDs did not publish (a bug of course). I have also found a solution. I have also found that this whole process is costing me essentially no credits (less than one).

Once the DB was ready for field collection, it was published as a service to AGOL

a. ArcMap 10.2 has a bug. There are multiple ways to publish an entire database as a hosted service from the desktop to AGOL, however you have to do it one specific way in order for the coded value domains to upload properly. The steps are as follows:

i. Add all data to be published to ArcMap, remove all data that should not be published from ArcMap

ii. Symbolize everything appropriately

iii. BEFORE YOU PUBLISH: follow best practice for publishing and sharing on AGOL http://video.esri.com/watch/1702/arcgis-online-best-practices-for-publishing-and-sharing Some key points include:

Finalize schema
Make sure data is in Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere projection
Be sure to include robust metadata

iv. Sign into AGOL from ArcMap: File> Sign In

v. Share as a service: File> Share As > Service

vi. Follow instructions in box depending on the database requirements

For this particular project, I shared as a feature service with ALL editing capabilities

vii. From AGOL, sign in and navigate to the feature service in Content

viii. Edit the feature service to allow editing, delete protection, sync, and any other custom options necessary.

For this particular project, I allowed all editing, exportation, sync, and tracking edits

ix. Add feature service to map

Test to be sure that all CVDs work and that the feature service handles edits properly.
The feature service hosted on AGOL is now a separate entity from the database it was published from. In order to edit the feature service on AGOL, follow these steps:

a. Sign into AGOL from ArcMap: File> Sign In

b. Open the Catalog and navigate to My Hosted Feature Services

c. Add feature service to map

d. List the table of contents by drawing order

e. Right-click on the feature service name > Edit Features > Create Local Copy for Editing

f. Edit Features

Related Solutions

ArcGIS Python API – Updating Hosted Feature Layers on AGOL

After a few weeks getting up to speed on the ArcGIS Python API, I have come up with work flow that works quite well. My original understanding of scripting using JSON dictionaries was a bit off as well as the structure of FeatureLayerCollection, FeatureLayer, FeaturesSet, and Feature objects from the new API. My process thus far involves manually publishing layers I need in the AGOL portal and then updating them through a process of truncation and then adding all of the updated local features to the hosted layers. Here is a simplified process that gives python access to the content of an AGOL portal, allows for truncating the layers, and adding features back to the layer from a local source.

import arcpy
import arcgis
from arcgis.gis import GIS

def TruncateWebLayer(gis=None, target=None):
    try:
        lyr = arcgis.features.FeatureLayer(target, gis)
        lyr.manager.truncate()
        print ("Successfully truncated layer: " + str(target))
    except:
        print("Failed truncating: " + str(target))
        sys.exit()

#create connection to AGOL portal GIS
mygis = arcgis.gis.GIS(r"https://aportal.maps.arcgis.com", "someUser", "somePassword")

#the URL of a single feature layer within a collection in an AGOL portal
publishedWebLayer = r"https://services6.arcgis.com/XXXXXXXXXXXX/arcgis/rest/services/XXXX/FeatureServer/0"

#a feature class on the local system with the same schema as the portal layer
updateFeatures = r"G:\DataData\Data.gdb\Data"

#remove all features from the already published feature layer
TruncateWebLayer(mygis, publishedWebLayer)

#reference the empty layer as FeatureLayer object from the ArcGIS Python API
fl = arcgis.features.FeatureLayer(publishedWebLayer, mygis)

#create a JSON object from the local features
jSON = arcpy.FeaturesToJSON_conversion(updateFeatures, localJSON)

#create a FeatureSet object from the JSON
fs = arcgis.features.FeatureSet.from_json(open(localJSON).read())

#add/append the local features to the hosted feature layer.
fl.edit_features(adds = fs)

This is a simplified example of how this can be achieved. A few things to note. I have not been able to get this process to work on more complicated geometries like curve rings, rings, etc. For polygons and lines I typically add an arcpy.Generalize_edit() before creating the JSON. This converts the curves into approximated line segments.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

ArcGIS Python API – Updating Hosted Feature Layers on AGOL

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