If you need a different view of the data represented by a hosted feature layer—for example, you want to apply different editor settings, styles, or filters—create a hosted feature layer view of that hosted feature layer. Once you have a view, you can define which features or fields are available in the hosted feature layer view and share the view to groups whose members need access to that view of the data.
When you create a feature layer view, a new hosted feature layer item is added to Content. This new layer is a view of the data in the hosted feature layer, which means updates made to the data appear in the hosted feature layer and all of its hosted feature layer views. However, since the view is a separate layer, you can change properties and settings on this item separately from the hosted feature layer from which it is created. For example, you can allow members of a specific group to edit the hosted feature layer but share a read-only feature layer view with the rest of your organization.
Only the owner of a hosted feature layer can create a hosted feature layer view from the original layer. This is different than copying a layer, which can be done by non-owners and even public users.
Create a hosted feature layer view
Follow these steps to create a hosted feature layer view from a hosted feature layer or from one of the sublayers in a multilayer hosted feature layer:
- Sign in to your organization.
You must have privileges to create content, and you must be the owner of the hosted feature layer from which you want to create the view.
- Open Content > My Content and open the item page for the hosted feature layer you want to use as a source for the view.
The layer must be a hosted feature layer, not a feature layer added from the web or a feature collection.
- To create the view from one of the layers in the hosted feature layer, click the layer name in the Layers list.
- Click Create View Layer on the Overview tab of the layer's details page.
- Type a unique title for the hosted feature layer view.
- Type tag terms separated by commas.
Tags are words or short phrases that describe your item and help people find your item when searching. Federal land is considered one tag, while Federal,land is considered two tags.
- Type a summary that describes the use and content of the view.
- If your portal administrator configured content categories, click Assign Category and select up to 20 categories to help people find your item. You can also use the Filter categories box to narrow down the list of categories.
- Choose the folder where the hosted feature layer view will be stored.
- If you published the hosted feature layer from ArcGIS Pro with the option to preserve layer IDs or you programmatically assigned specific layer IDs in the hosted feature layer, you will likely want the hosted feature layer view to use the same layer IDs. To use the same layer IDs in the view as in the hosted feature layer, check the Preserve layer IDs check box.
Certain apps require specific layer IDs. If you need to use the view in one of those apps, preserve the layer IDs.
- Click OK to create the view.
The hosted feature layer view's item page appears when the view is created. Now you can set the view definition and alter layer settings.
Hosted feature layer view settings
Settings for hosted feature layer views fall into three categories as described in the following sections.
Settings inherited from the hosted feature layer that cannot be independently configured on the views
Hosted feature layer views inherit the following settings from the hosted feature layers from which you create them. When any of these settings change on a hosted feature layer, the settings also change on all its views; you cannot independently change these settings on the hosted feature layer view.
- The ability to store attachments on individual layers
- The ability to track who creates and edits data
- Layer metadata
- Value lists and ranges
- Field properties including the display name, description, field value type, and whether edits are allowed for the field
Settings inherited from the hosted feature layer that you can change on the view
Hosted feature layer views inherit the following from the hosted feature layer from which you create them. If you prefer a different configuration for the feature layer view, you can change the view's configuration without affecting the hosted feature layer.
- Pop-ups configured on the Visualization tab
- Styles configured on the Visualization tab
- Item-level metadata
- Tags and categories
Settings that can be made independently on views and the hosted feature layers from which they are created
Hosted feature layer views do not inherit the following from the hosted feature layer from which you create them. Set these separately on the view.
- How the item is shared
- Delete protection
- The layer's extent
- Allowing others to export data
- Allowing editors to edit data
- Allow public data collection
- Filters applied to the layer on the Visualization tab
- Time settings
Interdependent settings that are not inherited
Hosted feature layer views do not inherit synchronization settings from the hosted feature layer from which you create them. To enable synchronization on a hosted feature layer view, you must first enable it on the primary hosted feature layer. To disable synchronization on the primary hosted feature layer, you must first disable it on each dependent hosted feature layer view.
Hosted feature layer views and data access
As the owner of hosted feature layers or an organization administrator, you must carefully consider the implications of enabling editing and take into consideration who has access to the layer. For example, if you enable editing on a layer that is shared with the public, anyone who can access your portal—even people who do not sign in to your organization—can edit the layer. In general, the more people that have access to a layer, the more restrictive the editing privileges should be on the layer. So unless you're creating a hosted feature layer with the express purpose of using it in a public-facing app to collect information, you should not enable editing on a feature layer you've shared with everyone.
Hosted feature layer views are ideal for helping you control access to the same hosted feature data; you can allow editing access to only those users who need it. You can make your hosted feature layer editable and share it with only those groups whose members need to edit the data. Then you can create hosted feature layer views from the hosted feature layer, don't enable editing on them, and share the views with more groups, the entire organization, or even the public without compromising your data.
See Data access and editing for an explanation of how combining views and different editing options can help you make the same data available to different types of users with different editing needs.
Considerations when creating hosted feature layer views
Keep the following in mind when you create hosted feature layer views:
- If you need to refresh the data, overwrite the hosted feature layer from which the view was created. The data updates appear in the view.
Note:
You cannot overwrite the hosted feature layer from ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap if you add layers to the map, delete layers from the map, or reorder the layers in the map before overwriting. If you need to add, delete, or reorder layers before overwriting the hosted feature layer, you must first delete all dependent views.
- You can create a maximum of 20 views from the same hosted feature layer.