By publishing ArcGIS Server web layers in bulk from a database data store item in the portal, you create feature layers and map image layers for all feature classes and tables in the database to which your connection has access. As new datasets are made available to you through that same database connection or access to the datasets is removed, you can manually synchronize the database content with your layers in the portal. You can identify which dataset was published to create each layer. If necessary, you can also delete all the layers you published in bulk from a data store item.
Synchronize database content and layers
The content in a database changes over time—feature classes and tables are added and, occasionally, removed or renamed; fields are renamed, added to, or removed from feature classes and tables; metadata gets updated. Access to existing data can also change over time if owners or database administrators alter permissions on the datasets. All of these actions lead to your database data store item and bulk-published layers getting out of sync with the source data.
As the owner of the data store item, you can bring the source data and bulk-published layers back in sync by synchronizing the layer. You can synchronize immediately or schedule synchronization to happen on a regular basis.
The following sections describe what changes are synchronized and provide instructions to synchronize layers immediately or schedule synchronization.
Added or deleted feature classes
As access to content in the database changes, you can synchronize the layers. If a source feature class or table is removed from the database or if privileges are revoked from the user connecting to the database, the corresponding feature and map image layers will be removed from the portal. Similarly, layers will be created in the portal for feature classes and tables added to the database or for which access is newly granted to the login used to access the database through the data store item.
Note:
Any map, scene, or app that used the deleted layer will no longer have access to the data. If a bulk-published feature layer that was used in offline workflows is deleted, offline edits cannot be synchronized and will be lost.
Renamed feature classes
Synchronization adds or removes layer items based on your access to the data in the database; it does not update the names when those change in the source feature class or table.
If you rename source feature classes and tables in the database, synchronization identifies these as new datasets. The layers with the old name will be deleted from the portal and federated server, and new layers will be published with the new name and new URLs.
Note:
As with all deletions, any map, scene, or app that used the layer with the old name will no longer have access to the data. Offline edits cannot be synchronized with a deleted feature layer.
Schema changes
If fields are added to or deleted from a source feature class or table, synchronization will update the associated map image layer and feature layer items to reflect that change. Synchronization will also apply other schema changes to the layers, such as unique constraints and domains in the source data that appear as attribute lists and ranges in the web layers.
Updated metadata
When you synchronize, metadata changes made in the source data will overwrite changes in the equivalent information in the web layer's item page by default. You can disable this before you synchronize if you do not want to synchronize metadata and details.
If you update the following metadata on the source data and allow metadata to be synchronized, it will overwrite the following changes that you made to the equivalent information in the web layer's item page:
- Title (the layer name)
- Description
- Tags
- Credits (attribution)
- Terms of use (This is Use limitations in the source metadata.)
Synchronizing metadata also overwrites updates you made through the REST API to the following details for the layer item:
- Snippet
- Minimum scale
- Maximum scale
- Data extent for the layer item
Date and time fields
Prior to ArcGIS Enterprise 11.1, date and time values in bulk-published layers used the time zone of the referenced database, and date and time values in the published layers were always rendered in UTC in ArcGIS Enterprise.
When you synchronize bulk-published layers, you can define the time zone for date and time fields to be stored with the related map image and feature layer items, and you can define a time zone to use when viewing the date and time data in ArcGIS Pro.
Synchronize layers immediately
When you use the interactive option to synchronize layers, synchronization starts immediately. You also have access to the date and time fields and metadata options.
Follow these steps to synchronize content in the source database with web layer items in the portal:
- Sign in to the portal that contains the data store item.
You must be the owner of the data store item.
- Open the item page for the data store item and click the Layers tab.
- Click Sync Layers.
- To update details for all the layers with information from the source data's metadata, leave the option Update layer items with metadata from source datasets enabled.
- If the data contains date and time fields that store data in a time zone other than UTC, open the Advanced section and choose that time zone from the Time zone of the data drop-down menu. To account for daylight saving time for that time zone, check the Adjust for daylight saving time check box.
This time zone will be applied to all layers published. By default, date and time values are assumed to be in UTC.
- To display the date and time values in the published layers in ArcGIS using a time zone other than UTC, choose that time zone from the Preferred time zone for display drop-down menu. To account for daylight saving time for the display time zone, check the Adjust for daylight saving time check box.
The time zone you choose from the Preferred time zone for display drop-down menu is stored with each map image layer and feature layer item. When users display the contents of these layers in ArcGIS Pro or Map Viewer, date and time values will be displayed in this time zone. This display time zone will be applied to all layers published.
By default, ArcGIS Pro displays date and time values in UTC.
- Click Sync Layers to proceed with synchronizing the layers with content in the underlying database.
The amount of time this takes depends on how many changes have been made to the content in the database.
If you did not set a time zone for date and time data when you published the layers in bulk, or you made a mistake when you set these values, proceed with step 5. Otherwise, go to step 7.
Schedule layer synchronization
You can schedule bulk-published layer items to synchronize content from the source database. This allows the synchronization to happen when fewer people need access to the layers, such as on weekends or after work hours.
Metadata and date settings are not available when you schedule synchronization.
Follow these steps to schedule synchronization of content in the source database with web layer items in the portal:
- Sign in to the portal that contains the data store item.
You must be the owner of the data store item.
- Open the item page for the data store item and click the Layers tab.
- Click Schedule Sync.
The Add sync task window appears.
- Define a schedule to synchronize bulk-published layers and their data source.
- Type a title for the sync task.
- Choose a date from the Beginning on menu to start running the automated synchronization.
- Choose one of the following values from the Repeat type menu:
- Day—Use this option to set an interval, in days, when the synchronization task will run. Choose the interval from the Repeat interval drop-down menu.
- Week—Use this option to choose which days of the week to run the synchronization task. Check the box next to each day of the week that you want the task to run.
- Month—Use this option to specify a single day in each month to run the sync task, and set an interval, in months, when the task will run. Type an integer from 1 to 31 in the Day of month field, and choose the interval from the Repeat interval drop-down menu.
- Use the Time modal to set the time of day to start the synchronization task.
The time is local to the machine where you run the browser to access the portal.
- Choose one of the following values from the Ending on drop-down menu to indicate when the automated synchronization task will stop repeating:
- Never—The synchronization task will continue to run until you edit, pause, or delete the task.
- Count—To run the task a set number of times, choose this option and type an integer in the Count field to indicate the number of times the task will run.
- Date—To stop running the task by a specific date, choose this option and use the End date modal to define the date that automated tasks will stop running.
- Click Create to implement the synchronization schedule.
The scheduled task is saved for the data store.
To view, alter, pause, or delete the scheduled task, click Schedule Sync on the Layers tab of the data store item and choose an option from the Actions button 
menu.
Identify layers and source data
The information provided on the Layers tab of the data store item's page allows you, as the data store item owner, to identify what source dataset is populating each feature and map image layer. Only the data store owner has access to the Layers tab and this information. The Dataset column on the Layers tab shows you the fully qualified name of the feature class or table in the format <database_name>.<dataset_owner>.<table_name>.
To help you find a specific bulk-published layer, you can do any of the following on the Layers tab:
- Change the order of the layers in the list on the Layers tab. By default, the list is sorted by the date the layer was created. To change how the list is sorted, click the sort button
and choose a new sort method. - If you know the layer name or part of the layer name, type it in the search box. This returns only those layers that have a name with that text in it. To clear the search, click the X in the search box.
- To view or update a layer's details, click the layer name in the list.
As with any other layer, you (and other portal members with whom you share the layers) can use the filters and search capabilities available on the Contents page to find specific bulk-published layers.
Delete all bulk-published layers
In rare instances, you may need to remove all layers so that you can delete a data store item. There is an option on the Layers tab of the database data store item that allows you to do this.
Before you delete layers, be sure you have removed them from any maps in which you or others were using them. If you do not, the layers will be broken within those maps. To delete all layers, click Delete all created layers on the Layers tab of the database data store item.
Note:
You can also delete individual layers from My content.
To delete both the map image layer and feature layer, you must delete the feature layer first and then delete the map image layer. However, both layers will be re-created when you next synchronize with the database unless the source feature class in the database is no longer available to you. For example, if the data owner has revoked your access to the source feature class or table, or the data owner deleted the feature class or table from the database, synchronizing with the database will not re-create the map image and feature layers.
If you want to delete only the feature layer, you can. Be aware, though, that the feature layer will not be re-created when you synchronize.