{"id":1970312,"date":"2023-06-22T09:30:06","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T16:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1970312"},"modified":"2023-06-29T06:07:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T13:07:40","slug":"updating-data-in-arcgis-online-just-got-a-whole-lot-easier","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-online\/data-management\/updating-data-in-arcgis-online-just-got-a-whole-lot-easier","title":{"rendered":"Updating data in ArcGIS Online just got a whole lot easier"},"author":320832,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23851],"tags":[757971,22951,230422,24521,769982],"industry":[],"product":[36551],"class_list":["post-1970312","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-data-management","tag-append","tag-arcgis-content","tag-data","tag-hosted-feature-services","tag-whats-new-june-2023","product-arcgis-online"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":320832,"user_firstname":"Rebekah","user_lastname":"Bollin","nickname":"Bekah Bollin","user_nicename":"rbollin","display_name":"Bekah Bollin","user_email":"rbollin@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2022-10-24 14:26:30","user_description":"Bekah joined the ArcGIS Online team in 2022 as a Product Engineer. She contributes to a variety of projects in the ArcGIS Online space including GIS data editing, management, and visualization. When she is not making maps, she can be found hiking outside with her dog or finding a cozy coffee shop.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"Learn more about how Update Data (previously Append) can save you time and effort when making bulk updates to your hosted feature layers.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

You\u2019ve just finished manually editing hundreds, maybe even thousands of features in ArcGIS Online. Although the dataset is in great shape, you\u2019re already preparing for the next time you need to update it with the latest information. Fortunately, ArcGIS Online\u2019s Update Data*<\/strong> experience does all the hard work for you. It will complete bulk updates in a fraction of the time and effort as doing it manually.<\/p>\n

This blog will walk through the ArcGIS Online June 2023 update which includes , what Update Data is<\/a>, when to use it<\/a>, and what has changed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*Note: You may be familiar with ArcGIS Online’s previous method for bulk updates, Append<\/a>. Append has now been renamed to Update Data, but most of the functionality remains the same. Check out the what’s new<\/a> section to learn what has changed or view our related blog: Unpacking the new Update Data experience<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

What is Update Data?<\/h1>\n

Update Data<\/strong> (excluding the option to overwrite entire feature layer<\/strong>) will add spatial and\/or attribute information to your ArcGIS Online hosted feature service*. Whether you are adding in new features, updating attribute information for preexisting features, or changing the geometry of a feature, it is adding something new to the dataset. For a breakdown of each workflow in Update Data, see the table below.<\/p>\n

*Note: When adding or updating features, the data will never be removed or deleted. Additionally, this update does not support attachments or schema changes. <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Update Data Workflow<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Behavior<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Add features<\/p>\n

\"Icon<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

Add features<\/strong> inserts new data into your hosted feature layer. This workflow has no way to detect matching features, so if your uploaded file contains preexisting features, Add features <\/strong>will insert duplicates.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Update features<\/p>\n

\"Icon<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

Update features<\/strong> changes the attributes and\/or geometry of your data. It requires a unique identification field to pair incoming data with what is in your hosted feature layer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Add and update features<\/p>\n

\"Icon<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

Add and update features<\/strong> combines both of the workflows above. It inserts new features and<\/em> updates the attributes and\/or geometry of your preexisting data. As with updating features, Add and update features<\/strong> requires a unique identification field.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Overwrite entire feature layer<\/p>\n

\"Icon<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

Overwrite entire feature layer<\/strong> deletes the ArcGIS Online hosted feature service and replaces it with the data in your updated file. The file name and schema must match before overwriting.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

What do you need to add or update features?<\/h3>\n

To make bulk updates with Update Data, you will need the following:<\/p>\n