Updating ArcGIS Server site references in your maps

With the December ArcGIS Online release, you can now update the ArcGIS Server site URL referenced by layers in your web maps. Because the URLs to layers are stored directly in the map, you need to update them when the URL to an ArcGIS Server site changes for some reason. For instance, this can happen when the ArcGIS Server domain name changes or when a layer is moved from a staging site to a production site. Note that this new capability only allows you to update the ArcGIS Server site reference and does not allow you to completely replace the URL to a layer with a different URL. The layer name and optional folder on the server that contains it must be the same.

Updating ArcGIS Server site references

To update the site reference for layers in a map, go to the Settings tab in the map’s item page. In the Layer Settings section under Update ArcGIS Server site references, click the Update References button.

In the Update ArcGIS site references dialog, select the site reference you want to update from the sites listed in the Find dropdown. All layers that reference the selected site are listed on the dialog. The Replace input box is pre-populated with the current site name, allowing you to edit the existing site URL. When you’re finished, click Replace to update the site references in the map. All layers referencing the existing site will be updated to reference the new site.

ArcGIS Online will check that the replacement ArcGIS Server site is valid. If it is, you’ll see a message indicating that the update was successful; otherwise, you’ll see a message indicating that the layers could not be updated. If this happens, verify that the replacement site URL is correct and accessible.

That’s it! Be sure to check your map to make sure everything is working as expected. If you see issues after performing an update, you can always revert to the old site using the same workflow.

Additional Information

– The schema for the replacement layer should exactly match the old layer. Fields, field types, relationships, etc. should be the same, otherwise the layer may not draw or perform as expected.

– If you are updating a layer in a web map that also has an associated layer item, the URL in the layer item will be updated as well, provided you own the layer or have privileges to update it.

– The instance defined in the site reference can be updated too. Using the example above with the World Health Organization’s server, the instance would be “arcgis” in the url.