Publishers and administrators in the organization manage the settings and details of hosted layers published to ArcGIS Online.
All items have common details and settings that you configure, but some layer types have additional management settings and options. See the following related pages for specific management settings per layer item type:
| Layer type | Layer-specific management instructions |
|---|---|
Hosted feature layers | |
Hosted feature layer views | |
Hosted tile layers | |
Hosted scene layers |
You can also monitor usage of your web layers to help you manage them.
In addition to understanding what management options are available for each layer type, you must understand dependencies between layers and between layers and their source files. The following sections discuss these dependencies.
Delete operations and layer dependencies
Certain layer items are related, with one layer item being the primary or source layer for its dependent layer. For example, when you publish a hosted tile layer from a hosted feature layer, the hosted feature layer is the primary layer and the tile layer is the dependent layer. When deleting items, you must delete the dependent layers before you can delete the primary item.
If you published the hosted layer directly to ArcGIS Online, deleting the hosted layer deletes the underlying data the layer represents. If you published or created the layer from an existing hosted feature layer instead, the existing hosted feature layer is the primary layer and is considered the data source. Deleting the dependent layers you created from the hosted feature layer does not delete the data.
Tip:
Dependent layers are listed in the Details section on the Overview tab of the primary hosted feature layer or primary hosted feature layer view's item page. You can open the item page of each dependent layer from this section. Similarly, the Details section on the Overview tab of each dependent layer's item page shows the item's primary layer, and you can open the primary layer's item page from there.
When you attempt to delete a hosted feature layer that has dependent layers using the Delete button on the item page, a message appears that lists the dependent layers. This message provides links to view and delete each dependent layer. Once you delete all dependent layers, you can delete the hosted feature layer.
If you delete the file from which a hosted layer was published, you'll receive a message warning you there are dependent layers. You will not be prevented from deleting the file, but if you do delete it, certain functionality may no longer be available. For example, if you delete the tile package from which a hosted tile package was published, maps that contain the hosted tile layer cannot be taken offline.
The following rules apply to dependent layers when you delete, permanently delete, or restore layers:
- You cannot publish a layer from a source file—such as a 3D tiles package, shapefile, vector tile package, or GeoJSON file—as long as a dependent hosted layer exists in the recycle bin. You must delete the existing hosted layer before you can publish again from the source file.
- You cannot delete or permanently delete a primary hosted feature layer before deleting its dependent hosted layers.
- You can delete or permanently delete dependent hosted layers without deleting or permanently deleting their primary hosted feature layer or parent hosted feature layer view.
- If you delete a hosted feature layer and its dependent layers, you cannot restore the dependant layers without first restoring the hosted feature layer.
- If you delete a hosted feature layer view and its dependent layers, you cannot restore the dependent layers without first restoring hosted feature layer view.
Tip:
Delete dependent layers first. Although you can delete multiple layers simultaneously from the Content page, you cannot control the order in which items are deleted when using this method. If the operation attempts to delete a primary layer before its dependent layers, the operation will fail.
Ownership of dependent layers and source files
If you are an administrator of the organization and have privileges to reassign ownership, you are responsible for changing ownership of items in ArcGIS Online.
A hosted layer and the file from which it was published—such as a shapefile, tile package, or scene layer package file—must have the same owner. To change ownership of the file, change ownership of the hosted layer that was published from it. The file item will be automatically reassigned.
Similarly, dependent layers and the hosted feature layer from which they were created must have the same owner. To change ownership of these layers, change ownership of the primary hosted feature layer. All dependent layers and the item used to create the primary hosted feature layer—such as a service definition file or .csv file—will automatically change ownership too.
For instructions on how to change ownership, see Manage content.