Ownership Based Access for Feature Layers

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03-12-2020 12:23 PM

Ownership Based Access for Feature Layers

Feature Layers in ArcGIS Online have a powerful set of editing settings that empower users to collect and edits data in securely and in specific ways. Ownership-based access settings can be particularly useful for datasets where authenticated users submit information that is either private or needs to be validated before being shown to a larger audience. To enable ownership based access on a layer, first editing and editor tracking must be enabled on the layer as illustrated in the screen capture below:

Turn on Editing and editor tracking

Once editing and editor tracking is turned on, you can select which ownership based capabilities to turn on the layer as specified below:

Ownership-Based Access

Option A: Editors can only see their own features (requires tracking) This setting is recommended for use when data entered by an editor is private or needs to be verified before displaying entered data publicly. When this setting is used, the member who added the feature is recorded and only the creator and service owner/administrator will be able to see the data entries. As an example: during an initial field work, this setting can be used to enable users to review only their entries to the dataset.

Option B: Editors can only edit their own features (requires tracking)This setting determines what features a user can edit. In the same scenario mentioned above, users may want to be able to see all of the entries in the dataset by many users but should only have the ability to edit and update their own features. This allows the data collectors to fix typos and errors in their data without having the ability to modify the entire dataset.

Option C: Anonymous editors: Only add new features, if allowed above (required tracking) This setting makes it possible to apply different editing capabilities for users who have signed into ArcGIS Online vs. those who are accessing the layer or application without authenticating. When using this setting, anonymous users can only add new features, while authenticated users can edit their own features or others depending on the option B setting.

How to disable owner-based access on a layer

When ownership based access is enabled on a layer, these types or queries cannot be cached. For this reason, it isn't recommended to enable this setting on layers that are anticipated to be shared with a large public audience. If it is required to disable ownership based access settings on a layer, follow the steps below:

1. Identify that editor tracking is enabled on the layer. Keep in mind that this is a setting that can be inherited from a source feature layer, or the setting may have been enabled previously when the layer was editable, so the setting may appear checked, even when editing is disabled on the view:

editor tracking enabled when editing is disabled

2. Check on the option to enable editing (just for a minute).

3. Verify/modify the ownership based access settings are switched to the defaults outlined in the identified in the second screenshot

4. Disable Editing on the layer.

How do you use Ownership-Based Editing/ Viewing in your organization?

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‎03-12-2020 12:23 PM
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