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I've been using ArcGIS collector for field surveys and measurements. I would like the app to automatically populate a field with latest update time when I enter values in the fields I'm interested in.

Is that possible? I'd like to avoid using tracking, which seem to be a possible workaround when googling.

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  • I think Editor Tracking is going to be your best bet. Is there any particular reason you want to avoid doing this? – crmackey Jun 21 '16 at 12:28
  • Maybe I misinterpreted the tracking part, I thought it was connected to tracking where I'd been. I'd prefer avoiding using credits, if possible, that was the reason not to use tracking. – Martin Jun 21 '16 at 13:01
  • Ahh, yes this is just editor tracking for your attribute table. It will add times tamps any time attributes have been modified and will tell who the last editor was. Using Editor Tracking will not consume any credits, it just adds a few extra fields to your data. – crmackey Jun 21 '16 at 13:06
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    I see, clearly a misunderstandning on my part. I'll check it out, but it sounds promising! Thanks! – Martin Jun 21 '16 at 13:43
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Yup enable editor tracking on the service and that will collect the creator of the feature and the creation date along with the editor and the edit date. When a feature is updated multiple times the editor and the edit date fields will be updated to correspond with the most recent changes.

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  • I have now tested this and it doesn't seem to work as I expected it to. If I update attributes (or even geometry) in Collector (offline mode) the EditDate field doesn't change on syncronization. It's only updating if I edit in AOL, which obviously isn't very useful for tracking field data collection... Am I still doing something terribly wrong, or is this someting you have experienced as well? – Martin Jun 30 '16 at 13:18
  • It should update when sync'ed. Are you using a hosted feature service or an ArcGIS Server service. – Russ Roberts Jul 5 '16 at 13:12
  • Yeah, well, that's what I thought. I have a feature layer that I upload from Arcmap (so hosted service), which I take offline on my phone and edit when out. But when syncing it doesn't update the EditDate value, it is still the creation date. If you haven't heard of this before I guess I should contact ESRI and see what they have to say about it :) – Martin Jul 5 '16 at 13:18
  • Are you checking the editor tracking in the popup of the app? I did a quick test on iOS and it will show the old value b/c the popup is not reloaded. If you close the popup and re-open the feature you will see the editor tracking updated to "edited seconds ago" instead of the old edit date. – Russ Roberts Jul 5 '16 at 13:35
  • Nah, after I sync I open the map in ArcGIS desktop and look at the attribute table of the layer I have edited. Btw, I use Android on my device, if that makes any difference. – Martin Jul 5 '16 at 14:39

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