GIS Web Service Tips and Tricks

When REST service endpoints change—whether due to migrations, renaming, or infrastructure updates—GIS users often need to locate and repair broken connections across many systems. 

The tips below offer practical guidance for ArcGIS Online users updating web maps and hosted layers, ArcGIS Pro and desktop users fixing data source paths, and developers using Python to automate URL updates. These resources focus on efficient ways to identify, update, and validate service URLs throughout your workflows.

• Manual Process: Open the map in the Map Viewer and remove the deprecated layer from the web map and add the updated service. You may need to reconfigure pop-ups, symbology, or labeling.
  • Tip:  In many cases, it is helpful to temporarily keep the old service in the map as a reference while replicating those settings on the new layer, then remove it once updates are complete.

Administrative Resources:

• Create Item Report for all organizational items (includes service URLs)
• ArcGIS Assistant*
  • ArcGIS Assistant User Guide
  • ArcGIS Assistant - Working with Item Resources
    • *ArcGIS Assistant is a free and powerful tool and not  supported by Esri .
      The tool was produced by Esri Professional Services. A user can easily do destructive things to existing ArcGIS Online Content. 
      Please read Esri's Warning Page before use.

• Update data sources in ArcGIS Pro
• Repair broken data sources for layer and tables in ArcGIS Pro
• Refresh a location's content in ArcGIS Pro
• Managing connections to web service in QGIS

• Update and fix data sources with Python in ArcGIS Pro
• Updating a web map with ArcGIS API for Python
  • API Reference Documentation for Item Update method