ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise portal: The selected metadata XML must be an ArcGIS Metadata XML

Error Message

In ArcGIS Online or the ArcGIS Enterprise portal, overwriting XML metadata returns the following error message:

Error:   
The selected metadata XML must be an ArcGIS Metadata XML.

Cause

Exporting metadata using the Export tool in ArcGIS Pro generates a standard-format XML file. This file is incompatible with the Overwrite option for metadata editing in ArcGIS Online or the ArcGIS Enterprise portal. Therefore, the exported file is not considered valid ArcGIS metadata XML for overwrite operations.

Solution or Workaround

Save metadata as an XML file in ArcGIS Pro before the overwrite

1. Save metadata in ArcGIS Pro.
   1. Open the project in ArcGIS Pro.
   2. Save the item's metadata overwrite file as an XML file. In this example, the metadata file is saved using the Without Sensitive Info option, and the name is specified as Museum_and_Heritage_Lot_Sites.xml.
2. Overwrite the metadata in ArcGIS Online.
   1. Edit the item's metadata to open the Overwrite window. Refer to Steps 1 through 4 in ArcGIS Online: Overwrite metadata or ArcGIS Enterprise on Windows and Linux: Overwrite metadata for instructions.
   2. In the Overwrite window, click Choose file, then select Overwrite all metadata.
   3. For File upload, click Choose file, browse to locate the metadata, and click Open. In this example, Museum_and_Heritage_Lot_Sites.xml is selected.
   4. Click Overwrite.
   5. In the Metadata Editor window, click Save > Close .

Import the XML metadata in ArcGIS Pro

1. Open the project in ArcGIS Pro.
2. Save metadata as the local metadata XML file and import it to the portal item. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: Copy or import metadata to an item for instructions. If necessary, synchronize the item's metadata.

Edit the metadata in ArcGIS Pro

Edit metadata content in the metadata view before synchronizing the item's metadata. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: Edit metadata in the metadata view for instructions.

The 'Essential metadata' pane below shows the item's metadata successfully updated with the new information from the overwrite file.