how to bypass filter on an esri feature service layer?

Hi ​@tnarladni,
Thanks for posting! Before jumping into solutions, it would help to understand a bit more about what you're trying to achieve.

A couple of quick questions:

• Do you actually need the definition query to stay on the layer, or is it something that was set up previously and you're not sure if it's still needed?
• What are you trying to do with the data in FME, process all records, the filtered records only, or both?

From my understanding the reason why 1=1 does not work is that FME passes your WHERE clause as a parameter to the ArcGIS Feature Service Query API, but the server applies the definition query server-side first — so FME only ever sees the already-filtered result.

Hi Donal. Thanks for looking at my question. Yes, I do need the definition query to stay on the layer. I need to process all the records and not just the filtered records. 

Hi ​@tnarladni, thanks for the response!
Since the definition query needs to stay on the layer, the best approach might be to bypass the AGOL/Feature Service reader entirely and use the HTTPCaller transformer to query the REST endpoint directly, this way the server-side filter has no effect on what FME receives.

Here's the general setup:

1. Add an HTTPCaller and point it at your feature service query endpoint.
2. Generate a token to authenticate: Generate Token (ArcGIS REST API).
3. Parse the JSON response back into features using a JSONFragmenter

More info on the HTTPCaller here: HTTPCaller Documentation.

Let us know if the suggestions help!