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Make web editor available to Mobile Workers

RPH_Getech

I can't see the rationale behind making the web editor only available to Creators and higher. Anyone with a Creator licence already has access to ArcGIS Pro where they can edit their data with the full suite of desktop tools. The real beneficiaries of Web Editor will be Mobile Workers who have been out in the field and are potentially limited by Field Maps editing tools, and wish to tidy up their data when they are back in the office.

The Creator licence type is there for those who wish to create actual content i.e. hosted feature layers, webmaps, dashboards etc. not for those who simply wish to edit existing data.

Please reconsider the restrictive licencing of what, on the the face of it, seems like a really useful addition!

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Komentáře

rmcooper_wcpss

I guess I'll throw in my two cents. I work under an Educational License. The User Type composition for that program recently changed dramatically and we now basically only have Mobile Worker User Types to cover users outside our core GIS team. The change was a bit of a rug pull, but that's for a different thread. Initially, all seemed well for us. Even though the idea of a Mobile Worker is nonsense for our organization - we serve desk workers almost exclusively - the actual capabilities appeared to cover what those with that User Type need to do: View data in applications and create/edit data. Turns out, the truth is more nuanced...

When I look at the included licenses for Mobile Worker, Instant Apps are listed:

There is no indication here that only some Instant Apps are available to Mobile Worker users.

And when I go to deploy an Instant App, Web Editor is included as an Instant App:

It seems like my Mobile Worker users should be able to use Web Editor because it is an Instant App. There is no explicit indication in this interface suggesting otherwise. Imagine my surprise when I go to demo a Web Editor app with a Mobile Worker and they can't access it. If Web Editor is an Instant App and Mobile Workers have access to Instant Apps, then why don't they have access to the Web Editor?

I have since learned that the app description has the fine print specifying it is limited to Creator or greater in the App description in the Instant Apps gallery. There is also licensing info on the Web Editor's Requirements page. The function of the Web Editor is pretty obvious so it didn't seem useful to look at the App description. It just hasn't been my experience yet that Instant Apps might have additional license. From looking through all the other Instant App's App descriptions in the Instant Apps gallery, Web Editor is the only Instant App that requires an elevated license for usage. As such, it didn't occur to me that I'd need to look into the license requirements for an Instant App.

I guess my point is, if Web Editor is an Instant App and Instant Apps are a part of the Mobile Worker license, then Mobile Workers should have access to the Web Editor. If it's not covered by the Instant Apps license, then remove it from Instant Apps and return it to a standalone application.

Side note, I think many of us are well aware of the editing capabilities in the Map Viewer by now. The Map Viewer is wonderful, but it also serves a lot of functions:

Viewing data
Visualizing data
Configuring a map for an application
Analysis
Editing data
Editing form configuration
and more!

All those functions have buttons and interfaces that, for users who are not interested in or impressed by all the great things Map Viewer can do and only need to edit data, it's overkill. The thing I admire about Instant Apps is how they each hone in on something that might be technically possible in the Map Viewer and then make that particular function more user-friendly.The beauty of the Web Editor is that it puts the focus on the editing. There are fewer interfaces to get lost in and distractions for users. Users can toggle layers on and off but there's no changing symbology. The focus is on editing the data. It's a shame all users with editing capabilities can't access it.

LWWCGIS

I agree with many of the comments here as this seems very anti-consumer. I assume Contributor can't access Web Editor either... I typically buy Mobile Workers to give the most capabilities I can to our users. It doesn't necessarily mean they all work in the field. I will not be buying everyone a Creator license. I would suggest if Web Editor is for advanced users only, it should be removed it from instant apps and marketed as such with an explanation of why an advanced user would use it over ArcGIS Pro. OR the easier solution would just be to make Web Editor accessible to Mobile Worker accounts.

LarryYoung

Sorry, @RichardHowe, got my threads crossed.

There have been other threads on the subject, so was just trying to keep the discussion in one place.

For better or worse, i don't have anything more to add to the subject that hasn't already been said in this thread. We do appreciate and hear your feedback.

thanks, larry

RPH_Getech

@LarryYoung - I'm a little confused...did you mean to post that on another thread? It's just a link back here

LarryYoung

Hi Richard,

Please refer to this thread on the same topic: Make web editor available to mobile workers

While Web Editor is a strong application for simple editing, it also has many advanced editing capabilities with more to come.

Appreciate your feedback. We will continue to evaluate the licensing of our products as feedback comes in.

larry

BlakeMorrison

@LarryYoung

"ArcGIS Web Editor is a data editing application in ArcGIS Online that streamlines data maintenance workflows. Web Editor provides a straightforward approach to editing for GIS and non-GIS users. The wide array of editing tools can be used for complex editing workflows."

Web Editor is still promoted for use by non-GIS users. Web Editor is still not avialable without a creator/professional licence.

Map Viewer is still available to non-GIS users and it is a much more powerful tool.

I appreciate you may have missed my last message, but the new update has got me back here wondering what on earth is the thought process here? I have users, editors, that need to perform edits in an editor. As it is, I do it in Pro rather than setup Experience Builder apps per task. It's not appropriate in anyway for a mobile worker to have access to map viewer capabilities - they are editors, they ned an editor.

Like, even just a subset of the web editor features in a web editor like interface that I could let Mobile Workers use - rather than build custom apps every time. That's what I thought the Instant App template was at first - but no.

BlakeMorrison

@LarryYoung, I assume you're gonna get piled on at this point.

Map Viewer is clearly a much more advanced tool for, as stated by Esri, "Create, explore, and share interactive maps and geographic data with ArcGIS Map Viewer." Web editor is for "ArcGIS Web Editor is a data editing application in ArcGIS Online that streamlines data maintenance workflows. Web Editor provides a straightforward approach to editing for GIS and non-GIS users."

Esri made a product, told us what the product is for, then restricted use by the usertypes they've implied the product is for. Why is Map Viewer available to mobile workers? I would never send a non-GIS user into that.

@ClayDonaldsonSWCA

Split/Merge and all those selection options are now available in Experience Builder. Copy/Paste still to come I believe.

mthompson_WellesleyMA

I think you said it yourself. This is supposed to be a better/easier way to allow focused editing... so it should be available to those who would need an easier and better focused editing tool, which would be editors without access to Pro such as Mobile Workers and especially Contributors since the whole point of that license level is to edit in the office. If this is only for use by those who already have access to Pro, I guess I don't understand what the point of it is.

ClayDonaldsonSWCA

Hi Larry - Here is what I see as missing:

- Split and Merge

- Copy/Paste

- Selection management (add to selection, remove from selection, select by attribute)

I would argue that all of the functionality in web-editor is valuable to mobile workers even if it's allegedly an "advanced" workflow. I don't think it's very clear what ESRI considers advanced, or why all users shouldn't have access to such tools.

LarryYoung

Hi All,

Happy Holidays.

Thanks again for the comments. I still have one questions that i'm not sure has been answered yet. The main use case on this thread has been around mobile workers collecting data in the field and then coming back into the office and needing an easy to use web application for cleanup.

If that is the primary workflow, then can someone tell me what is missing from Map Viewer from an editing standpoint for that simple cleanup? Yes, Web Editor may do it better/easier because it is a focused editing application, but it is designed to accomplish many advanced editing workflows as well. This is the main reason for the higher user type requirement.

The answer for a simple web editing application for data cleanup by a Mobile Worker user type would appear to be Map Viewer, particular with the newer capabilities recently added such as batch attribute update. Other capabilities still to come include split and merge.

So what editing functionality is missing from Map Viewer (Experience Builder is also an option, but i understand that requires configuring the app, etc.) for simple data cleanup of field collected data?

Thanks, larry

ElisabethFenn

We are also frustrated that web editor is only available to creator and higher licenses. When this tool came out we thought it would be a great solution for our mobile workers editing data in the office. We continue to want to set up work flows using the web editor for our mobile workers and continue to be disappointed. Please give access to web editor to mobile worker license types.

RPH_Getech

@NathanEnge Thanks for adding your voice to this alongside the evidence of other customers who are in the same boat. Strengthens the case even further in my opinion!

NathanEnge

@LarryYoung , thanks for your responses so far to this request. I represent several larger customers in the forestry industry who have voiced their desire to have Web Editor be included with the MW license type. Much the same as what @RichardHowe and others have mentioned, the multiple customer stories we have are connected to the ability for field staff to do 'in-office' feature-level adds, updates, deletes.

This level of editing authorization promotes corporate-level governance on data ownership, while keeping data stewardship to the GIS team - therefore aligning with most modern IT governance structures. As of now, field staff would have to convey edits to GIS staff through analog channels or analog+ channels (emails, scans, pdfs, screenshots, etc).

As other have mentioned, it is impractical to expect GIS staff to configure project-level ExBs when there could be many dozens of simultaneous field projects in a field season. My forestry customers have S123 and other mobile app configurations ranging from low-risk data capture, to high-risk (think wildfire ignition, and smoke observations) where that data needs to be as accurate as possible and as quickly updated as possible. If an update cannot be made through the app, they would need to call it in to the office to make those changes....

The desire, as voiced by my customers, is to streamline the field-->office workflow so that a single user has authority over their own data from field to QA/QC and into the system of record.

Cheers

Nathan Enge, Senior Customer Success Manager

becyr

@LarryYoung

We want to create an efficient workflow where mobile works collect information and verify that the information in the office. This can help create the mindset that they are responsible for the data they collect and ensure that they maintain the information accordingly. Often times we are not the experts of the data they collect but rather the one who configures the workflow. The data quality should be maintained by the experts themselves. ArcGIS Pro or Creator license is an overkill for the users. Integrating the output in an experience builder where they can view the data in a big screen and make decisions based on their expertise is what we are trying to achieve.

ArcGIS Online field map is used by non-GIS users at least 70% of the time. Creating a simple workflow helps streamline the process and reduces the time analysts spend verifying and updating data. Why do we need to update the data? After the data has been collected, field works will take a look at the data they collected in a paper map or gis app. Sometimes after a couple of months they may notice something is missing or doesn’t look right, we then would need to update or edit the data.

To address this, we're proposing a solution: automatically set the data status to “Pending” in the field apps. Then, in Experience Builder, we can filter and symbolize the “Pending” records. They can then make any appropriate updates as needed. Creating the mindset that they are the data owners 🙂

LarryYoung

@RichardHowe the plan is to support split, merge, auto-complete and reshape as part of the Editor component which makes up the editing capabilities in Map Viewer and is also exposed as a widget in Experience Builder.

Copy/paste is a little different and therefore will be developed as a separate component within the JS SDK. The Experience Builder teams will determine the best way to expose that component in their application, but no immediate plans to expose it within Map Viewer.

JianxiaSong

@RichardHowe, I would defer to @LarryYoung 's comment on your Map Viewer inquiry.

RPH_Getech

@Jianxia Thank you for confirmation. Can you also confirm they will be coming to the map viewer, as mentioned in this thread?

It is not a practical workflow for us to have to create an experience builder app equivalent of every one of the hundreds of surveys that we generate just to enable basic editing tools for mobile workers to use back in the office

JianxiaSong

For those inquiring about the feature parity of Web AppBuilder editing tools in Experience Builder, the following tools are planned to be included in Experience Builder:

Split (Cut) & Merge tools in ArcGIS Online Q4 2025, ArcGIS Enterprise 12.1
Copy & Paste features in ArcGIS Online Q1 2026, ArcGIS Enterprise 12.1
Reshape & AutoComplete tools in ArcGIS Online Q2 2026, ArcGIS Enterprise version after 12.1

The user type for utilizing these tools in Experience Builder is the same as Web AppBuilder. We will post an update on the road map to complete WAB planned parity features.

AbiDhakal

@LarryYoung -

After such a long wait and so much anticipation, it's incredibly disappointing to see the direction Esri has taken.

To promote the new Web Editor application, Esri has chosen to restrict basic editing capabilities that were once available through the Edit widget in Web AppBuilder. This functionality that countless loyal users, including those supporting public-facing applications, have relied on for years. We were doing quite well with what existed.

Removing or withholding such a fundamental feature from Experience Builder feels not only unnecessary but like a calculated move to drive users toward a paid solution. This decision comes across as short-sighted, cutthroat, and deeply disheartening. The fact that the original Edit widget still functions in Web AppBuilder, yet remains absent in Experience Builder, only adds to the frustration felt by long-standing users.

Worse still, this is happening at the expense of usability and workflow efficiency. GIS professionals and end users once enjoyed a user-friendly, streamlined editing experience in Web AppBuilder. Now, for the sake of licensing, that tool has not only been downgraded in Experience Builder; it has been moved entirely to a separate Web Editor application, further complicating workflows and causing unnecessary disruption.

Despite repeated concerns voiced throughout the Esri Community, it seems those voices have not been heard. What was once a core, inclusive capability is now gated behind licensing, effectively betraying the trust of honest, loyal, lifelong users who simply need to perform basic edits in the modern web environment Esri is requiring us to transition into.

Esri and its users have long enjoyed a very symbiotic ecosystem, where Esri provides the capabilities, and users contribute honest, thoughtful feedback. In tandem, we have improved and learned from one another. Let us keep it that way and make this a selfless pursuit of capabilities that help the science of geography thrive.

Esri is, of course, free to innovate and promote the new Web Editor as a premium offering. But we strongly urge you to also restore the original Edit widget, with its full capabilities, within Experience Builder, and make it available across user types, especially for Creators and Mobile Workers.

This is not just a feature request. It is a plea from a dedicated community that has supported Esri for decades and now feels disregarded.

Please do the right thing. Restore this essential functionality where it belongs.

Thank you,
Abi

MichaelTorbett

For my agency's workflow, we really need split, merge, reshape, and auto complete editing functions available in the Edit widget within Experience Builder. Just like it's currently available with Web App Builder. However, if user licensing is going to require all users to be Creators for this level of editing, then we can't use it and will have to look elsewhere.

AnthonyJonesRSK

Hi @LarryYoung, thanks for the response. I think the frustration again is that you make the point "Web Editor is an app solely for editing" yet a large proportion of your customers who have editing permissions cannot us an app solely for editing. I understand what you're saying on the complexity of the licencing structure and potentially making that more complicated but is there not potential to have the app grey out tools that are unavailable to users with lower licence levels? If they try to use a more advanced editing tool the app says that this is unavailable under their current licence?

The community is saying that we would like the option for our contributors and mobile workers to be able to use this app and you have said a few times that you monitor the community responses but it seems like this is something the team isn't going to budge on. I think it would be preferable if Esri just came out and said no, this is an app for creators as it's been out for over a year now. It's a shame as we have a large user base of mobile workers that could really make use of the app and whilst there are alternatives they don't offer the convenience that this does.

Thanks

Anthony

StefanUseldinger

A quick side note: Batch attribute editing is now also available in the standard map viewer. I assume for all user types with editing permissions.
https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-online/mapping/whats-new-in-map-viewer-june-2025#editing

LarryYoung

Hi @AnthonyJonesRSK,

Yes, configuring Web Editor through Instant Apps is in beta with the latest Online release. We have had many discussions on whether configurations should be available at a lower user type level. One point that keeps coming up is the fact that somebody could create a configuration with the whole app.

Before we released Web Editor or the Advanced Editing UTE we looked into licensing based on specific editing capabilities, but is a very slippery slope and something that would be even harder to explain than our current licensing structure.

As mentioned previously, we continue to monitor and rethink our licensing structure and user responses in hopes of finding something that works for everyone. Web Editor is an app solely for editing, so has some advantages over Map Viewer or Experience Builder for users that spend a significant portion of their day editing. As always we provide the user community options (maybe too many), so simple workflows for casual editors can be accomplished in apps other than Web Editor with a lower user type as an alternative.

thanks, larry

RPH_Getech

Seems to me there is a slow slide towards sneakily altering the meaning of "creator" from creating maps and apps to creating data. Mobile workers and contributors NEED better tools to be able to adequately create and amend data within maps and ESRI seem intent on hiding things that have been lacking for years behind a paywall.

AnthonyJonesRSK

Hi @LarryYoung, I saw in the latest AGOL update the new web editor instant apps template, which allows the creator to modify the web editor app including the tools available to the user. Unfortunately it appears that this template is also locked behind the creator licence. Is there potential for this template to become available to contributor and mobile worker licences in the future when certain tools are disabled? I assume the issue is that you are currently offering editing tools that you consider to be too"premium" for users below a creator licence. My question is whether there has been any consideration for a "Lite" version of web editor with some of these tools removed that allows a user to open any web map available to them to edit the data as needed? Or is there potential to lock users without the required licence out of particular tools rather than just the whole app? I think some flexibility on access would be much appreciated. Thanks

LarryYoung

Web Editor (WE) Is meant to be an easy to use editor for the web. The functionality of WE will ultimately get close to the capabilities for editing in Pro, though we are not trying to replace it in that respect.

As such, WE is intended for subject matter experts all the way up to GIS professionals depending on the workflows they need to accomplish.

Map Viewer and Experience Builder are also viable editing alternatives on the web for simple editing workflows. As mentioned, we continue to monitor the feedback on workflows users want to accomplish and how that fits into the user type model.

Thanks for the feedback.

BlakeMorrison

@LarryYoung, Scott actually had a question. I'm interested in the answer too.

Who is WebEditor intended for?

LarryYoung

@Scott_Sambell thanks for the feedback. We are continuing to evaluate the licensing requirements for Web Editor, and will keep your comments in mind as we move forward.

Thanks, larry

Scott_Sambell

So who is WebEditor intended for? If you are a creator, you have access to Pro (which is not something you can even opt out of now!) Mobile workers need a desktop editor to enter data when they are in the office, on their computers. WebEditor was the perfect solution. It was Field Maps in a browser. They loved it. Now the only people that we know of that actually had a use for it can't access it anymore. I can't think of one case where someone with an ArcPro licence would use WebEditor, but literally thousands of cases of everyday data editors who have been crying out for this tool. And then it got taken away from them.

The people at Esri who made this decision have obviously never met a Field Worker.

BlakeMorrison

Esri keep implementing features promised and requested for ExB into Web Editor, which as discussed in this thread, everyone is confused about who is the target user audience. I get the feeling that Esri are going to turn around any second and say that they no longer plan to provide WAB -> ExB parity.

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