Do I really need offline areas to work offline?

GayleNeufeld

I'm trying to set up field maps to work offline and I'm having some trouble.  In investigating possible solutions, I've got myself pretty confused on the process.  I created a webmap to use, and have that enabled for offline use, I checked Device will use a tile package it already has, and entered the tile package file name.  The tile package shows up in the basemap list on my iPad, but when I select it, the screen is just a gray area with a grid on it.  I read that you have to be offline and it will automatically select the tile package, so I did that but then couldn't open the map.  Now I'm reading that I have to make offline map areas in ArcGIS Pro.

Do I have to make map areas as well as have my webmap set for offline?  Which leads to the next question - how big can my offline area be?  We cover a huge area (the State of Alaska is 665,400 square miles, and we need to cover most of it).  

I also can't figure out how to make an attribute list for a specific attribute field.  Coded values won't work because we have hundreds of choices.  I need a list to make those hundreds of choices consistent between field workers.  

Thank you

 

RhettZufelt

Did you use iTunes or other method to actually transfer the tpk or tpkx tile package to the IPad?

Checking the box tells it what one to use, but you still need to copy that over to the local storage on the iPad for it to find it (rather than a gray box).

If offline, the only option will be the previously downloaded tile package.  If online, you should see all your basemaps, including the downloaded one (if it is there in the correct location).

Once setup for Offline, you can create designated offline areas that the user downloads in the Field Maps web app, the item details of the web map, OR, you can define/download the offline data from within Field Maps mobile app.

How big can it be???? Good question, and not a lot of answers.  It seems that it depends.  If you are collecting attachments/photos, etc. the offline areas can get really large, but there is an option to only push attachments back to the server on sync, and not to the device.  This helps a bunch.

I find that for offline areas, I create a "vector" tile set for my basemap with the minimal data needed to keep the Offline package smaller, or so it will actually create it.  Sometimes need to play around with creating various size offline areas and test to see what you can get away with.  Also, as you populate the data so it is having to package more, the existing offline areas may stop working, and will need to re-create smaller ones.

Making an attribute list for specific field is exactly what coded value domain is for, which can easily hold hundreds of choices.  Keep in mind, ESRI products tend to play differently with domains, sometimes it shows the Code, other times the Value, and often no consistency.  For years, I make coded value domains where the code is exactly the same as the Value.  That way, it is always "correct" depending on the viewer showing them.

As you probably know, you can add/modify the list in the hosted feature service:

But as you mentioned, you have hundreds of them, so would be pretty tedious to add them all.

But, since you should have the main list ahead of time, I would generate the table in Excel with two columns, one for code, the other description.  Then import that table to a stand alone table, and run the table to domain tool and assign the domain to the appropriate field.  This will add all the options so that when you publish/overwrite the hosted layer online, it will have these already.

R_