Updates to Quick Report in 1.3
The Quick Report template can be used to collect data to submit to an ArcGIS feature service layer, including attachments, domain, subtypes, required fields and more. With the AppStudio 1.3 release we’re excited to announce a brand new version of the Quick Report template, redesigned and full of new features.
There are numerous small but useful improvements, major features and UI enhancements made to give users a better experience.
New Features
- You can now save and edit reports in offline mode. After creating at least one report online, to help the app download the schema of the feature layer, you can create offline reports even if you restart the app again. Once you get back online, you can send them whenever you want in the new Saved Reports page.
- The Saved Reports page also provides the option to save your report to send later even if your device is online. This is ideal for when you may want to clarify information before submitting it.
- The Quick Report template can now support multiple attachments. If multiple photos are uploaded in the one report they will appear in a grid view, with buttons to add or delete photos.
- The camera page has been improved, now supporting multiple cameras, flash, image previews, and file renaming.
- A new disclaimer page has been added before the report itself opens. A widely-requested feature, the disclaimer page will only appear if something has been entered into the “Access and Use Constraints’ section in the app’s ArcGIS Online item details.
- The Add Location page now supports webmaps. While previous versions of Quick Report only supported one basemap URL, you can now use any webmap you provide the webmap ID of in the app’s settings. Note that to be provided like this, webmaps should be publicly shared and have at least one layer.
- Location accuracy is now supported, displayed in the lower-left corner of the Add Location page.
- The Add Details page now supports required fields. These fields will be marked with an asterisk (*), and disable the Submit button until the fields have been filled in.
- The Add Details page now also supports validation checks, allowing you to put restrictions on the length and input type for the field.
- The Quick Report landing page now supports animated gifs as background files.
The new features described above can all be utilized by apps created on the website or in AppStudio Desktop. If you’re keen to take the template further, the following new features can also be utilized in AppStudio Desktop.
- The New Report button now initializes the report. With minor customization, this means that you can easily support multiple feature services within the one app, simply by duplicating the button and linking it elsewhere. This greatly streamlines the process of submitting to multiple feature layers in one Quick Report app—which was possible previously, but a lot of work.
- You can now add help pages to assist users in your app. These pages can either be online, or local HTML files.
UI Enhancements
- Labels and links for contact information are now flexible and controlled by screen size.
- The About page has been improved to be easier to read and more responsive.
- Quick Report’s settings now allow you to select custom text fonts.
If you’re new to the AppStudio templates and would like to create your first Quick Report app, please refer to the AppStudio website with instructions about creating a new Quick Report app with AppStudio for ArcGIS. If you’re already using the Quick Report template for your app and want to update it, see our previous blog post about updating featured templates.