Combining Survey 123 and Collector

Anonymous User

Create a data collection app that uses the documentation of Survey 123 and mapping ability from collector. collector survey123 implementing arcgis #surveying

KyleGonterwitz · ‎03-21-2019

Use case - add inventory item in collector, then immediately sync that inventory item into survey 123 for condition survey of that new inventory item - all in disconnected environment.

Anonymous User · ‎04-08-2019

We recently noticed... you can't edit the same layer in Collector and Survey123. (I think??) The first requires versioned features and the second, requires it to be off. The only way quasi workaround would be to create a complete replicated copy of the layer just so you could use both apps to modify a layer. Hopefully this can be a future feature enhancement?

JamesWilson2 · ‎01-16-2020

surely it would have been less work to integrate the two rather than all the work put into the custom URL scheme, building better forms in collector and adding lines and polys in Survey123?

All I want is the map-based collection of collector (ability to download basemaps as you go, record a GPS track, etc.) with smart forms from Survey123 (cascading domains, conditional fields, pretty formatting).

Alas I have to build a line feature with a related table so that I can do geometry in collector and attribution in Survey123, then not see the whole picture in either system until I find some mobile coverage, then not be able to generate a full report from Survey123 as it is only looking at one table, not both

#RantOver

Anonymous User · ‎01-17-2020

+1 Right on James, we also want this.

UriGilad_EsriAu · ‎02-11-2020

Unfortunately until better ways to communicate between these two apps are developed, the best solution for now seems to be the custom URL scheme.

If you choose to go this way - I wrote a script that automates the production of the URL. Published here.

JamesWilson2 · ‎02-23-2020

Rather than improving communication between the two, cant they just be combined? I realise they have been developed in isolation in separate countries, but the custom URL scheme is a pain! My staff work completely offline, so having to flick back and forth between apps to see what they have captured is way too many keystrokes, not to mention having to ensure they have the most up-to-date map and survey downloaded before they go out in the field - the workflow is huge. Then the pain for me of having to trawl through a bunch of related tables to get my data out the other end, I just want one app that collects all of the data in a useful way! Surely some clever programmers could drop all of the form based stuff into collector, or if that is too hard they could be bundled together into what looks like a single app and do all of the custom calls in the background? The amount of customisation I have to do to use the 'ecosystem' of apps makes me feel like Esri should be paying me, not the other way around!

Anonymous User · ‎02-24-2020

Agree; combining would be preferable in reality.

MichaelBruening · ‎03-19-2021

I would say let's keep them separate, but I understand the need to see the whole picture. I am currently attempting to find a way to construct a URL that will pass the geometry from Survey123 into Collector/Field Maps for the need of seeing "everything" together. However, I have not been successful using the Field Maps blog listed above in conjunction with a few Survey123 blogs.

It seems very easy to pass geometry and attributes from Collector into Survey123. However, I like the ability/capacity to build geometry within Survey123 application better and is more flexible. Two birds within one stone - collected points can build either geotrace and geoshape features as the points are collected. I can include the GPS metadata within the points that justify the geotrace and geoshapes accuracy. an example is collecting Wetland Delineation flags and having a geoshape that creates the polygon based on the points.

Survey123 does have the ability to use "offline maps" within the mobile application. However, it is a little tricky, but you can setup an "offline map area"; within the "map that is created using Connect" to publish the survey, within ArcGIS Online map settings that is refreshed every night, then this map is downloaded by the Survey123 application; as least within the BETA version, for use each day. I was able to add other Hosted Feature services that had an "offline" capacity where features within the added HFS were downloaded into the Survey123 map download as well. It's been a while since I tried that, so I am unsure if it still works.