idea Don't force Shapefile exports from ExB pop-up windows into Web Mercator (EPSG 3857) in ArcGIS Experience Builder Ideas

Don't force Shapefile exports from ExB pop-up windows into Web Mercator (EPSG 3857)

berniejconnors — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 17:01:42 GMT

I was excited to see Shapefile exports added to ArcGIS Experience Builder in the June 2025 AGOL update. However, after a quick test in the GeoNB Map Viewer (https://lnkd.in/eNam9NC) I was quickly disappointed.

The map projection of the Shapefile is forced to Web Mercator, EPSG 3857. Even though our map service is published in EPSG 2953, the output is transformed to 3857. I understand KML and GeoJSON require 3857, but a Shapefile can have any projection. Why not leave it in the source projection?? We do not use Web Mercator for any of our map services. They are all published in EPSG 2953 - New Brunswick Stereographic Double. It is the official map projection for the Province of New Brunswick and it does an excellent job of minimizing distortion.

My Idea:

By default, all file exports maintain the map projection of the source data whenever possible. But also add a check box "Transform to Web Mercator". The checkbox should be automatically checked and greyed-out if the user selects GeoJSON or KML as the output format.

Re: Don't force Shapefile exports from ExB pop-up windows into Web Mercator (EPSG 3857)

ShengdiZhang — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 03:36:48 GMT

Hi @berniejconnors ,

Today's update changes the default export behavior to use the spatial reference of the layers.

Regarding your idea of adding a "Transform to Web Mercator" checkbox, this seems to be a relatively rare use case at the moment. We'll keep an eye on it and consider the enhancement if more similar requirements come in.

Thanks,

Shengdi

Re: Don't force Shapefile exports from ExB pop-up windows into Web Mercator (EPSG 3857) - Status changed to: Implemented

Jianxia — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 04:04:44 GMT

Re: Don't force Shapefile exports from ExB pop-up windows into Web Mercator (EPSG 3857)

berniejconnors — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 12:36:34 GMT

Wow - I only posted this a few days ago and it has already been implemented! Thanks @Jianxia and @ShengdiZhang.

However, the bigger issue is Shapefile downloads require an AGOL account. This feature will not be useful to my user community until the Shapefile can be downloaded directly to the user's device.

Best regards,

Bernie.