topic Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app in ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android Questions

Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

FredrikPaasche — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:50:32 GMT

I need to display a map several places in an Android app. My problem is that the first map I create works fine, but the second one will not display the current position or any graphic markers. The maps are in different activities.

I have tried to call map.recycle() when pausing the first activity, and this makes the second map display the graphic markers, but then I need to recreate the first map all over again, which causes me to think that I am going the wrong way about this.

The code used to create the maps are identical in the two activities, except for the resource IDs which are different.

What is the best way (or correct way) to have two maps active in two different activities in the same app? What should be done in the onCreate, onDestroy, onPause and onResume?

Example code:

// Credentials to access the map
String tokenServiceUrl = "https://somewhere/arcgis/tokens";
String userName = "secret";
String password = "secret";
UserCredentials credentials = new UserCredentials();
credentials.setTokenServiceUrl(tokenServiceUrl);
credentials.setUserAccount(userName, password);

// Initialize the map
map = (MapView) findViewById(R.id.closebyMap);
String mapUrl = "http://path_to_mapserver";
ArcGISTiledMapServiceLayer tiledLayer = new ArcGISTiledMapServiceLayer(mapUrl, credentials);
map.addLayer(tiledLayer);
graphicsLayer = new GraphicsLayer();
map.addLayer(graphicsLayer);

Then I set up a setOnStatusChangedListener, wait until I get INITIALIZED, then add graphic markers and start localization. When receiving location changed, I zoom the map to the current location.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

DanO_Neill — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:26:08 GMT

This workflow is unsupported as we only support one map running in an application at a time. This is a known issue with our current release of the SDK and we are looking into supporting this in the future.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

FredrikPaasche — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:58:13 GMT

Thank you for the quick response, even though it was bad news for me. I am now trying something different:

I have a front page activity with a listview. Two of the choices lead to activities that causes maps to be displayed. I start the first activity and initialize and display the map. When the user hits the "back"-key I remove/clean up the map in the onStop method, and the front page is displayed again. When the user selects the second choice, I do exactly the same thing with a different map.

I have tried the following in onStop:
LocationService ls = map.getLocationService();
ls.stop();
graphicsLayer.recycle();
map.recycle();

but the app behaves unpredictably. Sometimes it works, sometimes it crashes or hangs with no error messages. Sometimes the recycle() command causes "call to OpenGL ES API with no current context (logged once per thread)" to appear in LogCat.

What's the correct way (if possible) to clean up a map session when the map activity is finished?

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

PatrickDoody — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:36:14 GMT

Bumping this last question. What's the proper way to recycle/destroy/free up resources for an ArcGIS Map?

I'm getting lots of weird side effects, even when working with one map - such as when I close my application, then restart it, graphics will no longer be visible on the graphics layer (this problem even exists when there is only one map). In order for the graphics to become visible again, I must close the application, then 'Force Stop' my application and re-open. The graphics will now be visible again.

This perhaps seems like a problem of resources no getting cleaned up? But how should we do so?

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

JozefKaslikowski — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:11:59 GMT

Bumping this last question. What's the proper way to recycle/destroy/free up resources for an ArcGIS Map?

I'm getting lots of weird side effects, even when working with one map - such as when I close my application, then restart it, graphics will no longer be visible on the graphics layer (this problem even exists when there is only one map). In order for the graphics to become visible again, I must close the application, then 'Force Stop' my application and re-open. The graphics will now be visible again.

This perhaps seems like a problem of resources no getting cleaned up? But how should we do so?

Have you tried invalidating the map upon resume to see if the redraw happens?

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

PatrickDoody — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:22:30 GMT

Have you tried invalidating the map upon resume to see if the redraw happens?

Yes, I've tried invalidate and postInvalidate.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

JozefKaslikowski — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:36:24 GMT

Yes, I've tried invalidate and postInvalidate.

What about when stepping through, are all of the objects still counted in the GraphicsLayer?

I don't mean to ask basic questions, but I haven't experienced this and I have three such layers at a time.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

PatrickDoody — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:48:02 GMT

What about when stepping through, are all of the objects still counted in the GraphicsLayer?

I don't mean to ask basic questions, but I haven't experienced this and I have three such layers at a time.

No worries! The graphics layer exists, graphics and their symbology are properly created and are contained in that layer. The layer simply will not be visible on the map. This is often triggered when two maps are open in the same application, but I have encountered this numerous times when the second map is not opened at all - however that one is a bit more intermittent. I can reproduce this issue every time using two maps, however with one map it's a bit more random and I've yet to pin it down.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

DanO_Neill — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 04:04:27 GMT

What's the proper way to recycle/destroy/free up resources for an ArcGIS Map?

You should implement the following Activity methods in the class with your MapView

        MapView map;

        //*******
        //********

        @Override
         protected void onDestroy() {
                    super.onDestroy();
                    map.recycle();
               }

        @Override
         protected void onPause() {
                    super.onPause();
                    map.pause();
               }

       @Override
        protected void onResume() {
                    super.onResume();
                     map.unpause();
               }

We do not support multiple MapViews with this release of the SDK. This is a limitation of our current implementation and there is no workaround unfortunately. We are working to resolve this in the next release.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

JozefKaslikowski — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:22:41 GMT

We do not support multiple MapViews with this release of the SDK. This is a limitation of our current implementation and there is no workaround unfortunately. We are working to resolve this in the next release.

Nevermind, I read the answer. My bad.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

GSauers — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:09:06 GMT

I know this thread is old, but has a solution been found to using multiple maps in offline mode?

I am trying to add multiple maps to a MapView, but the screen only allows me to see the first map that is loaded. I can tell the second map loads, but I cannot scroll or navigate to the area of the second map.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

GSauers — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:25:10 GMT

Any update on this issue? I am still looking for a solution.
Thanks.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

DavidAstle — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 19:20:40 GMT

Has the issue of the multiple map views been resolved with the latest release ? If so where can I find concise documentation on it.

David A.

GIS Analyst

Southern Cross Inc.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

ShellyGill1 — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:00:14 GMT

Hi David,

Yes, the current release of ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Android (10.2.8) supports multiple MapViews in one app, or within the same layout if you want. I think this has been true for a number of releases, but I couldn't say for sure myself exactly what release this changed at.

Regards,

Shelly

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

GSauers — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 13:04:36 GMT

Thank you for the reply, is there any documentation on how to add a second map layer to an existing map layer?

Thanks.

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

DavidAstle — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:00:44 GMT

Shelley,

We tried updating the SDK and it still doesn't work. We are using two separate activities that host the same map vew fragment. When we launch the first map view it works ok. We switch activities and second map view is working as well, but when we switch back to the first activity map it freezes. That is the primary error we see. Sometimes the second map will work ok, but when we switch back to the first one, it will freeze. Is there another factor we are missing.

David Astle, GIS Analyst

Southern Cross<http://southerncrossinc.com/index.html> | O: 770-326-6476 | M: 470-539-2139

3175 Corners North Ct. Peachtree Corners, GA 30071

Trusted Partner of Utilities Everywhere Since 1946

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

AlexanderNohe1 — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 17:39:24 GMT

Can you post any errors that logcat is showing?

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

BillMyers — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:57:06 GMT

Are multiple maps supported in the current version (100.1.0)? 100.1.0

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

AlexanderNohe1 — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 13:25:14 GMT

bmyers5000‌,

Can you be a little more descriptive on what you mean by multiple maps? Do you mean multiple maps in the same app or in the same view?

Thanks,

Alexander

Re: Need best practice advice for using several maps in an Android app

GSauers — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 14:20:49 GMT

Not sure if this is what Bill is looking for, but I am looking for a way to show multiple offline tpk files in the same view. I want to be able to load my tablet with multiple map files and have them all display at one time. Right now, I can only show one map at a time and the user has to select which map they want to see.

Thanks.