topic Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget? in ArcGIS Web AppBuilder Questions

How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

HelenWhiteley — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 13:05:40 GMT

Hi,

I am trying to create print templates which enable the user to add more text to a layout than just the title and author. I have added elements to the mxd and named them and tried to call them using CustomTextElements, but do not know how to make the text box for the user to enter the text into appear within the print widget. I'm sure I'm missing something simple?! I am using the Web Appbuilder in ArcGIS Portal 10.4 and also have access to WAB for Developers 2.0.

Please help,

Thanks,

Helen

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

MichaelMiller2 — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 13:37:58 GMT

Helen,

Check out this link to Publishing Additional Services for Printing. It's a tutorial that will walk you through the steps to get set up allowing users to customize the custom text elements of their web maps.

Michael

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

HelenWhiteley — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 17:10:11 GMT

Thanks Michael,

That's exactly the tutorial I used to publish my print services and custom templates. However, I need more information on the custom text elements, unless I'm missing something, this tutorial doesn't cover this?

Helen

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

MichaelMiller2 — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 19:08:21 GMT

At the Developer Conference this year I saw a presentation on this very subject. One of the presenters was Tanu Hoque and he was an enormous help via email. Maybe try connecting with him to sort it all out.

Question, are you running server 10.4? I believe if it's an earlier version of server there are additional steps that need to be taken.

Below is the info Tanu forwarded to me:

You need to create a script tool with following parameters

nb: the name of the first parameter shouldn't matter.

Again, this script/task only to provide metadata information for each layout templates… which helps Web App Builder’s print widget to show those options in it.

This requires running a python file to generate the script tool and I do not see a way to attach the script (GetLayoutTemplateInfo.py).

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 19:35:08 GMT

Thanks Michael Miller. I'm glad i was able to help.

Helen Whiteley, it is step# 8 in "Preparing and publishing the service" section in that help that describe how to add that additional task to the printing service in 10.4. WAB printing widget (though i'm not sure which version) looks for that GetLayoutTemplateInfo task in the printing service; if it finds it, it uses metadata from each layout and show text boxes to allow you set values for your custom text elements.

This is something new in 10.4.

Hope this helps.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

HelenWhiteley — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 08:17:52 GMT

Thanks Tanu Hoque, that's great to know it is possible to easily add custom text elements. However... I am following the steps in 'Tutorial: Publishing additional services for printing' to the letter - I am running the GetLayoutTemplateTask and adding it as a result in Service Properties. The added in elements do show on the maps, but there is nowhere in the print widget for me to manually enter text to fill these elements, which, if I understand your explanation correctly, there should be? I have tried both restarting the existing service as well as publishing a new one, but I still only receive the 'Author' and 'Copyright' options under Layout Metadata, under Advanced.

However - I have taken a copy of one of the default templates at Program Files\ArcGIS\Server\Templates\ExportWebMapTemplates, added a Custom Text Element to this, restarted the service - and this works as it should, with an extra text box displaying below Layout metadata, so the issues are only with print services I have published myself.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong??

Thanks,

Helen

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

JonMorris2 — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 04:28:10 GMT

An alternative is to publish a print service on your own server - then you can add custom templates with your company logo and all the elements you like.

The script can be a simple wrapper for the ExportWebMap tool, like this:


  import arcpy


  Web_Map_as_JSON = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(0)
  Format = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(1)
  Layout_Template = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(2)
  Layout_Templates_Folder = r'd:\maps\exportwebmaptemplates'
  Output_File = None


  result = arcpy.ExportWebMap_server(
  Web_Map_as_JSON,
  Output_File,
  Format,
  Layout_Templates_Folder,
  Layout_Template
  )

Then just add the mxd templates to the folder on the server you've named above (in our case d:\maps\exportwebmaptemplates). When you publish the tool to the server, add all the template names to a choice list so users can just pick the one they want.

Parameter: Layout_Template

Data Type: GPString

Display Name Layout Template

Description: TODO

Direction: esriGPParameterDirectionInput

Default Value: MAP_ONLY

Parameter Type: esriGPParameterTypeOptional

Category:

Choice List: [ MAP_ONLY, A3 Landscape, A3 Landscape Legend Only, A3 Landscape No Legend, A3 Portrait, A3 Portrait Legend Only, A3 Portrait No Legend, A4 Landscape, A4 Landscape Legend Only, A4 Landscape No Legend, A4 Portrait, A4 Portrait Legend Only, A4 Portrait No Legend, Letter ANSI A Landscape, Letter ANSI A Landscape Legend Only, Letter ANSI A Landscape No Legend, Letter ANSI A Portrait, Letter ANSI A Portrait Legend Only, Letter ANSI A Portrait No Legend, Tabloid ANSI B Landscape, Tabloid ANSI B Landscape Legend Only, Tabloid ANSI B Landscape No Legend, Tabloid ANSI B Portrait, Tabloid ANSI B Portrait Legend Only, Tabloid ANSI B Portrait No Legend ]

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 00:14:28 GMT

My bad, I misunderstood.

So, if I understand it correctly:

you have published your own custom printing service. the service has two tasks in it (1) Export Web Map and (2) Get Layout Template Infos
the layouts (or mxd) used in that printing service have custom text elements... I am pretty sure you have provided 'Name' for those custom text element in the mxd... otherwise they'd not have shown up when you used the template with the Out Of The Box Printing Service.
now, the problem is that when you use your custom printing service with WAB Print Widget, those custom text elements are not showing up, right?

if those are correct, i have few questions:

Is your printing service public? if so, can you pls share the url for me to take a look at the service resource.
if it is not public, can you pls share a screen-shot for the service's REST resource?
if you go to the 'Get Layout Templates Info' task's REST resource end point and execute it, does it return correct response i.e the name of the templates are correct and the text elements etc.?
when you ran Get Layout Template Info gp-script-tool in desktop, did you make sure that it pointed to the "same folder" that was specified in the Export Web Map GP tool?
finally, when you use or setting up the WAB Print widget, can you pls use Firebug or any other web browser developer tool to monitor what are the requests being generated by the widget and are they failing or not getting expected result?

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 00:21:49 GMT

Jon,

we don't recommend using arcpy.ExportWebMap_server() in scripting environment to create your own arcpy based printing service...

most of the cases you should be fine by creating your printing service from Export Web Map GP tool. In fact, these two approaches would be functionally equivalent. embedding it inside a script is not a good idea.

for some advanced use cases, when you need to create an arcpy based printing service, you should use arcpy.mapping.ConvertWebMapToMapDocument() function... which gives you more control over the output.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

JonMorris2 — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 08:32:15 GMT

Ok. Can we still use our custom map templates if just publishing the Export Web Map tool to our server? Sounds like we'd have to manually edit the template path after publishing. Or set up an equivalent path on the desktop machine so we can get a GP result that can be published.

The script wrapper is needed anyway as a workaround to a bug where the export image filename is not returned. I've raised an issue with Esri UK support - CAS-17137-N6H0T4: Arcpy.ExportWebMap_server returns incorrect output file name.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 16:29:27 GMT

Jon,

My apologies, I'm afraid I'm not quite clear on your first issue...

to publish a printing service with custom templates, steps are:

- open the Export Web Map tool in Desktop,

- choose the folder with your custom templates

- execute the tool

- publish the result

the service will use templates from the folder you chose in step#2.

is this not working for you?

Or set up an equivalent path on the desktop machine so we can get a GP result that can be published.

sorry, i can't follow this..

The script wrapper is needed anyway as a workaround to a bug where the export image filename is not returned. I've raised an issue with Esri UK support - CAS-17137-N6H0T4: Arcpy.ExportWebMap_server returns incorrect output file name.

do you happen to have a NIM or BUG id for the above issue? can you pls share that with me. i'm not currently aware of any bug with output file name.

Thanks.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

JonMorris2 — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 09:44:21 GMT

the service will use templates from the folder you chose in step#2.

Does it copy all the templates in the folder? I didn't know that.

Or set up an equivalent path on the desktop machine so we can get a GP result that can be published.

I've put the templates on the server at d:\maps\exportwebmaptemplates, so I thought I'd need to create a d:\maps\exportwebmaptemplates folder on my desktop to put the templates in. Either that or edit the script after publishing.

do you happen to have a NIM or BUG id for the above issue? can you pls share that with me. i'm not currently aware of any bug with output file name.

I don't think Esri UK have entered it into Nimbus yet. I've asked for a status update, so I'll let you know when they get back to me.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

HelenWhiteley — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:32:43 GMT

Hi Tanu,

That is correct. The custom text elements do show up on the output maps, but not in the WAB print widget.

Unfortunately the print service is not public. Executing the Get Layout Templates from the REST endpoint returns the correct JSON eg

{

"results": [{

"paramName": "Output_JSON",

"dataType": "GPString",

"value": [

{

"layoutOptions": {

"hasAuthorText": false,

"hasCopyrightText": false,

"hasTitleText": true,

"hasLegend": true,

"customTextElements": [

{"Test": "Text"},

{"SubTitle": "Text"}

]

"pageSize": [

296.92659385318774,

209.97375328083996

"layoutTemplate": "A4_Landscape",

"activeDataFrameSize": [

273.05060000000003,

146.0503

]

and the script tool was pointing to the correct folder when I ran it.

I have used Fiddler to record the requests and get a 'no entry' sign next to the request in question which apparently means Session was aborted by the client, Fiddler, or the Server.

#	Result	Protocol	Host	URL	Body	Caching	Content-Type	Process	Comments	Custom
506	200	HTTPS	cp-gis-iis.infprod.tca	/arcgis/rest/services/Geoprocessing_Services/WorkingTemplates/GPServer/Get%20Layout%20Templates%20Info/execute?f=json	495	private, must-revalidate, max-age=0	text/plain;charset=utf-8	iexplore:3740

I'm an amateur with Fiddler, so don't know how to delve deeper.

Having a look in the Chrome web traffic information it seems that the Get Layout Info task is timing out: n {message: "Timeout exceeded", response: Object, status: undefined, responseText: undefined, xhr: XMLHttpRequest…} It does take a long time for the print widget to populate the layout information. I have tried increased the times and pooling in the Service Properties, but to no avail. I have tried publishing different print services, but have the same issue with them all. Have you any ideas what might be causing this and how to solve it?

Thanks,

Helen

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 18:06:51 GMT

Does it copy all the templates in the folder? I didn't know that.

seems like you are publishing from your machine to a separate server machine, right?

like any other gp or map service, if you don't have the folder registered on the server, you templates will be copied to the server in a managed folder inside \arcgiserver folder.

for some reasons, if you don't want it to be auto-copied in the managed folder, you would need to register the folder from your local machine in ArcGIS Manager to point to a separate folder on the server.

once you do that and publish a print service off ExportWebMap tool from your local machine, you should be just fine.

please give it a try and let me know how it works.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 18:28:22 GMT

hmm... so you are saying if you execute it from the REST service directory, it works fine. But the same service when used with the Printing widget, it times out!!

how long does it take for it to finish when you execute it from the REST service directory?

are you templates empty or they contain some layers?

if it is all about timing out, I'm sorry I don't think i have much expertise in that area to help could you please contact Esri Support and have someone take a look at that?

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 16:19:52 GMT

FYI: for those who want to use GeLayouttTemplatesInfo tool but haven't been able to move to 10.4, you can download the script from https://github.com/arcpy/sample-gp-tools/tree/master/GetLayoutTemplatesInfo

once you copy it on your local machine, follow the steps from Tutorial: Publishing additional services for printing—Documentation | ArcGIS for Server --- only thing is that instead of using the GetLayoutTemplatesInfo from the system toolset, use the one you downloaded.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

JarrettHandy1 — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:44:18 GMT

Did you ever get this resolved i am having the same issue

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 16:10:44 GMT

Hello,

Could you please contact Esri Support? Someone needs to take a look at this... it should work.

thanks.

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

LeoLadefian5 — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 19:29:58 GMT

How does one create a custom text element in their layout? This is what I'm stuck on, for instance, a "Comments" field as user input. Do I use custom dynamic text?

Re: How to add custom text elements to custom print layout using WAB print widget?

TanuHoque — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 03:46:43 GMT

a blog article has recently been posted to walk thru the process of creating and using customTextElement. here is the link Printing Popups from Web Application | ArcGIS Blog. i hope this will help.