topic Re: Web app not working on chrome in ArcGIS Web AppBuilder Questions

Web app not working on chrome

JeffreyWitkamp — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 20:47:32 GMT

We have a portal set up for our company with a custom themed web app. Last week one of the employees complained that he could not access any feature popups on the webapp.

This week the same happened to me. I cannot use the coordinate widget, no popups are loading, and I cannot use measurement tools. Seems like all onclick content broke for Google Chrome.

Clearing cache, changing users or restarting the server doesn't do anything. There are no strange error logs.

All of this content is also working just fine on Firefox and Microsoft Edge. Really seems to be a sudden Chrome thing but I dont know how to fix it.

Also found this post from about 2 weeks ago detailing the same issue: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-web-appbuilder-questions/custom-web-app-not-working-in-chrome/td-p/1034679

Re: Web app not working on chrome

KellyGreen — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 21:37:17 GMT

A couple of our users were experiencing the same issue earlier today. Try uninstalling/reinstalling Chrome and see if that fixes the issue. Our speculation is that the user profile associated with Chrome/gmail account could be inadvertently causing the problem.

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Anonymous User — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 09:40:51 GMT

Yep, exactly the same thing happened to me this week!

Re: Web app not working on chrome

JamesMadden1 — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 13:57:24 GMT

We're seeing the same thing in one of our apps. Here is a link describing the issue we are getting.

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-web-appbuilder-questions/popups-not-opening-in-chrome-when-wab-app-embedded-in-iframe/td-p/1041033

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Banff_GIS_Department — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 15:12:15 GMT

I have the same problem - using built-in WAB and not all users are suffering the no-popup situation. It only happens in Chrome (all seems to be on latest version 89.0.4389.90). I am using Portal 10.7.1, federated server.

Re: Web app not working on chrome

DamonNelton — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 17:34:09 GMT

We are facing the same problem as well. Enterprise license 10.8.0 Federated. I opened a case with ESRI Support but was essentially told that its a Google Chrome issue and until they release a new update to address this issue there's not much ESRI can do.

Reading through some older GeoNet posts it looks like a similar issue happened in 2016 that ESRO and Google had to work together to fix. https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-web-appbuilder-questions/wab-killed-by-chrome-51/td-p/710340

Re: Web app not working on chrome

KelleyAllenR — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 17:27:54 GMT

Uninstalling did not work for us. Opening a case with Esri now.

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Banff_GIS_Department — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 17:36:00 GMT

Did not work for us either. Also have a case open...

Re: Web app not working on chrome

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 19:12:12 GMT

The fix is pretty simple, no need to redeploy with the latest version of WAB.

just open your WAB apps env.js and change the

var apiVersion = '3.xx'; to var apiVersion = '3.35'; AND apiUrl = 'https://js.arcgis.com/3.xx'; to apiUrl = 'https://js.arcgis.com/3.35';

Clear Your browsers cache and reload apps page.

Re: Web app not working on chrome

DamonNelton — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 21:25:17 GMT

We don't use the developer WAB just the out of the box templates in portal. If what you said still applies then I'm going to need a real step by step for dummies on how to do the above. Thanks

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Brian_Wilson — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 23:04:27 GMT

DANGER ZONE, CAVEAT EMPTOR.

The env.js file for Portal (10.7.1 Windows version anyway) is hidden in C:/ArcGIS/Portal/apps/webappviewer and changing it will affect all apps built in Portal so I am too chicken to try that. I am going to experiment in WAB Developer Edition first to see what it does and steel my nerves.

We have just the one production server for all internal and external access because hardworking taxpayers won't let us have another for testing. (YAY restrictive licenses YAY)

If it's an option for you please try it and give me tidings of great success.

So Damon-- the steps would be,

0. Open a connection to the machine running your copy of Portal. I use a shell but do whatever makes you comfortable!

1. MAKE A BACKUP COPY first then open this file in an editor, C:/ArcGIS/Portal/apps/webappviewer/env.js

2. Search for the line var apiVersion = "3.xx" and change the digits to read 3.35. (On mine it was "3.28" and I found it on line 105.)

3. On my version that appears to be the only change. The comments from Robert say there is another line, apiUrl with the version embedded in it. On mine I found this at line 124 instead,

apiUrl = 'https://js.arcgis.com/' + apiVersion;

so I did not have to change it. There are several more variations below line 124 but they all use the variable as any good programmer would.

4. Save the file

5. Clear the cache and reload the app in your browser. Test

6. If it's now all broken, change the lines back to what they were. (I TOLD you to make a BACKUP). Tell Robert he was wrong.

7. If it works, give me (and well, Robert too) kudos. 🙂

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Brian_Wilson — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 00:15:18 GMT

I changed apiVersion from 3.28 to 3.35 in C:/Program Files/Portal/apps/webappviewer/env.js

I am running 10.7.1 on Windows.

The fix does not work in this case because it ignores the apiVersion change and continues to load the jsapi code from the Portal server, not js.arcgis.com

Looks like it's using this: apiUrl = portalUrl + 'jsapi/jsapi/';

If you change this line to apiUrl = 'https://js.arcgis.com/' + apiVersion; then it will work.

This change means it will be pulling the jsapi code from Esri server instead of your own Portal server. If you are okay with this then, give it a go. It is working here. Please feel free to try it.

Zoom in until taxlots show, then click.

Clatsop County webmaps

Re: Web app not working on chrome

DamonNelton — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:27:54 GMT

I tried the and found the same thing this morning. Even restarted the entire system and still no changes. Below is what our code looks like if it helps.

I have not tried your second suggestion "If you change this line to apiUrl = 'https://js.arcgis.com/' + apiVersion; then it will work. " ---- I'm still trying to wrap my head around what this change actually means. It may work but I don't fully understand what I'm changing and if that change has any risk to the way our organization to be set up??

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Dan — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 15:10:49 GMT

Please also see: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-api-for-javascript/javascript-api-3x-map-click-event-intermittently-fails-to-fire/m-p/1042331#M72299. The issue seems to be that older ESRI Javascript APIs are not handling the more recent chrome browser's scale <> 100%. RobertScheitlin__GISP's solution is also how we fixed it in our JSAPI 3x app: upgrade to 3.35. However, for some, this cannot easily be done, as updating the API breaks their custom apps. If you search the ESRI forums you'll see that this issue of the map not firing the click event is becoming more frequent across all ArcGIS Javascript apps. We are still looking for the actual cause and a fix that (a) doesn't include updating the API and (b) that doesn't require some action by the user to fix the problem.

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Dan — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 15:29:35 GMT

It points to a newer Javascript API. The more recent API updates are for bug fixes as ESRI plans to retire their 3x API 05/01/2023. We all need to plan now for moving to 4x of the Javascript API.

https://developers.arcgis.com/javascript/3/

https://support.esri.com/en/Products/Developers/web-apis/arcgis-api-for-javascript/4-7#product-support

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Anonymous User — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 15:38:24 GMT

Thanks DanDan. I have just opened the troublesome apps in Chrome, done a quick zoom in and out, and everything suddenly worked. I've just done a reboot and without needing to zoom in and out again everything still works. You Sir, are a legend!

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Brian_Wilson — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 15:54:22 GMT

Actually what I did was insert the line after line 141 in your screenshot. I am still testing here, everything works so far. Changing the version number only does nothing at all because it's line 139 that's firing, generating a URL that looks like "https://YOURSERVER/jsapi/jsapi". So unless you overwrite code on your server nothing changes. When you change it to generate the URL "https://js.arcgis.com/3.35" instead, then (after you clear the cache and reload the page) it will start loading the JavaScript API from Esri's server instead of your own.

Test 1, hit this URL https://js.arcgis.com/3.35 and you should get init.js appearing in your browser. If not then don't change your code.

Test 2, insert the line after line 141, flush cache, reload, if you get errors. remove line.

Tests 3....n, test everything on your web maps that are built using Portal. You are now running a totally different Javascript library. We only use 2 or 3 non-standard widgets and everything so far seems to work fine.

The good news is that it's really easy to revert the change if things go off kilter.

I looked at my installation of WAB, Developer Edition (version 2.19) last night and it's already running API 3.35. It's not that hard to set up for testing only, so for example, I threw together an app with just the PopupPanel widget in it, tested it, confirmed it worked, did the hack to make it load JSAPI version 3.28, saw that it broke it. That way I was reasonably confident the fix would work for the PopupPanel.

Also it means the apps built with WABDE will all just work, the Chrome bug only affects the ones that I did not build. 😉 Cool! I use WABDE, the other GIS person here uses WAB in Portal.

When I was trying to figure out what was going on last night I used the browser debugger, in there you can watch network activity and see what URLs it is hitting. That's why I knew changing apiVersion was not enough and looked further in the code.

I need a forum to teach people a few of these little tools.

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Dan — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 16:04:25 GMT

I've never worked with WAB, but couldn't you download the Javascript 3.35 API to your local server and point the apiURL to it? Please keep in mind that if you do this, you'll need to manually edit the baseURL in both the init.js and dojo.js files. Walk-through provided below:

https://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000011974

Re: Web app not working on chrome

Brian_Wilson — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 16:19:03 GMT

Yes, you absolutely could do that. That's the way you would have to do it to get the API to work to avoid having the browser pull the code from Esri's site. I don't know what's running js.arcgis.com but assume it's some massive high availability thing at Amazon Web Services. So in fact, for OUTSIDE customers, it's probably faster. For people ONSITE the page probably now loads a tiny bit slower. It's creating traffic on our Internet connection that was not there yesterday. What to do?

Given that when you pull up an app, it loads the API only on the first call, and sadly given that employees here are not ALL using amazing and wonderful web maps, it's a really probably wash.

Re: Web app not working on chrome

DamonNelton — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 16:37:48 GMT

We added the change to line 142, cleared cache and everything at first glance seems to be working now. Thanks for the help!

I'm hoping to upgrade from 10.8.0 to 10.8.1 very soon. If my memory is correct I think that will allow us to upgrade to API version 4 (my tech talk is not always spot on but I'm guessing you'll know what I mean). With API 4 that I assume will also help with some of the browser issues along the way?