topic Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product? in ArcGIS Web Editor Questions

ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

MappyIan — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:01:02 GMT

I like the look of the new ArcGIS Web Editor that was released this week for ArcGIS Online. But it does raise the question of why add this functionality to another new application rather than simply extend the editing functionality that already exists in Map Viewer. I'm baffled by the continual development of new products that perform subtly different tasks from existing products (Quick Capture, Field Maps, and Survey 123; Experience Builder and Dashboards). Surely a better approach would be to consolidate and enhance the functionality in a single application? In the case of Web Editor, it does seem like this functionality could have been integrated in to Map Viewer.

Just my thoughts.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

RichardHowe — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:44:00 GMT

I totally take the point. I'm guessing there was some dev reason they couldn't incorporate it, but if that's the case just launch a newer version of map viewer.

I do however consider this an improvement on experience builder though. I accept you can perform a lot of the editing in there via a widget, but I don't need the hassle of making/maintaining a new EXB item for every map, just to be able to do slightly more than basic edits. At least this way I have a way of opening existing items with an app to do it

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

MappyIan — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 11:22:21 GMT

Thanks for the comments @RichardHowe. Regarding Experience Builder, I wasn't meaning that the editing tools in EB should be enhanced in line with the new Web Editor, I was merely making the comment that EB and Dashboards offer a lot of overlapping functionality (much like Quick Capture, Field Maps and Survey123 also do). The proliferation of multiple products that have a lot of similar functionality doesn't seem like an efficient use of resources when the time could be spent enhancing a single product instead.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

RichardHowe — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 12:05:38 GMT

Haha, I don;t disagree 🙂

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

marksm_macomb — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 19:13:48 GMT

I feel this. I opened the Web Editor to familiarize myself with it. I have a layer with many overlapping features and usually when I edit it in Pro, I will apply a definition query to only see the features I want to edit. Or I'll set my symbology to show where I've edited a certain attribute or not. Turns out you can't apply a filter or change symbology in Web Editor! Then I thought it would be much easier if these edit options were available in MapViewer where I can filter/symbolize how I want to aid in my editing.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

ClayDonaldsonSWCA — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 18:06:03 GMT

I imagine that the intent is to eventually integrate with map viewer and experience builder.

Personally, I am looking forward to more of the functionality being available within the ArcGIS Maps Javascript SDK.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

LarryYoung — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 14:55:57 GMT

Hi All,

First off, much time and thought went into whether to augment existing applications or create a new application. In the end we decided a separate application was best and i'll give you two main reasons:

Creating a focused app - by creating an application just for editing it gives us the ability to streamline workflows for that purpose. If you create a single app to do everything, then you have to genericize some process as a result. An example would be the toolbars across the top of Web Editor which are context based knowing the user is editing.
Configuration - In a future release we will support configuration of Web Editor to further support streamlining workflows. For instance, you could configure Web Editor to support only updating attributes and save that as an instance of the application. If the editing capabilities are rolled into Map Viewer, then the options for configuration are reduced if not eliminated.

Hope that helps. Also worth noting much of the functionality of Web Editor will make its way into web components that will be available in Experience Builder and Map Viewer at the discretion of those teams (i.e., does it make sense for the application and its purpose) and in the context of those applications.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

ClayDonaldsonSWCA — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 17:30:14 GMT

Thanks Larry - this makes sense and I am loving the new editor.

My main issue is that map viewer allows mobile workers to editor their data, but for some reason it was decided they cany use Web-Editor. Considering my organization has about 1000 mobile workers who use map viewer or experiences to review and edit their data. It seems like this is an unnecessary restriction to sell more creator accounts, rather than improving user experience.

I am hoping that restriction is lifted, otherwise very few individuals in my organization will actually use this great application.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

RichardHowe — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 06:39:30 GMT

@ClayDonaldsonSWCA I could not agree more. Please consider supporting the suggestion I have put forward here, and adding your own rationale for wanting this in the comments, to support the idea:

ArcGIS Ideas - Make web editor available to mobile workers

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

andreoudi — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 14:21:16 GMT

I would greatly appreciate it if the Editor widget in Experience Builder could be enhanced to offer more advanced functionality. One key feature that my company currently relies on is the copy/paste capability available in the Smart Editor widget in Web AppBuilder. This functionality is crucial in several of our workflows but is currently missing in both Experience Builder and Web Editor. As Web AppBuilder is set to be retired by the end of the year, we currently have no viable alternative or backup plan to maintain this part of our operations.

What is your plan regarding this functionality? Will the Editor widget in Experience Builder be updated to include copy/paste capabilities? We are not interested in switching to another editor application such as Web Editor, as our current users in Web AppBuilder do much more than just edit data — they also rely heavily on features like filtering, running queries, and more. It’s important for us to maintain an integrated workflow within a single application.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

LarryYoung — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 12:44:15 GMT

Hi andreoudi,

Can you outline in detail what your workflow is for copy/paste? At this point, copy/paste is available in Web Editor, but as you mention, you have other aspects of your workflow that require capabilities outside of editing.

This is part of our dilemma with copy/paste. The examples we have seen from organizations wanting to do copy/paste include bringing in temporary layers (like census blocks), copying from them, pasting the results into one or more polygons in a different layer, maybe updating attributes, and then running some further analysis. With a workflow such as this, could easily argue copy/paste is not really an editing workflow and as such should be handled outside of the Editor widget/component.

Either way, important for us to understand exactly what you are trying to accomplish.

Thanks, larry

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

FEMAUrbanSearchandRescue — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 19:34:14 GMT

@LarryYoung - the copy features capability that worked quite well in the Smart Editor widget is a core part of our workflows in Search and Rescue. The ability to quickly take an existing set of features and assign them to resources is a life saving need. We have about 1 GIS person for every 500 responders during disasters so this really empowered them at the tactical level in the field.

As we migrate from WebAppBuilder to Experience Builder, this is the #1 request from our +8,000 member community while they are editing.

See workflow below.
https://go.screenpal.com/watch/c0iYh1Vkezl

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

FEMAUrbanSearchandRescue — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 20:16:34 GMT

Basically we don’t want the user to go out to another application to do something that “the user” considers part of their editing workflow, even if “Esri” does not consider it editing from a technical standpoint.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

andreoudi — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 07:35:58 GMT

Hi LarryYoung,

Our process is quite similar to what you described. I work as a GIS engineer at a municipality, where our users often bring in temporary data—typically from geotechnical investigations conducted by consultants. These are usually delivered as shapefiles, containing both the geographic extent of the investigation (polygons) and the boreholes (points).

Using the copy/paste functionality in Smart Editor, the users update our geotechnical investigation layers (points and polygons – geodatabase layers). Once the data is added to our geodatabase, they enter the required information and attach any associated documents related to the investigation.

To me, this is clearly an editing process. Currently, this is the only method we have for updating our geodatabase layers. The users themselves don’t have GIS expertise—they are specialists in their respective fields. The same process is used across all types of investigations - environmental, noise, archeological and others.

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

LarryYoung — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:48:38 GMT

Okay. Thanks for the response and explanation. We will take your workflow into consideration as we work through our approach.

larry

Re: ArcGIS Web Editor: why another product?

andreoudi — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 21:29:42 GMT

Thanks for considering it! Let me know if you need anything else from my side.

Maria