topic Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map in Classic Esri Story Maps Questions

Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 20:56:05 GMT

I have a Series Story Map which has a few entries. Each entry is a map entry, pointing to the same web app. Before the map is functional is fully visualized it looks like each web map for each entry is loaded. I've experimented with different extents for each entry to having the same extent for all entries. Even if the extent is the same, the feature layers for the webmaps, which are identical, are downloaded. The feature layers are not large (about 80k), but download time is 3-5 seconds, and total time to get going is about 10 seconds.

The end result is that the user-experience is not very good, as there is a significant delay.

I've experimented both with the hosted web app, as well as the downloaded template, which has the same results.

Is there anyway I can optimize this somewhere in the downloaded template? I see that everything seems to happen as the result of one atomic call, "arcgisUtils.createMap", and I can't see any options which will help me, but perhaps there is a way around this?

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 21:17:34 GMT

Sorry about your issue, this looks like a bug, if you are using the same webmap in two entries it should only be loaded once. Could you share a link to your app?

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 23:22:25 GMT

I can't share the link to my app currently, but take a look at one from the ESRI gallery, which demonstrates the same behavior. I've included a screenshot of a firebug trace of the load sequence (I also verified that the parameters were the same on the calls).

Women in GIS: Helping Map a Better World - A story map by Morgan State University

There are a few series of 3 repeated calls to the feature server with the same parameters and same results.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 23:49:11 GMT

That app is based on a template that we have deprecated recently: Side Accordion.

Are you using our new Map Series with the Side Accordion layout or that template? Story Map Series | Story Maps

You should not have that problem with the new Map Series. In the builder if you use the same map across all your entries the map will only be loaded once. Map Series is also preloading maps but it should works better. You can't avoid that preloading by configuration in the builder but this is doable without custom development. Let me know if you are interested.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 00:12:33 GMT

We did use the Map Series Builder. I just used that one for convenience since at the moment I can't share the map we are working on. I'll build another simple map using the Series builder template and post it. And yes I am interested in possibly avoiding the preload. We actually are using the downloadable version of the app which I got from git but in any case we get the same result whether referencing the app from the template or directly from AGOL. I'll get back to you with a link to an app that presents this problem.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 00:19:29 GMT

Ok thanks. That app build using Map Series is behaving well http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/2015/circles/

I confirm that the app that you download from GitHub is what is in ArcGIS Online.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 18:38:36 GMT

Hi. Take a look at this.

http://directrelief.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/?appid=ba487f357cc940b69b414765ab94153e

In Firefox I see it makes 6 requests to the same feature service with the same parameters and the same output. Different things seem to happen in Chrome and IE.

(Thanks for you helpful responses so far)

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 00:36:44 GMT

Hi,

This seems to be the expected behavior of the ArcGIS for JavaScript API. I'm not able to explain why, I will ask that team.

If I create a sample app that just load the map I obverse the same behavior (ArcGIS API for JavaScript Sandbox).

Whether I add 1 or 10 entries that use the same webmap in the Map Series I see the same number of request.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 01:17:29 GMT

Actually I'm not sure if I understand your response. I tried the sandbox example and I even put in my webmap id, but I don't get duplicated calls. When I run it from the series I do get the duplicated calls, and they seem to match the number I had in the series; i.e. in my example there were 6 entries in the series and 6 identical calls. It might be only a firefox problem although I'm not sure.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:46:00 GMT

Interesting, looks like we have different behavior.

Here is what I see in Firefox 36 console for the sandbox with your webmap at two different browser resolution.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 22:07:18 GMT

I'm not sure how you got it to work in the sandbox. If I put ba487f357cc940b69b414765ab94153e in the CreateMap call in the sandbox link you sent me, I get an error. Also, my firefox console doesn't look like the one you sent me, but in any case, it also seems that you got repeated calls to perhaps the same query, but its hard to see because the information is cut off.

Here is a screenshot of what I see in Firebug

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 22:24:21 GMT

ba487f357cc940b69b414765ab94153e is your web app id, you have to use your webmap 1640bcd752954581b489118dfe9c0bd3 in the sandbox.

I was unsure if this was expected or not and if I was missing something but looks like the JS team think something is not normal. I will keep you posted here, hopefully in the next days.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 22:31:08 GMT

The problem is not reproducible with the web map. It's a combination of map + app and it looks like the number or calls to the feature layer is the same as the number of entries in the app. It might easily be something that I did not understand or a mistake we made in configuring the map.

Thanks again for taking a look at this problem and looking forward to hear what the JS team comes up with.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 20:08:59 GMT

I am unsure why I can't exactly reproduce the same behavior than you but the JS team communicated me that they are working on a fix, that should be included in the next release in July.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

JonathanZaid — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 20:21:01 GMT

Thanks. It would be nice that if they actually found a fix that they could recommend a work-around or a cause for this behavior. We have made many maps and for some reason only this one seems to be giving problems. It might be the way it was assembled. But I can't put my finger on it.

Re: Avoid preloading/duplicating all entries in a series story map

GregoryL_Azou — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 20:25:18 GMT

I will keep you in touch.

Yes it seems to be an edge case due to something specific about your webmap. You have multiple layer in that webmap, maybe if you try to rebuild the webmap adding them one by one you will find a way to make it works.