Basemaps in new Collector

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12-06-2018 02:10 PM
MalcolmJ
Occasional Contributor II

I have two basemap tile packages that we use in Collector. They are created in a local projection (NZTM 2193) which have worked for years in the old Collector App (now Collector Classic).

I am trying the new Collector on iOS and it is not letting me use these basemaps anymore after I have downloaded a map onto the device. It says 'The spatial reference is not compatible with the map'. Do basemaps now have to be in WGS84 only?

Also the method to manage basemaps on the device is worse now. You used to be able to do it through the app. You now have to do it through iTunes. This is a bit of a downgrade in my opinion.

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KevinBurke
Esri Contributor

Hi Malcolm,

Thank you for the feedback, sorry for the delay.

Just for clarification, you've sideloaded a few TPK's of custom basemaps in the NZTM 2193 spatial reference onto the device using iTunes and are unable to switch to them in the offline map after having downloaded an Esri basemap. Is that correct?

If so, this is currently known behavior with offline basemap switching where the spatial reference's of the default basemap that was initially downloaded must match the side loaded basemap. In this case one is WGS 1984 Web Mercator and the other is NZTM 2193. This is why the app displays that message for the custom basemap and will not allow you to switch to it. This behavior with switching basemaps, due to other known limitations, is currently more strict with an offline map as oppose to performing the same workflow in an online map.

As a workaround in order to be able to switch to those local TPK's you would need to first download a web map from AGOL that has a basemap set that uses NZTM 2193 to match the local TPK's. For the purposes of this issue, that basemap can be very simple and should only need a few tiles/levels generated since ultimately you will be switching to a more accurate basemap once the download is completed. This will make the default offline basemap in the correct spatial reference to support the switching.

We're working to improve the behavior of switching between offline basemaps that were loaded through iTunes. We're also working to implement workflows that will allow you to specify using a custom basemap at the web map level which will be applied to the offline map in Collector, thus reducing the dependency on having to switch between basemaps.

Thank you
-Kevin

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4 Replies
MalcolmJ
Occasional Contributor II

Still no reply from anyone at ESRI?

Do offline tile package basemaps have to be in WGS84 now in the new Collector?

KevinBurke
Esri Contributor

Hi Malcolm,

Thank you for the feedback, sorry for the delay.

Just for clarification, you've sideloaded a few TPK's of custom basemaps in the NZTM 2193 spatial reference onto the device using iTunes and are unable to switch to them in the offline map after having downloaded an Esri basemap. Is that correct?

If so, this is currently known behavior with offline basemap switching where the spatial reference's of the default basemap that was initially downloaded must match the side loaded basemap. In this case one is WGS 1984 Web Mercator and the other is NZTM 2193. This is why the app displays that message for the custom basemap and will not allow you to switch to it. This behavior with switching basemaps, due to other known limitations, is currently more strict with an offline map as oppose to performing the same workflow in an online map.

As a workaround in order to be able to switch to those local TPK's you would need to first download a web map from AGOL that has a basemap set that uses NZTM 2193 to match the local TPK's. For the purposes of this issue, that basemap can be very simple and should only need a few tiles/levels generated since ultimately you will be switching to a more accurate basemap once the download is completed. This will make the default offline basemap in the correct spatial reference to support the switching.

We're working to improve the behavior of switching between offline basemaps that were loaded through iTunes. We're also working to implement workflows that will allow you to specify using a custom basemap at the web map level which will be applied to the offline map in Collector, thus reducing the dependency on having to switch between basemaps.

Thank you
-Kevin

MalcolmJ
Occasional Contributor II

Thanks Kevin. Yes your clarification is correct.

That helps. In the Classic Collector it didn't matter what projection the original basemap was in because you could swich to your on device basemap before downloading. Its the other way around now. The webmap was using a WGS84 basemap soI've switched it to a generic NZTM basemap and I can now download in the new and old Collector and then use my on device basemaps in both. Thanks for explaining but the app could definitely use improvements in this area to make it less confusing and more efficient.

In Collector Classic you could tell it to use the on device basemap and only download the data you need instead of having to download the basemap as well initially. This was a good time and space saver for the device.

BradMead
New Contributor III

Hi Kevin,

I have encountered this same issue on Collector for Android, 20.2.1 build 2956. I tried your suggestion to make a 'dummy' basemap with the desired spatial reference, but it did not work for me. Collector was able to reference the .tpkx file I sideloaded onto the device, but it would only display it at the extent and levels of detail of the dummy basemap.

Are there any plans to fix this?

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