I've read that offline use is coming to Collector at some point. I was looking to see if there has been any progress on this issue. This lack of offline capabilities is the major issue that is preventing our organization from deploying Collector in the field as we are often in rural areas. We need the ability to cache basemap data as well as features from our ArcGIS Server and/or ArcGIS Online.
My company is currently deciding which Android based data collection tool we want to pursue. Collector would be the most ideal since it ties in nicely with ArcGIS Serve, but the lack of offline capabilities simply is a deal breaker. We need to know if it's worth the wait or if we should continue to pursue alternatives such as GISCloud, Mapwith.us or just develop our own in house solution.
I would really appreciate some information about how you plan on implementing offline capabilities for Collector.
1) When offline use does come how will it work? Will it cache basemap titles as well as editable features from the map?
2) How will it work in terms of what is cached? Would I draw a box around the area I want cached and it downloads all the corresponding data. Or do I select which layers are to be cached?
3) If it does cache basemap layers will it cache all view levels or would I select which view levels to cache.
Thanks for your time. If you'd like a guinea pig to help test out features in Collector I'd certainly be interested in providing feedback. My organization does a lot of complex field data collection and Collector really has the potential to dramatically streamline the process.
