Save Instance Widget

[SvenJensen]

Edit:

While I am still actively developing the free, open-source Save Instance Widget.

I have been focusing on developing the The Cloud Widget — a complete redesign that takes the concept much further.

The Cloud Widget is designed to transform everyday workflows in ArcGIS Experience Builder, making it easier than ever for users to save, recall, and collaborate within the maps you build.

It allows users to:

• Save their work as Droplets (map states that include extent, layers, drawings, basemap, and more).

• Recall work instantly with map screenshots for easy identification.

• Share Droplets with colleagues for real-time collaboration.

• Access saved work anytime, anywhere.

• Take advantage of Draw Widget support for richer map editing.

I’ve been working hard to make this the most intuitive and productive save-and-share widget for Experience Builder. If you tried the Save Instance Widget and found it useful, I think you’ll really enjoy what the Cloud Widget can do.

👉Visit my website JensenGIS  or this community post to learn more about The Cloud Widget!

I would also like to specifically thank the following individuals for their feedback:
 @Brian_McLeer , @JoelEdgar , @AustinWolf1994 , @JasonBOCQUET , @MarkHoyland2 , @BrettMartin1 , @PierreloupDucroix , @Marshal and @Bloomers3166 .

Thank you!
Sven

About the Save Instance Widget (Legacy)

For anyone still interested in the Save Instance Widget, here’s some background and resources:

Hello everyone, my name is Sven. I’m a university student based in Vancouver, BC, currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science with a minor in Geographic Information Science (GIS).

Inspired by the Save Session Widget for Web AppBuilder, I created the Save Instance Widget for Experience Builder.

The Save Instance Widget lets you save and share the current state of your web map in Experience Builder — including extent, visible layers, basemap, graphics, and more. It was designed as an open-source alternative to help fill the gap left by Web AppBuilder.

Installation (Legacy)

You can download the latest compiled version of the Save Instance Widget from my Github.

Setup (Legacy)

Once downloaded, follow Esri’s guide on how to add custom widgets to your Experience Builder installation.

1. Place the widget inside your /widgets directory.
2. In Experience Builder, go to the Insert Widget tab and scroll down to the Custom Widgets section.
3. Drag the Save Instance Widget onto your toolbar.
4. Configure the widget by selecting a map for it to interact with.

That’s it — you’re ready to go.

Usage (Legacy)

Save an Instance

Enter a name for the instance and click the Save Instance button.

Load an Instance

Click the Load Instance button to apply a previously saved map state.

Rename an Instance

Click the Edit Instance Name button and enter a new name when prompted.

Download an Instance

Click Download Instance to export a .txt file containing that instance.

You can also download all saved instances using the Download Instances button at the bottom right of the widget.

Clear Instance Graphics

Click Clear Instance Graphics to remove any graphics associated with the instance from the map.

I'd love to get instance-loaded graphics working with the Esri Draw Widget at some point. It’ll take a bit of setup, but if it’s something people are asking for, I’m happy to start looking into it — just let me know!

Delete an Instance

Click Delete Instance to permanently remove it from your saved list.

Sharing Instances

To share a saved instance, simply send the .txt file to another user. They can import it using the Upload Instances button in the bottom-left corner of the widget.

In the future, I’d love to add support for cloud storage of instances — let me know if that’s something you’d use!

Feedback
I’m incredibly grateful for all the feedback, bug reports, and feature requests that came in while I was building the Save Instance Widget. That community input has been the driving force behind The Cloud Widget, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it as well.
Stay tuned — more tools are coming soon!

[Marshal]

Oh man, I missed this one cause it wasn't in the custom widgets group!  This looks awesome...really looking forward to trying it.  Nice work!

[SvenJensen]

@PierreloupDucroix 

Good to hear you got the Save Instance Widget working!

Je prévois d’ajouter une traduction en français!

Je travaille sur le widget Save Instance Hosted depuis un certain temps, et je prévois de le lancer d’ici la fin août. Il comprendra toutes les nouvelles fonctionnalités demandées par tout le monde.

Merci,

Sven

[SvenJensen]

Hi @JasonBOCQUET,

I sent you a message through the Esri community platform,

Feel free to shoot me an email at sven@jensengis.com, let's get this issue your having with the Save Instance Widget solved.

Thanks,

Sven

[SvenJensen]

@Marshal 

Thanks for your kind words!

I have been working on the Save Instance Hosted Widget and already added all of these great requests from the community!
@AustinWolf1994 - Overwriting Instances ✅
@Brian_McLeer  - In-widget dialogue boxes, toggle clear graphics button, instances unique to one experience/app ✅
@PierreloupDucroix. - French Translation ✅

The Save Instance Hosted widget will include additional functionality:

• Any user on a private authenticated experience or an external public experience can:
  • Save their instances to the cloud, access them from anywhere anytime.
    
    • See below how the authentication works
  • Instantly share their instances by inputting their colleagues email.
    
    • Their colleagues widget will update to show the instances shared with them.
  • Instance graphics integrate with the Custom Draw Widget and the stock Esri Draw Widget
  • Analytics
    • The organization who deployed the Save Instance Hosted Widget into their experience can access insights into which instances their users are saving, which layers are most popular etc..
  • Continued support from myself to anyone who has issues with the Save Instance Hosted Widget

How will authentication work in the Save Instance Hosted Widget?

• First time users will input their email into the widget, then receive a security key via email to paste back into the widget, which will be stored in their browser.
• If the user clears their browser data, or moves to a different browser/machine then they can do the same process by inputting their email and then receive an email and paste in the key. Then all of their instances for that specific experience/app will load into the widget.

I am currently enrolled in mathematical and computing university courses, so I am hoping to release the Save Instance Hosted Widget by the end of August. If anyone has any feedback or other features that they would like included in the Save Instance Hosted widget please leave a comment! I would greatly appreciate it.


Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the Save Instance Widget,
Sven

[JasonBOCQUET]

Hi

Another idea to extend the save instance to a SUPER save Instance Widget : it is possible to save the state of other widget like Filter Widget or View Widget ?

Some of users are interested to keep what they filter if they come back another day on the application.

Thanks 🙂

[Bloomers3166]

This is amazing! @SvenJensen will the widget work using Enterprise 11.4?

[SvenJensen]

Hi @Bloomers3166 ,

Thank you for your feedback!

I am testing the Save Instance Widget Hosted with a municipality GIS department to get it ready for public release. I will be sure to confirm it works with Enterprise 11.4 for launch!

Stay tuned.

Thanks,
Sven

[Hlynur]

Hey @SvenJensen any news on if it works with 11.4? We have 11.3 and was curious if it would also work with that one?

-Regards, Hlynur

[EdgarRodriguezTM]

Hey @SvenJensen, this is really nice widget, my team uses in WebBuilding and they want to use in Web Experience, but we have 11.3- webexp 1.14, do you know if you have a previous version of this? 

Regards,

Edgar

[SvenJensen]

Hi @EdgarRodriguezTM @Hlynur @Bloomers3166 ,

The Cloud Widget is now supported for Experience Builder v1.14 (Enterprise version 11.3) up to v1.17

You can register your organization and download the Cloud Widget for free from my website JensenGIS.com in two easy steps.

Step 1. Enter info and click Send Cloud Key button


Step 2. Receive Cloud Key and Download Cloud Widget

If you have any questions please send me an email sven@jensengis.com

Thanks!
Sven Jensen
JensenGIS