How do I best display 52 interactive filters?

[Anonymous User]

Hi everyone,

I have a relativity small data set (4-5000 points), but I want the users to interact with 8 groups of filters based on the properties of these points.  All up i have 52 individual filters.  Currently i have an additional page with the filters grouped into 8 sections, which helps identify the groupings but takes up heaps of room and feels pretty clunky.  The lack of a 'clear all filters' make it a little less user friendly too.  I do need the user to 'see' all the filters at once.

Does anyone have an example of an app using this many interactive filters? Or can suggest a different layout?

Experience Builder app.

Thanks, Hels

[ChristopherCounsell]

Honestly... it sounds like too much for a good 'experience'. Generally if I am starting to put too much data or functionality into one app, I'll try and break it into separate apps, and then link them together through a content page (hub) or embedded app (operations dashboards + several web map apps in pages).
So if you have some filters for exploring some properties e.g. crime and population, this could be its own page, and another for planning and population, could be another. Hard to say without additional context.

If you want users to be playing with a lot of data and asking questions, you'll be wanting to use 'ArcGIS Insights'. Instead of an experience or a story etc, it gives insights, meaning users can do their own location analytics and ask questions more freely. You can set up different cards - and filters - to help facilitate that

https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-insights/overview

[Anonymous User]

Thanks so much for replying, Magisian.  I will take a look at your suggestions! 

For more context - the app will be used very lightly by our staff.  Really just to locate points on a map and be able to access the information attached to each point.  For example, find a campsite in NSW that has water available and coach access.  Or find a 'venue' and show locations that require a PLB.  they really only need to search and filter and use a few widgets like co-ordinate conversion, elevation profile. So, I want to keep it as simple as possible, staff will be using this in the office but also out in the field, so load time and performance in internet poor locations is also a consideration.  We will get to analysising the data later on, compare it against our booking usage, incidents, GPS tracking etc.  But just for now, we want an easy tool to view the data we already have.

[ChristopherCounsell]

If it's for field staff, I'd make it even simpler. You'll want to use Field Maps to allow for offline.

If it's all in one point layer, but categorized, you could try:

• Splitting the points into new layers using Hosted Feature Layer views, from the categories e.g. 'venue' and 'campsite'. They don't sound like they need to be one layer.
• Of course you could do this with symbology, but it's easier for users to turn on/off layers and apply filters separately
• If some filter combinations are preset e.g. 'category = venue' + 'status = requires PLB', or 'category = campsite' + 'status = requires inspection', you could factor this into the View definitions, or just symbolize the layers this way (flag inspections as red, normal as green)
• Field Maps allows for very basic filtering. Just on text(?) fields at the moment, one value at a time. but users can apply themselves

I don't like going insane with hosted feature layer views, but making the UI super simple is very important.

You could also do the same with separate maps i.e. make NPWS park inspection map and a business inspection map. Users can flick between them

[Anonymous User]

Thanks Magisian.  I need to have a think about what your suggesting.

I would like to use field apps but have reseved that for state based apps which show more detailed topographical maps.  This way i think the data will load and cashe better than the national one our staff also need.

I have 5 layers currently the users can turn on and off, Locations, Venues adn the default ones. Not in use, Not bookable are ones that will be used less often.  And one more to overly on Locations layer to show which sites have a particular category.  I am using icons to show the primary categories, but each point can have multiple (hence the last overlay).  Some of the other filters also allow multiple, while other only one.

Our previous online app had this configuration (in the image) but i want to add a fair few more filter options.