Suggestion: Time-aware or time-enabled Map Series
Use Case:
- I have a Campus Major Construction Projects PDF layout. This is a useful supplement to web maps / apps, can be printed and handed out in the visitor center, and can be used in slide decks when combined with other data.
- We also have a time-aware construction project "fence" dataset which shows the position of fences every month / quarter. This highlights changes in an individual project fence geometry throughout a project's lifecycle, for example showing certain parts of the fence shrink and grow to cover different work. New project geometries appear as we move forward in time, and others go away as those projects are completed. The feature class has both stand and end dates.
- The goal with a time-aware map series would be to cycle each page through a date list, whether from a table, manual entry, or pre-baked list (monthly, yearly, whatever). Just like a spatial map series, the underlying map elements, legend, etc. remain unchanged (or dynamic as needed), but the time-aware layers are able to respond to the page "time" and show the correct geometry for that time stamp.
- In addition, there would be dynamic layout elements that can show the current time stamp for that page to show in titles or subtitles: "Major Construction - May 2025", "Major Construction - August 2025", etc.
I searched and couldn't find anything, so apologies if a duplicate! For doing this manually, I did find this one post which involves Activating the map in the Layout, changing the date in the Time ribbon.
