ArcGIS QuickCapture Blog - Page 4

The next update to ArcGIS QuickCapture is scheduled for release in early August 2021.  This article describes its highlights and how you can access the Beta builds to try everything out before the official release.

This article describes how you can configure voice control in your iOS device to work with ArcGIS QuickCapture.

Capture daily patrol records and identify hazards to mitigate, using QuickCapture and Survey123.

Learn what is new in our May 2021 update of ArcGIS QuickCapture.

With each ArcGIS Survey123 release, we assess the platforms we support and adjust these based on customer requirements and technology improvements. The purpose of this article is to provide as much advance notice as possible regarding these changes.

What is a link button?

A Link button allows you to open other mobile apps or web applications from ArcGIS QuickCapture app by specifying the target URL for the button. You can configure a link button to

• Open a website
• Open a PDF file that hosted online
• Open a dashboard from your device’s browser
• Launch Survey123 field app
• Launch other native apps on your device

In short, with the link button, you can use your QuickCapture project as a launchpad to open other apps.

Configure the URL for link button

First and foremost, you’ll need to add a link button to your QuickCapture project. To do this, simply drag the link button and drop it to the project preview in Designer. You will also note there’s a link icon on the top left that indicates this is a link button.

Configure link button to open a website/web app

The most basic idea is that you can use link button to launch any URL from QuickCapture, e.g., a website that provides support information for the end-users. 

Moreover, you can include dynamic content into the target URL and pass captured information from QuickCapture to the URL. For example, with the URL parameters, you can define the scale level and center the web map with the captured location, or you can enhance the dashboard app by adding URL parameters and the trigger actions.

In this case, you need to manually construct the link button URL and predefine values for the URL parameters. QuickCapture supports using fixed values, device variables, or a project user input variable to add to the constructed URL. In the steps below, I will configure the link button to open a dashboard app, but also add a URL parameter to have the dashboard always center the map based on user’s captured location when the link button is pressed from QuickCapture.

1. Create a dashboard app and configure a URL parameter (a geometry parameter named ‘point’) for it. Also, configure actions for the parameter, e.g. flash and zoom when the value of the parameter changes.
2. In QuickCapture Designer, select the link button and configure it to launch a URL.
3. Continue constructing the dashboard URL by adding the geometry parameter and assigning QuickCapture variables, i.e. ${longitude} and ${latitude} to this parameter. You can see that the QuickCapture variable is represented with a dollar sign and braces, this means the actual value of it will be automatically filled in by the QuickCapture app when this button is pressed.

Save the project and download it to your device. Press the Dashboard button in the project. Note that the dashboard app is centered at the current location and has a flashing effect that was previously configured in the dashboard app.

Configure link button to launch native apps

Link button can also be used to launch native apps on your device. You can launch communication apps for the end-users to send an email, a text message, or make a phone call to their supervisors. In this manner, the link button enables users to send instant feedback while they are still working in the field. Here are some examples of how you can construct the link (encoding the URL parameters is recommended) to open the messaging apps on your device.

• Email—mailto:quickcapture@esri.com?subject=Fix%20the%20pipe&body=We%20really%20need%20to%20fix%20the%20pipe
• SMS—sms:0291920995 (On Android, a message body can also be included: sms:0291920995?body=We%20really%20need%20to%20fix%20the%20pipe)
• Phone—tel:0291920995

Of course, you can also use the link buttons to launch Field Maps or Collector by providing the app link in the URL editor.

Link to Survey123 from QuickCapture

You can use link buttons to launch Survey123 field app from QuickCapture. In QuickCapture designer, we made the configuration/integration experience as easy as possible. If you want to link to a survey from QuickCapture, you don’t have to manually construct the Survey123 link or custom URL, QuickCapture Designer will do it for you. In Designer, you can not only configure a link button to launch Survey123 field app directly and link to an existing survey, but also add survey questions and pass dynamic content to this selected survey. Again, you can match a fixed value, a device variable, or a project user input variable to the survey question, and the actual value for these variables will be captured and replaced by QuickCapture app through the link button. Optionally, you can pass captured location in QuickCapture as the input for the geopoint question in the survey, and configure the experience to return to QuickCapture after a survey is successfully submitted.

Let’s use the Pipeline Patrol project to demonstrate how to use QuickCapture and Survey123 together to record daily pipeline patrols and document identified hazards. In the project, patrols that encounter no issues are usually recorded with the tap of the Patrol Complete button; If any hazards are identified, they can be captured with additional buttons; For hazards that require detailed reporting, you can launch Survey123  from QuickCapture to collect more information through the smart form in Survey123:

1. First, add the link button Valve Leak and set it to launch the Survey123 field app.
2. Select a survey you want to link to.
3. Select and add questions from the survey and pass predefined values to these questions. When configuring this, Designer is automatically constructing the Survey123 custom URL based on your selection made on the UI.
4. Toggle on the options to pass location to Survey123 and return to QuickCapture after the survey submission.

Save the project and download it to your device. From the video below, you can see the Survey123 field app is automatically opened when pressing the Valve Leak button from the project. You may also notice that the questions we configured from the Designer are already populated with the captured values now in Survey123. Once the survey is submitted, it will jump back to the QuickCapture app to continue data capture. This capability streamlines the field data collection workflow and optimizes different data capture scenarios. For rapid data collection, simply keep tapping the buttons in the QuickCapture project; For detailed data entry, use the link buttons to open Survey123 to add more information.

Let us know if you have any feedback or questions on this.

ArcGIS QuickCapture 1.8 is now available. It includes, great stability enhancements in the mobile app plus a handful of new features in designer.

ArcGIS QuickCapture is Esri's rapid field data collection mobile app. If you are not familiar with QuickCapture, have a look at this short video:

We just updated ArcGIS QuickCapture across all supported platforms. The new build number is 1.7. With this new release, you can build much more powerful field data collection mobile apps, while keeping the end-user experience as simple as the single tap of a button. This video gives summarizes the highlights of this release:

Bigger buttons, of course.

With this update, you can configure your QuickCapture apps with bigger buttons. This is useful when authoring projects for large tablets, with very few or even a single button.  Larger buttons help you take full advantage of the available screen real estate on the device, facilitating data capture. 

Enhanced Project User Inputs (Define lists from designer)

When configuring your QuickCapture app, you can define a Project User Input. A Project User Input presents a dialog  where information can be entered, prior to start capturing data. This information can then be used to automatically populate attributes of collected data. For example, say you are building a Pavement Condition QuickCapture app. You may want to configure a Project User Input for field crews to enter a charge code number or the ID of the field crew.  That charge code or field crew ID can then be automatically added as an attribute to every feature collected. Checkhttps://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-quickcapture/blog/2019/10/06/understanding-user-inputs-i... for more details on Project User Inputs.

Up until this release, you could only create free text Project User Inputs. That is, a dialog with either a single line or a multi line text input control.  Starting with version 1.7, you can also present a list with well defined values.  Using lists makes sense when you want to limit entries to a well known collection of choices. It is easier for users to pick an option than having to type.

The animation below shows you can now create a Project User Input and define a list of values for it.

Once you have your project input dialog defined, just as before, you can choose which buttons will make use of that value.

Enhanced Project User Inputs (Remember previous entries)

To facilitate quick data entry from end users, the QuickCapture mobile app now remembers previous Project User Input entries. In the animation on the side, for example, the Police Officer Reporter app presents a dialog for end users to enter the ID of the person that will collect data. Note that the dialog presents two options in a list right below the text input control. The end user can either enter a new ID, or tap on any of the previously entered IDs.

The QuickCapture mobile app will list the three last entries. The idea listing previous entries is to accelerate data capture and reduce errors when entering this information.

Locked Groups

QuickCapture buttons can be logically organized in groups.  Groups help end users navigate across QuickCapture apps that include many buttons.

By default, groups can be collapsed and expanded by end users.With this update, the QuickCapture app author can decide to hide the handle to collapse and expand a group. This is useful when you want to make sure a set of buttons will always be visible to users.  You can control the group properties from QuickCapture designer.

Link buttons (launching any URL)

Link buttons allow you to open other mobile or web apps right from within ArcGIS QuickCapture. For example, you may want to configure a button to open a live dashboard in a web browser, a PDF file or launch a Survey123 smart form.  With link buttons you can convert your QuickCapture project into a launchpad for other applications.

The animation below shows how you can add a new link button into a QuickCapture app, to launch a website.

You can include dynamic content in your target URL. For example, you may want to add custom URL parameters to center a Web AppBuilder application at the user's location, or pass a filter into an ArcGIS Dashboard. For more information about URL parameters in ArcGIS Dashboards and Web AppBuilder, check the following links:

• URL parameters—ArcGIS Dashboards | Documentation 
• Use URL parameters—ArcGIS Web AppBuilder | Documentation

In the animation below, we are passing the current latitude and longitude of the user when the link button is pushed. Note that dynamic content in the URL can be populated from device variables as well as from the Project User Input.

You can really launch any URL from a link button. This includes URLs to launch mobile apps.  For example, using app link syntax you can launch Survey123, Tracker, Collector, Navigator and even third party apps. Here are some links to help you better understand how to build URLs to launch other apps:

• Open Tracker from a link
• Open Survey123 from a link
• Open Collector from a link
• Open Navigator from a link
• Open Waze from a link

Link buttons (launching Survey123)

If you want to launch a Survey123 smart form from QuickCapture, you do not need to figure out how to build the custom URL link yourself. We have added a streamlined user experience so you can more easily launch Survey123 forms and pass parameters to them.

You can select a survey and what dynamic data you want to pass into it.

Once you configure a link button in this manner, Survey123 will be automatically invoked when you press the QuickCapture button.

With link buttons, you can now model much more sophisticated data collection workflows. You can for example configure a few buttons to capture quick field observations and a button to launch Survey123 to do more involved reporting.

More device variables

Device variables in QuickCapture allow you to automatically populate attributes in the GIS features you collect. Device variables let you capture for example the exact time when a button is pushed, the speed and direction of travel, or the horizontal accuracy of your GPS.  The complete list of device variables is available in the Configure a project—ArcGIS QuickCapture | Documentation help topic.  In this release, we are adding the following new variables:

• Photo: Lat, Lon, Heading
• Travel: Cardinal direction
• Location: DMS, DDM, USNG, MGRS
• Device Info: App Version and Device Operating System
• Length and Area

EXIF metadata

Starting with version 1.7 of QuickCapture, all photos taken from the mobile app will include EXIF metadata.

INTRODUCING SITESCAN

In the UC session: ArcGIS QuickCapture: An Introduction and What's New we briefly mentioned the integration between QuickCapture and Site Scan for ArcGIS - Flight Planning. The purpose of this blog is to bring you to speed with this, and tell you how you can start testing.

First of all, a bit of background on Site Scan for ArcGIS. This Esri app is used to allow drone pilots to easily collect accurate, high-resolution maps, and 3D models. It helps at the planning stage by providing access to basemaps, flight plans, overlays, and previously captured orthomosaics, and offers a variety of flight modes tailored to the type of site being scanned. Once planning is complete, the app is able to automatically conduct aircraft checks and then execute the flight. Finally, captured imagery is wirelessly transferred from the drone to an iPad, ready for upload to Site Scan Manager for processing in the cloud.

Note that the Site Scan for ArcGIS App will only run on iOS tablets and there are two versions available:

- Site Scan for ArcGIS

- Site Scan for ArcGIS - LE (Limited Edition) A simplified version of the app, built for ArcGIS Drone2Map users. 

To find out more (as well as a list of supported drone models), please see the following Q and A.

QUICKCAPTURE INTEGRATION

The integration between ArcGIS QuickCapture and Site Scan for ArcGIS is pretty simple. The Site Scan app provides a position source to QuickCapture, meaning that instead of using the GPS of the phone, QuickCapture uses the location of the drone. The intended workflow is that operators use two tablets; one running Site Scan; and the other running QuickCapture. Site Scan is used to guide the drone (and provide a video output) and QuickCapture is used to capture records and upload them to ArcGIS.

This offers support for a number of interesting workflows. For example, you could:

• Tap a button in QuickCapture as the drone flys over a building to record its location and status (e.g. damaged, partially damaged, etc)
• Use the drone to fly the perimeter of an oil spill, with QuickCapture capturing polygons to record changing extents.
• Record a polyline representing the flight path to illustrate which areas have been searched.

The benefit of such workflows is that information coming from the drone can be pushed straight into ArcGIS, without waiting for the drone to land.  Web maps and dashboards can, therefore, be fed with near real-time spatial information.

GETTING STARTED

If you don't have a drone to test, don't worry. Both versions of the Site Scan app offer a drone simulation option.

The workflow is designed for both apps to be run on different devices on the same network (so they can communicate with each other). The Site Scan app doesn't work in background mode, so you can't reliably run both apps on the same device unless you use the using multitasking feature on iPad (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207582). The QuickCapture app can run over the SiteScan app and you can control the drone and record the data at the same time. However: We don't recommend that one person fly the drone and simultaneously use QuickCapture for safety reasons.

To get started, some configuration of both Site Scan and QuickCapture is required:

Site Scan

• On your iOS tablet, go to Apple's App Store and search for and download Site Scan for ArcGIS – LE
• Open the app and allow the app to use Bluetooth (when promoted).
• Accept the default option of https://www.arcgis.com as the portal URL
• Tap the Sign in to Site Scan Limited Edition and Enter your ArcGIS username and password

• Click next (and accept all the permissions requests) until you reach the Create New Project page
• Tap the option to Create New Project and give the project a name, and tap Save Project

• Go to Settings (the gear icon in the top right corner)
• Tap User Account and enable Beta mode
• Go back and tap Share Location and then enable Share Location
• Take a note of the Location Provider Hostname and Port (e.g.192.168.2.22:2947) and close settings. 

• Select your drone in the dropdown, or select Simulation

• From the options in the page, choose Area Survey (or an alternative)
• Enter Flight Name and center the map on the location of the drone and tap Next=>
• Define your survey area boundary by dragging and resizing the polygon.
• Tap Fly=> and then swipe the arrow to start the drone flying!

QuickCapture

• Download and open the ArcGIS QuickCapture app
• Sign in using your ArcGIS account (or use the Continue without signing in option)
• Go to settings (press the gear) and tap Settings
• Tap Provider and then choose ADD Provider Via Network
• Enter the Hostname and Port taken from Site Scan and tap ADD - QuickCapture should now receive location updates from Site Scan

• Open a project and then the map – you should see the map centered on the location of the drone
• Start capturing point, line, or polygon features by tapping the appropriate project buttons as you go.

That is it. Take a look at the following for an example, and of course test it out yourself.

If you have any questions or feedback on this, please share them through the Early adopters' program: Welcome to our Customer Validation site. 

So many questions came today through UC Live about QuickCapture that we through we would share the most common questions, and the answers of course! We will be adding more content throughout the week in here.

If you want to join the team at the ArcGIS QuickCapture Virtual Showcase, do not hesitate as we will be there for you.

Will I be able to watch the QuickCapture Tech Session once the UC is over? Most sessions will be available for registered attendees until September and then most sessions will be shared publicly. There is no guarantee that this particular QuickCapture session will be shared. Use the session feedback survey or the Survey123 daily survey to request that this particular session is shared.

Can ArcGIS QuickCapture work while disconnected from the network? Yes!. In short: Once a QuickCapture project has been downloaded into your device, you can use it while offline. All captured data will remain in your device and once you get back online again, it will be sent to ArcGIS. There is nothing special you need to do to get this going, other than simply downloading your project into your device. You can optionally configure your QuickCapture project with offline maps. Check https://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-quickcapture/blog/2020/04/14/configuring-a-map-in-your-a... for details.

What mobile platforms are supported? Android, iOS and Windows. You can download the mobile app from the corresponding app stores or from our download page. Details about the operating system versions supported can be found at Requirements—QuickCapture | Documentation 

For ArcGIS QuickCapture to work, your must configure your device to allow QuickCapture to access your location.

Does ArcGIS QuickCapture work with an ArcGIS Enterprise portal?  Yes, as long as the version of your portal is 10.7.1 or newer. Your data can configure it against a multi-user enterprise geodatabase or the ArcGIS Data Store.

If you have an older version of ArcGIS Server, or do not have a portal installed, you can register your ArcGIS Server feature services as items in ArcGIS Online and have your QuickCapture projects work against them. In this hybrid approach, your data lives in ArcGIS Server, but end users will be authenticated against your ArcGIS Online organization.

Can I use non-hosted feature layers with QuickCapture?  Yes, you can target a layer from a multi-user geodatabase with ArcGIS QuickCapture. However, you must make sure the feature layer resides in an ArcGIS Server instance that is federated with your portal.

Can I capture lines and polygons?  Yes. And you can capture multiple lines and polygons as the same time too.

When I capture a polygon, how is the polygon closed?  The polygon starts when you activate the button. As long as the button flashes, we capture vertices. When the button is tapped again, then the last vertex is used to close the polygon.

Can I have QuickCapture populate multiple attributes? Yes. When you configure buttons in QuickCapture designer, you can decide what exact values should go into each attribute.

Can I allow users to enter comments after an observation is made? Yes. You do that with user inputs as described here: https://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-quickcapture/blog/2019/10/06/understanding-user-inputs-i... 

If I have multiple people capturing data with QuickCapture, how can I tell who created which feature? You will use editor tracking for this, which is enabled by default. When someone creates a feature, by default the Creator field is automatically populated with the username of the person that submitted the record.

Does QuickCapture work with external GNSS receivers? Yes. You can choose to connect your QuickCapture app to an external GNSS receiver to improve the location accuracy of your data and associate location quality GNSS metadata with your records. The list of supported GNSS receivers is available at Use a high-accuracy receiver—QuickCapture | Documentation If the particular receiver you want to use is not supported yet, feel free to propose support for it throughArcGIS Ideas.

Can I configure QuickCapture to collect information about horizontal accuracy? Yes. You can in fact configure it to capture horizontal and vertical accuracy as well as the name of your external GNSS receiver and many other GNSS metadata. For details, check the Configure a project—ArcGIS QuickCapture | Documentation help topic.

What type of ArcGIS account I need to use ArcGIS QuickCapture? It depends. If you want to create new QuickCapture projects, you will need a Creator (or GIS Professional) user type with privileges to create new content. If you simply want to use the mobile app to collect data, you will need a Field Worker (or Creator, or GIS Professional) user type with privileges to add records into feature layers. Alternatively, the mobile app can also be used with an Editor user type, as long as you buy an add-on license for the QuickCapture mobile app.

Please note that Free ArcGIS Public Accounts are not supported with ArcGIS QuickCapture.

Can I use ArcGIS QuickCapture without an ArcGIS account? Yes, as long as you share your QuickCapture project publicly. For example, to support the Esri Run/Walk event this year, we created a public QuickCapture project so anyone can download the app and map their routes. To learn more, visit: Esri UC Virtual Run/Walk 2020 

Sharing QuickCapture projects publicly requires an ArcGIS Hub Premium license. If you want to learn more check out this blog: https://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-quickcapture/blog/2019/12/16/crowdsourcing-with-quickcap... 

Can I bring up a window after a button is pushed so the end user can add some extra information? Yes. This is done through User Input windows, which you can configure to capture free text, numeric values or a selection from a list. To learn more about configuring User Inputs, check our https://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-quickcapture/blog/2019/10/06/understanding-user-inputs-i... blog post.

Can I capture a point observation while a line button is active? Yes. You can in fact capture multiple lines at the same time and while they are active, you can capture additional points.  This is known as nested field data capture. Say for example you want to map the condition of pedestrian trails within a park as well as park furniture. You can activate the Trail in Good Condition button to capture a line as you walk, and capture benches and other park furniture as you go.

Is it possible for an end-user to create new buttons on the fly? No. Only the author of the QuickCapture project can create and organize data capture buttons. If you want to accommodate your project to the possibility of new feature category types, I would consider adding a new button for a generic 'Other' category. You can use a User Input to let end users type some free text to describe the new category. You can later look at entries in the category 'Other' and decide if more buttons should be added to the project.

Can multiple feature layers be added to a QuickCapture project? Yes. You can combine layers of different geometry types for example. You can also have a mix of layers coming from ArcGIS Online and Enterprise if you like. You can also build multiple QuickCapture projects on top of a single feature layer, and even build Survey123 and Collector projects against the same layers you are using with QuickCapture.

I am a University professor and want to cover field data collection tools. Should I teach QuickCapture, Survey123 or Collector? I would say that an important lesson for your students is to learn that not one single tool is going to serve all possible field data collection workflows. The three apps you mention are all about capturing georeferenced data in the field: they all let you capture points, lines and polygons; they all can be combined with external GNSS receivers, they all let you capture photos, etc. Now, the way they let you capture data is radically different. Choosing the right user experience to meet the way field users work is critical for success.

• QuickCapture is ideal for rapid and at-speed data collection workflows. It delivers a minimalist user experience where end users can capture observations with minimum distraction and with minimum training. Think aerial patrols, quick reporting of issues and violations, at-speed road asset inventories, etc.
• Survey123 delivers a form-centric approach to data capture. This is for use cases where you need people to spend a bit more time completing a form to capture multiple aspects of something. Think routine asset inspections, formal damage assessments, documenting code violations, etc.  If people are used to do their work completing a paper form... chances are you in front of a candidate for Survey123.
• Collector is great when you want the data capture experience driven from a map. This is the way to go when working with multiple GIS layers is needed to provide context to your own editing workflows, or where you want to map assets across multiple layers of a map.

In practice, you will find some workflows where any of the options above could do the job. There are other use cases where one app will be the a best fit.  Choosing wisely between the different options often comes after full understanding of the pros and cons of each in relation to your specific workflow. Your seasoned students will be able to make the right call with experience.  Finally, in some cases it makes sense to combine apps as well.

Can I use QuickCapture to update existing features? No. With QuickCapture you can only submit new records. Survey123 and Collector would be a better fit.

Can I have QuickCapture add a related record to an existing feature? In my scenario, I want to use QuickCapture for a quick inspection and have that inspection record (Pass/Failed) be associated with an asset.  You could automatically add the inspection Pass/Fail information as a related record to the asset closest to the location where the inspection was done. This can be done with webhooks as described here: https://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-quickcapture/blog/2020/06/04/data-enrichment-with-arcgis... 

User in field has a need to collect 4 to 5 attributes such as 1. missing structure in map, 2. storm MH, 3. 7 hole cover.  How many buttons would i need for him to collect this correctly if the next set is 1.missing structure in field, Storm CB MH, 3. vein grate cover?  What is the workflow? You should be using Survey123.

Will I lose data I already collected when updating the app? No.

Can you provide instructions to test ArcGIS QuickCapture with Site Scan? Working on it. Stay tuned as we will have something for you shortly. Here is more info: https://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-quickcapture/blog/2020/07/14/site-scan-for-arcgis-integr... 

A few recurring ideas that would make a good entry in ArcGIS Ideas:

• Can I capture multiple photos at a given location? This would make a good GeoNet Idea.
• Can I configure a user input to trigger barcode scanning? This would make a good GeoNet Idea.
• Can you launch a Survey123 form from QuickCapture? Coming up soon.