Time Sliders in StoryMaps

[Anonymous User]

When adding a feature layer to a web map that has time-enabled fields, it shows a time filter slider. However, when putting said web map into a StoryMaps item, a couple of things happens:

1. There time filter slider disappears.

2. The layer is no longer filtered by time period and shows observations in all time periods.

Could we get time filter sliders into StoryMaps for time-enable data?

[OwenGeo]

Michael -- You can do this already by creating an app using the Time Aware template, and then embedding that app in your story. Can you give this a try and let us know if this meets your needs? If not, what additional features would be helpful inside the story builder?

[NorthSouthGIS]

Hi Owen, 

For us this is not a suitable solution because the Time Aware app is very limited. The user is not able to do things like hide the legend (so half of the map is covered or there is no legend - no in between), retain the benefits of embedding a web map directly in a story map (like building map actions, opening a pop up by default, etc.), and the time aware app does not have the same level of configuration detail as in a web map (I want to show the time slider as I have configured it in the web map, but find that the Time Aware app does not allow this). 

Some additional features inside a story map that would be useful:

• Show a time slider that honors the configuration set in the web map. For example:
  • Auto play
  • Playback speed
  • Start and End Time
  • Etc.
• Customize the color or theme of the time slider
• Set the data format for the time slider

I went to an awful lot of trouble to display time-enabled data in my web map just to learn it cannot be displayed in the story map in the way expected. For now I will try to use a Time Aware app, adding a screenshot of the legend to my story next to this embedded app, so as to not cover my entire map, but give users the access to view the legend. I will have to think of some other creative solutions to get it to look the way we need.

[OwenGeo]

A simple time animation widget was added to ArcGIS StoryMaps back in September 2021. For more information, see What’s new in ArcGIS StoryMaps (September 2021) (esri.com)

For anyone who has upvoted this idea, we would be interested in knowing if this widget meets your need for readers to interact with time-enabled layers in your stories, or if you would still like a full-featured time slider widget (like the one in the Time Aware template, mentioned above).

[AnninaHirschiWyss]

Hi @OwenGeo 

The possibility to speed up and to have the option to manually move the slider (as it is the case in the MapViewer or it used to be in the old story map templates). People want to interact with the data move forth and back to explore... 

But in the mean time, I'll give a try with embedding the time-aware app. Thanks for this workaround.