3D mode for Story Map not loading properly

[LaurenLederle]

Hello, we are using the new 3D mode in a Story Map using the Explorer Map Tour and about 50% of the time the map stops loading at a global view around the prime meridian instead of completely loading the map to the extent of the features. Our map extent is Texas, but we like the effect of the global 3D view and would like to use that versus 2D. I wasn't sure if this was a bug in the system or a factor of the viewer's internet speed when viewing the map and loading the content. I've had multiple colleagues test the map and encounter the issue roughly 50% of the time when opening the Story Map. Thanks for any insight into this issue.

[OwenGeo]

Hi @LaurenLederle -- I apologize that you are seeing issues with the 3D tour. Do you have a link that you can share of a story where this is happening so we can look into it?

Please make sure the story is shared with Everyone. If you are unable to share your story publicly, please contact Esri Support and they will be able to assist you.

[LaurenLederle]

@OwenGeo It is still a draft Story Map, but I made it public here. We were reviewing it on a team call of 5 earlier today and 3 of the 5 saw it stop at the global extent around the prime meridian when they first opened it on their computers, but then they refreshed the page and it loaded the extent of the features in Texas. When I demoed it first by sharing my screen, it loaded fine and then I opened it again and I only saw the global extent. That's why I say it's roughly 50% of the time and I've noticed this issue as I was working on the Story Map over several days. Right now there are 2 map tours in this story (since I can't do different colored pins in the same tour) and I made the second one 3D mode to share with the team for feedback and folks like that view more than 2D.

[OwenGeo]

@LaurenLederle Thank you for sharing the story. I tested your story in all browsers and didn't see anything unexpected when loading your story. However, I think I know what might be going on........it seems like you might be have some very eager or impatient readers on your team. 🙂

I say that because if I simply let the tour load, it zooms in to your tour points as expected every time. But, if I click on the globe while it's loading, I see what you are describing. The globe stays at the world extent because it has detected interaction and thinks the reader wants to control the location so it doesn't zoom to the tour extent. Please ask your colleagues to wait for the tour to load.

We will also look into this to see if we can disable clicks on the scene while it's loading. Since there were a few people that reported this it may not be an unusual behavior for readers.

Please let me know if this explains what your team has observed.

[LaurenLederle]

@OwenGeo very interesting. I can't say for sure that is what we were doing, but I will note it and ask my colleagues to try loading it a few times to see if they observe the problem, without the clicking the map while it's loading. If we continue to notice the issue I will reply and let you know. Thank you for testing this for us!

Lauren

[LaurenLederle]

Hi @OwenGeo, I wanted to follow up on this report and add that I am still experiencing this issue intermittently and in a different behavior. The map link above is still accessible publicly. I am careful not to click before the 3D tour loads, but if I scroll from the first map tour down to the second map tour and then back to the first, I've noticed the first tour regularly starts to reload and stops at that same view of the world extent. I've also noticed it happening to the second tour if I scroll from the end to the beginning and back to the end. I don't know how often readers would revisit the earlier section, but I think the maps should load whenever a reader scrolls to that section, and I can promise I haven't clicked anything on the page since becoming aware of that issue. Thanks!

Lauren

[OwenGeo · Accepted solution]

Hi @LaurenLederle -- I can reproduce this issue you describe. I believe what is happening is since the tours are very close in the story, they are both staying loaded and that's causing the tour to stall. There is logic in the story that controls how/when content loads in order to balance performance and memory issues, but sometimes specific arrangements of content and/or quickly scrolling up/down between "heavy" pieces of content (like 3D maps) can lead to issues.

Is it possible to try to add some more content between the tours? Perhaps an image or some additional text? Separating the tours with a bit more vertical space may help. Let me know if this works.

[LaurenLederle]

Thank you @OwenGeo for looking into this and providing additional insight into the way the Story Maps operate with particular content. I will talk to our team and see if there is more we can add. It's still in development as we finalize details like this. I appreciate the help!

Lauren