Chernobyl Remembrance Day Release (2.0)

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04-26-2017 05:14 PM
IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor
19 24 5,947

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, 26 April 1986 - A routine 20-second shut down of the system seemed to be another test of the electrical equipment. But seven seconds later, a surge created a chemical explosion that released nearly 520 dangerous radionuclides into the atmosphere. According to official reports, thirty-one people died immediately and 600,000 of those involved in fire-fighting and clean-up operations, were exposed to high doses of radiation. Based on the official reports, nearly 8,400,000 people in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were exposed to the radiation. Nearly 404,000 people were resettled, but millions continued to live in an environment where continued residual exposure created a range of adverse effects.

April 26th has been declared by the United Nations as the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. With 26th of April as the only coincidence, today we release version 2.0 of Survey123. A release with new functionality, enhancements and fixes. Here is, in a nutshell, what is new:

Enhanced Web Designer

(survey123.arcgis.com)

 

The easiest way to get started with Survey123 for ArcGIS is through the Web Designer. While it does not feature all the smart form capabilities supported by Survey123 Connect for ArcGIS, Web Designer offers plenty of functionality to author powerful forms for data collection, and it is certainly a favorite among many of you.

Change surveys once they have been published

With this update, you can add, delete, or update existing questions in surveys, even after people have submitted data.  While it is not ideal to update surveys once they have been published and shared, we all make mistakes, so this option is quite handy.  In fact you can now modify anything in a survey from questions, to options in lists, labels, hints, defaults and user input constraints.  Previously captured data in your feature service will not be lost.

To avoid any glitches while taking advantage of new features in survey123.arcgis.com, remember to clear your browser cache.

Rating question

The new Rating question is best shown in action:

Not only you can control the number of ticks in the Rating question, but you can also switch between a more visual appearance with icons versus a textual appearance.

Technically, the Rating question is modeled in XLSForms as a select_one type of question with a likert appearance.

 

Added Support for Integrated Windows Authentication

(Survey123 Connect and Survey123 field app)

 

Starting with version 2.0, you can use both the field app (to capture data) as well as Survey123 Connect (to publish new surveys) against an instance of Portal for ArcGIS configured with an IWA-enabled Web Adaptor. Details about this configuration can be found in the Use Integrated Windows Authentication with your portal help topic 

What is best of all is that if you’re using Connect or the field app from a Windows operating system, you will benefit from a SSO (Single Sign On) experience.  All you need to do is add a new Portal connection to Survey123 using the URL of your ArcGIS Web Adaptor. Then, provide your Windows credentials once and from that point on, you will be automatically signed-in, even in Survey123 Connect.

The build number for Survey123 Connect v2.0 is 2.0.35. It is available in our Download Page.

Enhancements to the Survey123 field app

 

In every release, we try to make the field data capture experience better and better. The Survey123 field app in this update includes many new features and fixes.

Collapsible Groups

Groups are a great way to split long surveys into sections. With version 2.0 Groups can be easily expanded and collapsed by the field user with a simple tap, making the data capture process more efficient.   Also with this update, you can apply the compact appearance to your Groups in XLForms, forcing Groups to appear collapsed by default.

This short video-tutorial describes Groups in Survey123 in more detail.

Survey download page

You can now easily sort the list of surveys in the Download page. This is very handy when many surveys have been shared with your account. I particularly like to sort by time, because that moves recently updated surveys to the top of the list, but you can also sort surveys alphabetically.  The search box in the download page also allows you to filter the list of surveys. 

The survey Download page will now list public surveys, if they were published to your own ArcGIS organization. Generally, public surveys are open using a custom URL Scheme link which will automatically download and open a Public Survey in your device, but having the ability to also download them while signed-in is useful for the survey author.

 

Folders

The Survey123 field app uses the Draft, Outbox and Sent folders to better organize surveys with responses:

  • Incomplete surveys are saved in the Draft folder.
  • Any survey ready to be submitted will be kept in the Outbox folder if disconnected from the network. 
  • Lastly, surveys already submitted are kept locally in the Sent folder in case they might be needed in the future.

                                                                                                                                     

Starting with version 2.0, surveys can be sorted within each of these folders alphabetically and by time. You can also filter surveys from the list using the Search box.  The Search works against the label of your survey (instance_name) as well as against any response within the survey.

You can learn more about controlling the survey label shown in folders through the instance_name setting through this video tutorial, help topic or this blog post.

The traditional folder list view is now complemented with a map view. This is quite handy, because field users can now use a map to determine where they have previously submitted surveys, or locate surveys in the map that are still in draft mode.  Surveys can be easily opened from the map view too.

The following video describes in more detail what the Sort & Search and Map additions mean to the Sent Folder.


Getting Service Information Fix

Last but not least for the Survey123 field app! Some of you reported that the Survey123 field app would hang right after attempting to submit a survey showing a ‘Getting Service Information’ dialog. Well, this was caused by expired ArcGIS security tokens. This problem should be now gone.

 

You can download version 2.0 of the Survey123 field app from the Google Play, iTunes and Amazon app stores. If you would like to run Survey123 in Windows, Mac or Ubuntu Linux, you can access the setups from our Download Page. 

Added support for editing survey responses

(Survey123 field app)

 

Starting with version 2.0, you can use the Survey123 field app to update existing features in a feature service. This has been a popular request in ideas.arcgis.com so we are very happy to have this new capability available to all of you.

Correcting previously submitted surveys:

In its simplest form, editing survey responses means that field users can now correct or update surveys previously submitted from their device. In the Survey123 field app, every submitted survey is kept in the Sent folder.  When opening a survey from the Sent folder, users can now choose if they wish to update that existing survey, or alternatively create a copy of it to create a new record.  This short video illustrates the workflow.


The ability to correct previously submitted responses using the Sent folder will be available to any user running version 2.0 (or newer) of the Survey123 field app. This functionality will work with surveys that were published with version 1.x as long as the underlying Feature Service has Update capabilities enabled (which is typically the case).

 

Introducing the Inbox

Editing existing features with Survey123 is even more interesting when a survey is configured with an Inbox. The Inbox is a new concept in Survey123, but the idea is similar to how the Inbox works in e-mail clients.  The Inbox is meant to be populated with incoming surveys that can be used later in the Survey123 app to look at or update information.

This video quickly illustrates how the Inbox works:

The Inbox concept is quite simple for field users to understand. For survey owners, the Inbox can also be very powerful if used creatively. For example, a query can be applied to the Inbox so field users will only fetch features that meet a specific condition.  Say for example that the Inbox is configured to only fetch features where INSPECTION-STATUS=’Pending.  This will ensure that any new pending inspection is available to field users through the Inbox. Another example could be: LASTINSPECTION  > '2017-01-01 00:00:00'

I believe that with the Inbox as is in 2.0, many of you will benefit greatly. However, you should be aware of several known limitations, which we have in our future development to-do list:

  • The Inbox as of 2.0 does not work with surveys that contain repeats.
  • The Inbox does not work against Portal for ArcGIS feature services using a combination of uppercase and lowercase characters in their field names.
  • The number of surveys in the Inbox will be limited by the maximum record count setting of your feature service (which typically is set to 1000 records unless you change it as described in this KB article)
  • Questions in your survey flagged as read-only or hidden will not be populated  with data in the Inbox.
  • Attachments (photos and signatures) will not be populated in the Inbox.

More languages

 

With version 2.0, we have completed localization of the survey123.arcgis.com web site for all languages supported with ArcGIS. We were missing Hebrew, Arabic and Hindi, and now we support them all!

The Survey123 field app now supports Hindi, Bosnian and Indonesian.

You will also notice that the documentation has been translated.  A new language menu present in the top-right corner of the help pages will let you change the language.

Specifically on Windows (Russian, Japanese and Spanish) operating systems, we have observed garbled text in some buttons in Survey123 Connect. This issue is under investigation and we will fix as soon as possible in a future update.

 

Survey123 for Developers

 

The source code of the Survey123 field app is available to developers through AppStudio for ArcGIS. The source code in AppStudio has been updated to version 2.0.

What happened to the Beta Program?

 

Much of the work above could have never been possible without the continuous feedback that many of you have provided through the Survey123 for ArcGIS Beta Program. Through the Beta Program you can access early copies of Survey123 and try features that are still in development.  Our Beta Program remains open so we can share with you progress towards the 2.1 release, which is scheduled for late May 2017.

Survey123 Beta cannot run side by side with released versions of the software. Please uninstall Beta versions before trying 2.0!

There are several features that did not quite make it into 2.0, but you will soon see some progress through the Beta.

  • Survey Pages: A very rough implementation is available right now in 2.0. This functionality will be refined through the Beta program.
  • Better Web Forms: Our goal is to be able to display surveys authored in Connect within a web browser. A rough implementation also available right now in 2.0, but more work is required before we call this done!
  • Support for ArcGIS Server Federated Services: This is our very next task in the development to-do list.
  • Multi-factor authentication (PKI) support.
  • Setup for on-premises deployments of the Survey123 web site and its REST API.

If you would like to try the above features, I encourage you to join and monitor the Beta Program.  I estimate our next update to the Beta Program will come around May 15, 2017.

24 Comments
TL2
by
Occasional Contributor III

Thanks for getting the code to AppStudio so quick! 

Also, 2.0 seems to have fixed Bug BUG-000103903....THANKS!

JimW
by
Occasional Contributor II

With Collapsible Groups, I don't see the compact choice in the appearance column drop-down for an existing survey.

I do see compact as a choice in the appearance column when I create a brand new survey.

Is the compact appearance for groups supported for exiting surveys?  Thanks!

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Jim,

Because the compact appearance was introduced for groups with 2.0, it was not previously in the Excel template sheet.  You can easily add it to previous surveys by manually updating the Excel file:

1) Go to the types worksheet

2) Go to the Appearance list (should be lines 35-46 or so, may vary by a few rows depending on when the survey was originally made)

3) In the middle of the list, insert a new row (being in the middle ensures that the dropdown box lookup will include the new row).

4) In column A, enter the word "compact".  If desired, fill in Column B with a bit of information about the appearance

You should now see it in the dropdown list.  If you want the 'minimal compact' option for repeats, add it as above.

JimW
by
Occasional Contributor II

That was easy!  Thanks for the quick reply.

FranciscoAndrade1
Occasional Contributor

Is there an estimated date for the Survey Pages?

IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor

Hi Francisco. This video illustrates how pages work in version 2.0: Survey123 for ArcGIS - Enabling Pages in your Survey - YouTube   In our Beta Program pages you will also find sample XLSForms and more details.  We received a lot of great feedback during our Beta program in regards to how pages should behave. As of 2.0, we were not able to implement all the changes suggested but it is in our backlog for 2.2, which we are planning to release tentatively in late June or July. We will make available the next iterations of pages through the Beta program.

FranciscoAndrade1
Occasional Contributor

Thank you for the information Ismael. I can't wait June or July. This enhancement to Survey123 will help me with an energy assessment survey I am working on.

PeterTimmers
Occasional Contributor III

Great new update.  Love the inbox feature.   Going to be thinking about all the ways we could use the inbox for a while.  Hydrant inspections!  Might not need to use a separate web app to trigger surveys any more.

What about only allowing field workers to use the Inbox?  Only allow editing and not addition of surveys?

Is there any doco on what is possible in the Where expression?  A little experimentation with date queries has not been successful.

AndresDao_Martinez
New Contributor II

Hello!!, 

I have one question!!, i need to create a multiple choice question from a Csv Pull data!

Is that possible ?? and if the answer is yes, how can be done? 

Regards! 

IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor

Hi Peter:

  • Disabling Collect: Great suggestion. I will add to the back-log. Not possible at the moment.
  • Where expressions: Here is an example with dates: ws_advisory_start_date  > '2009-01-01 00:00:00'   You can technically use any WHERE expression supported by the underlying feature service.
CarlHolt1
Occasional Contributor III

Will the:

With this update, you can add, delete, or update existing questions in surveys, even after people have submitted data. 

be expanded to surveys configured via Survey123 Connect?

BrittneyGibbons1
Occasional Contributor

Looking forward to using the Inbox feature! Is it possible to use a custom tile package with the Inbox map? Thanks so much!

JoeFlannery
Occasional Contributor III

I have the same question.

IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor

Carl Holt‌  Joe Flannery

Connect is more restrictive in terms of overwriting surveys. This table articulates what type of things you can change in a published survey without losing data:

Web DesignerConnect
Reorder questionsYESYES
Delete questionsYESYES
Update Labels in QuestionsYESYES
Update Labels in GroupsNAYES
Add, Update or Delete choices in listsYESYES
Update Constraints, Defaults,  Hints, requiredYESYES
Update Calculations, Choice_FiltersNAYES
Delete questions or repeatsYESYES
Change question typesNONO
Add new questionsYESNO
Add repeatsNANO
Add new notesNAYES
Update Repeat NameNANO
Add GroupsNAYES

The key is adding new questions...  it is technically possible to handle this from Connect. Currently in backlog.

BrittneyGibbons
New Contributor III

Another question for you - I love the Inbox and the ability to edit sent forms. But it appears that it is not possible to update attachments when editing a form and attachments that are added to forms from the inbox are not uploading. Will support for this capability be enabled soon? Thanks so much!

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Brittney

Currently, the Inbox map view doesn't support TPKs.  Currently, attachments are not supported in the editing process; we have an issue to address that but I don't want to promise a specific timeline. 

BrittneyGibbons1
Occasional Contributor

Thank you for the response! I hope that attachments will be supported in the editing process soon. The Inbox has been really helpful for making sure that all required inspections are completed, but there are times that we need to have attachments enabled on these forms. I will keep an eye out for the update that supports this capability and will modify our workflow for the time being. 

ArshaYuditha_Amiranti
Occasional Contributor

Greetings from me!

I have tried to update the survey questions to my existing survey and tried to publish it. But the warning box showed up saying my collected data will deleted if I continue to publish. Fortunately it's just a trial data. So do you have any suggestions what am I supposed to do if in the future I need to update my survey? *NoobS*

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Arsha,

Just to confirm, the updates are done in the Survey123 website?  There are some differences between the website and Survey123Connect that will cause Connect to make the changes in a way that results in data loss.  

ArshaYuditha_Amiranti
Occasional Contributor

Hi James,

Thank you for your response. I did it on Survey123 connect, I didn't realize that the survey is still disabled to design using Survey123 Website. But there are a few survey that already enabled to update through website. Does it mean that I only enable to edit my existing survey when I created on website? And I won't able to edit the survey when I created the survey on Survey123 connect?

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Arsha,

Currently, only forms that have been authored only with the website can be edited on the website.  If you author a form using Survey123Connect or alter a form authored with the website using Survey123Connect, it may have features that the website's design tools can't process (such as repeats or calculations), so we disable editing that survey on the website.

FranciscoAndrade1
Occasional Contributor

Hi JTedrick-esristaff‌ and ichivite-esristaff

When using a public sharing survey that is opened in a browser directly, can we also create a URL to pre-populate data? As an example, I currently have a link that is shared with the public and we will be sending the link via email to certain parties. I would like to pre-populate the customer name and address.

Please Help

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Francisco, 

We currently don't pass the parameters when using the sharing url- we have that listed as an enhancement.

FranciscoAndrade1
Occasional Contributor

JTedrick-esristaff‌ is there an estimated date for this enhancement?