Survey123 for ArcGIS v 2.0 (Beta Available)

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02-23-2017 04:32 PM
IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor
26 22 8,460

Update (April 26th 2017): Survey123 v2.0 is now released. More info: https://community.esri.com/groups/survey123/blog/2017/04/27/chernobyl-remembrance-day-release-20 

Survey123 v2.0 for ArcGIS is in the making and we invite you to actively participate: Join the Survey123 Beta Program and give us your feedback.

Here are some of the most exciting features coming up with version 2.0:

Survey Editing

Starting with version 2.0, you can use Survey123 to update existing features in a Feature Service.  There are two main use cases where this is handy:

Amend previously submitted data: As you know, every time you submit data with Survey123 for ArcGIS, we keep a record of your submitted surveys in the Sent folder.  With version 2.0 of the Survey123 app you can open surveys from the Sent folder, modify them and resubmit the edits to your feature service. This is useful in case that folks in the field want to correct submitted information. We all make mistakes, so this should be handy!  This is also useful for people who wanted to submit incomplete surveys early, and then resubmit with the completed survey.  You can use this functionality right away against surveys published with version 1.x

Provision and Edit:  In Survey123 version 2 we are introducing the concept of an Inbox. The Inbox is meant to help you fetch surveys from a feature service, so you can work with them from your device. Depending on how the security is set  in the feature service, the Inbox will let you work with surveys submitted by the logged-in user, or even by other people.  The Inbox, actually like other folders such as Drafts, Sent and Outbox, allows you to look at surveys as a List, but also in a Map.  This is very useful when you want to look at surveys captured by other colleagues or in the past.  You can activate the Inbox in surveys published with version 1 by imply activating the Inbox in Survey123 Connect and re-publishing your survey. For new surveys published with version 2, the Inbox will by default be disabled, but you can enable it just as easily.

As of Survey123 2.0 editing functionality as described above will be limited to Surveys without repeats. We will not support editing attachments either in this first round. Editing surveys including repeats will come later in a 2.x update.

Better Web Forms

At the moment, with version 1, you can use a simple web browser to submit data to surveys authored from the Web Designer. The Web Designer in Survey123 is very easy to use, but it provides limited smart form capabilities.  With version 2 we want to elevate support for Survey123 smart forms on the web to the next level by expanding support to surveys authored in Survey123 Connect for ArcGIS.  The ability to render your Survey123 Connect work in a web browser was made available as a technology preview in version 1.10, but it continues evolving with version 2.0.

Our intent is to support the vast majority of the XLSForm specification supported in Connect from these new Web Forms, although we anticipate some limitations. For example, barcode scanning and input masks will not be available on the web, but many other things will: Groups, Repeats, Styling with images and much more!

Better Groups and Pages

If you load your existing version 1.x surveys into the Survey123 v2 application you will notice that Groups are now collapsible.  You do not have to do anything to enable this feature... you will get it for free. Additionally, if you publish your survey again you can also make your Groups appear collapsed by default using the compact appearance.  This can help you organize large surveys much better.  Collapsible groups will be part of the 2.0 release  for sure.

Also through the Beta program you can try an early implementation of Pages. Pages let you break down your survey into sections to help people navigate complex forms.  We are not quite sure if we will be able to get Pages for the initial v 2.0 release, but we included this in the Beta so we can capture your early feedback.

We are very excited about being able to use Pages because it is really going to help with some of the largest forms you have.  In the Beta Program you will find a handful of examples so you can see how Pages make a difference!

Support for Integrated Windows Authentication

As of 1.x you can work with Windows Active Directory users with Survey123 for ArcGIS if you configure your Portal for ArcGIS with Enterprise Logins from Active Directory. This involves the configuration of ADFS on top of your Windows Active Directory. As of 2.0, we also want to support Integrated Windows Authentication. The advantage of using Integrated Windows  Authentication is that not only you can use your Active Directory credentials, but also benefit from a single sign-on experience when working in Windows.  For example, if you run Survey123 Connect for ArcGIS on Windows, you will no longer need to manually login, because the Windows credentials of the logged in user will be used  automatically by Survey123 Connect. If you run your Survey123 field app on Windows, a similar behavior will trigger.  In other operating systems like iOS, Android or Mac, you will still need to enter your Windows Credentials manually as usual due to limitations of the underlying operating system (After all  true IWA is just for Windows... ).

Other enhancements

The Survey123 app is loaded with many handy enhancements. We will let you explore them one by one but here are my favorites:

  • The Download Survey page lets you sort and search surveys. This is really helpful when many surveys have been shared with your account. When testing new surveys I create, I love to sort surveys so the most recent show on top. This helps me quickly download the latest survey I published.
  • All the survey folders (Inbox, Sent, Drafts and Outbox) now include options to search and sort surveys.  Combining this functionality with the Instance_Name setting you can really simplify working with existing surveys.
  • The folders also include a Map view so you can see where you submitted previous survey (Sent) etc. You can also use the Map view to quickly find a survey by location and open it.
  • A clear button has been added to the auto-suggest appearance to make its use friendlier.

We are also working hard on other aspects that may not be so shiny but are  critical. Some of you are  reporting that the mobile app hangs sometimes while attempting to submit data with the dialog 'Getting Service Information'. The workaround is to restart the app and click on submit again, but that is not fun... This is a serious issue that is currently under investigation and we want to fix for 2.0.   In Survey123 Connect, some of you are having difficulties connecting to Portal for ArcGIS... this is already addressed  in the Beta and will be part of 2.0

Release date and other things you should know:

Planned release date: Our initial intent is to release a first cut of 2.0 in April 26, 2017.  We will drop features that are not ready and keep the Beta Program running so you can help us get to 2.1, 2.2 etc.  We will progressively add to the Beta Program many features that are still in the works such as:

  • Support for ArcGIS Server Federated Services
  • SketchBox Widget
  • etc

Feedback: For now, all we want to do is to encourage you to try out the Beta and provide us feedback through the Beta Forum. Please be disciplined with this because we do not want people in GeoNet getting confused with Beta features and those that are released: All Beta feedback should go into the Beta Forum!

Backwards compatibility: If nothing else, the Beta is a great opportunity for you to try your existing surveys to make sure that they will not break in the next release.  We always try to do our best with our regression tests, but having the Beta available to you should help us capture more cases together.

Side by side: It is not possible to run the released and Beta versions of the software side by side. You will need a separate machine and devices to install the Beta safely. 

iOS users: If you want to install the Beta into your iPhone or iPad please keep in mind that you will need to sign-up for Apple's Test Flight program. It should be easy: all you need to do is to request to be added to Test Flight in this Forum Thread.

Tags (3)
22 Comments
BrittneyGibbons1
Occasional Contributor

Really looking forward to testing the new features! Sound like some really exciting updates have been made!

DanielMcIlroy
Occasional Contributor

Very excited about some of these developments! We are trying to integrate Survey123 and some of the questions users have had will be covered by this update, of particular interest is being able to update already published surveys.

Any idea on a timeline for the production release?

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Dan,

As Ismael mentions in the blog, we are planning for an April timeframe.

DanielMcIlroy
Occasional Contributor

Somehow I totally missed the date in his blog! Thanks

ShaneClarke
Esri Contributor

Will editing of existing features be limited to point features, or will lines and polygons be supported?

IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor

Hi Shane! Thanks for your question. Support for Polygons and Polylines is in our road map but I would not anticipate this making it to the software until the second half of 2017. We will certainly add this into the Beta Program for early testing, but it is out of scope for 2.0.

ShaneClarke
Esri Contributor

Thanks!

MikeSmith8
New Contributor II

Would love to see Survey123 have a configurable option to send an email or text automatically once a survey record is submitted.  We are trying to get this going as a citizen reporter app.  Survey123 is much more user friendly than the "citizen reporter app" esri has templated.  With versions 2.x of Survey123 having the capability to edit surveys, this would be ideal!

mike 

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Mike,

This is an enhancement  we would like to support, but don't have any concrete plans in terms of a timeline yet.

FranciscoAndrade1
Occasional Contributor

Having pages on Survey123 would be something great. I cannot wait till that is offered. It would be nice if we would be able to add different images to the pages. Example instead of just a round circle, I would be able to put like symbol of a light bulb for lighting calculations or other symbols for our staff to know which page they need to go to while performing a survey. Hope this makes sense.

Is April the estimated date for the pages too? If so is it going to be in the beginning, middle or late April?

IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor

Hi Francisco.    Great to hear that Pages will be of good use to you! Our plan is to release 2.0 before the end of April 2017, but I would strongly recommend that you first try this functionality by downloading the latest builds from our  Beta Program. You can use  the forum to provide us with feedback.

JamieKelly1
Occasional Contributor

Hi Mike,

Although configuring Survey123 to send an e-mail is not out of the box functionality, if you have programming ability, then it is possible to write a script/program that will do that for you.  We developed a windows service that runs on our server to send a pdf copy of the submitted survey back to the user after they have submitted it.

Basic rundown:

- At regular intervals it checks the featureclass in ArcGIS Online to see if anything new has been submitted.

- When there is something new, it generates a pdf (we generate a completed report that has the format/layout we want).

- Then sends an e-mail with the pdf attached.

JamieKelly1
Occasional Contributor

I was unable to install Suvey123 connect for windows V2.0 Beta because Symantic Endpoint Protection quarantined the executable upon running it.

DondraHoulditch
New Contributor

Has this dropped yet?  Anxiously awaiting. 

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Ho Dondra,

2.0 has not yet been released- we'll be posting a "What's New" blog post when it does.

RenatoSalvaleon
Occasional Contributor III

ichivite-esristaff‌, on Integrated Windows Authentication, for some reason, on Survey123.arcgis.com, SSO on our Portal did not sign in automatically. Since the only option for Enterprise login in xxxxx.maps.arcgis.com I cannot access my surveys on the web browser. Is this supported already? Thanks!

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Renato,

The issue is that the survey123.arcgis.com web page accessing Portal content, correct?  That's something that we are actively working on - you will need to provide a ?portalUrl=https://myportal.company.com/portalDir parameter for the web page.  In addition, there are some configuration steps to make your Portal aware of the Survey123 website.  Expect a blog post from Ismael a bit later today that talks about this.

PaulCone2
Occasional Contributor III

How do I get on the Survey123 beta IOS app via TestFlight?  Ismael's comment provides a link above, but that page only has a download for Survey123 Connect beta now.

Paul

IsmaelChivite
Esri Notable Contributor

Hi Paul. To have access to our Beta, you need to go into the Survey123 for ArcGIS Early Adopter Program.  Once in the Survey123 Early Adopter Program site, you will find a Forum where you can post your request to be invited to download the latest build from Test Flight.   You must request access to Test Flight through the Forum.

Just for clarity, all features illustrated in the blog post above where released in April 26, 2017. The current build in the Early Adopter Program are for 2.7 which includes other features on the works such as GeoSearch, Web Hook Integration and others.

Peters_Amy
Occasional Contributor

I tested the Beta 3.1 August Hotfix today by publishing my survey with the Beta Connect app.  I did not download any Beta version of the mobile app so I used the same Survey123 mobile app (version 3.0.144) that I've had.  The bug I hoped it would resolve was losing the first record inside a repeat with a relevant statement on it after you saved a survey as a draft.  I completed repeat, saved the draft, re-opened it, and unfortunately, the data in the first record was still gone.

JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Amy,

The issue you describe is an issue with the Survey123 mobile/field application, not Survey123 Connect.  Please try against the beta version of the field application.  If you are using iOS, we will have it available in TestFlight soon - it is awaiting TestFlight review.

Peters_Amy
Occasional Contributor

Thanks so much James!  That answers all the questions I had today!  

Amy