Building Location-Aware Forms with the ArcGIS Survey123 Web Designer (Directions Magazine)

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On April 12, 2023, Directions Magazine hosted a webinar covering Building Location-Aware Forms with the ArcGIS Survey123 Web Designer . In this post you will find the recording, resources and Q&A.

Highlights

Forms are a simple yet powerful way to collect information. They are regularly used to support many workflows. Forms are used to report incidents, document the condition of assets, assess damage to property... Forms are used for permitting, to request and inventory equipment, as a safety checklist...

In many of these forms location is key. If you are reporting an incident, don't you want to make sure the incident location is accurately set? If you request a building permit, would not you want to have the location of the building be accurate?

Survey123 is designed to help you build forms that collect accurate location information. Survey123 will also help you map your form data immediately.

This webinar explores the Survey123 web designer: A web based visual form builder. The Survey123 web designer is an excellent starting point for you to start combining the power of forms and GIS.

Recording

Available here: https://mediaspace.esri.com/media/t/1_gtvmym4w

Slides

Find the slides at the bottom of this post. They are attached in PDF format.

Upcoming Survey123 webinars

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Additional resources

Addresses: Learn how to get the best out of the address question type in Survey123. You will find information about how to create custom locators, configure calculations and more.
Securing public surveys: Learn how to make a survey public and keep your survey results secure.
Themes: A few tips to help you create compelling themes for your Survey123 forms
Survey123 organization templates: If you are an ArcGIS administrator, this may give you ideas to make the creation of Survey123 forms within your organization.
Web form URL parameters: This post discusses how you can create custom Survey123 links to modify the default behavior of your forms. For example, how to update an existing record with a Survey123 form, or how to load a survey in a particular language.
Surveys and dashboards: If you are familiar with URL parameters, read this blog to learn how to embed a survey within an ArcGIS dashboard.
Updating records using a Survey123 web form: More on URL parameters with an emphasis on updating records using the Survey123 web app.
ArcGIS Survey123 JavaScript API: Learn how to embed a survey within your own website using the JavaScript API
Instantly load Survey123 data into a spreadsheet: Survey submitted, row added! Requires Microsoft Power Automate.

Q&A

Can the Survey123 map question be configured to collect lines or polygons? Yes, as shown in the animation below, the web designer lets you decide what type of drawing tools you want to make available to respondents.

Please note that once you publish your survey, you will NOT be able to change the type of drawing tools in the map question. This is because publishing a survey creates an ArcGIS layer and changinf the geometry type on the layer is not possible.

How can the end user change the language of a form? If you translate your survey, a new language menu will be added in the top navigation bar. Users can change the language of the survey using that menu at any time.

Additionally, you can insert links throughout your survey to make the language switch more obvious, as shown in the animation below:

To construct the survey link, all you need to do is to add the locale parameter at the end of the survey url. For example: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/<itemID>?locale=en (for English) or https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/<itemID>?locale=es (for Spanish)

One more thing: If the survey link does not include the locale parameter, Survey123 will always try to change the display language of the survey, if available, to one that matches your operating system language.

What type of ArcGIS layers can I use as the source of a calculation? Can I query only hosted layers, or can I also query layers from my multi-user geodatabase? Any ArcGIS layer with query capabilities can be used in a calculation.

Does the address question type consume credits? It depends on the locator you use. If you use a custom locator from ArcGIS Enterprise, it will not consume credits. If you use the Esri World Geocoding service, the address question will only consume credits if you decide to store the XY coordinates of the entered address in your ArcGIS layer.

Can Survey123 be used to update records once they are collected?

Yes, survey records can be updated after they are collected. If the survey has the correct sharing permissions set on the Collaborate tab of the Survey123 website, existing records can be edited in the browser (web app) by using URL parameters. Check this blog for details.

They can also be edited in the mobile app via the inbox. Note: the inbox must be enabled in Survey123 Connect. It is also possible for survey administrators or reviewers to edit records in the Data tab of the Survey123 website.

See Edit existing survey data in the Survey123 documentation for more information. This 60' recording describes in more detail how to configure and use the Survey123 inbox to update existing records in the mobile app.

Can I configure a data validation rule in my form to ensure that locations are only added within my own area of interest? For example, say I want people to only report incidents within the boundaries of my city.

It is not possible if building your form using the web designer, although we are considering this as a future enhancement. At this time, you will need to author your form in Survey123 Connect if you want to create such a validation rule. I am including below an animation that illustrates what this type of rule could look like. In this case, I am using the Public Parks polygon layer to feed the validation rule. If the pushpin is placed outside a park, then the map question triggers the warning.

Check this blog to learn more about how to configure these type of rules using Survey123 Connect.

Can multiple locations be added in one form?

No, if you author your form using the web designer. However, if you author your form in Survey123 Connect, you can add a repeat question group to your form to allow users to enter multiple locations from a single survey submission. See Survey123 Tricks of the Trade: Repeats for more information.