Survey123’s embedded camera control does not provide a way to enforce photo orientation. In field workflows, this leads to a mix of landscape and portrait images for the same question or across a survey. When generating automated Survey123 Feature Reports (e.g., images in tables or fixed-width placeholders), mixed orientations cause layout breaks, inconsistent scaling, and extra post-processing.
Proposed Enhancement
Add an optional orientation parameter for image questions in XLSForm to enforce or strongly guide capture orientation.
Option A: Hard enforcement (validation)
Option B: Soft enforcement (guided)
Suggested syntax (in the parameters or bind::esri:parameters column): orientation=landscape orientation=portrait orientation=any # default (current behavior)
Optional modifiers:
orientation=landscape;enforce=true # block capture until correct orientation=portrait;warn=true # allow but show warning banner orientation=landscape;autorotate=true # auto-rotate if EXIF permits
Behavior Details
UI prompt: If enforce=true, the capture UI displays “Rotate device to landscape/portrait to continue.”
Validation: Orientation must match at the moment of shutter.
EXIF handling: If autorotate=true, Survey123 writes/normalizes the image so downstream apps see the expected orientation without relying on EXIF-only rotation flags.
Accessibility: If device rotation is locked, show a clear message and allow override when warn=true (configurable).
Backwards compatibility: Default remains orientation=any so existing surveys are unaffected.
Benefits
Consistent outputs for automated reports (no broken tables or stretched images).
Reduced post-processing (no manual rotate/crop after submission).
Cleaner storage & bandwidth (fewer duplicates from re-takes).
Better UX for field staff with clear, in-the-moment guidance.
Example Use Case
An environmental inspection survey places two photos per row in a 4:3 table cell. Requiring landscape ensures every image fits the cell without overflow, eliminating manual fixes and re-captures.
