What's new in ArcGIS Survey123 February 2023 Webinar Recording and Q&A

IsmaelChivite · ‎03-28-2023

On March 28, 2023, we hosted a 60' webinar to review what's new in ArcGIS Survey123 . Thanks to all who attended! Below you will find the recording, common questions and slides.

Recording

Slides

Find the slides attached at the bottom of this message.

Common questions

When should I use the Survey123 web designer to author my surveys versus ArcGIS Survey123 Connect? The advantage of the Survey123 web designer is its ease of use: you can start creating surveys with no training. The question types and smart survey features available through the web designer are limited but are sufficient for basic surveys. If you need more advanced question types or more complex rules, you'll need ArcGIS Survey123 Connect. In either case, your surveys will be displayed in the Survey123 website survey gallery and can be shared over the web and the Survey123 mobile app. For a detailed description of the survey design options available in each tool, check this help topic.

Can I setup a custom web map in the web designer if I am working against ArcGIS Enterprise? Yes. If you are using the Esri-hosted version of the ArcGIS Survey123 website against your ArcGIS Enterprise instance, you will see the option to setup custom web maps right away. If you installed a local copy of the Survey123 website, you will need to install version 3.17. You can download the latest version of the Survey123 website installer from MyEsri.

I like the new CAPTCHA option added in Survey123 Connect. Can I use it in Survey123 Connect as well? Yes. Use the following XLSForm syntax in Connect:

Note that CAPTCHA will only be shown if you load your survey in the Survey123 web app. Publish your design and load it into a web browser to see the CAPTCHA control in action.

Can I get my survey design started in the web designer and then make edits in Connect? Yes, but with caution. Once you publish your survey using Survey123 designer, you will be able to download it locally using Survey123 Connect. At that point, you can make changes to the XLSForm. However, I recommend that once you download your survey into Connect, you make a copy of it and publish it as an entirely new survey. You can also look at the XLSForm created by the web designer and copy portions of the XLSForm syntax you want into a separate survey.

I do not recommend re-publishing a web designer survey from Connect, because designer creates a number of feature layer views that Survey123 Connect cannot handle well. This is why I recommend that you download the XLSForm and then publish an entirely new survey from Connect.

Can I have multiple web designer authors work with a single survey? Yes, in the web designer only, and with limitations. This is accomplished by sharing your survey with a shared update group. Learn more about it in this help topic. In short, when a survey is shared in a shared update group, members of the group can make changes to it such as adding new questions, fixing labels... but not concurrently. If multiple people want to make changes in the survey design, you will want to make sure that changes are implemented in order, one after another. Otherwise, changes from one author will overwrite changes from others. Read carefully this help topic for details.

I do not see the new Tools menu in Survey123 Connect. What is wrong? First, make sure you have the latest version of Survey123 Connect installed. Get it from the Microsoft App Store, or alternatively, use this Microsoft Windows installer. The tools menu is only compatible with versions 3.17 and newer.

If you have ArcGIS Pro installed, you will see the Tools menu right away. If not, follow instructions in this help topic.

Could you explain please why the Tools menu on Survey123 requires ArcGIS Pro?? ArcGIS Pro is NOT required. If you have it, the Tools menu will appear right away (provided your version of Connect is 3.17 or newer). If you do not have ArcGIS Pro, then you will need to follow steps as described here to make the Tools menu appear. The reason for the above is that the Tools menu uses Python. If Pro is installed, Connect knows where to look for your Python runtime. If Pro is absent, you need to give Connect a little help. In any event, the Tools menu does not strictly require ArcGIS Pro.

Can I use pulldata('@layer') in a public survey ? Yes. We learned that many of you used custom JS functions to query ArcGIS layers and wanted to use this functionality in public surveys. For security reasons, JS functions cannot be executed in a public survey. pulldata('@layer') was implemented to help you query layers in public surveys. Learn more about pulldata('@layer'):

Will I consume ArcGIS Online credits if I automate report generation with Microsoft Power Automate? Yes, unless your survey is hosted in ArcGIS Enterprise. Check this help topic for details.

Is the Survey123 Microsoft Power Automate connector available in the US Government Gov Cloud region? Yes, the Survey123 connector is available and supported in ALL Power Automate regions, including US Government GCC except: US Government (GCC High), China Cloud operated by 21Vianet,US Department of Defense (DoD). Refer to this Microsoft help topic for details.

Is there a way to rename Survey123 connections in Microsoft Power Automate? It is not possible to rename connections in Power Automate. However, we take note of your request and will consider options to allow connections to be differentiated.

Can I run a Survey123 Report via FME? It is technically possible. To do that, you will need to invoke the Survey123 Report API directly via HTTP requests. For the basics about automating Survey123 tasks with FME, check this video. To learn more about the Survey123 Report API, check this developer help topic.

Is there any thought to allowing non-ArcGIS users access a Survey123 form? Yes. This is already possible. Check this blog for details. All you need to do is to make sure you share your survey publicly. Public surveys can be completed by non-ArcGIS users from a web browser, or from the Survey123 mobile app.

I heard location sharing is coming into the Survey123 mobile app. Can you give more details? Support for location sharing in the Survey123 mobile app is planned for our June 2023 release. This will allow you to to track the last known location of Survey123 field users and understand where they have been and when. You will be able to do this without having to use a separate mobile app.

You can start using location sharing in Survey123 today. Check the Survey123 Early Adopter community documentation for details. We will also host live sessions where we will demonstrate this functionality and give you a chance to try it out before general release. Stay tuned!