Zoom to Coordinates

[EmmaAlterton1]

Hello

I need to be able to enter coordinates and zoom to them using the flex viewer.

I have no development software to compile flex code so need to use a compiled widget.

In the past I have used the Coordinate Menu widget - which was great and did exactly what I needed, plus was simple to use.
Unfortunately having upgraded to Flex Viewer 3.6 the widget no longer works and has not been recompiled beyond version 3.3.

I tried using the enhanced locate widget, but I cannot work out how to isolate just the coordinate tab functions.
All the geocoding and address lookup stuff isn't needed and will just confuse my users.

ESRI - why isn't a simple zoom to xy bundled as part of the flex viewer as standard?

If anyone has any ideas or is able to suggest something that will work with the new flex viewer I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Emma

[RobertScheitlin__GISP]

Emma,

   The next version of my eLocate will allow you to disable the views that you do not want to use. It will most likely be released today (1/23/2014).

[RobertScheitlin__GISP]

Emma,

   Version 3.6.1 now available.

[GISDev1]

It's certainly not intuitive to non-GIS people (the main audience of flexviewers), but in the out-of-the-box Esri Flexviewer you can put Decimal Degree coordinates in the HeaderController Geocoder Input and it will show those coordinates on the map with a pop-up.

[GeorgeHaskett · Accepted solution]

Emma,

You have a few options to work with.  The three main ones that come to mind are the Coordinate Widget, the Enhanced Locator Widget and the Header Control Widget.

My favorite is the Coordinate Menu widget.  (I think that is the correct link.)  It looks better then the thumbnail on the website, however, unfortunately it doesn't seem to be well maintained and hasn't been updated since Flex 3.3.

Robet's widget, Enhanced Locate widget, on the other hand is extremely well maintained.  The main complaint I received from end users had to do with the number of tabs or views the user interface had.  It seemed to confuse them a bit.  However it sounds like his new release allows you to selectively show which tools/views you want available.  This should be a great improvement.  I am currently using his widget in replace of the Coordinate Menu widget.  In the end, having a widget that is well maintained is worth more.

The third option that GISDEV01 mentioned is the Header Control widget.  As he/she mentioned, its not that intuitive for non-GIS people.  The work around is to change the labeling within the Header Control widget.  You can also change its setting so that it is limited in function.  In other words, you can set it up so that it only allows for address and coordinate searches, or set it up so that it only searches for values within your attribute table.  Changing the label allows you to guide your end user, kind of like holding their hand, etc.  If you set the label (searchprompt) to something like: Long/Lat(-112.434333, 42.86114) then it makes it fairly intuitive for the non-GIS user.

Here is an example code:

[INDENT]<configuration>
  <geocoder visible="true">
    <url>http://geocode.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/World/GeocodeServer</url>
    <useproxy>false</useproxy>
    <zoomscale>1000</zoomscale>
    <minscore>80</minscore>
    <maxlocations>5</maxlocations>
    <minchars>15</minchars>
    <labels>
      <searchprompt>Long/Lat(-112.434333, 42.86114)</searchprompt>
    </labels>
  </geocoder>
</configuration>[/INDENT]

Hope this helps.

[EmmaAlterton1]

Hello

Thank you to everyone who replied.

Ideally I would have liked to continue to use the Coordinate Menu Widget as it had all the functionality I wanted, but as it does not go beyond version 3.3 this was not a viable option.

I have instead used the Enhanced Locate widget and disabled the extra views to just leave the zoom to xy screen. This works great.

In terms of getting the xy coordinates in the first place my users will have to get used to hovering the mouse over the point they want and noting down the coordinates that appear in the bottom left of the screen. 

Thanks again for all the replies

Emma

[MichaelMiller2]

Hello

Thank you to everyone who replied.

Ideally I would have liked to continue to use the Coordinate Menu Widget as it had all the functionality I wanted, but as it does not go beyond version 3.3 this was not a viable option.

I have instead used the Enhanced Locate widget and disabled the extra views to just leave the zoom to xy screen. This works great.

In terms of getting the xy coordinates in the first place my users will have to get used to hovering the mouse over the point they want and noting down the coordinates that appear in the bottom left of the screen. 

Thanks again for all the replies

Emma

The Coordinate Menu 3.3 works with 3.6.

[GeorgeHaskett]

The Coordinate Menu 3.3 works with 3.6.

Do all the features work properly with 3.6?  I have been burnt in the past using widgets that were not properly maintained.

Its a handy widget, that's for sure.  I've been holding off updating maps that use it due to the lack of support.  There is a lot to be said about people that are properly maintaining their products and provide ample support for them.  I'd still be cautious about using a widget that is not being maintained on a regular basis, otherwise you end users get use to it and are not that happy when you have to yank it.

Having said that, I do really like the widget and hope that there will be more consistent support for it in the future.

[MichaelMiller2]

Do all the features work properly with 3.6?  I have been burnt in the past using widgets that were not properly maintained.

Its a handy widget, that's for sure.  I've been holding off updating maps that use it due to the lack of support.  There is a lot to be said about people that are properly maintaining their products and provide ample support for them.  I'd still be cautious about using a widget that is not being maintained on a regular basis, otherwise you end users get use to it and are not that happy when you have to yank it.

Having said that, I do really like the widget and hope that there will be more consistent support for it in the future.

Works fine for me, haven't had any issues with it.