We have ARC Pac Version 6.0.1, and are considering going to 10.X

RalphJaggi2 · ‎03-07-2016

We have ARC Pad Version 6.0.1, and are considering going to ARC Pad 10.X

Would anyone share their experience, including any Lessons Learned having gone through this upgrade process please.

HannahFerrier · ‎03-07-2016

I would give you the heads up that all of the cool new features in ArcPad 10 have made the program bigger - you may notice a performance hit if you are using the same Windows Mobile device that had ArcPad 6 installed.

If you could let me know more about your projects - I can let you know what changes will make the most impact.

Hannah

RebeccaStrauch__GISP · ‎03-07-2016

I have some custom ArcPad apps that were originally created in 6.0.1 or 6.1. There were a few minor changes that I needed to get it to run on 7.1.x which is what we had been running for years.

i modified a copy if the code for another project and used it on 10.x with little or no issues. If I remember correctly, the main thing from 7 to 10 was the location of some of my config files (of course we also probably went from win3.0 to XP to win7, so may have been cause by that). I am about to test the full app on win7 and ArcPad 10.x.x using newer Bluetooth gps's, so ill have much better feedback in a few weeks, but dont think it will be too bad. Btw, this app is totally custom (and needs to be) where the newer versions have wizards to fire up new apps....but I have not used the wizard.

Hannah Ferrier question: if the app is customized already, is there still the overhead of 10.x? If so, that may make me stay at 7.x. We used shape files, not gdb. Thanks.

HannahFerrier · ‎03-10-2016

Check in and check out of shapefiles is no longer available in ArcPad 10.

Shapefiles can still be edited in ArcPad, but check in and checkout workflows are for geodatabases only.

- Hannah

RebeccaStrauch__GISP · ‎03-10-2016

Thanks Hannah. Good to know. My info is created from collection only, so luckily not an issue for me.

RebeccaStrauch__GISP · ‎03-09-2016

just some additional info and comments. I was talking with esri staff yesterday, describing my project and asking about whether I should upgrade given the overhead for newer versions (10.x). In our case, we use laptops/tablets with Windows 7, not "mobile". I was told i shouldn't see a performance hit on these machines, but it may make a difference in the hardware/OS you are using.

also, if using laptops with Bluetooth GPSs like I do, it is not recommended to upgrade to win10, mainly because win10 has changed how some of the GPSs and Bluetooth interact. It's still possible to use them together, but more steps may be involved. So if you have a choice, don't upgrade to win10 for you field machines.

i remember one issue that I have had with upgrading beyond ArcPad 7.x. With my custom apps, I have custom toolbars and have assigned my own functions to the F# keys (for easy of activating functions while in a plane). With AP10, I get a warning that the F2, F3, etc keys have already been assigned. If I remember correctly, it was just a warning and things worked the same, but something to consider. It may also be something I can get to work without the warning.

one nice thing about AP10.x was that the buttons in the toolbars could be made larger, but screen real estate is also used. Again, it seems like I had more issues with customizing my toolbars than anything else.

sorry these comments are a bit scattered, but wanted to mention them while I thought of them.

RalphJaggi2 · ‎03-09-2016

Thank you for any, and all input.

I am brand new to ARC Pad, and these hosted applications on the ARC Pad, so I do not even know what questions to ask.

RalphJaggi2 · ‎03-09-2016

I have Motion Tablets, in use by my field guys, and gals, now I hear they cannot get the GPS to to work !

Any ideas ??

RebeccaStrauch__GISP · ‎03-09-2016

I know you mentioned going to ArcPad 10.x. are you currently on annual maintnacne, or have you recently purchased a new copy of ArcPad? The reason I ask is, when you get into specifics like that, you might be better off starting up a support ticket with technical support. if you haven't been keeping up on support, it may be cheaper to buy a new copy which typically comes with one-year maintenance. Usually if you don't keep it up, after 3 or 4 years it's cheaper to repurchase than to catch up on maintenance, but you would want to check with you customer rep or local distributor to know for sure.

with that said, do these Motion tablets have Windows 10? As I mentioned, I heard there can be problems with win10 and gps connections....what I was told is it is because of win10 's location services and handling ports differently (or that's how I interpreted what he was saying).

re: the upgrade....couple personally thoughts on it......if it is highly customized and doing lots of work behind-the-curtain like my app does ( creating lines, several point shapefiles, calculating values via formulas, etc), I don't thin there is any better product for that on the market than ArcPad. Very powerful, very customizable.

if you need customizable/configurable app to do collecting of data like that, the "newer" ArcPad widgets may work for you to update your apps....if not, then updating may take someone that can deal with the vbscript etc. not hard at all, but may take some research to remember the older software.

if you are not needing anything that need heavy customization, the new apps available allow customization and work on many more devices. Have you looked at any of those to see if they will work for you?

(saving so I don't lose the above while I go grab links....)

edit: I would start by looking Apps for Everyone And checking out any of those listed. The downside is they all have some dependency on ArcGIS online (or Portal) but some can be disconnected (i.e., in field without network/internet) Collector can for sure. And AppStudii will let you make native apps for android or iOS, if needed.

these se are just my comments and opinions, long winded as it is, is from my experiences as a user. I'll tag Ismael Chivite Who maybe can answer more as to whether AppStudio or Survey123 can do what you might need.

it would probably help if you could list some of what your requirements are.