How could you set up a data search with query tables in a story map?

[AndrewMartinez4]

I am working with a web mapping application in ArcGIS online and I want to run a query tables that look into all data within a story map. Any ideas on how I would get this done? What could also work is setting the query parameters and offering them in a query widget  like in the web app builder on ArcGIS online.

[OwenGeo]

Hi Andrew,

Could you please provide a little more detail about what you are trying to do so I can try to help?

• What story are you trying to tell?
• Which story map application are you using?
• What is the other web mapping application you referred to?
• What type of data do you want to show?
• What specific capabilities are you looking to enable for your audience?

Owen

[AndrewMartinez4]

Hi Owen,

The story map application I am trying to customize is

https://psfa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=037fde1c6ba64f918881d075747d6f63

It is an accordion style embedded in a tabbed story map. The story I am trying to tell is what system at what schools are set to expire within the next six years. The data that I wish to enable the audience to filter through is the data accompanied with the accordion style map, the data for each specific system which in this case are Roofs, HVAC's and Lighting/Branch Circuits. Within each point displayed there are attributes associated that describe the conditions of a asset (school building) and the ability to query some of this data could add a more detailed look at this data without having to create another story map.

There are two query functions that I would like to enable. I would like to be able to set a greater than/less than for asset size. This would allow the users of this web map to search for asset sizes greater than 15,000 sf for example. This would be useful because we are talking about more $$$ to replace the larger assets. The second function I would like to enable is the ability to only show a specific "FAD Category Description". A dropdown could display our 9 different FAD Category Descriptions and upon selecting a description only the points with that specific description would be shown on the map.

I have used the query widget when working on a custom web application but I was hoping that the same ability would be possible within a story map.

Thanks

[OwenGeo · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the info Andrew.  Cool story idea!

It is possible to embed configurable web apps in a story map, so you could use the Filter app or Web AppBuilder and embed it in your story to let your audience perform the filters you described. You'd do this just like you've already embedded Map Series apps within another Map Series app (using the process outlined here: Embedding a Story Map within a Story Map | ArcGIS Blog).

However, I always caution story map authors to make sure they really want to do this kind of thing. The best Story Maps are simple for the audience to use, and embedding GIS-style apps in a story can sometimes introduce complexity that negatively affects your audience's experience. If you are publishing this for a professional or tech-savvy audience then it is often ok to embed GIS apps, but if your audience is the "general public" or people in a non-technical field you may want to reconsider this approach.

The Map Journal app has a specific feature called main stage actions that helps you lead your audience through a story by changing the appearance of the map (toggling layers with filters applied, etc.) without expecting them to figure out how to use a query widget or other GIS tools. Rather than having a series of tabs with all the different years you could tell a story about why this issue is important and then include a section for roofs, HVAC, etc. and have main stage action links in your story narrative for each of the year ranges. When a reader clicks on a link the map would update to show those schools.

Then you could create some additional layers showing some of the filters you'd expect people to be interested in (like the one you described in your previous post). You could add one or more sections exploring these scenarios and give the audience your perspective on them since you are a subject matter expert in the data.

If you still wanted to give people the chance to explore the data you could include a final section in the Map Journal that has an embedded Web AppBuilder app with the query widget you described. You could explain how to use the app in the side panel narrative. This way you've already walked someone through the data and several examples and then you can set them loose to do some exploration on their own if they are interested.

Here's a blog post about main stage actions if you want to pursue that option: Using Story Map Journal Main Stage Actions | ArcGIS Blog

Hope this is helpful!
Owen

[AndrewMartinez4]

I have yet to explore the Map Journal route so I will definitely be taking a look at it. Thanks for the fresh ideas!

Thanks,

Andrew