Analysis in ArcGIS Online: Live Training Seminar Recap

DerekNelson1 · ‎10-02-2023

Yesterday’s live training seminar at Esri Academy covered how to conduct analysis within the Map Viewer of ArcGIS Online. We discussed new analysis tools and raster functions, creating charts to visualize data, and using the analysis history of a web map. If you missed the live seminar, the recording is now available for viewing.

During the two offerings of the seminar, attendees asked a lot of great questions. Below are answers to some of the most up-voted questions.

Note: Our next free live training seminar will be What’s New in ArcGIS Pro 3.2 on November 9, 2023. We hope to see you there!

Can you use Python scripts in ArcGIS Online?

Yes, ArcGIS Notebooks provide a Jupyter notebook experience optimized for spatial analysis. You can combine industry-leading spatial analysis algorithms with open-source Python libraries to build precise spatial data science models. Learn more about using ArcGIS Notebooks in ArcGIS Online.

Are there ArcGIS Online analysis tools that do not use credits? How many credits do analyses (generally) cost?

Yes, these tools do not consume credits when run in ArcGIS Online:

Create Viewshed
Create Watershed
Trace Downstream
Enrich Layer (when a custom GeoEnrichment service is used and the enrichment area is not defined using a travel mode)

Most of what you do in ArcGIS Online does not require credits—for example, using ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World basemaps and imagery, exporting data, and performing single-address or place searches. In many cases, credit-consuming activities have a relatively low cost. For example, it costs less than 5 credits to geocode 125 addresses, store 2 GB of map tile data, or enrich ZIP Code boundaries in Detroit, Michigan, with four variables of population and income data.

Transaction-based tools—such as geocoding, GeoEnrichment, image analysis, and spatial analysis tools—are charged based on the number of records and the generated output. For example, with GeoEnrichment, you are charged based on the number of attributes that you add to your dataset. For generating travel areas (also known as drive-time areas), you are charged for each travel area generated, so if you were to generate three travel areas (2, 5, and 10 miles) for eight locations, you would be charged for 24 travel areas. Learn more about credits.

How does ArcGIS Online handle projections? Are they limited to Web Mercator?

In ArcGIS Online, like in most online mapping platforms, Web Mercator is the default coordinate system. Web Mercator is not designed to minimize distortions for distance and area calculations. The good news is that you don’t have to perform spatial analysis in the same coordinate system used by the web map.

ArcGIS Online handles projection for you during analysis behind the scenes. Web Mercator is the coordinate system of the default basemaps. However, this does not mean that data used for analysis must have the same projection as the basemap. Thanks to the ArcGIS “Projection on the Fly” algorithm, when a feature service with a different coordinate system and projection is added, it is reprojected on the fly onto the web map.

It is important to point out that “Projection on the Fly” does not change the original data’s projection. It merely displays the features in the web map coordinate system for visualization purposes. When you run the spatial analysis tools in ArcGIS Online, the original coordinate system of the input feature layer is used for the calculations. In ArcGIS Online, the analysis output result layers are stored with the same projection as the input.

Some online analysis tools—such as merge, overlay, and find locations require multiple input —layers. In these cases, the output result layer will use the same projection as the input target layer or the first input layer. The only exception is the Aggregate Points tool. Because the output layer from Aggregate Points is a polygon layer, the projection for the output layer will be the same as the input polygon layer when there is one provided. Learn more about how projections are handled when performing analysis in ArcGIS Online.

Is there a ModelBuilder equivalent in ArcGIS Online to chain together tools and build custom tools?

Not yet, but the analysis team is actively working hard to bring ModelBuilder to ArcGIS Online in the future.

Why would someone choose to use analysis tools in ArcGIS Online versus running an analysis in ArcGIS Pro?

ArcGIS Pro is Esri’s flagship GIS software for use with analysis, map and scene creation, and more intricate, complex workflows. Not everyone has or needs ArcGIS Pro, though. ArcGIS Online is a browser-based user experience accessible to any member and provides a considerably lower barrier of entry to conducting spatial analysis for GIS and non-GIS users alike.

Do the GeoEnrichment services cover areas outside of the United States?

Absolutely! There are key demographics for all countries, including total population, average household size, and more. The number of variables and their level of detail will vary from country to country based on their sources. Learn more about GeoEnrichment coverage.

Can we work on uploaded data like satellite images or drone images in ArcGIS Online?

Yes, there are many raster analysis tools and raster functions that will work with your uploaded images or those available from your ArcGIS Online organization or ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. To run raster analysis tools, you must have privileges to create and publish content and to perform imagery analysis. Rasters can be digital aerial photographs, satellite imagery, digital pictures, or scanned maps. Learn more about raster analysis in ArcGIS Online.

How is metadata tracked and propagated through an ArcGIS Online analysis?

In ArcGIS Online, an item's metadata is created, edited, and viewed on the item page. Item details include the title, the type, and the source, author, last modified date, thumbnail, and tags. It can also include additional information, such as a summary and description, how accurate and recent the item is, restrictions associated with using and sharing the item, credits, and so on.

Within ArcGIS, metadata is saved with the item that it describes. It is copied, moved, and deleted with the item. Organizations can enable metadata, which allows members of the organization to use a built-in metadata editor to include additional standards-based metadata for all item types. Metadata can be included for all items in a portal, including web maps, web scenes, and web apps.

Organizations select a metadata style, which configures the organization’s experience for editing and viewing metadata. In addition to determining the information available for viewing and editing, the metadata style identifies the metadata standard and the schema used to validate an item's metadata for the standard. Regardless of the applied style, the metadata is always stored in ArcGIS metadata format, meaning that metadata is not lost if the organization switches the metadata style. A built-in metadata viewer is available to allow you to see the metadata associated with an item. If your organization has metadata enabled, this same viewer allows item owners and administrators to edit the metadata.

Are the workflows and information in this presentation applicable to ArcGIS Enterprise as well as ArcGIS Online?

While not all tools and functionality exist in the Map Viewer within ArcGIS Enterprise (as of this posting), the team is actively working on it and they are expected in an upcoming release. There are some similar capabilities in Map Viewer Classic. Learn more about performing analysis in ArcGIS Enterprise.

Are all the analysis tools included in a standard suite of Map Viewer-accessible tools, or is tool availability based on the licenses assigned to your account?

While some tools require specific user types or additional privileges, most of the tools that work with vector data can be considered “standard.” Typically, raster analysis requires the ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online user type extension, while other tools (such as Network Analysis tools) require additional privileges. Learn more about ArcGIS Online tool licensing.

For more information on performing analysis in ArcGIS Online, check out the resources below.

Esri Academy

Esri Community

Map Viewer