Latest Contributions by MarikaVertzonis

If you are keen to take your tour apps to the next level, consider adding location aware functionality. To demonstrate this, we now have a unique app in the stores for GIS and sport enthusiasts to try out for themselves. This app is special because it contains location aware content (text to speech) and location aware behavior (auto selection of features based on location). So, even though you can download it and have a look at some of the content from the comfort of home, to experience the app functionality in full, you need to come to Melbourne Australia! The statues that are located around the outside of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and on the path to the nearby train station, commemorate sporting hero’s who have excelled at this venue. The text and photos you see in the app describe their affiliation with the ground, some favorable, all memorable.     How it was put together This AppStudio app was created using the Attachment Viewer template and the Geotrigger sample. By adding geotriggers to the attachment viewer template, the card carousel recognizes where you are physically located and automatically shows you the card for the statue you are closest too.  Can’t read the text on the statute because it’s too sunny (or cloudy. or rainy... it is Melbourne!)? That’s ok – you can press the play button and hear the text on the statue read out to you from your device. Using text to speech in your apps is a great way to provide an accessibility option to physical features that might present limitations to users.  The following screenshots show the main screens: the map screen should be familiar to AppStudio users, and the information page is showing content read directly from the underlying feature service. Those Play and Pause buttons you see at the bottom of the information page, only appear when you are standing next to the corresponding statute.   Using the app (aka - considerations when going 'location aware') For those with a keen eye, you may see some odd discrepancies for the location of the statues and your reported device location, in relation to the basemap displayed in the app. Don’t panic – this is to be expected when using non precision hardware (smartphones) and world scale basemaps.  The location reported by a device is heavily dependent on the hardware (different phones will vary greatly: locations may differ, jump around, or be slow to update) and your position can also can be interrupted by large structures. The beautiful mass of concrete and metal that you are standing next to - the MCG - is playing a big part in the accuracies you see in this app. Basemaps also have their own accuracy issues, so if you're standing next to a statue and the audio Play button doesn't appear, move around a little to get a better location in relation to the app map.  To try the app yourself, use the links below to download the app on your device, or search for Statue Tour in the app stores. Download the app for Android  Download the app for iOS NB: This app is only available in the Australian app stores.   Creating your own location aware app The steps taken to create this app are not out of reach for someone familiar with AppStudio and QML, but are more than 'a few lines of code'. It does make the most of existing ArcGIS functionality - all the data comes from feature services, and the starting point is to create an attachment viewer app using the AppStudio template. If you are interested in creating your own location aware app like this one, I encourage you to comment below and describe what it is you would like to do, and hopefully we can point you in the right direction. ... View more

Observations and preventative actions keep linear infrastructure these assets in continuous and safe operation. Linear infrastructure can intersect the land of many landowners, across hundreds if not thousands of kilometers, so efficient inspection record keeping and hazard mitigation along a corridor are critical to operation of an infrastructure network.            Regular driving along the length (or sections) of a pipeline can be a regulatory requirement. When operations are going well, record keeping should be no more than one tap of a button, once a day, acknowledging the inspection was completed. Whilst performing regulatory inspections, hazards can also be identified and documented in order to mitigate risk. Some hazards might be common and could be represented by additional buttons for capturing quickly.  With little effort, the scenario I describe here can be readily represented as a QuickCapture project: a button for daily inspections, and some buttons to capture common hazards. But what if some hazards need more information? Of course, a QuickCapture project can have lots of buttons – and if your field workers are using tablets and are used to a large array of buttons, you could conceivably offer them a panel with all the possible combinations, but if you don’t need all of the combinations every day, why flood their screen with everything all of the time?  A better way to organize field data collection is to make the most common actions single buttons in QuickCapture, and then jump out to another app when more detail is required. Jumping out to Survey123 is a great way to separate out data collection. Use QuickCapture’s one button tap for frequent and clearly defined data collection, and use Survey123 for infrequent but more detailed data collection. Both apps edit the same feature layer and can pass attributes between them. There’s no need to force your workflow into just one app when apps can play well together.  To see this in action, I'd like to introduce you to the Pipeline Patrol sample project. When deployed from within the QuickCapture designer, you get all the items you need for a complete pipeline patrol project. And if pipelines are not your thing – the sample project still is a great way to show you how to use projects and surveys (and dashboards and experiences) together for a complete project.  Pipeline Patrol sample project contents  The Pipeline Patrol sample project is designed to show you how to use QuickCapture and Survey123 to record daily pipeline patrols and to manage identified hazards. Daily patrols are recorded with the tap of one button in QuickCapture. Routine hazard reports can be captured with additional buttons in QuickCapture. For exceptional hazards, you can launch Survey123 from within QuickCapture to collect the more detailed information required.  A button in the app launches an experience that shows just the active hazards, and if something goes terribly wrong, call your supervisor from right within the app.  Of course, the job doesn't finish after identifying a hazard, but when it has been mitigated and closed out. Once back in the office, pipeline patrollers can view their open hazard reports and mark them as closed using an online form in a dashboard. Keep a track of patrols on the Compliance tab of the dashboard by seeing your current and recent patrol completions. Identify pipelines or sections that have been missed or need more attention.     ... View more

Technical workshop recordings and hands on exercises In recent months we have conducted technical workshops to help expand the general knowledge of Survey123 in our community. We spent time with our friends in the Asia Pacific region and our Spanish speaking amigos in the Americas and Europe.  The recordings for these workshops are available to watch and the materials for the exercises available to download and follow along. To complete all the exercises, you will need an ArcGIS Online account with user type of Publisher.  Each of the workshops include the following sessions:  Creating your first ArcGIS Survey123 online survey  Introduction to workflow automation with ArcGIS Survey123 and Microsoft Power Automate  Understanding ArcGIS Survey123 reports  Introduction to field data collection with ArcGIS Survey123  Introduction to Survey123 Connect and XLSForms  Modeling routine asset inspections with ArcGIS Survey123  With the help of distributors in your geographical location we are open to bringing these workshops to your area. Please contact your local distributor.    The APAC workshop was held in October 2020 with over 300 attendees at the live sessions. To access the recordings please go to this landing page:  https://www.esri.com/en-us/lg/events/arcgis-survey123-asia-pacific      Talleres virtuales Survey123 con ejercicios En los últimos meses hemos realizado talleres técnicos para ayudar a expandir el conocimiento general de Survey123 en nuestra comunidad. Las grabaciones y ejercicios de estos talleres están disponibles. Para completar todos los ejercicios, necesitará una cuenta de ArcGIS Online con el tipo de usuario de Publisher. Los talleres incluyen:  Haz Tu Primer Formulario Digital Automatiza Flujos de Trabajo Aprende a Generar Informes Descubre la Aplicación Móvi Crea Formularios Avanzados Inspecciona Activos en Campo Los talleres en espanol tuvieron lugar en febrero de 2021. Las grabacioes, ejercicios y otros recursos estan disponibles aqui:  https://community.esri.com/t5/comunidad-esri-colombia-ecuador/recursos-talleres-virtuales-survey123-en-espa%C3%B1ol-2021/ba-p/1046615  ... View more

Trek2There is a smart compass that will always point to your destination.  Unlike an ordinary compass, pointing to magnetic North, this app will use your direction of travel to tell you in what direction you should go to reach your destination. If you missed the original release of Trek2There, read more about the app in the Introducing Trek2There blog article. Trek2There has now been updated to include location status features that are in some of our other apps: Tap the satellite icon to see new location status data, map, and debug pages. On the location status data page see current geographic coordinates, switch coordinate formats by tapping on the latitude, longitude or USNG labels, and copy paste coordinate values to from other apps. On the location status map page see your current location (only if online). On the location status debug page see incoming NMEA messages and choose to pause, record (to a NMEA log file) or clear messages. Also, on Windows, connections to Bluetooth GNSS receivers are now more stable. Get Trek2There from the Apple App Store, Google Play or Microsoft Store. ... View more

Sometimes it's not enough to get just the longitude and latitude of a location displayed in your app, and you need to additionally record metadata about the location value. For example, you may also need to record errors in longitude and latitude values, differential age, and the number of satellites in use when the location was captured. To do this you must receive NMEA sentences from your location sensor into your app. When using an external GNSS receiver, this is a given – it’s the only way to work with an external receiver – but when your high precision GNSS receiver is built into your device, you need to specifically connect to those NMEA messages, to get this information.  I recently tested with the DT Research DT301X-TR, a rugged windows tablet to get this working, but the principle described here would apply to any Windows or Android tablet that has an on-board GNSS receiver that can output NMEA sentences.  The following discussion is also relevant to all apps built with AppStudio – I may reference Survey123 and QuickCapture, but any app you build with AppStudio can access NMEA from on-board GNSS receivers too.  On all hardware that is compatible with these apps, you can read location information via the device's integrated location provider. Each operating system uses a similar concept, providing location coordinates and some level of accuracy information to any app that is running on the device. In our apps, this is the default location connection. The provider list typically looks like this by default.  When you connect this way, you generally receive data for: latitude, longitude, altitude, horizontal and vertical accuracies, speed and direction.  Even in the case of external GNSS receivers, some manufacturers have provided ways for you to receive location information from their hardware through the integrated location provider. Typically, you install the manufacturers own app on your device, that app performs calculations to improve accuracy, and then the corrected latitude and longitudes are passed on to all other apps on the device. If you don’t need to record the additional metadata in your app of choice, then this may be all you need.  Additional data that can be collected directly from NMEA messages include: magnetic variation, geoid separation, latitude and longitude errors, HDOP, VDOP, PDOP, differential age, reference station id’s, and the number of satellites visible and in use. For a full list of metadata that can be used in an app see the Position component in the API Reference.  If you need to record additional information that is provided by an on-board GNSS receiver via NMEA sentences, you must make a serial connection to that receiver. Windows and Android can present GNSS hardware as COM ports – if the manufacturer provides access to these ports for the GNSS receiver, you can connect directly to the receiver in your ArcGIS app.  To add a serial connection, choose to add a location provider of type USB. From the list, choose the correct COM port, and see the connection in the app.  Figuring out which COM port to choose, can be tricky, and trial and error is a common tactic.  With built in receivers, the port number should be fixed and be provided by the hardware manufacturer. On Windows, you can attach and detach USB devices readily, so you may have many more COM ports listed. Viewing the list of Ports in Control Panel > Device Manager may list an identifiable name against each port number. Alternatively, ports that are occupied by Bluetooth devices can be identified in the More Bluetooth Options dialog in the Bluetooth Settings page, for elimination.  Once connected, all available data will be displayed in the app, and depending on the functionality of the app, can be saved to records that you capture in the app.  For more information on working with GNSS receivers in different apps @@@see  Prepare for high accuracy data collection in AppStudio  Prepare for high accuracy data collection in Survey123  Use a high accuracy receiver in QuickCapture    ... View more

Faking-it is generally frowned upon – but demonstrating an app that is designed to work outdoors with a GNSS receiver at say a conference, or for your colleagues in the office, warrants a little creative location simulation. For years we’ve hit this problem ourselves at the user conference in San Diego, and after various iterations of fake GPS, I’d like to share our latest offering, by way of an AppStudio sample. As of AppStudio 4.2, the GNSS Discover sample has the ability for you to: Record a NMEA log file from a connected location provider Playback recorded NMEA messages as if they were coming directly from the connected location provider. You can also play back files created from other apps – not just GNSS Discover. Some GNSS receivers have the ability to save these files and there are tools online that allow to create simulated files. You can also save the file on your phone and copy it to your desktop to playback. The same file is compatible on all platforms. What is a NMEA log file? NMEA 0183 is the data specification standard that AppStudio uses to communicate with GNSS receivers. NMEA messages contain lines of data called sentences. To cut a long story short, save these sentences to a file, and you can replay them in an AppStudio app just like when they are coming directly from a satellite system. The contents of the file will look something like this: Record a NMEA log file To capture a NMEA log file with the GNSS Discover sample, create an app with the sample and download it to Player. Connect a receiver to your device and head outside for a walk (or ride, or drive). For more information see Connect your receiver to your device. Click the satellite icon at the top of the app and go to the GNSS location status page. Switch to the Debug tab. Click the Record button. Whilst you are recording, you can return to the map screen or anywhere else in the app. When you are finished moving around, come back to the Debug tab and Stop recording. Recorded log files are saved to the folder [User home directory]\ArcGIS\AppStudioPlayer. Each time you capture a new log a new file is created. Playback a NMEA log file Playback of a NMEA log file is almost indistinguishable from connecting to a physical receiver. On the location providers page, click Via File, browse to the NMEA log file and click OK. On the About page of the file location provider there are two settings to consider: loop at end of file (great if you want to capture a short circuit that you can continuously loop through), and update rate. The default update rate is 1Hz which is typical of most receivers. This would mean the playback is in real time. Depending on your demonstration, it might suit to speed things up! Once you have configured a file location provider, you can use the app in exactly the same way as you would with an external position source. The location status pages will show all the information as you would see from the external position source, and if your app is designed to capture locations, all the available metadata will be captured. And of course – as this is now in AppStudio, you can expect for this feature to be coming soon in Survey123 and QuickCapture. Record a NMEA log in one app and use it in any of the others. Magic! ... View more

Although I’m generally not excited when I see a parking inspector on the side of the road, the technology nerd in me does always look around to see what gadgets they are using. Gone are the days of a notepad and pencil, instead they usually have an all-in-one device, or a phone with a printer hanging on their belt, to print out the tickets.  Keen viewers of the AppStudio 4.2 highlights video  would have caught a glimpse of one of our newest samples - Print Location. This sample shows how your app can connect to a bluetooth printer, display a print preview, and send a print job directly to the paired printer. So, although you might not be designing a parking inspector app, you can now add the ability to print information from your app on the spot: a receipt of services completed, or evidence of data entered in the app.  The printer used in the highlights video is a Zebra iMZ220. We’ve tested this printer on all our supported platforms and have had it whitelisted in AppStudio Player on iOS so you can use it on your iPhone or iPad, as well and Android, Windows, Mac and Ubuntu. Other printers can work in a similar way, and might only need a little tweaking of this current app. This app has not been designed specifically for, or tested with other printers, but can be used as a starting point for your own awesome app that prints to a bluetooth printer.  Explore the Print Location sample    The Print Location app is available in AppStudio for you to use as a sample. Of course, to fully test this app you will need a printer, but even if you do not have one, you can try out the print preview and get an idea of how you can use it.  Launch and sign in to AppStudio on your desktop.  Click New App, search for and choose Print Location and click Create.  Click Upload to make this app available in your ArcGIS organisation.  Launch and sign into Player on your device.  Browse for and download your new app, and click Play.  There are three tools in this app:  Settings  Print Preview  Print  The Settings tool will be familiar to anyone who has worked with our GNSS Discover sample or any of apps that connect to a bluetooth GNSS receiver. The concept here is the same. You first pair the bluetooth accessory with the device, the app needs to then identify that paired device, and then once identified it can send or receive information to or from it.  The Print Preview demonstrates what information will be sent to the printer. In this sample, see how there is a combination of things that were visible in the app – ie: the map – and things that were visible ie: the coordinates and time stamp. You choose what to print out independently of what is shown on the screen.  The Print tool is self-explanatory. Whatever is shown in the print preview, is what is sent to the printer when you click Print.    Things to consider     An app that needs to communicate with a printer needs the Bluetooth capability to be set.  This sample specifically filters for only devices that have ‘iMZ’ or ‘Zebra’ in their name. If you are experimenting with a different printer, remove (or comment out) lines 87 and 89 (leaving line 88) from /BluetoothPlugin/BluetoothManager/BluetoothSources.qml.  When you do this, you will see that all paired Bluetooth devices will appear in the list. There isn’t a standard device type that can be used to filter for only printers, so once you get your app working with your printer, think of a good name filter to use to hide the noise of all possible pair devices.  Whitelisting is required on iOS. In the case of Apple any hardware accessories that are to be used by an app, need to be identified by that app and vice versa. For details see Apples MFi Program, but the short version is that if you have a printer you want to use on iOS with your app, the printer manufacturer needs to identify your app, and your app needs to identify them. We have already whitelisted the Zebra iMZ220 with Player, but If you have a different printer you’d like to use with your app, I recommend testing it out on Android or Windows first, and then once you have it working on those, consider whitelisting. If you are using Player to run your app – please contact us with information about your printer and we will see it’s a device, we can have whitelisted.  ... View more