Latest Contributions by AmyNiessen

Article contributed to and authored by Satish Sankaran, Max Payson, and Amy Niessen Last week, the FOSS4G community landed in San Diego for its 2019 North American conference. Esri participated in the event as a silver sponsor and, given its proximity to Esri’s home base in Redlands, many employees were able to attend. FOSS4G is an amazing event for developers and GIS geeks interested in emerging technologies, so we were excited to share our projects and to engage with thought leaders in the geospatial community.   The event kicked off with lightning talks and networking events, which dovetailed into devoted presentations and workshops. While it had a developer focus, many of the presentations provided gentle introductions to hot topics – AI/ML, blockchain, microservices, containers, and serverless computing were all covered. Presenters discussed how these buzzwords can help scale storage, compute, and insight to solve increasingly complex challenges. Many presentations were also grounded by real-world projects, from disseminating 14 trillion USGS LIDAR points to achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals.   Colleagues from Esri shared their work with presentations at the event from Atma Mani presenting "Let's Take the Machines House Hunting" using Python and Jupyter Notebooks, Thomas Maurer presenting "LERC - Fast Compression of Images and Tensors", highlighting low-level libraries like LERC for raster compression, and Tamrat Belayneh presenting "I3S - An Open Standard to Bring 3D to Web, Desktop, and Mobile Platforms", introducing the OGC community standard I3S spec. We also appreciated hearing Howard Butler acknowledge our contributions to the GDAL Coordinate System barn-raising effort in his presentation. As an important vendor in the GIS space, we are happy support fundamental initiatives like these that help build core libraries used extensively by the community.   While many attendees were familiar with Esri software and some even active users, at the Esri booth, the conversations extended beyond traditional ArcGIS workflows often discussed at Esri events. We enjoyed learning from others’ diverse perspectives and expertise, and it was reassuring to see community validation regarding steps we are taking in the areas of 3D, interoperable data science, and with our Developer program. Esri continues to push forward on its Open Platform vision – a vision that includes support for standards, interoperability, open data and open source. And, we are constantly looking for better ways to engage with developers and support their work.   While large software business may share complex relationships with the open source world, Esri’s role in the GIS realm has always been community focused. We hope to continue to grow the community of GIS users and developers and FOSS initiatives are an important subsystem contributing to this growth. ... View more

If you missed out on DevSummit this year, or are just looking to re-live it, the following are the Top 20 technical sessions you may want to check out. First… what does "Top” mean really? Well, some we included due to them being some of the most popular sessions of the week, and some we chose because of the session room was really full, or flat out overfull. But then, some of the sessions below introduced some new products and capabilities, and we wanted to take one more shot at ensuring you know about them. Ok, here we go, in no particular order:   0 – Real Software Engineering It's not uncommon for some to assert that software development isn't, or should not be considered "engineering". We were lucky to have as a Keynote Speaker, Glenn Vanderburg, the VP of Engineering at First.io. Glenn gave an interesting talk exploring the concept of "engineering" and how it applies to the pursuit of building powerful software applications. Glenn does a clever job exploring this idea--showing that, while software engineering has aspects that are fairly unique compared to other engineering fields, there are other aspects that not only show that it can be considered engineering, but that when it comes to designing, testing, scaling, deploying good software, and collectively learning from what we all do, for us to get the most from technology it should be treated as, and practiced as an engineering discipline.   1 - High-End 3D Visualization with CityEngine, Unity, and Unreal GIS and Game Engines--interesting combination. And the future is here today. Game-like interactive experiences, whether on the screen or in VR/AR, are the next big step in 3D GIS. In this session, you will get an introductory guide to Unity and Unreal, the leading game engines. You will learn to load your map data up into a virtual world, one where you can walk through realistically rendered city models or to explore interactive storytelling of your 3D project.   2 – ArcGIS API for JavaScript: What's New This was THE most heavily attended session at DevSummit this year (that didn't have "Road Ahead" in the title). Web developers make up the largest part of the global developer community building with ArcGIS, and the developers and engineers at Esri responsible for growing this API continue adding many new capabilities each release. For web developers, hitting up the annual What's New session is near the top of their lists of things to do. And now you can too.   3 - Using Insights for ArcGIS with Python and R New this year, Insights has been enhanced so that developers and data scientists can now extend the capabilities with both Python and R for analysis and visualization.   4 - ArcGIS Runtime SDKs: Everything (or Anything) You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask Live Q&A session. No slides, no demos, just all of the ArcGIS Runtime SDK developer leads. They all covered topics such as Metal, Vulkan, React Native, editing, snapping, Arcade, samples, styling 2D and 3D, and more. And here is the full list of questions that were answered by the panel of developers and engineers on the ArcGIS Runtime teams.    5 – ArcGIS Enterprise: Architecting Your Deployment "This is not a very GIS-y presentation, and I'm not doing any live coding...", says ArcGIS Enterprise product manager Philip Heede. Despite that caution, this session continues to be very popular in Palm Springs year after year. The title says it all. Optimizing your resources, storage, and performance starts with a solid architecture that fits the needs of your organization, apps, databases, and users.   6 - Extending Survey123 for ArcGIS Sure, Survey123 has been one of the most popular end-user apps for a couple years now, but given this is DevSummit, this session looks into ways developers can now extend the app, to customize it further to make it more closely fit your workflows, such as writing JavaScript functions, creating Add-ins, using Webhooks, and rebranding the app.   7 - Using Webhooks in ArcGIS Enterprise This. Demo. Theater. Was. OVERFULL. All chairs taken, standing room only, spilling out into the Showcase. This was easily the most popular demo theater of the week. If you got there too late, then today you're in luck. Here's the 30-min video... enjoy! Webhooks: They're Better Than Polling!   8 - Integrating Machine Learning and Deep Learning with ArcGIS During the Plenary session, Rohit Singh invited everyone to follow him into "the exciting world of pavement cracks". 🙂 Well, this session here is a more complete version. This was the second most highly attended demo theater of the week. Also standing room only. In this session, Rohit demonstrated how organizations can detect deep and complex spatiotemporal patterns in their data, and use that to predict geospatial events of interest – at scale, and in real-time. And if you like this 30-min session, don’t miss the 4+ hours of machine learning "deep dive” here.     9 - ArcGIS Data Store Management: Best Practices This was a new session this year, but with almost 300 attendees in the room, its popularity is clear. We bet you will find this information useful as well. In this session, after a brief intro about what the Data Store is, how it works, and what it can do for you, the presenters dig into how to install and configure it, followed by techniques for backing up, restoring, moving, and upgrading the Data Store.   10 - Using Webpack and React with the ArcGIS API for JavaScript Modern frameworks continue to make robust and powerful web app development better. In this session, you'll learn to integrate the ArcGIS API for JavaScript via the ArcGIS webpack plugin or esri-loader, and then use React to build a fast and responsive application that uses some of these modern tooling and techniques.   11 - Network Management with ArcGIS: Introduction to the Utility Network We put this session in the wrong room--way too small. If you tried to get in, and couldn't, then this is what you missed. Next year, the update to this session will be much better placed.   12 - What's New in Collector for ArcGIS One of the most popular apps over the past several years, the Esri Apps team gave a rundown--to a full house--on all the new capabilities of Collector, and what their plans are for the future, so that you can get the most from your field data collection. As they say "Accurate Data Collection Made Easy!"   13 - Interacting with Hosted Feature Layers through the ArcGIS REST API Yet another overfull demo theater session. Although ArcGIS Online has a rich user interface for working with Hosted Feature Layers, there are some advanced features that developers can use for interacting with these web services using the ArcGIS REST API.   14 - Tools for the Modern Web Developer When pulling together this session, Josh and Gavin from Esri Professional Services ask themselves: "What tools improved our workflows the most over the past year?”. So in 30 minutes, they went and covered helpful techniques for using Postman, Visual Studio Code, and open source tools from Esri for working with Calcite Maps, React, Angular, and Ember.   15 - Building Native Cross-Platform Apps with AppStudio: Advanced Topics DevSummit attendees really like sessions with the word "Advanced" in the title. In this talk, we dig into some new capabilities, such as leveraging other geolocation tech with your apps, using Bluetooth, Beacons, and high-accuracy GNSS receivers. Also demonstrated is the new extension for developing AppStudio apps with the Visual Studio Code development environment.   16 - Roadmap for BIM-GIS Interoperability As soon as GIS introduced 3D capability, users started experimenting with putting one of the most widely created 3D data types in GIS context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) data. This session covers best practices and techniques for using BIM data in ArcGIS, along with a road map for where things are going.   17 - Continuously Delivered Scalable Geoservices on Kubernetes Containerization is hot. It’s a sharply growing trend in the IT industry, improving the automation, scalability, and management of apps, services, data, users, and organizational workflows. In this session, developers from Esri's Washington DC R&D Center cut to the chase on how to use Kubernetes and Jenkins, and their useful abstractions, for automating and managing the creation and use of containers, so that you can continuously deliver scalable web services.   18 - ArcGIS Pro SDK for .NET: Understanding the CIM, a Guide for Developers CIM == Cartographic Information Model. While the Pro SDK provides classes and methods for the most commonly used aspects of rendering layers and managing map layouts, the CIM opens that box up all the way. Access to the CIM gives ArcGIS Pro developers access to all of these much more advanced capabilities. This session digs right in, showing you techniques you'll find useful right away.   19 – Improving your Web App through UI/UX Best Practices With so many great GIS tools around, why isn't map app design a slam dunk? This session teaches you that great UX is more than the sum of its parts and explains how to design more compelling User Interfaces. We'll cover fundamental building blocks of successful applications and introduce ways to improve the total experience.   Tied for 20 - 242, all of the other videos that you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaPDDLTCmy4Y0GMTl0O4V6LF3EmxIAivv Let us know what you think! ... View more

In March, Chris LeSueur, Erwin Soekianto, and James Tedrick presented the GeoDev Webinar, "Extending Survey123 Field App Using AppStudio for ArcGIS". Coming fresh out of DevSummit, they had a lot of new information to share and thought it would be great to do so in a webinar.  There were a lot of great questions to come out of the webinar, which are shared below. You can also find a link to the recording of the webinar, along with a slide deck of their presentation after the Q&A section. Q&A Q: When using Survey123, will we always be using QML? A: If you are going to customize the code of the Survey123 app, then you will be writing in QML & JavaScript. Q: A complaint I have had for the past two years is that the buttons when you close a survey are so small. I am usually in the field with sun in my eyes, and with and huge fingers, it is difficult to choose one option to save/discard/close. Is there anything that can be done about this? A: Thank you for the feedback. This is something that could be customized using AppStudio. Q: Does it need to be driven by ArcGIS Online or Portal? Or can we connect directly to ArcGIS Server Services? A: Survey123 for ArcGIS is designed to work with forms that are stored in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise. Q: How do I modify a Survey123 app for any time I create a new version of it? Do I put a version number or something like that? A: With AppStudio, every time you make changes and upload your apps to your organization account, the version number will increase. You can always save previous versions for your archives. Q: Does AppStudio honor smart form functionality of Survey123? Mine does not; am I doing something wrong?  A: The Survey123 Template features the full smart form capabilities of Survey123. Q: AppStudio puts image and geopoint questions first no matter what the order in the Survey123 form - how do we change this? A: By default, the Quick Report template has this behavior, but Survey123 honors the question ordering in the form. Q: Using the Survey123 template goes through the app gallery instead of opening the survey directly - how do we bypass this? A: Yes, you could customize the code of Survey123 using AppStudio to directly open a survey when the app is opened. Q: With the live "Compass" info, what if you have a high accuracy GPS connected via bluetooth? Will the app use the GPS or the device's compass? A: That would depend on how the Compass was implemented. It could either always use the mobile device's compass or be configured to use the current location provider. Q: Can I set up my own template for creating sites? A: Yes, AppStudio lets you create your own App Template that you can reuse to build your own apps. Q: Is it recommended to delete the forms not used in your custom app to improve performance? A: The number of forms shouldn't have an impact on performance. Q: How is AppStudio different from Survey123 Connect? A: AppStudio is an environment for creating custom applications; Survey123 Connect is an environment for authoring and publishing forms. Q: I have some faculty who want a form that will re-order a checklist based on counts of other reports nearby, similar to eBird's checklist app, but for non-avian observations. Would this be possible to create using AppStudio? A: Yes, this would be possible, but it would definitely require some customer code in the Survey123 app and most likely a custom geoprocessing service that queries a feature. Q: When are you expecting the Add-in capability to be available? A: The Survey123 add-in capability will be added to the Early Adopter Community in the near future; we anticipate a formal beta release around the Esri User Conference (UC). Q: Can I display previous data into a new Survey123 so, for example, previous data + new collected data = new sum? A: Yes, this is possible with out of the box Survey123 using the Inbox feature. Q: Can you show where you would add the printer info? A: This gets into some advanced development that, unfortunately, we cannot fully address here. You can start by looking at some of our samples in AppStudio desktop that works with hardware devices such as the "GNNSInfo" and BarcodeReader" Samples. Q: Is Survey123 now able to display custom maps on the web? Currently we are able to load our custom map on the surveyConnect but it doesn't show up on the browser. A: Thank you for the feedback; this enhancement is something we are considering for a future release. Q: With this AppStudio, can we customize the base maps to suit our need or change them to use our customized maps? A: You can set the maps in the out of the box Survey123 by manually configuring map settings; please see http://doc.arcgis.com/en/survey123/desktop/create-surveys/includemap.htm. Q: How can we prepare maps by Collector apps? A: Please see http://doc.arcgis.com/en/survey123/desktop/create-surveys/includemap.htm for configuring custom maps with Survey123. Q: Can you customize time/location stamp with fonts and placement of text on the image? A: Yes, you can customize the time-stamp on the image. Q: Can you use this to add view only data to the basemap used in a geopoint question of a survey? A: Yes, this is a possible customization of the Survey123 template. Q: I am having trouble with white-labeling the Survey123 app. I keep getting an error for invalid redirect URI when trying to connect to our Enterprise Portal. I have tried adding the http and https urls to the redirect properties but cannot get it to work. Our portal url is https://gis.kelleynetowrk.com/portal. What would be the correct format for the redirect URI? A: Please see the documentation on the ArcGIS Developers site concerning mobile redirects: https://developers.arcgis.com/documentation/core-concepts/security-and-authentication/mobile-and-native-user-logins/. Q: Can the new Survey123 work with sso IWA on Portal?  A: Survey123 can work with IWA. Q: Can AppStudio work with the report(beta) functions in survey123.arcgis.com? A: The report functionality is a REST-based service; it would be possible for an AppStudio app to trigger a feature report request. Q: Since we have to upload the code who owns the IP of the code? A: Esri maintains ownership of the original code, but you will own any modifications you make to the code. When you distribute the app, you must acknowledge Esri somewhere within the app. Q: What kind of documentation for development and API is available outside of the blog shown? A: AppStudio has an extensive documentation with a examples and API documentation. See: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/appstudio/.  Q: How do you measure the length of a pipe? A: For doing things like measuring the length of a pipe, you may want to investigate the Spike GPS product; it can integrate with Survey123: https://www.esri.com/esri-news/releases/18-1qtr/esri-releases-survey123-for-arcgis-with-new-spike-integration. Q: What licensing conditions apply to apps created with AppStudio? For example, what restrictions would apply to a Survey123 app created using the template?  A: The Survey123 template is licensed under the Apache 2 open source license; no additional encumbrances apply from it. Q: Is there a reason to incorporate Collector along with Survey123? A: There are several customers who use both Collector and Survey123 in their workflow, for example, using a Collector map for overview and asset inventorying while using Survey123 for asset inspection. These applications can also be linked to open the other at appropriate points; see http://doc.arcgis.com/en/survey123/reference/integratewithotherapps.htm. Q: How compatible is Survey123 with ArcGIS Pro? A: Survey123 and ArcGIS Pro can both work with feature services, allowing both to operate on the same data. Q: Can you share a customized app in ArcGIS Online using groups? A: Yes, with AppStudio you can create apps and share them with other users in your ArcGIS Organization, which they can download and run in AppStudio Player. Think of it as similar to how you can share a web map with someone in your ArcGIS Organization, except this time you are sharing a native app and they are running in AppStudio Player instead of a browser. Q: Can you collect data via app player? A: Yes, you can run an app inside of AppStudio Player that collects data. Q: What's the cost to further enhance Survey123 in AppStudio?  A: Customizing the Survey123 template with AppStudio requires an AppStudio Standard license. The AppStudio Standard license is included with a paid ArcGIS Developer Subscription (Builder level or above). Review more information here: https://developers.arcgis.com/pricing/compare-plans/. Q: Will this solve the issue of not being able to capture images on existing feature service data? We do inspections of existing features, but Survey123 does not allow for capturing. A: Yes, it would be possible to customize Survey123 to support image attachments while editing existing features. Q: What would be the best way to auto-populate fields in Survey123 from feature layers in a Web App? A: To populate data from a web application into Survey123, you would use URL parameters to load the data. See http://doc.arcgis.com/en/survey123/reference/integratewithotherapps.htm for more information. Q: Can you bring in Feature services from your own organizational ArcServer? A: Survey123 works with ArcGIS Enterprise, and through it, can connect to a feature service on an organizational ArcGIS Server. Q: Earlier you mentioned add-ons as a future feature. Can you provide more details on this? A: The Survey123 add-in capability will be added to the Early Adopter Community in the near future; we anticipate a formal beta release around the Esri User Conference (UC). Q: What would you say are the main differences between WebApp builder and AppStudio? What might be some examples of when you would want to use one over the other?   A: Web AppBuilder gives you a widget-based experience for building web applications that run inside a browser. AppStudio is for developing apps that get installed as standalone applications and can be published to app stores or distributed as installation files. Q: Is QML accessing the native APIs of iOS and Android? A: When you write in QML, you are not accessing the native APIs directly, but you are accessing them through Qt/QML components. This allows you to write an app once in QML and have it work on multiple platforms. Also, with AppStudio, you get the AppStudio Framework, which is a set of QML components that give you cross-platform access to things like biometric authentication, barcode scanning, and more. Q: Is Esri planning to make the photo branding as an option in a future release without needing to code it yourself? A: Thank you for the feedback; this enhancement is something we are considering for a future release. Q: Can you change the lat long to UTMs? A: Survey123 can display UTM coordinates out-of-the-box via both the Map Settings and by using the pulldata() function; please refer to the "Coordinate Format" section of http://doc.arcgis.com/en/survey123/desktop/create-surveys/geopoints.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_0C78C5A67E824AC9A4EB47693D47D151. Q: Do developers need a paid license? What is the entry level price for a developer? A: The AppStudio Standard license is included with a paid ArcGIS Developer Subscription (Builder level or above). You can read more information here: https://developers.arcgis.com/pricing/compare-plans/. Q: Without customization, can Survey123 fetch data from a database at runtime and display in a drop-down menu? A: Thank you for the feedback; this enhancement is something we are considering for a future release. Q: What level of accuracy do you get from the photo coordinates? A: Photos taken in Survey123 will inherit location accuracy of the GPS receiver connected to Survey123 at the time. Q: What is the cost of the Survey123 app? A: Survey123 is included in the Fieldworker, Creator, and Pro user roles; it is also available for purchase as an added license on top of the Editor role. Please refer to the ArcGIS Online Pricing page for additional details. Q: When a survey is resubmitted, is it possible to get an API trigger to be used in Microsoft flow?  A: Support for an 'editing data' (resubmit) event is coming in the next version of Survey123. Q: Is xForms the area where you could make fields required to be filled out before they are submitted? A: Yes, required questions are part of the xForms/XLSForms form definition. Q: Can you load previous surveys created in Connect into here and change those settings? A: When creating a custom version of the Survey123 app, it will have support of the full XLSForm standard shown in Survey123 Connect; any customization made may not show in Survey123 Connect, but can pass through to the custom application without problems. Q: Is AppStudio considered to be a mobile native or hybrid application? A: AppStudio apps are native mobile applications written in QML and JavaScript. Q: Is it possible to combine the Augmented Reality app with survey options (take pic, record voice, and answer survey question, for example)? A: Yes, this is possible with customer code. Take a look at the "AuGeo" template included with the "Enterprise Templates" in AppStudio Desktop. You could combine AuGeo with the functionality from the Quick Report template or Survey123. Q: Would the image attachments work in ArcMap 10.1 from Survey123? A: Survey123 stores image data as standard attachments readable by ArcMap. Q: Can the Inbox be customized to show pictures from a submitted form?  A: Yes, this could be a possible customization enhancement. Q: Can the Inbox be customized to increase the limit beyond 1000? A: Yes, this could be a possible customization enhancement. Q: How can we record time in the correct time zone? It shows the right time zone when collecting, but writes in UTC. A: ArcGIS Online stores database time in UTC, which may cause an issue when viewing times in software that is not time zone aware. A Survey123 form can be designed to store the device's offset from UTC, which could be used to calculate the local time. Q: Can this (record time in correct time zone) be done in Survey123, or does it have to be customized in AppStudio? A: Yes, this could be a possible customization by pre-adjusting the time, though technically, the data would be stored at the wrong time. Q: If I want to submit data to a different database, does AppStudio use the webhooks with Microsoft Flow or is Flow no longer needed? A: There are two different options described for writing data to a different database: 1) Use a webhook and webhook provider to create a copy of the data in another data system, or 2) use AppStudio to customize where the data is sent to. These are independent; the customized application would not need to use a webhook provider like Microsoft Flow. Q: Is there a AppStudio template for Collector? A: No, we do have a data capture template that does all that Collector for ArcGIS can do, but take a look at the Quick Report template; it is a good example of editing Feature Layer data (points/lines/polys). Q: What would the main customer base be for this service within Google Maps platform? A: Survey123 and AppStudio are designed to work with Esri's Geospatial Cloud. Q: Is it possible to read the bearing from the sensor on the device rather than manually inputting it?  A: Yes, this could be a possible customization enhancement. Q: Is it possible to work with geometry like line polygon? A: Polygon and line capture support are now in beta testing in Survey123; please visit Survey123's Early Adopter Community (https://bit.ly/S123beta) for more information. For additional questions that came up at the end of the webinar, please be sure to view the recording: https://www.esri.com/en-us/landing-page/product/2018/geodev-webinar-series/extending-survey123-field-app-using-appstudio-for-arcgis You will also see useful links and tips from our presenters at the end of both the recording and the presentation.  So that was March's GeoDev Webinar! What would you be interested in seeing put together in a GeoDev webinar? We are always looking for great developer topics to incorporate, so we're all ears! Comment your suggestion below! ... View more

In the month of September, Rene Rubalcava and Noah Sager hosted a GeoDev Webinar on "Using TypeScript with the ArcGIS API for JavaScript". This webinar was focused on helping developers to get started with using TypeScript when building web applications. At the end of the webinar, we had a lot of great questions come in, which you can check out in the GeoDev Webinar video that was recorded. But there were also quite a few questions that came in that did not get addressed during hte recording, so we'd like to address them here: Q: So this is with ArcGIS JavaScript + typescript + React? A: We only showed one sample with React https://github.com/odoe/ts-webinar-examples/blob/master/ts-features/app/dynamic-imports.tsx. Q: So can we do this with Angular CLI ArcGIS JavaScript + typescript and maybe React? A: Angular CLI 6 does not have eject, this might be possible in a future Angular-CLI release. This does work with React. Q: Can we use Angular CLI + ArcGIS JavaScript Cli A: Angular CLI 6 does not have eject, this might be possible in a future Angular-CLI release. Q: Which framework should be used? Vue, React, Angular or Knockout? A: The JSAPI has no preference. You can see various guides here - https://github.com/Esri/jsapi-resources/tree/master/frameworks. Q: Can you intermingle the use of the Angular CLI and the Esri CLI? A: Angular CLI 6 does not have eject, this might be possible in a future Angular-CLI release. Q: Did you discuss 4.9 features? A: Yes Q: Is there support for multiple ArcGIS Portal use? Ie Webmap from one portal item, Featurelayer from different portal, portal item? A: Yes, you can instantiate multiple Portals in a single application. Q: Using the ArcGIS/CLI, is there a cache to clear or some way to ensure that an updated version works correctly? A: You can run npm update to see if there are newer modules you can use. Q: When will 3.x features (like SnappingManager, etc.) be migrated from 3.x to 4.x? Is there any performance difference between 3.x and 4.x? A: These features are planned in iterative releases over the next few releases in the JSAPI. Performance with larger amounts of data will scale better in 4x. Q: Is it necessary to use esriloader to import modules of the API? A: No, it is not. Q: Do you know if the angular esriloader is also importable vs. require?  A: You should be able to import it for use in applications as well. Q: Sometimes I struggle with getting access to the current map via child components, so I am always looking for advice on best practices or patterns for sharing map instances across components in angular (I know this isn't really an angular webinar, but I thought I'd throw this out there anyways). A: This can be handled via some form of state management, possibly with injectable services in your components. Q: I'm using const[EsriMapViw] = await loadModules([esri/views/MapView] to load modules. Is this now obsolete? A: You can continue using esriLoader if you want to in certain instances, but is not required in most applications. Q: Is ArcGIS API compatible with Angular ? A: Yes. Q: What is  CLI? A: Command Line Interface Q: Can my JQuery functions run in a Type Script project? A: Yes Q: In Tsconfig.json >> module: "AMD".  What are the options besides AMD? A: None, "CommonJS", "AMD", "System", "UMD", "ES6", "ES2015" or "ESNext" Q: Using promis is the most difficult part of ArcGIS Api for JavaScript. Do you mean using Typescript makes it easier? A: You can use async/await. I don't think it's much easier. It is a good idea to get more familiar with Async and Promises in JavaScript. It is not unique the JSAPI. Q: Will you have any big change on ArcGIS API for Javascript 5.0 like 3.x to 4.x? A: We currently have not made plans for a 5.0. Q: Is Typescript more relevant than JavaScript? A: TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript. I wouldn't call it more relevant. In our experience, it scales well and helps us write safer code. Q: How can we load base maps using TypeScript? A: It works the same as loading them in JavaScript. Q: What is the different between JavaScript and TypeScript? A: TypeScript provides type safety. Q: I've noticed that you use export = foo and at other times export someFunction. I know export = allows you to workaround the ClassName.default issue in vanilla JS. Do you have an internal rule for when and how to use the type of export functions? A: In writing applications we do either export const foo = something or export default Foo. No need to do export = foo. Usually I export default classes and export other helper functions. No hard and fast rules. Q: Is there a link to the cli documentation? A: GitHub - Esri/arcgis-js-cli: CLI to build a template application and widgets using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript  Q: How easy it is to use the JavaScript API with bootstrap and jQuery? Because I have encountered some issue while using it with Dojo. A: I've used them before and they work fine. Be aware that any CSS framework may overwrite CSS for native DOM, such as table, header, span, that could impact the widgets of the JSAPI. Q: Did we install a node package for ArcGIS? A: Yes. Q: Why do we want to watch viewmodel with an assessor? A: Accessor allows the ability to watch for property changes. https://developers.arcgis.com/javascript/latest/guide/implementing-accessor/index.html Q: Can you use ES6 and ArcGIS for JavaScript without TypeScript? A: Yes. Q: Could you please explain decorators? Are they part of ES6 or Typescript? And when do you apply them? A: Decorators are a stage 2 proposal in JavaScript https://tc39.github.io/proposal-decorators/ TypeScript provides them and so do other JavaScript tools like Babel. Q: Is TypeScript working with ArcGIS JavaScript 3.x? A: Yes. Q: What version of ArcGIS API for JavaScript support TypeScript? A: 3x (https://github.com/Esri/jsapi-resources/tree/master/3.x/typescript) and 4x (https://github.com/Esri/jsapi-resources/tree/master/4.x/typescript) If you have additional questions from this webinar, please leave your question in the comments section. We'd love to hear from you! ... View more

Last week Rohit Singh and Alberto Nieto hosted a GeoDev Webinar on "Integrating Deep Learning with ArcGIS Using Python". We had a lot of great questions come out of the webinar and will be updating this post to add the Q&A that were not addressed during the webinar.  Many viewers requested to have access to the PowerPoint presentation, and the presenters were more than happy to share. In their presentation, they offered access to their demos and resources that may be helpful for those developing in Python.  Webinar - DL Python Integration Did you miss the webinar? No worries! We've got you covered, as you can view the video here: Integrating Deep Learning with ArcGIS using Python  We look forward to the next GeoDev Webinar in September, "Using TypeScript with the ArcGIS API for JavaScript" with hosts Rene Rubalcava and Noah Sager. Stay tuned! ... View more

"Government works best, when it's government by the People." Code for America really  gets right to the heart of the matter when it comes to the National Day of Civic Hacking, coming up this weekend, August 11th, 2018. For several years now, Esri has been a strong active supporter of this annual event which combines technology, people, and innovative ideas for improving the lives of citizens, solving problems, and helping government work better.   Given that many of our most complex civic problems involve spatial relationships of people, things, and resources moving over space and time, ArcGIS continues to be a powerful toolset for bringing technology to bear as innovative ideas are envisioned and projects are built.   If you plan to be part of the Code for America Brigades this weekend and would like to use ArcGIS in your solution, here are some free resources for your use: Developer subscriptions to ArcGIS Online are free and you can sign up for your account here: https://developers.arcgis.com. This free subscription gives you access to developer APIs, along with app templates, app builders, sample code, example apps, and online community discussion forums. You also get 50 cloud credits a month you can use for storing data and maps, and using analytical tools.   For those participating in National Day of Civic Hacking events, Esri is providing voucher codes which give you up to 1,000 additional ArcGIS Online cloud credits. If you would like a voucher code, please let us know by emailing us at: civictech@esri.com   ArcGIS DevLabs are a series of short (10-15 min) self-paced tutorials for getting started with ArcGIS. With these, you will find it very easy to learn how to import and build datasets, create web maps, and also embed mapping tools into apps you are building. https://developers.arcgis.com/labs   Our top picks for developers this weekend are: Import and Manage Data Get Demographic Data Spatial Analysis Style and Visualize Maps Query and Edit Data         *Features can output as GeoJSON for interoperability   Our top picks for the non-developer this weekend are: ArcGIS Online Quick Lessons Publishing Data to the Cloud Data Analysis and Analysis Tools Mapping and Visualization Create an Application   As you start using the tools, online help from Esri staff is easy to find: a. Use hashtag #NationalDayOfCivicHacking on social media, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram b. Join theSpatialCommunity.slack.com and use the #arcgis and #arcgis-web channels c. Engage with the global community of ArcGIS users on Esri's Online Community: geonet.esri.com   Good luck and have fun! We can't wait to hear about all the innovative and impactful civic tech being built at events all over the US.   ... View more

On Monday, August 27th, the Developer Outreach Team will be hosting a GeoDev Meetup in Houston, TX. Nicholas Popovich will be emceeing the event, and we're looking forward to another successful developer event. For the first time, we will be heading to Grace's on Kirby, which is a local, hometown venue in the Houston area. From 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., we are welcoming all who identify as being part of the developer community to join us as we invite all of you to participate in the lightning talks interspersed with trivia, snacking on some appetizers, and also some networking.  If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to the link below: https://www.meetup.com/DevMeetUpTexas/events/253070707/  We hope to see you there! The Developer Outreach Team ... View more

In the month of June, we hosted a GeoDev Webinar on our DevLabs Model: Data, Design, and Develop. Allan Laframboise and Jim Barry gave a 50 minute presentation with 10 minutes of Q&A. We had a number of questions that we were unable to get to during the webinar, but we wanted to share the answers with the developer community as we find them to be ones that are important and useful. Q: What is the difference between creating web maps and services through the regular ArcGIS online and the DevLabs method? Can I modify the web applications that we create like edit the application itself without having to download it and host it in another server?  A: When it comes to creating web maps and hosted feature services, there is no difference. DevLabs modules provide a developer-oriented way to learn how to use ArcGIS Online. As for modifying web applications. If you build these web apps using Web AppBuilder or the configurable web application templates, you can modify them all you want using the tools provided, and continue hosting those on the Esri cloud through ArcGIS Online. If however you want to download the web app you created and code additional customizations, you will then need to host the web app yourself on your own web server. It is not possible to download a web app and re-upload it. Q: If I edit a basemap and create a new basemap and save it, can I use it through the ArcGIS Desktop client version if I log in with my ArcGIS online account? A: Based on the content in this webinar, I believe you are referring to vector tile basemaps. If so, then the answer is yes. When you style a vector tile basemap, and store that as an item in your ArcGIS Online account, you can log into your account using ArcGIS Pro and display that basemap exactly as you styled it to look. Q: A concern for hosting data on the ArcGIS cloud is consuming credits. What are the credit and data hosting limits for a developer account? A: There are no credit limits, per se. A free "Essentials" level developer subscription allows you to use up to 50 credits per month. If you need more credits you can purchase them. See this page for more information: https://developers.arcgis.com/pricing/credits/ Q: Would you have suggestions to get directories of data portals? A: Many organizations around the world host open data portals, or produce and maintain data for commercial sale. We are not aware of one single database of data providers. The best solution is to find what you're looking for using a search engine. Q: Tokens expire. What guides their lifetime?  A: Please refer to this document here: https://enterprise.arcgis.com/en/server/latest/administer/windows/about-arcgis-tokens.htm Q: Pertaining to demographics maps, etc.- is data available from the entire world or only just USA territories? A: It depends on what kind of demographic data you're looking for. While comprehensive demographic data covering all countries in the world does not exist, there are many countries who manage and provide data better than others. Q: What is the GeoNet link that we can ask more questions? A: Please feel free to comment here on this blog post for any additional questions about this webinar. Q: When you create a new app (e.g., getting a new token), and it saves (to your dashboard), does it remain private while still online or do others who have access to your organization (ArcGIS Online account) have the ability to see it? A: All items you create on ArcGIS Online begin as private and can only be seen and used by you. You then have full control to open up the sharing level so that the item can be seen and used by others in your organization, in groups your belong to, or even to the world using the "Everyone" level, provided your organization's Administrator has given you permissions to do so. Q: Any custom apps for working with 3D data? A: Using Web AppBuilder, AppStudio, or any of the ArcGIS web and native SDKs, it is possible to build 3D mapping applications using Web Scenes. Q: What is the benefit of using DevLabs over Web AppBuilder? A: Web AppBuilder is a web-based app for interactively building customized web applications. DevLabs are a series of tutorial modules for learning how developers can use ArcGIS Online to create and prepare data, design web maps, and build applications. At the moment there are no DevLab learning modules that cover the Web AppBuilder product, but we are working on them. If you want, here is a DevLab-style tutorial for building your first app using Web AppBuilder: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/web-appbuilder/create-apps/make-first-app.htm Q: What type of file is a 'JSON file'? A: JSON stands for "JavaScript Object Notation". It is a way of formatting JavaScript objects in a simple standard human-readable way, for transmission and storage of this kind of data. Structurally however, it is simply a plain ASCII text file. Q: Is there a dev lab on how to use the Google maps basemap and display data from Esri layers?  A: At the moment, there is not a DevLab for this. However, in the ArcGIS API for JavaScript, there is a class called WebTileLayer which can be used to load and view non-ArcGIS tiled basemaps, and the help provides sample code for how to use it. It is important however to keep in mind that non-ArcGIS datasets have their own licensing requirements and usage restrictions. Please refer to the latest version of Google's Terms of Service to determine whether your desired use is allowed. Q: How can I upload a map for you all to see? A: The Map Viewer available on ArcGIS.com gives you the ability to create web maps, and then use the Share button to control who can see and use that map. Q: Instead of copying the script from examples, what programming skills do you suggest to have before attempting these labs? A: The DevLabs cover developer techniques across many different app development platforms, such as JavaScript, Android, iOS, .NET, and others. In order to get the most from these labs it is expected that you have at least a novice to intermediate level of skill and experience with the underlying developer technology and related programming language. Q: How will I be able to share the JS Bin output to an external client and share it to public? A: When you're in JSBin, use the "File > Save Snapshot" menu item, which creates a unique URL for your bin. You can copy that URL out of your browser's address bar, and paste that URL into, say, a text message or email, and the person you send it to can use that URL to see your bin. It's best if your register and log into JSBin. That gives you the ability to save these bins in your account. Now, if what you mean is, that you created a web app with JSBin, and how can you publish that as a standalone web app, you can do that too. But to do so you will need a web server. You can take the code you wrote in JSBin, save it out to HTML, CSS, JS files, and upload those to your web server, and host that application there. Q: Using the existing developer account tools, is it possible to develop Interactive 3D urban planning, or landscape? A: Yes. An ArcGIS developer license allows you to create interactive mapping applications that contain maps that display in 2D and 3D. Q: Is it possible to populate a popup window with data fetched from a SQL DB instead of a feature layer's attribute table? If so, is there a DevLab that can guide you? A: There is not a DevLab module for this, but you can find more information on that on the ArcGIS for Developers website, depending on which specific SDK you are using. Q: Is it free, or do I need a license? A: The ArcGIS Developer Program is free at the lowest level, called "Essentials". More information about what is included at all levels of the ArcGIS Developer Program, please refer to this page: https://developers.arcgis.com/pricing/ Q: Is there any workshop for DevLabs? A: ArcGIS DevLabs are designed so that you can do them yourself, at your own time and pace. We do not have in-person instructor-led training that use the DevLabs, but we have dozens of other instructor-led courses that cover a variety of ArcGIS developer topics. For more information please see: http://training.esri.com Q: Is there a full training for how to create a custom map? A: There are a few dozen DevLabs that cover topics related to creating custom maps. For more information, use this URL: https://developers.arcgis.com/labs/browse/?topic=Maps-and-Layers&product=any Q: I am from state transmission utility (Gujarat India) and we have lat long data of each tower location in Oracle dB.  Can I use this tool to develop web-based and mobile applications? A: Yes. ArcGIS Server and its Enterprise Geodatabase tools provide an excellent way for connecting to spatial data in an Oracle DBMS, then serving that data up as web services accessible to web and native applications you build using the various ArcGIS SDKs.  Q: Do you know of any custom tool that would allow me to GROUP layers in the legend in an ArcGIS Online 2D map like I can with a SCENE? A: The answer to this varies a bit. It depends on which ArcGIS SDK you are using. For that, I'd like to refer you to the ArcGIS for Developers website, then click into the part of the site that covers the SDK you are using. Q: Once you develop something in DevLabs, how does licensing work for using the content in production? A: To deploy web applications into commercial production, you must be at a subscription level above the free "Essentials", or you must purchase credits at a level above the free 50. For more information see this page: https://developers.arcgis.com/pricing/credits/  As for native applications built with one of the ArcGIS Runtime SDKs, here is information on how to deploy apps into commercial production: https://developers.arcgis.com/pricing/licensing/ Q: Can we develop an app for survey purposes using this? A: Yes. It is possible to use ArcGIS to build applications that can be used for surveying. Q: Is it possible to publish map services from ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS Server on prem? A: Yes. You can use ArcGIS Pro to create a wide variety of web services, and host them on prem using ArcGIS Server. For other questions and answers that were addressed in the webinar itself, or just to view the webinar because you missed it, please head over to https://go.esri.com/geodev. We have many other webinars you can check out, so keep checking back for more! ... View more

We decided to propose some changes to this year's GeoDev Meetup at UC and see how they went for developers who are used to hanging out on Wednesday evenings on the Coronado Terrace at the Marriott Marquis and Marina. The change was not only in location (over to the Grand Terrace Ballroom at the Marriott), but we also decided to change it over to Tuesday evening. Read on to see how it went! Developers came over from the convention center to the Marriott, and as most went up the escalator, passing the temptation of Starbucks, they were able to follow the strategically placed signs and arrows, making it surprisingly easy for anyone to find the meetup. While it was a bit of a walk, we're happy to report that most people met their FitBit step requirements for the day.                     Upon arrival, attendees were to check in. There were so many developers in attendance from all over the world. We saw a lot of new faces, but also recognized quite a few as well! The meetup gave the developer community an opportunity to join other developers as they networked and enjoyed some beverages and appetizers outside on the terrace facing the westward San Diego sunset. This was a great opportunity for developers to meet wither others who are also working with some of the same SDKs and APIs that others have come to learn more about. With music from DJ Carey playing in the background, attendees were able to relax and unwind from the second day's worth of Esri UC goodness. Towards the end of the meetup, attendees thanked us for having the event and were able to leave with a nice goodie bag of popcorn or chips as they ventured over to meet with their teams/friends/own selves for dinner. Everyone had a really nice time, and we look forward to hosting this again next year! For any suggestions or recommendations on improvement to this event, please utilize the comments section below. ... View more

What a great lightning talk event this year! With over 40 submissions, it was really tough to choose the top 20 that would be invited to present on Monday 7/9 from 4:30 - 6:00pm in Ballroom 20D. With topics ranging from smart communities to weather as a service, the attendees filled the room to hear our user community from around the globe share their work with Esri tools.  Here is a list of the speakers and their topics: Presenter(s) Title Elizabeth Irvin-Barnwell and Chris Maniglier-Poulet Operational ArcGIS Online: Survey123 Use During a Disaster Response Chris Blinn At a Glance: Dashboards Done Right Tilmann Steinmetz Weather as a Service Dadan Daihani Electoral Monitoring System : Indonesian Case Amir-IT Ziv Advanced GIS Applications: Herzliya Smart City Project Omer Ben Asher Making the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture GIS Oriented Jhon Brayan Valencia Risk Modeling to Evaluate the Impacts of Climate Change on the Colombian Páramo Abdo Abdelrasoul GIS for resurfacing roads and pavement management, and maintenance Jamie Christensen Outdoor Access Tareefa Saad Alsumaiti Soil Characterization of Avicennia Marina In Eastern Mangrove Lagoon National Park, Abu Dhabi Jaydeep Mistry Azure App Water Level Rises Natalie Campos Using GIS To Monitor The Homeless Problem in San Bernardino County Diana Borda-Beltran GIS Applied to Decision Making Moses Kamau The Power Behind a Map Darren Conly SACOG Project Performance Assessment Tool Noam Raffel Esri Tools Bridge the Gap of Environmental Subject Matter Experts and Offer Unique Solutions to Impact Assessment Studies Steve Mulberry Innovations for Smart Communities - GeoIoT: Working Smarter with IoT Andrew Walker Supporting Biodiversity with GIS Gregor Patsch Utilizing GIS to Address the Impacts of Urban Stormwater Weibo Liu Graph-based Identification, Representation, and Analysis of Storm Events We thank the user community for submitting such great lightning talk presentations, and we look forward to another awesome year of lightning talk amazement. ... View more