First Thoughts On The November 2024 ArcGIS Online Update

[JeffreyThompson2]

Back in June, when ArcGIS Online was last updated, I went through the update notes and wrote about what I thought were the most impactful changes to Experience Builder and what you might be able to do with them. Well, you guys seemed to like that, so I guess this is a regular feature now. As before, I will not try to document every change. If you want that, the official What's New Page is here. And I have done very little testing, so don't blame me if something doesn't work the way I say it does.

Honestly, I feel a bit underwhelmed by this update, which is weird because this update contains five of the most commonly requested updates on the Ideas board (and maybe a small something from one of the Ideas I posted): text support in the Draw Widget, Express Mode for making app creation simpler, users can build their own SQL queries in the Filter Widget, starting an Edit session from a popup, and de-selecting a feature with Zoom To on can un-zoom. So why am I unimpressed? I don't know. Maybe, it's because Batch Editing got pushed back to the next update. Or maybe, I'm just bitter that ESRI is going to make Experience Builder too easy and put me out of business? I don't get paid for this. That should be a good thing. Anyway, if you aren't seeing your chance at international fame slipping away in front of your eyes, you should be happy about this update.

Action Updates

• Edit Action - This new action allows for starting an edit session from another Widget, including popups in the Map Widget. My understanding of this update is that if you place an Edit Widget in a Widget Controller, editing is turned on and off automatically when the Edit Widget is opened or closed. Last week, @ZachBodenner showed us how to use multiple Edit Widgets to prevent accidental edits, now we can use Widget Controllers to take that idea a step further and make our data even safer from whoopsies.
• View In Table Action - A Table Widget can now target itself, meaning you can select stuff in one Sheet and send your selection to a separate Sheet.
• Some Message Actions now prompt you to select trigger data. - Honestly, I'm still struggling figuring out what this means and how to use it. But I think, it means you can choose for some things to not have a certain Action.
• Show On Map Action - The graphics generated now appear the the Layers Tool and Map Layers Widget, where the user can find them to hide them more easily than that tiny trash can. The tiny trash can still exists as well, but you know maybe it shouldn't, maybe we could design this better, ESRI? The Map Widget also has a new Set As Operational Layers option that will turn them into real boys Feature Layers.
• Zoom To and Pan To Actions - Un-selecting a feature can optionally return the Map Widget to its default extent. Use this with caution: I tried it for a bit and I did not like the way it felt as a user.
• Widgets in the Pending List cannot be targeted for Message Actions. - Should make setting up an application for multiple screen sizes less confusing, but I worry about unexpected behavior if the screen-size changes.

Data Source Updates

• Support for Subtype Group Layers.
• In the last update, the Feature Info Widget got an upgrade that automatically added all the layers from a Map Widget at once, this option is now available in every Widget that would benefit from it.

Express Mode

Instant Apps for Experience Builder. Templates designed to get you from start to finish much faster and easier with a simplified Builder Mode. You can start in Express Mode and then go to the full-featured version if Express Mode isn't enough. Official introduction blog post here.

Style Settings

Borders for the sides of Widgets can be set separately. Want a line between Widgets in a Column? Throw a top and bottom border. No need to mess with a Divider Widget.

URL Parameters

Use URL parameters to select some features and zoom to them. You can select features by id, geometry or with a SQL where clause.

Widget Updates

• Accordion Widget - It's a new. It allows you to stack multiple Widgets into a menu that the user can open up when they need it. Much like musical accordions, design accordions are often hated. Design experts caution against using Accordions as they are not good for accessibility and users frequently do not notice/understand they can be expanded. The general rule of thumb is to never hide vital information inside an Accordion. With that said data-heavy/GIS applications, often need to break general principles of web design to be useful. Use Accordions with caution.
• Basemap Gallery Widget - Add your own basemap by URL.
• Bookmark Widget - More options for how your Bookmarks appear with a reportedly more user-friendly Builder interface.
• Business Analyst Widget - More options for calculating travel times.
• Coordinates Widget - I can't quite wrap my head around what this sentence means, but I pretty sure its important.You can use the new Use transform forward setting to specify whether you want to perform a datum transformation in the forward or reverse direction.
• Chart Widget - So many updates it needs a submenu. If only I had an Accordion...

1. Use the layer symbology to color a chart.
2. Bar and column charts support time binning.
3. Line charts can be continuous or discrete.
4. You can turn off axis labels.
5. You can hide empty data.
6. Auto generated titles that can also be changed manually.
7. Breaking Change Alert!

Additionally, the Chart widget no longer supports using ID fields for statistics other than count. If you have an existing chart that does this, the chart may fail and you should reconfigure the widget.

• Draw Widget - Text!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With many font choices, the OOTB Draw Widget is now officially a better Write On A Map Widget than my uninvited collaboration with @RobertScheitlin__GISP. (Although, we still have the official widget beat with freehand drawing and post-drawing editing support.) Drawn graphics can also appear in the Map Layers Widget or Tool.
• Edit Widget - Enable Tooltips can be turned on by default. (Could help fill the gap left by the WebAppBuilder Traverse Widget?) Show and edit vertices. (Is that really a new feature? We didn't already have that?)  Hide Edit/Create Features panels to the user if not using them.
• Filter Widget - Users can take control of their own destiny and make their own SQL queries.
• Map Widget - In addition to other stuff mentioned in other places, you can also choose where to dock docked popups.
• Map Layers Widget - Popups can be toggled on/off on a layer by layer basis. Users can turn off popups for that one layer that super annoying and not very helpful, but covers your entire map.
• Near Me Widget - View Related Records in Near Me. Find intersecting polygons. Find features in invisible layers. Cancel slow searches. More Data Action support. Sounds like Experience Builder's most hackable Widget just got even more hackable.
• Query Widget - Query spatially with stuff added from the Add Data Widget.
• Search Widget - Should be easier to set up for new Experience Builder designers, but I paradoxically if you know what you want and what your doing, it seems to be a clunkier building process. Every step through setting up a Search Widget answer I have ever written is now wrong. The Result Panel that covers up half your screen and doesn't hide itself after a search is now optional.
• Text Widget - Additional formatting options.
• Timeline Widget - Increased precision and an option to start with filtering on or off.
• Widget Controller Widget - There are new options for when there are too many Widgets for your Widget Controller Widget to control all your Widgets. They can be scrolled through with arrows or have the overflow compacted down to a single button. Making a Widget Controller one button wide and using this second option could be a valid design choice. The Manage Widgets Panel allows you to make an Accordion within a Widget Controller. It's not mentioned in the What's New document, but the took my advice and added box shadow options to the buttons. I would have preferred that they listened to the border and bigger buttons parts of that suggestion instead. You can also make the icon colors different for every Widget in the Widget Controller. Don't do that. But you can do that.

There it is. My most highlights from the November 2024 ArcGIS Online Experience Builder Update. Have a great day to everybody, except whoever spilled their coffee on the ArcGIS Online servers this morning.

[LauraGosnold]

Thank you!  I just upgraded to 3.4, and this is very helpful!

[TimF]

This is great - thanks for doing this. I can't criticise ESRI for a lack of 'What's new' documentation - there are piles of it per update now: a website page, a blog, individual summaries per application, individual summaries for key developments etc. The struggle is to extract the gems (unsung or otherwise), so this summary is really helpful. I look forward to seeing future versions!

[AndreaB_]

highlight for me! Search widget -The Result Panel that covers up half your screen and doesn't hide itself after a search is now optional.