Indicate layer visibility in LayerList widget

1781
5
04-15-2016 10:54 AM
Status: Open
RyanKelso
Occasional Contributor III
The LayerList widget in Web Appbuilder should indicate a layer's scale dependent visibility.  Have the layer name and checkbox grayed out if not visible at the current scale.  This is possible with custom code in the developer edition, but should be included out of the box.
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5 Comments
by Anonymous User
Doesn't it already do this?

However, I should note to Esri- -- this may be ovious to us. But to users, it is not. They usually do not understand what greyed out means. (It is in our Help doc but we know how popular reading that is..)   I currently display a tooltip on hover to describe that greyed out means they need to zoom in.  However, I think Esri should either add this tooltip out of the box or re-think this UI paradigm.  Maybe some kind of little icon of an eye or a magnifier or something next to the layername. Also make it animate on-hover or something. Users respond well to things that animate or react on interaction such as hover I have noticed. (they have an ah-ha moment 🙂 ) And I include myself in this as well!

By the way, I have also observed users being confused with the layerlist dropdown arrows. They always click on the right one first for some reason. I currently get around this as well with a note at the top of the TOC a text span that says "to open or turn on map layers, click the layer names" and another span that says "↓ Map Layers ↓" with HTML characters indicating what to do.  (is there a way to tell it to automatically have the top level of a service open by default in the layerlist in WAB DE?)

Many of things users do FIRST are the most important. They need more dev attention by Esri therefore. By this, I mean users usually come in, and off the bat, either search for an address with the locator or turn a map layer on or off in the layerlist TOC.  There are several very important observations I've had, based on hundreds of users' feedback, on both of these components. (such as partial checkbox icon for TOC items)  We will be massively scaling out WebApp Builder and I look forward to collaborating directly with the Esri dev team on it.  Overall it's a beautiful archicture and once I train users on the LayerList's UI they love it. It's a great platform and I hope to help Esri make it even better and more accessible in collaborating with them.
RyanKelso
Unless I'm really losing it - which is entirely possible - no, it doesn't already do this.  The ArcGIS Online map viewer table of contents does, but not LayerList in Web Appbuilder.  Unless you're using the Developer version and have taken advantage of Robert Scheitlin's customization to the widget.
RastislavElgr1
No, I don't think it does it out of the box. Should be included though since it is confusing for users. It is more about not allowing to turn a layer on if it is not defined for that scale. If it is not greyed out and user turns it on nothing will get displayed and user is wondering where is the data not knowing it will be displayed at the next zoom level or even further. I already got this question twice having to explain to them that they have to zoom more in.
ScottPrindle

Hello Ryan Kelso,

Currently, the Layer List widget in Web AppBuilder does gray out the layer's name when you are not within its visible range. However, the check box for the layer is still active.

I wanted to see if this is the functionality you were looking for. Since you mention both the layer name and the check box being grayed out, this may only be partially implemented. The layer name is in fact grayed out, but the check box is still active. Please feel free to comment to help clarify your request and how it fits into your application needs.

-Scott

RyanKelso

Hi Scott Prindle​,

This must have been a recent addition to Web AppBuilder, which is great.  I think the current implementation is fine, at least there is some visual indication as to why a layer isn't being displayed and that should be easy enough to explain to users.

For an example of how this feature could be made even better, though, check out the layer list in Robert Scheitlin's app:  ArcGIS Web Application

You'll see there's a little scale bar added to the check box when the layer is not within its visible range, just like in ArcMap.  And ArcMap also makes the check mark itself a light gray color.  If you could combine all of these features, it would be even better!  Thanks,

-Ryan