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