Text fields need to wrap

ZachAnderson2

When typing notes in a text field the field no longer expands and wraps as it did in Collector if you reach the "edge of the field". If you type more than the screen width, exit the field, then want to go back to add notes (which is a a very common practice for me and many others), you have to use the space bar to scroll all the way to the end of the text string. This is very slow, cumbersome, and annoying. It also introduces the possibility to accidently select all your notes, then hit the space bar, which will delete everything.

Please bring back the text wrapping capability that was in Collector.

See the attachment of screenshots of the same data in Collector vs Field Maps.

JustinReynolds · ‎05-14-2023

Hello,

This is already supported. To implemented it you will need to change the input type to "Text - Multiline" in Field Maps Designer.

Field Maps Designer

Field Maps

StacyCecil_ · ‎09-25-2023

@JustinReynolds Thanks for the tip, however, is there a way to correct this for viewing attribute tables that I had no control in setting up without creating new fields and pasting the previous field content with field calculator?

I'm also still using version 2.9.5 and haven't upgraded to 3.1 yet.

JustinReynolds · ‎09-25-2023

@StacyCecil_

You won't need to add a new field and the solution is independent of of the Pro version used to publish the service.

You just need to convert the popup to a form in Field Maps Designer. The forms can be setup at the web map level. You will need to be the map owner. You can create a new map and add the layer of interest to it, if you are not the owner of the original map, then use your map to the data collection. It just depends on what you are allowed to do. At any rate it is a quick five minute or less process that doesn't require a change to the schema of your layer.

Then change the input type for the fields of interest from Text - Single Line to Text - Multiline.

StacyCecil_ · ‎09-25-2023

@JustinReynolds I might be looking in the wrong location for what I am trying to do - I'm trying to get the attribute table information to wrap the text.

This is great help for looking at the pop-ups in the online service, just not what I am trying to do today, thanks!

JustinReynolds · ‎09-25-2023

@StacyCecil_

Perhaps that is the case, or maybe your question or idea changed somewhere along the line, but your post is in Field Maps Ideas, it discusses collecting data in Field Maps vs Collector, and the screenshots in the PDF are of data entry using Collector and Field Maps Forms.

So it seems to me that we are talking about the same thing, but using different terms. This is assuming that by "attribute table" you actually mean "Form".

In your original post, you have a pdf that shows form fields in a Field Maps Form during data entry. In this case, what ESRI calls a "Form", you may be calling an attribute table. Here is how ESRI defines an attribute table . You can find attribute tables in Map Viewer, in other apps like Experience builder and Dashboards, or in ArcGIS Pro, but not in Field Maps or Collector.

Previously, with Collector, forms were configured in the web map's pop-up. Aliases and visible fields were set at that point and that is what the user could edit in the app.

With Field Maps, that is still true, except that by default, text fields are now single line inputs. Esri is giving the designer the flexibility to choose input types for fields, which is awesome. If you want or need multi-line inputs, you must explicitly define this in Field Maps Designer by configuring the Form. If you don't configure the form, then you are stuck with the default configuration, based on your popup, which will default to single line mode for text.

The reference to the popup in the previous post is simply to convey that to get started configuring your form in Field Maps you can do so by converting your existing popup. By doing this, you get a list of fields for data collection based on that popup that you can know configure however you see fit, including changing your a field's input type to multi-line text.

So you have Popups (which are read-only), you have Forms (which are editable, and by default, are based on your Popups), and you have attribute tables (that allow you to see data for multiple features in an excel table like format, which may or may not be editable).

Here is a decent tutorial by Geo Jobe for configuring a form by converting your Popup to a Form.

https://geo-jobe.com/mapthis/take-advantage-of-these-new-features-in-arcgis-field-maps/#:~:text=With...

Here are the ESRI docs on how to configure a form, but is quite convoluted.
https://doc.arcgis.com/en/field-maps/android/help/configure-the-form.htm

To summarize, text wrapping of text fields in your Field Maps Form is still a thing, but the Map/Form author must decide which fields will wrap and which won't and this is done in Field Maps Designer.