Collector for ArcGIS

Prepare your data in ArcGIS for Desktop

In this tutorial, you'll build a copy of the Damage Assessments feature layer.
You'll create a geodatabase in ArcMap, create domains, add a feature class,
then add the correct field types and configure them to meet the
requirements of the data collection form. Once you have configured the
information model, you will build a map in ArcMap and publish a feature
service to your organization. In the next tutorial in this series, the service will
be leveraged as a layer in a map and used by your field work force to collect
information in the field.
Create your geodatabase
Geodatabases organize and store data you collect. Ultimately you'll create a feature class to store
damage assessment reports, but first you need to create the geodatabase that holds the feature
class. Take the following steps to create a file geodatabase by using the Catalog window in
ArcMap:
1. Start ArcMap, and open the Catalogwindow.
2. Right-click the file folder in the Catalog tree where you want to create the file
geodatabase.
3. Point to New.
4. Click File Geodatabase to create a new file geodatabase in the location you selected.
Name your geodatabase Tutorial.
Define geodatabase domains
Some fields in your data should be populated from a set of choices. By creating domains in your
geodatabase, you provide a list of choices your users can select from when they are collecting
data. Later in this tutorial when you set up the fields, you'll use the domain.
1. In the Catalog tree, right-click the geodatabase, and click Properties.
2. Click the Domains tab.
3. Click the first empty field under Domain Name, and type ExtentDamage for the new
domain. Press the TAB key or click the new domain's description field, and type a
description for the domain.

Tip:
When creating a new domain, specify a name that describes the parameter it governs. The
description is a small sentence describing the purpose of the domain.
 4. Click the field next to Domain Type, click the drop-down arrow, click Coded
Values from the list of domain types, and choose Text as the Field Type.

5. Click the first empty field under Coded values, and type Affected for the first valid
code.
Tip:
When entering coded values, make sure the code field matches the Field Type specified
in the Domain Properties.
6. Press the TAB key or click the new coded value's Description field. Type Affected as
the user-friendly description for this coded value.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all valid values and their descriptions have been typed. The end
product resembles the following image:

8. Click OK to create the new domain in the geodatabase and close the dialog box.
Define the feature class
Next, you'll create the feature class to hold the information collected. Feature classes are
essentially containers for information, where the pieces of information share similar
characteristics, whether that be their geometry or their attributes.
1. Right-click the geodatabase, point to New, and click Feature Class.
 Note:
A feature class is a collection of features that share the same geometry type and
information model.
The New Feature Class wizard opens. It walks you through the necessary steps to
customize the feature class.
2. Type Damage_to_Residential_Buildings as the name for the feature class,
type Damage to Residential Buildings as the alias, and choosePoint Features as
the feature type. Click Next.

3. When creating this feature class, select a coordinate system. Coordinate systems allow
your features to be projected properly and accurately on a map, making the features
appear in the correct locations. For this tutorial, select WGS 1984 Web Mercator
(auxiliary sphere). Click Next.

4. Click Next to accept the default XY Tolerance settings.

5. Click Next to accept the default database storage configuration.
Set up the fields
The fields are a key part of your information model. They provide the structure of the
information your field workers collect and provide rules for the types of information collected
about a feature.
1. The first field you create will be used to record the number of occupants that live in the
building being inspected. Click the first empty field, and typeNUMOCCUP for Field
Name. Under Data Type, choose Long Integer.
2. Under the Field Properties, click the Alias check box, and change the default
alias NUMOCCUP to Number of Occupants. The alias is what your field workers
see on the data collection form so it's important that it makes sense to them.

3. The next field you create takes advantage of the coded domain created earlier in this
tutorial. Click the next empty field, and type TYPDAMAGE. ChooseText as the data
type.
4. Under Field Properties, type Extent of Damage as the alias for the field.
5. Click the empty Domain check box, and choose ExtentDamage.
 6. The final field to add is the description field. Name this field DESCDAMAGE, and make
it a text field. Update the alias to Description of Damage.
Note:
The full damage assessment template has more features than described in this tutorial.
For a complete set of fields, download the Damage Assessment Template map package.
However, you can continue the Collector tutorials using just the three fields you created.
7. Click Finish to complete the feature class creation.
The feature class you created is added to the map and appears in the Table of
Contents panel in ArcMap.
8. To allow users to take pictures in the field and attach them to their assessment reports,
enable attachments on the feature class you just created. To do so, right-click the feature
class in the Catalog window, select Manage, and click Create Attachments.
Theme your data
You've now created your information model. In this section, you'll define how those features
look on your map.
1. To update how your features look, right-click the layer in the Table of Contents, and
click Properties.
Note:
If your feature class is not yet on the map, drag the feature class from
the Catalog window into the Table of Contentspanel in ArcMap.
2. Click the Symbology tab.
3. Click the Categories section under the Symbology tab, and choose Unique values.
4. In the Value Field drop-down list, choose the Extent of Damage field, and click Add All
Values.
5. Right-click the first value in the list, and select Properties for All Symbols.
6. In the Symbol Selector, search for House, under Civic options, choose House 1, and
click OK.
7. Double-click each house icon, and select a different color for each of the house symbols.
 8. Click Apply, and click OK. The symbols update in the Table of Contents.

9. Click File, and click Save to save your map document. Name your map document
Damage_Assessment.mxd.
Publish your data
Your data needs to be available online to use it in your map. You can publish the data to
your ArcGIS for Server or to your ArcGIS organization. In this tutorial, you'll publish the service
to your ArcGIS organization, where it will be available as a layer that you can add to your maps.
1. If you're not already signed in to your ArcGIS organization in ArcGIS for Desktop, sign
in.
2. Click the File menu, choose Share As, and click Service.
The Share as Service panel opens.
3. On the Share as Service panel, confirm the option Publish a service is selected.
Click Next.
The Publish a Service panel opens.

4. On the Publish a Service panel, expand the Choose a connection drop-down list, and
select My Hosted Services (your organization name).

5. Accept the default service name, Damage_Assessment, and click Continue.

The Service Editor window opens.
6. In the left pane on the Service Editor window, click Capabilities.
7. In the right pane, check the Feature Access check box, and uncheck the Tiled
Mapping check box.

This specifies that you'll publish a feature service rather than a tiled map service.
8. Under Feature Access, check Create, Update, Delete, and Sync. For details, see Take
maps offline.
9. In the left-hand pane, click Item Description.

10. Add a tag Data. Type the following for the Summary and Description: This is for
the Collector Create maps tutorial.
 11. On the Service Editor toolbar, click Publish.

You'll see various status messages as the service publishes, then you'll see a result
message.

12. Click OK on the result message.

13. Minimize ArcMap or exit the ArcMap application. Save your changes if prompted.
Now that you've created your information model, defined a domain to improve data quality in
the field, and published your data, you are ready to create and share a map for your field work
force to use.
Create and share a map for data collection

In this tutorial, you'll create a map to use to collect data about damage
assessments. You'll build a map by starting with a basemap, adding the
damage assessment layer (that you published in the tutorial Prepare your
data in ArcGIS for Desktop), configuring the data collection form, and
customizing the application settings. Finally, you'll share the map to make it
available to workers in your organization.

These steps show screen captures that follow this workflow as a member of
the Clancy Energy organization. Some actions may have different outcomes
for nonmembers (as in the case of sharing options). You can complete this
workflow using your organization. Notes are provided to help you. If you're
not a member of an organization, create a trial organization to use.

Create a map

Using the layer you published in the previous tutorial, create a map. In the following sections,
you'll create a map by starting with a basemap, adding the damage assessment layer, then
exploring the details exposed for the assessments.

Start a new map

1. Open a web browser to your organization's home page.
o If you're using ArcGIS Online, go to www.arcgis.com/home .
o If you're using Portal for ArcGIS, go to the home page of your
organization's portal. This is often similar
to www.yourportalname.com/arcgis.
2. Click the Sign In link in the upper right corner.
3. Type your user name and password, then click Sign In.
 Your organization's home page appears.

4. Click Map on the ribbon, above the banner.

A new map called My Map appears. This is the standard ArcGIS Topographic basemap
with the default extent. Every new map you make in this organization starts like this.

Note:

This tutorial was created using an account with the Topographic basemap and North
America as the default initial extent. Your organization may have a different default
basemap and a different default extent, and your new map opens with those. That's okay,
as the map created with this tutorial can be created with any basemap you like, and the
extent is set in the following step.

5. Pan and zoom the map so that the United States is visible.

Tip:

To find the United States, use the Find address or place search over the upper right corner
of the map.

6. Click Basemap on the ribbon, and choose Streets.

This basemap provides helpful context when locating buildings to assess for damages.

Note:

If your organization does not have the Streets basemap, select another basemap that
provides useful information for your data.
Add a layer to the map

For your map to be accessible in Collector, add an editable feature layer.

Note:

If you have not published your layer using the steps in the previous tutorial and you are
connected to ArcGIS Online, you can use a shared editable feature layer to follow the rest of this
tutorial. To use the shared layer when you follow the steps below, search all of ArcGIS Online
for damage assessment demonstration and add the layer authored by esri_collector.

1. Click Add on the ribbon and choose Search for layers.

The Search for layers to add side panel appears.

2. Set the In drop-down list to My Content.

3. Type damage assessment in the Find text box, and click Go to search
for it.

A list of relevant layers return. Your list may be different than that shown in the following
image because it reflects the content in your account.
 4. Click Add on the Damage_Assessment layer to add the result to your

map.

The existing damage assessments display on the map.

Note:

Since the data in the damage reports layer changes, what you see when you add the layer
to your map may not exactly match the following image.

5. Click Done Adding Layers at the bottom of the side panel.

The Search for layers to add side panel closes, and the Contents side panel appears.

Save the map

1. Click Save on the ribbon and choose Save.

The Save Map dialog box appears.

 2. Complete the fields on the Save Map dialog box as shown or as

appropriate.

Note:

If you don't have a Tutorial maps folder, and you want to create one, do so in My
Content.

3. Click Save Map.

Note:

This map is owned by you, but it depends on the availability of layers that aren't yours. If
the owner deletes or stops sharing a layer, your map won't be able to draw it.

Test the pop-up

1. Zoom in on the map to explore the damage assessments.
2. Click one of the existing damage assessments.

Information about the damage assessment displays. This information is available to

anyone viewing the map. It also determines the information that can be collected while in
the field. The information shows in a pop-up.
 If you view the item details for the layer that you added to the map, you'll see that it
contains a modified version of the Structural Damage Assessment template. This
modified version contains all the fields you see in the pop-up.

3. Close the pop-up.

You have now made a map by adding a basemap and some layers, and you explored the pop-ups
that it contains. Much of the value of this map lies in the information contained in the pop-ups. In
the next section, you'll see how to configure pop-ups to display the information you want to
share.

Configure the data collection form

In the previous section, you made a map by adding a layer and you explored the details exposed
in the pop-ups. You can customize the information the pop-ups display, as well as the
information collected in the field.

These steps build on the previous section and further customize the map you created. If you
didn't complete those steps, you can still follow the steps presented here. You just need to save a
copy of the Damage Assessment Survey (Tutorial) map and continue in your copy of the map.

Note:

To find the map on ArcGIS Online, search for Damage assessment tutorial
owner:esri_collector type:map.
1. Click Show Contents of Map on the side panel to display the Map
Contents panel.
2. On the side panel, click the small arrow next to the Damage

Assessment Survey layer.

The layer properties context menu appears.

3. Choose Configure Pop-up in the layer properties context menu.

The side panel changes to Pop-up Properties.

The default pop-up title consists of the layer name (Damage to Residential Buildings)
plus a field name in curly brackets. The fields come from the data in the layer on your
map. In this case, the field name is firstname and it displays the first name of the
contact. Field names work like variables, so when you click a damage assessment on the
map, its pop-up title shows the first name of the contact for that particular report:

4. Farther down the Pop-up Properties panel, in the Pop-up

Contents section, click Configure Attributes.
 The Configure Attributes dialog box lists the features' fields by their display state (on or
off), field name (which can't be changed), and field alias (which can be changed).

5. On the Configure Attributes dialog box, in the Display column,

uncheck the check box for the Structure Insured and Renter's
Insurance fields.
6. Click OK to close the Configure Attributes dialog box.
7. Click Save Pop-up at the bottom of the Pop-up Properties panel.
8. Click a damage assessment on the map to see its updated pop-up.

9. Close the pop-up on the map.

10. Click Save on the ribbon and choose Save.

Your map is now ready to use for data collection. In the next section, you'll see how to customize
the capabilities available when the map is used in Collector.

Customize the application settings

Some of the capabilities of maps can be turned on and off. These settings include the ability to
route, measure, change basemaps, find locations, and track the location of collectors. By default,
routing, measuring, switching basemaps, and finding locations by address are enabled. In this
section, you'll turn off the routing capability and turn on the find locations by layer (feature
search) capability, since your field workers need to search features but don't need routing when
collecting data.
 1. Click About this Map on the side panel to display the map's
details.
2. Click More Details to go to the map's item details page.
3. Click Edit on the item details page.
4. Uncheck the Routing check box under Application Settings in
the Properties section.

5. Under Find Locations, check the By Layer check box to enable

feature search for your map.
6. Click Add Layer to specify what layer can be searched. By default, the
Damage to Residential Buildings layer is set to be searched for incident
numbers.
7. Click Save to save your application settings.

Your map is created, configured, and customized. It's ready to be shared with others in your
organization.

Share your map

Now that your map is ready for use, share it with members of your organization.

1. Click the Share button on the item details page.

If you're the only person who needs access to your map, you don't need to share it. If so,
proceed to step 3.
 2. On the Share dialog box, check the check box to share the item with

one of your groups.

Note:

Your sharing options depend on the organizations and/or groups to which you belong.
You won't see the same options shown in the previous screen capture. Share the map with
one of your groups.

3. Click OK to close the Share dialog box.

4. If your layer needs to be shared, you're prompted to update its sharing
to match that of your map. Share the layer so that those who can
access the map can see the data.

Sign in to the app to see your map

Your map is now ready to use in Collector. Log into the app to see how the map looks to your
field workers.

1. Start Collector on your Android device.

Note:

Install Collector for ArcGIS from Google Play if you don't have it on your phone.

2. Sign in if you have not already done so.

1. Type the URL for your organization and click Continue.
 2. Provide the requested information to sign in.

Note:

The sign in requirements for your organization can differ from those shown on
the screen capture.

3. Search for Damage on the All Maps page to find your new map.
4. Tap the Damage Assessment Survey map thumbnail to open it.

Note:

The extent of the map that loads is based on your location; therefore, you see a different
extent on your device.
5. Tap an existing feature to see information about it.

Note:

This is dynamic and changing data. The existing features you see may not exactly match
those shown here, but that's fine, you can look at any existing feature.

6. To show the actions you can take with the feature, tap the arrow to the

right of the feature information .

7. Tap Show details to see the pop-up that you configured.
You have created, configured, customized, and shared a map for data collection. Your map is
now ready to use in Collector and is available to all the members of your organization. You are
ready to collect data on this map.

Track where collectors went

As a manager, you may need to track where your collectors go when working
in the field. You might be interested in knowing the routes of individuals, or in
knowing the area covered by the collectors as a group. When you author the
map for collection, you have the ability to have it periodically report the
collectors' locations to a server, creating data to account for their time and
routes. There are two parts to using this ability in the app: enabling tracking
in your map when you author it and accessing the generated tracking data.

Enable tracking in your map

For your collectors to be tracked while they are working in the field, enable tracking on your
map when you author it. Enable tracking by publishing a tracking layer and adding it to your
map. The steps to publish a tracking layer are slightly different if you are working with ArcGIS
Online or Portal for ArcGIS; therefore, follow the steps applicable to your organization: publish
the tracking layer using ArcGIS Online or publish the tracking layer using Portal for ArcGIS.
Then add the tracking layer to your map.

Publish the tracking layer using ArcGIS Online

Publish a hosted feature layer created from the Location Tracking template by taking the
following steps. See Publish an empty feature layer in the ArcGIS Online Help system for more
details.

1. Go to My Content.
2. Click Create Layer to open the Create Layer dialog box.
3. In the Create feature layer from drop-down list, select a template.
4. In the Template drop-down list, select Location Tracking.
5. If you want a custom name for your tracking layer, set the name.
6. Click Next.
7. Provide the extent for the layer and click Next.
8. Specify a title, any additional tags, a summary, and the folder in which
to save the layer.
9. Click Done to publish the layer.

You now have an editable, add-only layer. Add this layer to your map and use it to record the
tracked locations.

Publish the tracking layer using Portal for ArcGIS

To publish a tracking layer using Portal for ArcGIS, download and follow the steps included
with the Location Tracking Template map package.
Add the tracking layer to your map

With your tracking layer created, add it to your data collection map. Set the properties on the
map, setting it to track the location of your collectors at a specified interval.

1. Browse My Content to find the map on which to enable tracking. If

you need to create a new map, see Create and share a map for data
collection.
2. Open the map in the map viewer.
3. Add the hosted feature layer created from the Location Tracking
template to your map and save it. This layer will not display by default
when working in the Collector app.
4. Open the map's item details page.
5. Click the Edit button to enable editing of the map's properties.
6. In the Properties section, enable the Track Location feature of
the Application Settings.

Note:

Track Location is disabled by default.

7. In the drop-down list next to the Track Location property, set a time
frame for the tracking. This is how often the location of the collector is
recorded.
8. Click Save to save the changes to your map.

While the collectors are working in Collector, their movement is now tracked and recorded on
the specified interval.

Note:

Tracked collectors must be signed in and members of an organization.

To preserve the battery on mobile devices, the location of the collector is only reported while the
app is active. It does not report when the app is in the background.

Collectors can't toggle tracking on and off. If the collector is using a map that tracks location,
and the app is active, the location of the collector is recorded. If the My Location tool indicates
the GPS is off, the GPS is still on and tracking the collector, although their location is not
displayed on the map.
Access the tracking data

If you have tracking enabled in your map, you can view where the collectors were as they
worked. To view the recorded location information, take the following steps:

1. Open a map containing the tracking layer. You can use your
organization's website or the Collector app to open the map.

While the collection map contains the tracking layer, you do not need to use this same
map to view the data. Instead, you can create a map for the purpose of viewing the
tracking data.

2. If the hosted feature layer created from the Location Tracking template
is not visible, turn it on.

Note:

By default, the tracking layer is not visible in the collection map that uses it to track the
collectors' movement.

o In Collector, open the map. Open the Overflow menu and

tap Layers. In the Layers page that displays, check the check
box next to the tracking layer to turn on its visibility.
o On the website, when viewing the map in the map viewer, click
the Contents button from the Details panel and check the
check box next to the tracking layer.

The tracking information displays in the map, and you can see where the collectors went.

You can now track and review where collectors went during their work.
Take maps offline

Authoring your map for offline use allows your users to view, collect, and
update features when disconnected from the Internet. Once reconnected,
your users can synchronize with your map, send any updates they have, and
get map updates from other users. In Collector, an offline option appears on
maps authored to meet the offline requirements. Your users can go
offline with maps hosted in your ArcGIS organization as long as they are
configured for offline use.

Data requirements

To author a map for offline use, the map needs to contain the following:

All feature layers in the map are sync-enabled. These can be hosted
feature layers or ArcGIS 10.2.2 Server or later feature services. For
details on using hosted feature layers, see Allow offline editing in the
ArcGIS Online Help system. For details on using ArcGIS Server feature
services, see Preparing data for offline use and Tutorial: Setting up
feature service data for offline use in the ArcGIS Help system.
(Optional) ArcGIS 10.2.2 Server or later tiled map services with export
tiles enabled. See Allow clients to export cache tiles in the ArcGIS Help
system for more information.
An Esri basemap enabled for offline use or your own ArcGIS 10.2.2
Server or later tiled map service with export enabled. Esri basemaps
 that are enabled for offline use can be found in the Tiled Basemaps
group. For details on enabling export of tiled map services, see Allow
clients to export cache tiles in the ArcGIS Help system.

Note:

Going offline requires using hosted data or ArcGIS 10.2.2 for Server or later. Using a hosted tile
layer as a basemap is not supported.

Go offline with ArcGIS Online

When creating or saving a map that meets the offline requirements on ArcGIS Online, offline
mode is automatically enabled. For maps that meet the offline requirements but that existed
before offline mode, enable the offline mode as follows:

1. Find your map in My Content.

2. Go to the item details of the map, and click Edit to edit its item
properties.
3. In the Properties section, select Enable offline mode.

Note:

To disable offline mode for a map, take these same steps and deselect Enable offline mode.

Go offline with Portal for ArcGIS

To take a map on Portal for ArcGIS offline, configure it as follows:

1. Find your map in My Content.

2. Go to the item details of the map, and click Edit to edit its item
properties.
3. In the Properties section, select Tags, and type offline-ready in the
text box.
Use an Esri basemap with Portal for ArcGIS

To use an Esri basemap with a Portal for ArcGIS map that you want to take offline, you need to
meet the following requirements and take the following steps:

You have an account that is a member of an organization in ArcGIS

Online.
You are using Portal for ArcGIS 10.2.2 or later.
You are using ArcGIS 10.2.2 for Server or later.
1. Sign in to ArcGIS Online with your account that is a member of an
organization on ArcGIS Online.
2. In the Tiled Basemaps group on ArcGIS Online, find the basemap you
want to use, and open its item details page.
3. Copy the service URL listed in the Map Contents.

Tip:

If multiple URLs are listed, use the URL starting with http://tiledbasemaps.arcgis.com,
not the URL starting with http://services.arcgisonline.com.

4. Sign in to your portal, and go to My Content.

5. Click Add Item, and choose The item is: On the web.
6. Select ArcGIS Server web service.
7. In the URL text box, paste the basemap URL you copied in step 3.

The service information is fetched from ArcGIS Online. It is detected to be secure,

and Username and Password text boxes appear below the URL text box.

8. Provide the user name and password for your account that is a
member of an organization on ArcGIS Online, and select Store
credentials with service item.
9. Provide a tag.
10. Click Add Item.

The item details page for your new item displays.

11. Create a map that uses the basemap by taking the following
steps:

Note:
 This map should only be used for offline use, not for general map viewing.

1. Open the map viewer by clicking Map in the header of the

page.
2. Click Add, and select Search for Layers to display
the Search for Layers panel.
3. Search for the new basemap item.
4. In the search results, click the title of the new item, and
click Use as Basemap.
5. Save the map.
6. Click Share, and share the map with your basemaps group and
your organization. When prompted, also share the basemap
item.
12. Open your field map in the map viewer, click Basemap, and
select your newly created basemap map from the basemap gallery.
Save your changes.
13. Go to the item details of the field map, and click Edit to edit its
item properties.
14. In the Properties section, select Tags, and type offline-ready in
the text box.

When you open the map in Collector, you can download it and work offline.

Note:

Using Esri basemaps with multiple layers from within Portal for ArcGIS is not currently
supported