Zoom to your Room.

ArcGIS Online has released a new update for November. 

Here is a list of what was expected. 

Among them is a hidden gem that hardly got noticed or mentioned but will change the way we do GIS on the Collector App. 

• World Imagery, World Street Map, and World Topographic Map will be updated with additional levels of detail in the tiling scheme to support display of larger scale data in or on the basemap. 

Did you see it? No neither did anyone at our office. That was until Paul stumbled upon it while using Collector this week during a data collection project. He kept zooming in and zooming in until all the valves were individually visible.

If you have never come across this, it's a BIG stumbling block for utility folks!  Lots of these guys have oversized hands and clicking on a bunch of tiny dots can really get frustrating.  

This is the difference from an ArcGIS Server Cache to the Esri imagery Basemap

In the past we have created a tile caches down to 1:500 for ArcGIS online (Or 1:250 if they have ArcGIS Server) this allows our clients to zoom in close enough to see the different features. Possibly click on several and hope the one they want got selected. 

No More!

Esri updated Three Basemaps (4 if you count Labels) World Imagery, World Street Map, and World Topographic Map that now zoom-in to an unbelievable 1:71 !!! I cannot overstate how awesome this IS. Sure the imagery and maps are a little fuzzy but WHO-CARES at that scale you just want to be able to see the features separately. 

If you look into this on ArcGIS Online web map, you can see that it's actually called "Room Level"

**Note if you Don't see this change on the Webmap interface, SAVE your map and try opening it again. AGO is a SAAS, but still needs to update the capabilities of the Webmap. 

Now, get out there you large-handed-gorilla & Zoom-Zoom!

ArcGIS Collector App- Reviewed

It's no secret that Cloudpoint is an Esri Shop. Being in the Business Partner Network, receiving the AGOL Specialist  status ... we drink the kool-aid. I've been like that since forever.

So What? Get over it. 

Still, as skeptical consumers and technologists, there is still a part of us that wants to test. Make sure we're progressing rather than regressing. We want to make sure we know and understand the different options for our customers and what has been released. One of the worst things is to spend 100s of hours with your head down working away on a solution only to find out something very close was released for free or very cost-effectively months ago. (True Story)

Thus enters ArcGIS Collector. If you haven't used Collector and you have an Android or iOS device, go download and try it out. I don't have the time and you don't have the attention span to  address all the merits of the app. It's good. If you're in GIS, You should use it. 

Initially released as a Native iOS iPhone only app, Collector has had an upgrade recently and I want to compare new vs old:

New (10.2)

• Optimized for iPad
• Less Menus
• Set GPS Accuracy Tolerance
• Edit Lines!!
• Addition of Bookmarks
• Easier Basemap Switching

Old (10.1.12)

• Quicker Menus
• Further "Zoom" Ratio
• More simple interface
• Better Battery life
• Map Icons Larger
• Legend (albeit Buried)

---

Spoiler: I have the Old App here as a Zip file, Install it through iTunes & turn off Automatic Updates. 

Admittedly, there's no benchmarks for the battery life, and it could be that the iPads hare just older.  But the Zoom-In thing is real, because you have to 2x the app since it was built for the iPhone, that magnifies everything, icons, imagery etc. Sure if you go back to 1x or native resolution, everything is the same, but try explaining that to 10 burly Electrical Workers complaining about the update. 

Menus. This might seem like a 'small thing' as well but it takes a few seconds longer to enter information. You have to move across the screen to close the box or choose a drop-down. A few seconds times 10,000... now wer're talking real productivity. 

Results

The Newer iPad app may have some problems and quirks, but so did the old app as well does the Android. The perspective we keep is that it's a great tool. And outweighing all of these issues is the fact that you can Edit Lines!!! Seriously that's huge. Aerial imagery is crucial. The GPS is never accurate enough to use in collection, but it'll get you to the right side of the street to click on the map. 

----- Update for Android Device -----

This is from Paul. Using the Android out on a Sign Inventory:

So the Android didn't work out so well. I went to use it when the iPad was getting low... Right off the bat I noticed the GPS was taking longer to settle. I found that I could complete taking a point but it would not submit. After messing about a while I figured I was starting to kill time so I used the inverter I had with me (thanks Jon!) with the iPad for the remainder of the day. It was a pain to keep it on life support, but it worked out.

I planned on doing some research this evening but found the Samsung acting erratic - locking up, powering down and giving internet access problems warnings. So I would say its the definitely something with the device...I did get it to act normal again after powering it down and back on, so I'll give it another go tomorrow and report back.

And here's the review-to-date. It's certainly not a fair assessment at this point but there are a few things I noted today:

Likes

• Switching between saved users instead of entering username/password each time
• Zooms in closer

Dislikes

• Doesn’t work
• GPS Location less responsive
• Must reach across screen when adding more than one picture
• Must reach across screen when submitting a feature
• Portrait-only mode
• Screen seems less responsive (may just be the case type)

Other

I will really miss the strap on the LifeProof case. It allows you to hold the tablet securely without a constant grip

Jon Made a video on how to use Collector: