Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS
Goal
Lab 3 was designed to introduce us to building web GIS applications using Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS. Throughout the course of the lab exercise, we were given exposure to the integrated edition of Web AppBuilder on ArcGIS Online as well as the developer edition for desktop. We were able to create an application, author our own web services, and configure custom widgets for our application. Finally, we learned how to deploy the web application for use by end users. In lecture, we also were introduced to coding concepts that go into web application creation, even though there was no actual coding to be done for this lab exercise.
Methods
This lab exercise was divided into two parts. The first part involved building a web GIS application using Web AppBuilder integrated edition for ArcGIS Online. Once ArcGIS Online was opened, we had to open Web AppBuilder to create a new web application. Next, we had to import a map to be used in the web application. For this exercise, we used the web map created in the previous exercise, the time enabled map of hurricanes and earthquakes that have occurred in the US. Once the web map was imported, we got to select our theme and colors for the application. The theme simply dictates how the overall user interface of the application looks. Next, we added some simple widgets to the application: basemap gallery, measurement, and bookmark. Basemap gallery simply allows the user to change the basemap used in the application, measurement allows the user to draw a line to see how far one point is from another, and bookmark allows the user to quickly navigate to previously defined regions. For this application, we created a bookmark for western states and one for eastern states, so that the user can navigate quickly between the two halves of the US. We could then add a title to the application that shows up in the top ribbon of the user interface. Also included was a link to the UWEC geography and anthropology department page, so that an unfamiliar user can check out the department if they were curious. More widgets were then added to the application, including charts and query. The charts widget allows the user to draw a box around an area they are curious about, such as an area of high earthquake activity. The charts widget then produces a chart, in this case a bar chart, of the earthquakes included within the drawn box. This feature allows the user to compare the magnitudes or depths of earthquakes in an area of their choosing. The query widget allows the user to create a search for earthquakes of certain magnitudes, depths, or years, depending on their objective.
The second part involved building a web application using the same map service, only this time using Web AppBuilder developer edition. The developer edition allows the application author some functions that the integrated edition does not, such as adding your own widget. Unfortunately, I encountered an error upon trying to import my web application that I had just created into developer edition. The theme used in the application was from a newer edition, so it was blocked from being imported. I simply had to re-create the application in developer edition, then pick up where I had left off. The widget that we imported into the application in this part was an elevation profile widget, which allows the user to draw a line on the map, and view a side profile of the topography along that line. The user can then view the statistics for that profile, such as minimum and maximum elevation and change in elevation from the start of the line to the end. This gave us experience in importing our own widget, so that we may do the same someday when we are able to create our own widget. Finally, we made sure to share our map service publicly. This way, once we copied our application folder into the UWEC development server, we could access our newly created application using a URL (Figure 1).
Results
The web application that we created for this exercise allows the user to view the map service that we previously created, but it also gives them some additional freedom to explore different aspects of the map service through the use of widgets. By creating intuitive, easy to use widgets, a user that is not familiar with GIS functionalities can easily use this application to view natural disasters that have occurred in the US.
Sources
Fu, Pinde (2015).
USGS National Atlas
NOAA National Climatic Data Center
Lab 3 was designed to introduce us to building web GIS applications using Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS. Throughout the course of the lab exercise, we were given exposure to the integrated edition of Web AppBuilder on ArcGIS Online as well as the developer edition for desktop. We were able to create an application, author our own web services, and configure custom widgets for our application. Finally, we learned how to deploy the web application for use by end users. In lecture, we also were introduced to coding concepts that go into web application creation, even though there was no actual coding to be done for this lab exercise.
Methods
This lab exercise was divided into two parts. The first part involved building a web GIS application using Web AppBuilder integrated edition for ArcGIS Online. Once ArcGIS Online was opened, we had to open Web AppBuilder to create a new web application. Next, we had to import a map to be used in the web application. For this exercise, we used the web map created in the previous exercise, the time enabled map of hurricanes and earthquakes that have occurred in the US. Once the web map was imported, we got to select our theme and colors for the application. The theme simply dictates how the overall user interface of the application looks. Next, we added some simple widgets to the application: basemap gallery, measurement, and bookmark. Basemap gallery simply allows the user to change the basemap used in the application, measurement allows the user to draw a line to see how far one point is from another, and bookmark allows the user to quickly navigate to previously defined regions. For this application, we created a bookmark for western states and one for eastern states, so that the user can navigate quickly between the two halves of the US. We could then add a title to the application that shows up in the top ribbon of the user interface. Also included was a link to the UWEC geography and anthropology department page, so that an unfamiliar user can check out the department if they were curious. More widgets were then added to the application, including charts and query. The charts widget allows the user to draw a box around an area they are curious about, such as an area of high earthquake activity. The charts widget then produces a chart, in this case a bar chart, of the earthquakes included within the drawn box. This feature allows the user to compare the magnitudes or depths of earthquakes in an area of their choosing. The query widget allows the user to create a search for earthquakes of certain magnitudes, depths, or years, depending on their objective.
The second part involved building a web application using the same map service, only this time using Web AppBuilder developer edition. The developer edition allows the application author some functions that the integrated edition does not, such as adding your own widget. Unfortunately, I encountered an error upon trying to import my web application that I had just created into developer edition. The theme used in the application was from a newer edition, so it was blocked from being imported. I simply had to re-create the application in developer edition, then pick up where I had left off. The widget that we imported into the application in this part was an elevation profile widget, which allows the user to draw a line on the map, and view a side profile of the topography along that line. The user can then view the statistics for that profile, such as minimum and maximum elevation and change in elevation from the start of the line to the end. This gave us experience in importing our own widget, so that we may do the same someday when we are able to create our own widget. Finally, we made sure to share our map service publicly. This way, once we copied our application folder into the UWEC development server, we could access our newly created application using a URL (Figure 1).
Results
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| Figure 1. The finished web application, opened from the development server using a URL, which can be viewed in the search bar at the top of the image. |
Sources
Fu, Pinde (2015).
USGS National Atlas
NOAA National Climatic Data Center
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