ArcGIS Online got its latest update last night and the full list of changes is here. Billing it as a minor update reflects the modest list of changes, but some really useful things have been added.
In any dynamic map it is important to manage visual clutter at small scales – so the ability to set a scale range on labels plugs a significant functional gap. Although the effect could be achieved by using duplicate layers in the web map life will be much easier with a specific scale range control for the labels on each layer.
Anyone making use of related features via ArcGIS Online will be pleased to see that these can now be edited in a Web AppBuilder app. For example, a set of inspection records for a related building feature can be captured in Collector and then updated back in the office using a web app. In an appropriate Web AppBuilder app activating the edit widget on a feature opens the option to edit the related table:
Off the official What’s New list a couple of beta application templates have been added. Geo Tour lets you guide the viewer through a set of locations driven by an ordered list. Styler, currently aimed at 3D web scenes. lets you create a simple viewer but with a fair bit of control over the look of the interface. One of the options I like is is being able to choose between a fixed basemap, the basemap picker or a button to switch basemap (the Basemap Toggle widget). For my windfarm web scene I can let the user choose between draped imagery or the topographic map without having to check how it looks with the other basemaps (the toggle is the map thumbnail in the lower right corner):
The template also picks up on any slides (bookmarks) in the web scene and lets the user move through these. As beta templates they are intended for you to familiarise yourself with them ahead of their full release. I think I might use some more of the colour scheme configuration options before I share my viewer…
And of course there has also been lots of work behind the scenes to resolve issues. The fix lists are published on the product support site.