arcwatch

Navigate with Ease

ArcGIS provides many tools for routing and transportation network analysis. Once this routing and analysis is completed in the office (say, in ArcGIS Pro or ArcGIS Online), then what? How do you get the resultant stop list to your field crew to operationalize and drive?

Answer: The route layer.

A route layer is an item type within ArcGIS Online. Route layers can be created from the ArcGIS Online Directions pane and by using the ArcGIS Online tools with network analysis capabilities: Find NearestPlan Routes, and Connect Origins to Destinations.

(In the future, ArcGIS Pro 2.1 and ArcGIS Enterprise 10.6 will be able to save network analysis results as route layers.)

You can then view the route layer item on your mobile device and click the Navigator Stop List link. This automatically loads all your route’s stops into Navigator for ArcGIS.

How do you get this route layer item onto your device? You have a few options. First, you can paste the URL into an email and send it to yourself or someone else. Another option is to create a shortcut on your mobile device to a group that these route layers are always shared with.

Here’s how to do this:

Step One: Create a route.

Using the Directions pane, build a route. Refer to the Directions pane help documentation for details.

Step Two: Save your route.

Give your route a useful name and store it in a folder so that you know where to find it.

Step Three: Share your route.

The SHARE THE ROUTE link takes you to the route layer item details page where you can choose to share the route with everyone, your organization, or a specific group in your organization. For this example, we’ve shared the route publicly (so it’s available to you) and with a dedicated group for fieldworkers (to show how a group can be used within your organization).

Step Four: Get the route layer item onto your driver’s mobile device.

Step Five: Open the link using a mobile device. Note that you must have Navigator installed and a map of the area downloaded, showing your stops. The map must be opened in Navigator. Enjoy!

Additional Information to Keep in Mind