The October 2019 update of ArcGIS Online features new functionality to the Media Map configurable application template: a time slider and a display swipe tool. The Media Map app is typically used as an interactive map with basic tools and options for more focused map navigation.
The time slider now gives application creators the ability to display data in their Media Map applications cumulatively over a period of time or in intervals.
The display swipe enables an interactive experience for the user, allowing them to compare map layers side by side.
Time Slider
The new addition of the time slider allows users to display data temporally in the Media Map template. Map authors can use this new option to display data like crime, weather, or even election results in intervals or progressively over a time period.
Getting Started
The first thing that you’ll want to do when using the time slider is confirm that your data is time enabled in the web map that you want to use in the Media Map template. Next, you will configure the time settings in the web map to display the time-enabled data to your liking. Once you have the time settings configured, you are ready to get started assembling the Media Map template to use the Time Slider. The Time Slider parameters are located under the options tab in the configuration panel of the application. Once the Time Slider box is checked, you will see a short list of options for constructing the tool. These options include:
- Time Location: Like other widgets in the Media Map template, the Time Slider can be configured to be in any corner of the application
- Open time panel at start: The Time Slider will be open on the load of the application
- Hide time slider bar: The slider will not appear in the tool, only the time intervals or progression will display where the slider would be
- Play time animation in a loop: The time will continuously play in a loop even after reaching the end of the time period
- Include time in the display: The time slider will include the time stamps along with the dates
- Apply an effect to features: Provides the ability to apply effects to features that are included in the time extent as well as to features not included in the time extent
If you have a map that contains live or recent time data, there is an option that makes it possible to overwrite the web map time settings. This option allows the data to be shown for a specified time duration. The duration options include time and period. For example, you may have a map showing road closures that are being updated daily and you want to see the data displaying consecutively for the next 10 days. The configuration will be Duration Time = 10 and the Duration Period = Days. (See image below)
Example:
In this example below, the Media Map template is being used to convey information about rainfall accumulation in the United States. The precipitation data uses 6-hour time intervals that were configured using the web map time settings. The following web map settings were used for time:
- 6-hour time intervals
- Only displaying time in the current interval as time passes
- Start time at the time of playback
The following widgets were configured in this Media Map template:
General tab:
Current Location:
- Used to find a zoom to the user’s current location
Home extent:
- Return to the map’s default extent
Options tab:
Legend:
- Use this to identify the different precipitation amounts
Sharing:
- Create URL Links to the application or share directly using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or email
Time:
- Configured to be open at load of the application
Search tab:
Search:
- People using this application can look up specific addresses
Sample Application:
Swipe:
The display swipe configuration will allow users to easily compare content in a map side by side. The swipe can be used to show things like voting district changes or zip code changes from one year to another. The swipe can also be used to compare imagery. One example of this would be to analyze the differences in shoreline before and after a tropical storm.
Getting Started
The display swipe tool is located under the Options tab in the configuration panel of the Media Map template. Once the Display Swipe tool is enabled you have the following options:
- Select left or top layer(s): Enables the option to choose which layers will display on the left or top of the swipe
- Select right or bottom layer(s): Enables the option to choose which layers will display on the right or bottom of the swipe
- Horizontal or Vertical: This option will determine whether the swipe displays horizontally, so that the layers will display on the left and right side of the swipe; if the swipe is vertical the layers will display above and below the swipe
- Always display the swipe tool: This determines if users of the application will have the ability to disable the swipe or if the swipe will always be displayed in the application. If this is left checked off, you will be provided with the option to select the location of the widget that will turn on and off the swipe.
Once the swipe tool is arranged with the desired options, the user can click on the swipe in the application and begin to start comparing the layers on either side of the swipe tool.
Example:
This example Media Map template is a representation of how the application can be used in a third-party website using Swipe to compare multiple datasets. These datasets represent the homeless populations of census tracts in Los Angeles county. In the example below the following configurations are used:
General tab:
Prevent Map Scroll:
- Does not allow for users to use their scroll wheel to zoom in and out of the map (Note: this is a useful setting when a Media Map template is embedded in a web page. )
Splash Screen:
- Provides information about the data in the application along with the uses of the tools in the application
Options tab:
Layer List:
- Provides the user with the option of viewing each layer’s legend
Display Swipe Tool:
- Using the horizontal configuration to display the layers on the right and left sides of the swipe tool
Inset Map:
- Using the countries-small scale option to help provide more context for the location of this map at a first glance
Search tab:
Search Widget:
- People using this application can look up specific addresses
Sample Application:
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