ArcGIS Collector

Collector for ArcGIS (iOS) v18.1.0 Released!

The Collector team is proud to announce the 18.1.0 release of Collector for ArcGIS on the iOS platform! Developed in parallel with existing minor releases this year, supported by over 2,000 beta participants, this release is very special. Available as a new download from the App Store, Collector has been rebuilt from the ground up with several key new enhancements and features:

Better maps

Collector now supports vector basemaps (both online and offline), so that you can view crisp, high quality cartography that takes advantage of the amazing pixel density of your iPad Pro or iPhone XR. Downloading vector tiles to your device will dramatically reduce the footprint of offline content on your device as well.

The rich symbology and smart mapping capabilities you rely on to effectively represent spatial information, and often publish using ArcGIS Pro, will look great in this new release of Collector. In addition, it will support labels in your map, including labels defined using Arcade expressions.

Better Maps

Improved user experience

Significant improvements and modernization of the user experience (UX) of Collector have been made. Some key usability improvements include:

Streamlined Offline Workflows

Collector works anywhere, anytime you need it. Maps can be downloaded to your device and you can synchronize changes when you gain connectivity.

Within your ArcGIS organization, you can now plan ahead: prepare the areas to go offline, store them in your content, and share them throughout your field workforce. Mobile workers simply select the map areas they need and download them to their devices. These pre-planned map areas can be created from web maps using the Manage Areas experience in the offline tab of the web map settings or can be scripted using the ArcGIS API for Python.

 

Pre-planned download

This release brings a much simplified on-demand download experience with the added capability of navigating to bookmarks as potential download locations, centering on your current location using GPS, the ability to download multiple offline map areas from a web map and you can rename the areas you take offline as well.

On-demand download

Not only does Collector support side-loaded tiled map packages (.tpk files) through iTunes, but now it supports side-loading vector tile packages (.vtpk files) so that you can copy much larger, high resolution basemaps to your device than ever before.

There are major improvements to sync as well. You can sync from within the map, you can auto-sync edits, and with a new sync panel, you can interrogate outstanding edits before you sync them or better understand what features are failing to sync.

Sync Panel

New Capabilities and Tools

We have added some new tools and capabilities as well. When locating assets, a new Compass Tool that you can use to navigate to a location using a bearing and distance.

Compass Tool

We have added new Units settings where you can set measurement units to US Standard or Metric and then choose how you would like to display Distance, Area and Coordinate units. For example, if you would like to see Area units fixed to Acres, simply change the setting from Automatic to Acres. If you would like to change the display of Coordinates to report Degrees Minutes Seconds, then change it from Automatic as well.

Units setting

3D Data Collection

Collector now supports the capture of z-values directly into the geometry of a feature when using GPS. In fact, if the undulation value of the geoid is available, Collector will calculate and store the orthometric height directly. In a future release, we will support vertical datum transformations as well so if you do not have an accurate geoid model through your receiver manufacturer, you can transform the elevation value within Collector.

Side-by-side releases

With all the new capabilities and changes, we felt a new store listing would not disrupt your existing field deployments.  You can run Collector side-by-side with the now, renamed Collector Classic app on the same device as you transition workflows over. So, you will need to download 18.1.0 from App Store to use it. When we release the Android version next year, you will see the same side-by-side release strategy appear on Google Play.

As with each release of Collector, we really appreciate all of your wonderful feedback. A special thank you to all of our beta testers and for all of our new users, please let us know how we are doing by emailing Collector4ArcGIS@esri.com.

 

About the author

Jeff Shaner is a Senior Product Lead with the software products team at Esri. With 27 years experience, Jeff is focused on delivering apps that enable users to work more productively, safely, and effectively. In his spare time, you are likely to find Jeff on the golf course or hockey rink. 

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