Create maps

The Crowdsource Reporter application consumes maps that are accessible to the general public and named users in your ArcGIS organization. Create one or more maps and share them with the general public and/or users within your organization.

Consider how you would like to present your information to application users before authoring a Crowdsource Reporter application. Publish layers and organize your crowdsourcing maps around themes or logical groupings of information. For example:

  • A map called Road Problems that allows the general public to report potholes, damaged street signs, and other road problems in a single map, or
  • A map called Storm Damage that allows the general public to report downed trees after a storm.

Crowdsource Reporter maps

Create one or many maps into which you will organize a series of editable layers. These maps will be presented in the application as categories, so use them to sort your editable layers into common groupings. To create these maps, complete the following workflow:

  1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and open Map Viewer.
  2. Choose a basemap. This basemap will be the backdrop for all editable layers in this map.
  3. Add one or many editable layers to the map. These are the layers into which your app users will be contributing reports. These layers may accept point, line, or polygon geometries. They will be presented in the application as subcategories, and the features from only one of these will be visible at a time. These editable layers must have Create and Query capabilities enabled, must have editing enabled in the map contents, and must have at least one editable field.
  4. Edit the names of the layers to reflect the type of reports your users will be submitting here. The layer names will be presented as the subcategory choices in the application, and are also used for the heading of the form where new reports will be submitted.
  5. Configure pop-ups for each layer. Fields that are marked for display will be used to present details of previously-submitted reports, including any display parameters such as aliases and date format. Fields that are marked editable will be used to build the report submission form including any editing parameters such as multi-line text boxes and aliases. Fields that have one capability do not need to have the other. The pop-up title will be displayed in the list of previously-submitted reports, so it is recommended that this title point to a required or automatically-populated field. If your layers include related tables for collecting comments, configure those pop-ups as well.
  6. Optionally, add uneditable reference layers to the map. These reference layers will display along with each of the editable layers in the map and provide context to users as they submit and review reports. Examples of reference layers include administrative boundaries, the locations of infrastructure, and trails. They can also include uneditable copies of the other editable layers in the map so that the locations of all reports can be viewed simultaneously. Reference layers must be uneditable, have editing disable in the map contents, or have no editable fields in the layer's pop-up. Reference layers must be at the top level of the table of contents. They cannot be nested inside group layers, basemap groups, or map services.
  7. Optionally, apply filters to the layers to restrict which features will be visible through the application. These filters can be used to hide features that meet certain criteria such as a specific attribute value, features older than a certain date, or features over a specified size.
  8. Save the map and edit the map details. This information can be displayed in your Crowdsource Reporter application, so consider using these fields to guide your users and to further personalize your application:
    • Title
    • Thumbnail image
    • Summary
    • Description
    • Access and Use Constraints
    • Tags
    • Credits
    • Search parameters
  9. Repeat the previous steps for each map that will be displayed in your Reporter application.
  10. Create a group and share your Crowdsource Reporter maps with this group. This group will be the source of the content displayed in your Crowdsource Reporter application. To add and remove categories from your Reporter application simply share or unshare maps with this group.
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