A quick overview of ArcGIS Mobile
ArcGIS Mobile extends the reach of ArcGIS from the office to the field. With ArcGIS Mobile, you can improve the accuracy and currency of your GIS. The maps that you author and the data that you manage can be accessed on mobile devices in the field where you can collect new GIS features, update existing GIS features, or simply leverage GIS information in existing field workflows.
Field applications
ArcGIS Mobile includes two field applications that are task-centric and workflow driven. They are designed for you to take advantage of both the intelligence you have placed inside your geodatabase data model and the compelling maps that you have created using ArcMap in an application that targets field personnel who have no knowledge or understanding of GIS systems.
The field applications include ArcGIS Mobile for Windows and ArcGIS Mobile for Windows Mobile. Both contain the same functionality but are designed to fit the capabilities of the platform they run on.
The ArcGIS Mobile for Windows application is specifically designed for notebooks or tablets—running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 operating systems—that have touch screens and may or may not be ruggedized. Typically these notebooks are mounted in vehicles and are used during both the day and night. With this in mind, the ArcGIS Mobile for Windows application has large buttons that are best suited for finger touch access, employs a tap model over a drag model as ruggedized touch screens are difficult to drag your finger across, and can be skinned for day- or nighttime use.
The ArcGIS Mobile for Windows Mobile application is specifically designed for handheld Windows Mobile 5 or 6 devices that may or may not contain GPS receivers and cellular capabilities. Windows Mobile devices contain a subset of Windows functionality; however, they have a distinct user interaction model that is quite different than Windows. The Windows Mobile application contains the same functionality as the Windows application but has a different flow of use. Functional areas of each task are presented through a set of pages that you can step backward and forward through in a similar fashion to a wizard in a Windows application.
Both the field applications function in the context of a field project. Projects contain the set of tasks and map resources that are used to complete those workflows. Tasks can be configured and also extended to fit the workflows and terminology of your organization and field processes.
Mobile Project Center
Mobile Project Center is a new Windows application used by field managers within an organization to create and manage field projects. Field projects can be stored locally on your file system and copied directly to field devices or uploaded to a Web server (either hosted on your corporate network or within ArcGIS.com). Projects managed using ArcGIS.com or your on-premises Web server can be accessed directly by mobile devices that are in the field using Web services. The ArcGIS Server .NET and Java setups include Web services that enable the management and storage of field projects. This is often referred to as the content server. Installing ArcGIS Server on your Web server will install the content server for you, and you can access the REST endpoint of that server in a Web browser by entering http://<server>/<instance>/Mobile/Content.
Mobile Project Center organizes project content into three groupings: maps, tasks, and capabilities.
Mobile map
Inside Mobile Project Center is where you define the map contents or map layers that will be used in the field. Map layers are organized into two categories—operational map layers and basemap layers.
Operational map layers are transactional. They include the map layers that you need to synchronize between the field and office. To create an operational map layer, you first need to determine what is the transactional data content within your data model and author that content into a map document. How you define the data model and how you author the map really determine how your operational layers come to life in the field applications.
If you are using ArcGIS Server and Web services to synchronize operational content between the field and office, you will need to publish your map as a map service with mobile data access capabilities using either ArcCatalog or ArcGIS Server Manager. This will create a Web service endpoint for the field application and ArcGIS Server to synchronize content. If you are not planning to synchronize data using a Web service, you can simply use the Create Mobile Map geoprocessing tool to create a cache of map data content that you can copy to your mobile device for field use.
Basemap layers provide reference to the operational content in your map. Ortho imagery, street maps, cached basemaps, and ArcGIS Online maps are all sources of basemap layers in your mobile projects. There are several types of basemap layers supported by ArcGIS Mobile that you can choose from based on your field workflow needs.
To learn more about map content in a mobile project, read Defining your map.
Tasks and capabilities
Tasks define the workflows that are used in the field to collect, update, search for, and manage GIS features. Using Mobile Project Center, you can configure each task and its capabilities. For each task, you can assign a name and description that best fits the terminology you use in your organization. In addition, you can set task properties such as building predefined queries for the search task, choose how to automatically synchronize updates from the field, and so forth. Using the Mobile SDK, you can also build your own tasks and/or modify the capabilities of existing tasks in the application.
To learn more about the core tasks that come with ArcGIS Mobile, read the following:
Mobile SDK
The Mobile SDK contains a set of coarse-grained .NET name spaces and classes that you can use to do either of the following:
- Extend the ArcGIS Mobile applications with new tasks, capabilities, and workflows.
- Embed geospatial data and functionality into existing field applications.
You can use the Mobile SDK components to develop and deploy applications to Windows devices and Windows Mobile devices. The Mobile SDK includes templates with sample projects that help to jump-start your development.
To learn more about the Mobile SDK, visit the ArcGIS Mobile Resource Center located at resources.arcgis.com.