Search Features task

When working in the field, you are often assigned a region to work in, like "Collect all park furniture in Ford Park" or "Inspect hydrants between 5th and Church Street and Baseline and Weaver Street."

If you need to inspect or update existing corporate assets in the field, you can use the Search Features task to find features either within a map extent or by some form of search criteria. You can then take the features that you find and organize and store them in a list using the View Work List task so that you can ensure you visit/update every one of them in the region assigned to you.

Choosing what to search for

Once you tap on the Search Features task on the Tasks page, you can begin to search for features in the map. The first step in defining your search is to choose the type of feature that you are looking for or, if you don't know the specific type, the layer that you think it may belong to.

The list of feature types and layers may be a subset of what you see in your map. When building the project that you are working with, your GIS staff defined what could be searched for when using the Search Features task. If you cannot find the features you have been assigned to inspect or update, contact your administrator.

The Choose Feature Type page is designed so that you can quickly and easily find the type of feature that you need to search for. It contains a list of all feature types, and they are sorted in alphabetical order. You can choose the type of feature to search for by scrolling through the list of types until you get to the one you are interested in searching against. Tap it when highlighted to lock in the choice.

The list of feature types may be fairly long, so if you know the name of the feature type you want to search for, you can constrain the list of feature types that appear by typing in the search bar.

If the list is still difficult to manage, narrow the list of feature types even further by filtering the number of layers that can display feature types. From the Choose Layers page, uncheck the layers that you do not want to appear in the list.

The feature type list is sorted alphabetically by feature type name. Sometimes you may not know what feature type you want to search for. But you may know the name of the map layer or you may be given some criteria by which to search. For example, you may need to search for "all valves that need inspection." In this case, the search will span multiple feature types.

You can search against all types within a layer by first grouping the list by the layer name and tapping the layer name or All Types.

Defining the search criteria

Once you have chosen what you want to search for, you can define your query using the search page.

The title bar of the search page will display the name of the feature type or layer that you are searching. You can then construct your search criteria by defining the fields and field values to search for. It is important to understand that your GIS staff has chosen what fields are displayed in the list, how they are named, and what type of entry box is used to define the query for that field name.

To improve the accuracy of your search, the page will change the way that you build your search query based on the type of field you select. If you do not know which field contains the text that you want to use to search, you can simply perform a textual search against all field types by choosing <All Fields>.

Text fields

Searching against a text field is relatively straightforward. The text entry box gives you a visual indication that it is a text field by displaying gray text that indicates what you should do in order to search. Tap the gray text or use the RIGHT/LEFT rocker keys to give the text entry box focus, then type the text you want to search for. To start the search, press Down on the rocker, press ENTER if you have a QWERTY keyboard, or click the Find button.

Numeric fields

If you pick a numeric field, an additional drop-down list appears in order to define an operator for the numeric search. In this way, you can query the field not only for an exact value but by using an expression such as equal to, less than, less than or equal to, greater than, greater than or equal to, or not equal to a specific value.

Once you choose a numeric operator, you can then enter the numeric value in the field below. Note that the entry box accepts numeric values only.

Date fields

If you search using a date field, you can choose a date range for your search much like you can choose a numeric operator when searching for numeric values. Date ranges are based on the date you specify.

Fields with business rules

Your GIS staff can attach business rules to certain fields. If you pick a field that has a rule associated with it, a drop-down list appears and presents each valid value listed for the rule. This alleviates the need for you to type in the text on your device.

Navigate between the drop-down lists and through each of the search controls by pressing the LEFT or RIGHT arrows on the rocker.

Saved searches

The Search Features task enables you to define search criteria and save that search criteria so you can execute your query multiple times without having to define it each time. In addition, your GIS staff can create a saved search and store it inside your project. The first page that you see in the Search Features task presents a list of the searches that you have saved in the project. From this page, you can do the following:

• Tap the New button and define new search criteria.
• Edit a search that was previously created by tapping Search Criteria.
• Tap an existing search or the last search that was performed and view the results.

Browsing search results

Once you have searched for a feature using the Search Features task, you can inspect its attributes and compare that information to what you see when looking directly at the object in the field. If information recorded for the feature does not match what you see, open the Edit Attributes page and directly update the feature.

To browse for a feature that you have found using the Search Features task, simply highlight the feature in the list and click Browse On Map.

When the map appears, the information bar displays the value of the primary display field and, if space allows, the feature type name. If the feature you searched for is a point feature, a cyan pushpin will appear on top of the feature to indicate its location. If it is a line or polygon feature, the entire shape of the feature is drawn in cyan.

To view all the values for the feature to which you have browsed, press down on the feature to bring up the View Attributes dialog box. If that feature type can be edited, you can press the Edit soft key to display the Edit Attributes page and update attributes of the feature.

Viewing and editing search results

With a feature highlighted in the search results list, you can either press the DOWN arrow on the rocker or tap View Attributes from the Menu key to view all attributes for the feature.

On the View Attributes page, scroll up or down the page using the rocker, or use the scroll wheel on your device if available. This list of fields that appear in the View Attributes page, the name of the fields, and their order, are set by GIS staff when building the project.

If the feature is editable, tap the Edit key to display the Edit Attributes page. The list of fields that appears on the View Attributes page may be different (and in a different order) than the Edit Attributes page. Which fields appear and their order was also set by your GIS staff when defining the project.

You can also access the Edit Attributes page directly from the Search Results. After editing a value, tap the Finish key to update the feature attributes and return to the Search Results page. Tap the Cancel key to abandon any edits you have made.