How to create an ArcGIS Instant App
ArcGIS Instant Apps is an app builder product that allows users to quickly create and share interactive web apps without any coding. The builder is designed to be simple, lightweight, and fast, providing users with a quick and easy way to access and interact with data in a web-based environment.
ArcGIS Instant Apps can be created from a variety of data sources, including maps, layers, and web services, and can be customized to meet specific user requirements. They can be easily shared with others with a URL, making it simple for organizations to collaborate and share data.
The key features include the following:
- Interactive interfaces: The builder interfaces are designed to be user-friendly and accessible for all levels of developers. They provide a drag-and-drop interface that simplifies the process of creating custom applications.
- Pre-built components: All of the builders provide pre-built components and templates that you can start from instead of writing code from scratch.
- Configurable: Each builder provides a range of configuration options, allowing you to create an application that meets your specific requirements. You can customize everything from the interface to the functionality.
- Integration with ArcGIS: The builders integrate seamlessly with ArcGIS products and technologies, allowing you to take advantage of a range of pre-existing tools, content, and data.
- Web hosting: All web applications created by the builders are hosted and managed in ArcGIS.
- Security and sharing: All web applications created by the builder support security and can be shared with a group, shared publicly, or not shared.
Some of the additional benefits are:
- Quick and easy deployment: Create and deploy web apps without writing any code. This makes it easy to quickly create and share simple, lightweight web applications.
- Accessibility: Access mobile-responsive web apps from any device with an internet connection.
In this article, we'll develop a Sea Level Rise App based on one of our articles focusing on the vulnerability of Coastal Indigenous Communities to sea level rise in the US States and territories.
The App will enable viewers to visualize various scenarios of sea level rise and vulnerability.
Software requirements:
- ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise account with sharing privileges
To determine the vulnerability of indigenous communities to SLR, we used the SLR inland extent and relative depth of inundation from 0 to 10 feet above mean higher high water (MHHW) (NOAA Office for Coastal Management, 2024). Although the dataset does not account for natural processes such as erosion, subsidence, or future construction, it provides crucial insights into the potential impact of coastal flooding or SLR up to 10 feet above MHHW.
All coastal states and territories are included in the viewer except for Alaska and the Olympic Peninsula (WA) due to a lack of adequate statewide or local elevation data. As per NOAA, the Olympic Peninsula should be available in September 2024, and Alaska in 2025.
For Alaska, we used the "Erosion exposure assessment of infrastructure in Alaska coastal communities Web Map" (DGGS Administrator, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2021, updated May 6, 2024)
If you are interested in the Great Lakes, all Great Lakes states are included in a separate viewer, called the Lake Level Viewer (coast.noaa.gov/llv). These areas have been mapped for both inundation and lake level drop.
See the Resources section at the end of this article for URL links.
1 - Open a web browser window or tab. Sign in into your ArcGIS Online account if necessary.
2 - In your Home page, select the Content tab.
3 - Select and Open a Web Map that you would like to quickly turn into an instant app.
4 - In the Items details, select Open with Map Viewer.
5 - I'll modify my current web map to incorporate extra SLR scenarios, specifically at 1 foot, 3 feet, 5 feet and 7 feet increments (I already have the 10-foot one).
You may do the same if needed and edit your own web map.
6 - On the Contents toolbar, click Add (alternatively you can also add a dataset from the Layers). Click Browse layers.
7 - In the Browse layer window, click on the My content drop down menu, and select ArcGIS Online.
8 - In the Search type I'll look for: Sea Level Rise EPA.
I now have different tile layers to choose from. I'll add the NOAA 1-foot Sea Level Rise Inundation, the NOAA 3-foot Sea Level Rise Inundation, the NOAA 5-foot Sea Level Rise Inundation, and the NOAA 7-foot Sea Level Rise Inundation. Click Add at the bottom right of the Item details to add it to the map.
You may want to reorganize your layers in the Layers pane.
9 - Once you are finished with your edits, from Map Viewer, click Create app and choose one of the options.
The ArcGIS Instant app offers various templates to choose from. Choose an app template based on your data, goals, and intended audience to provide a focused user experience. To guide you, Instant Apps validates if your map and data meet each app’s requirements and allows you to browse and search app capabilities and preview the app with your data. You can publish instantly using the template defaults (for most apps) or configure settings to customize it for your needs.
The Suggestions pane is a valuable tool designed to guide you through a series of questions, helping you define your objectives. Based on your responses, it recommends the most suitable app template tailored to your specific needs, ensuring a more targeted and efficient workflow.
For more detailed information about each template, you can follow this link https://doc.arcgis.com/en/instant-apps/latest/create-apps/app-templates-overview.htm
10 - After responding to the questions in the Suggestions pane the app presented me with two choices: the Media Map and the Imagery Viewer templates. I chose for the Media Map template to keep the topographic basemap.
The Media Map template displays an interactive map with basic tools and a set of options for limiting map navigation. Optionally, include a swipe tool to compare layers or an interactive slider to animate time-enabled data. This app is designed to fit into small spaces embedded in a web page or as a stand-alone app.
11 - Give your app a title and add tags if necessary. I renamed mine "Costal Indigenous Communities and vulnerability to Sea Level Rise in the US States & Territories" and added a few meaningful tags.
12 - Click Create app.
13 - The Configure Media Map tab opens.
14 - The Express mode focuses on the most important options to consider for this app. Turning off express mode will provide access to all of the settings supported by the app. I turned off the Express mode so I can access more settings.
In the Contents pane:
The Search settings assist you into finding settings and tools offered in the app. Enter a setting keyword or description of a tool to get started.
The Map pane serves as the central hub for interacting with the map content. Here, you can select the web map, edit your Map information and define a Map area.
The About pane includes information to help readers understand your map such as app details, cover page settings, and location details.
The Interactivity pane helps you configures the tools needed for an effective experience of exploring/analyzing your map.
The Theme and Layout pane is useful to customize the look of your app.
The Language Switcher pane published your app with multiple translations.
Configure your app by exploring the different panes.
15 - I configured the app with a swipe tool, so it gives users the ability to toggle layer visibility across multiple layers, each showing a different sea level rise inundation area.
16 - To enable the Swipe tool, click Search settings in the Contents panel and enter “swipe,” then choose Swipe tool.
The Swipe tool is only available in full setup mode.
17 - My app is ready to be published.
18 - Click Publish when finished. Confirm when prompted, adjust the sharing level as desired (Private, Organization or Public), then click Launch to view the configured Media Map item. Note the Bookmarks tool in the upper right of the app.
19 - Now you have created a new Instant app! You can go back and configure any elements at any time.
We hope that this article has been helpful! If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to send us an email or connect with us for a chat. The NTGISC team is here to assist you further!
Resource (s)
ArcGIS Instant Apps
https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-instant-apps/overview
https://doc.arcgis.com/en/instant-apps/latest/get-started/about-instant-apps.htm
United States Census Bureau
https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/time-series/geo/tiger-line-file.html
https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/geo/shapefiles/index.php
https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER2023/AIANNH/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Sea Level Rise
https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slr.html
https://coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/slr-inundation-methods.pdf
Lake Level
https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/llv.html
Alaska - State of Alaska Geoportal
https://gis.data.alaska.gov/maps/db176e04b0b54f7894049f55aeefb548/about