An Excalibur project can be opened from the Excalibur projects list. By default, the project opens in the canvas view. The project capabilities determine the available tools. The sections below describe the various project items you'll encounter based on the type of project you're opening and its corresponding resources.
Images from an image service
All Excalibur projects have an image, a set of images, or an imagery layer from which the Excalibur project was created. The image or images may be available in the supported focus view based on the type of imagery. If an editable collection layer exists in the project, it will use the metadata from the defined image or images to automatically populate the required attribute fields to associate any collected observations with the current image.
Bookmarks tool
A bookmark is a navigation shortcut to a position on a map or perspective in your map to return to later. When you create a bookmark, it references the map it was created from. You can save a project bookmark through an Excalibur project in the canvas and use web map bookmarks if the web map being used in the project has bookmarks saved to it.
The Bookmarks menu lists all the bookmarks in the associated project and in the web map being used within the project. You can click on the Zoom to bookmark extent button on a bookmark as a shortcut to navigate to a position in your project.
Create a bookmark
Create bookmarks by clicking New Bookmark from the Bookmarks menu. To save a bookmark, complete the following steps:
- In your project, navigate to the location or perspective you want to bookmark.
- Provide the following:
- Name - a memorable name for your bookmark
- Description - a summary of your bookmark
- Click Create.
Your bookmark will appear in the Project Bookmarks menu.
Edit a project bookmark
To edit a bookmark, complete the following steps:
- In your project, click Bookmarks.
- Locate your bookmark in the Project tab and click Edit Bookmark.
- Edit the Name and Description of your bookmark.
- Optionally, adjust the extent of your map.
- Click Save to update your changes. Click Cancel to return to the Project Bookmarks menu.
Delete a project bookmark
To delete a bookmark, complete the following steps:
- In your project, click Bookmarks.
- Locate your bookmark in the Project tab and click Delete Bookmark.
The bookmark is removed from your Project Bookmarks.
Web Map Bookmarks
To use a web map bookmark, the web map being used within the project must have bookmarks saved to it. Bookmarks can be saved to web maps when they are created in the Map Viewer in Portal for ArcGIS or within ArcGIS Pro. To use a web map bookmark in an Excalibur Project, complete the following steps:
- In your project, click the More menu and click Project Details.
- In the Web Map Referenced in this Project section, click Change the project web map.
- Select a web map that has bookmarks saved to it.
- Once the project web map is changed, open the project by clicking Open Project.
- In your project, click Bookmarks.
- Locate your web map bookmark(s) in the Web Map tab.
- Click the Zoom to bookmark extent button on the web map bookmark as a shortcut to navigate to the position of that bookmark in your project.
To edit or delete a web map bookmark, this must be done within the web map in the Map Viewer in Portal for ArcGIS or in ArcGIS Pro.
Project instructions
All Excalibur projects are required to have project instructions, which are directions to help guide you through your image-based task. The project instructions are defined when the project is created and can be viewed at any time while a project is open. To view the project instructions, complete the following steps:
- In an Excalibur project, click Tools
- Under Project Tools, click Instructions.
The tools panel dynamically loads with the project instructions.
- Click the close button, or choose a different tool, to close the project instructions.
If you are working on a project as the project owner or if you are signed in with an account that has administrator privileges, you can also edit the project instructions from the Instructions tool. To edit the project instructions, complete the following steps:
- In an Excalibur project that you own, or if you are signed in with an account that has administrator privileges, click Tools.
- Under Project Tools, click Instructions.
The tools panel dynamically loads with the project instructions.
- Click the Edit button.
The text editor appears, and you can change the instructions.
- Make any necessary changes and then click Update. Alternatively, click Cancel to close the text editor and cancel and changes.
The instructions are updated within the tool and are reflected in the project details.
Web map with reference layers
Any Excalibur project can be created to optionally include an existing web map that can contain geospatial reference layers to help provide context for an Excalibur project.
When you open a project that contains a web map, the web map appears in the map panel with the project-specific imagery overlaid on top. If the web map contains reference layers, the layers are overlaid on top of the image in both the map panel and the focus panel. These layers can be turned on or off, or you can interact with them, to view additional information.
To turn the reference layers on and off in each view from the Context Layers section in the layer list, complete the following steps:
- In an Excalibur project, click Layers
- In the Context Layers section, click the view button to turn individual map reference layers on or off.
- Optionally, click a feature from the web map in the map panel.
A pop-up window appears with details about the corresponding feature.
- Click the upper right corner to expand or close the window.
Editable collection layers
When you open an Excalibur project with observation layers, Time Slider, a Feature Table, and set of observation tools are included as part of the Excalibur project. The time slider and observation tools are directly associated with the editable collection layers that were defined when the project was created. If your observation layer is not time-enabled, you can manage the system fields to add the capability.
Note:
The editable collection layer must contain the fields required to create observations.
Time slider
When an Excalibur project with observation layers is opened, a time slider is available through the Time Slider tab and is tied directly to any observation layers in a project. Each observation layer has a time element that can be used to filter the layer using the interactive time slider. The initial time extent of the slider has a start date that is set to the oldest dated observation within your observation layers and an end date that goes through the current time you opened the project plus an additional six hours. This will allow you to collect and view observations you make during your current project session.
Note:
If your Excalibur project contains observation layers with no features, the initial extent of the slider is automatically set to the time you open the project as the start date and adds an additional six hours as the end time. This is common when opening an Excalibur project that contains new observation layers.
Use time intervals or a continuous timeline
The time slider will have two handles representing start and end times and, by default, will be set to the full extent of the time slider. These handles can be easily adjusted along set intervals to filter a view based on the desired time extent. These set intervals can also be disabled allowing you to move the handles continuously along the time slider. You can also use the date and time inputs to set a custom range. Whether you use time intervals or a continuous timeline, you can easily adjust the time.
To adjust the time, complete the following steps:
- Click to grab the start time handle and drag it along the timeline to the desired start time. Additionally, you can manually enter a start date and time using the Date and Time inputs.
- Click to grab the end time handle and drag it along the timeline to the desired end time. Additionally, you can manually enter an end date and time using the Date and Time inputs.
- Click and drag in the middle of the time slider to manually move the desired time extent.
- To automatically loop through your desired time extent, do the following:
Click Play to loop through the timeline. You can also click Pause to stop at a desired point in time.
The observation layer will dynamically update based on the defined start and end time.
- To manually step through your desired time extent, do the following:
Click Previous to step back to the previous time interval.
Click Next to move forward to the next time interval.
The observation layer will dynamically update based on the defined start and end time.
Show muted effect
There may be times when you want to view all features in your observation layer or layers at one time, but only keep visual focus on the ones within your desired time range. Enabling the Show Muted Effect option will fade any features outside your defined time extent and highlight only those features within the defined range.
Disable time filter
If a time filter on your observation layers is not desired, you can disable this filter. This will result in viewing all features within your observation layers regardless if they include time information.
Feature Table
The Feature Table provides an interactive tabular view of any context or observation layers in your Excalibur project. You can use the table to select or deselect a row and view the corresponding features highlighted on your map.
To use the Feature Table, complete the following steps:
- In an Excalibur project, click the Resize Panel to expand the Feature Table.
The table expands and displays the attributes and details of the selected layer. The total feature count and total selected feature count also display above the table.
- Use the Display Layer drop-down menu to select the layer you want to view.
The table dynamically updates with the selected layer.
- Click on each column or the Options menu to sort the field in an ascending or descending order.
- You can also click and drag the column headers to reorder the columns to your preferred order.
- Check the check box next to each feature to select your desired features.
The corresponding features will highlight on the map. The total selected features dynamically update every time a feature is selected or unselected.
- Click Clear to deselect all features.
Note:
If you open the Edit Observations tool or Copy Observations tool and select any observations, the Observations Selected count will also reflect any selected observations in the layer.
Collect Observations tool
In ArcGIS Excalibur, the Collect Observations tool is available when there is at least one observation layer in an Excalibur project. The Collect Observations tool allows you to choose from a palette of defined icons and interact with the images to collect and record features.
Note:
The symbology and style of the icons in the palette are defined in the hosted feature layer.
To access the Collect Observations tool, in an Excalibur project, click the Tools menu. The tools appear in their own section in the Project Tools menu. You can expand and collapse each layer to make your list more manageable. The Collect Observations tool allows you to batch collect observations of the same type before submitting them to be written to the underlying editable collection layer, saving time during the collection workflow.
To use the Collect Observations tool, complete the following steps:
- In the Tools menu, click the Collect Observations tool under the Project Tools menu.
A palette of icons appears in the Tools panel.
Note:
A single icon may appear if the underlying editable collection layer is symbolized and styled by a single value.
- Choose an icon from the palette and click the image.
The icon appears in the visible focused views. The Tools panel changes from a palette of icons to a form where you can enter information based on the defined attributes of the editable collection layer.
The Number Added total displays 1 as the first observation collected.
- Click the image again.
The Number Added total displays 2 as the second observation of the same type collected.
- Click the image until all observations of the same type have been collected.
- Enter information based on the defined attributes of the editable collection layer.
- Click Submit when all
information has been entered.
Note:
A separate entry for each collected observation is written to the editable collection layer containing the same attribute information. The only difference is the created_date, lasted_edited_date, Observation Collection Time (Local), Observation_LatLon, and ICS_XY (if applicable). These attributes represent the proper information at the moment each observation was made on the image.A notification appears in the lower right corner that verifies that the observations were written to the underlying feature layer.
- Click Cancel to remove the current observation before writing it to the underlying feature layer.
Note:
If you collect an observation with a GeoEnrichment definition, attributes from the polygon layer will automatically populate in the point observation layer.
Edit Observations tool
The Edit Observations tool is available when there is at least one observation layer in your Excalibur project. The Edit Observations tool allows you to select and edit individual or multiple observations at once, copy observations, or delete observations.
To access the Edit Observations tool, in an Excalibur project, click the Tools menu. The tools appear in their own section in the Project Tools menu. The Edit Observations tool allows you edit observations before submitting them to be written to the underlying editable collection layer. This saves time during the editing workflow.
To use the Edit Observations tool, complete the following steps:
- In the Tools menu, click the Edit Observations tool under the Project Tools menu.
- Under Choose Observation Layer to Edit, use the drop-down menu to choose the observation layer you want to edit. If only one observation layer is present in the current Excalibur project, the layer will be preselected.
- Click in the view to select observations in the layer or use the sketch tools to draw an area to select observations.
Your selected observations are highlighted on the map. The Observations Selected count appears and dynamically updates the total observations selected.
You have the option to resketch your selection or clear your selection by clicking Clear Selection
- At this point, you can either Edit, Copy, or Delete the observation.
- Update any fields that need changes.
- If you click Edit, you can update any fields that need changes, change the location of the selected observations, or change the shape of your observation if it is a polygon or line observation layer. You can also add or remove attachments on the observation by clicking the Add Attachment button or Remove button.
Note:
The following file types are supported on observation layers: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx. - Click Update to save your changes. Click Cancel to return to the edit options.
A notification appears confirming your update.
- If you click Copy, a confirmation pop-up will appear to ensure that you want to copy the selected observations and you can click Copy to continue with this. The selected observations will then copy in the feature table.
A notification appears confirming a successful copy.
- If you click Delete, a confirmation pop-up will appear to ensure that you want to delete the selected observations and you can click Delete to remove the observations. Click Cancel to return to the edit options.
A notification appears confirming a successful deletion.