Getting Technical – April 2026
Another month has wrapped up, and with it comes a new batch of technical gems from Esri Canada. This roundup explores how to create and manage high-quality metadata, offers tips on configuring the ArcGIS Hub Assistant and shares the best way to restore your deleted items in ArcGIS Online (hint: make sure you’ve enabled the Recycle Bin). We’ve also sprinkled in a few extra sparkly finds you won’t want to miss. Explore the full collection in the April 2026 edition of Getting Technical.
Must Reads
Guess what? Registration is now open for the biggest GIS event of the year—the Esri Canada User Conference (UC)! Taking place in Toronto on October 21–22, 2026, this event will give you the chance to learn and connect with geospatial experts from across the country. Register early to take advantage of the best pricing!
For more information about what to expect at this year’s conference, visit the Esri Canada User Conference homepage.
Blogs
From “data about data” to AI fuel: ArcGIS Online Field Metadata Updater
Metadata is the backbone of data sharing, community trust and AI readiness. In our previous blog post, “From ‘data about data’ to AI fuel: metadata powers ArcGIS intelligence”, we explored how metadata has evolved from simple documentation into a critical component of the modern ArcGIS platform. In this post, we move one step further and give a practical solution to creating and managing high-quality metadata, focusing on attribute field information for feature services.
The Transportation Data Challenge
Cities have data. What they need is clarity. See how a trusted GIS-powered exchange is helping transportation agencies finally get a complete picture of their road networks.
View all additional blog posts on the Esri Canada Resource Hub.
Videos
Configuring the ArcGIS Hub Assistant
In this video, we start by showing you how to enable AI Assistants for your ArcGIS Online organization. Then, dive into how to configure the ArcGIS Hub assistant and discover how your users can interact with it, enabling them to find the data they’re looking for quicker than ever.
Using the recycle bin in ArcGIS Online to restore deleted items or permanently delete them
Learn how to efficiently manage your content with the ArcGIS Online recycle bin. In this GeoSnap, we'll walk you through how to restore deleted items, view your recycle bin and permanently delete items to keep your content organized.
How to find thumbnail URLs in ArcGIS Online: Part 1
Stop searching! Here’s the easiest way to find your thumbnail URL for items in ArcGIS Online.
Stay up to date on all our GeoSnaps by checking the YouTube playlist.
Training
Deploying and Maintaining a Multiuser Geodatabase
Support your organization's data management workflows.
This course prepares you to successfully create a multiuser geodatabase that stores and manages your organization's authoritative geographic data. Learn about the multiuser geodatabase architecture and apply techniques to efficiently load data, assign user privileges and maintain performance over time.
Esri Canada seminars & webinars
Hotspot Policing in Practice: Using GIS to Reduce Crime Through Focused Patrols
May 12, 2026
This webinar explores how police services are operationalizing hotspot policing using Esri’s GIS platform. The Ottawa Police Service will share insights from their CORE project, which leverages spatial and temporal crime analysis to identify crime hotspots and guide uniform patrol deployment based on time of day and day of week. The Barrie Police Service will also demonstrate how they’re using ArcGIS Pro to analyze crime and social disorder data to support data-driven patrol strategies. Attendees will discover practical examples of how GIS enables evidence-based policing and measurable crime reduction.
Efficiency Unlocked: AI Assistants Across the ArcGIS Ecosystem (in French)
May 21, 2026
In this webinar, we’ll introduce you to the world of ArcGIS AI assistants, including where they’re accessed and how they function within ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro. Through live demonstrations, participants will gain an understanding of how these assistants can be used to streamline common tasks and workflows.
Missed any of last month’s webinars? No problem! Check out the recordings: View recorded seminars | View recorded webinars
Service packs, patches & product support updates
Esri Support App
Download the Esri Support App to subscribe to important product updates and bug-related notifications. Also, try its newest feature, which allows you to scan and solve error messages. You can also take advantage of Esri’s in-app generative AI chatbot to answer some of your questions. The Esri Support AI Chatbot can also be accessed on the Esri Support website.
ArcGIS Trust Center
Visit the ArcGIS Trust Center for critical security announcements and updates to privacy and compliance information.
Portal for ArcGIS Security 2026 Update
Esri has discovered a security vulnerability with developer credentials affecting ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Location Platform and ArcGIS Enterprise.
ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Location Platform were patched on April 13, 2026, and only affected customers were notified. The notification asked them to validate whether the update affected their applications and scripts using developer credentials.
The security patch released concurrently on April 13, 2026, resolved two critical severity vulnerabilities in Portal for ArcGIS 11.5 and 12.0, and should be installed with the highest priority. The patch resets potentially over-scoped developer credentials created by Portal for ArcGIS 11.5 back to expected default permissions.
Additional details concerning the patch, troubleshooting, best practices and ongoing updates for these vulnerabilities are available within the ArcGIS Trust Center, April 2026 Security Bulletin and the Secure Best Practices: ArcGIS Developer Credentials blog.
ArcGIS Desktop to User Type Transition Administrator Action Guide
ArcGIS Desktop officially retired on March 1, 2026, and customers are being transitioned from ArcGIS Desktop maintenance to ArcGIS user types. Many organizations are using Creator user types and add-on licenses for ArcGIS Pro that were included as entitlements with their ArcGIS Desktop maintenance. These entitlements will expire when their maintenance term ends. Esri has created an action guide for administrators to mitigate over-assigned licenses in your organization and ensure continuity.
ArcGIS Notebooks Runtime versions 8 and 9 Removal
ArcGIS Notebooks Runtime versions 8 and 9 have been deprecated since June 2025 and October 2025, respectively, and will be removed with the ArcGIS Online Q2 2026 update, which is currently planned for June 2026.
Retiring apps and features
Below you’ll find more information about the upcoming retirement of several apps and features included in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise.
ArcGIS Insights will retire on June 1, 2026
ArcGIS Insights, both in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise, will fully retire on June 1, 2026. Read the deprecation notice for additional information, including migration options.
ArcGIS Workforce will retire in Q4 2026
ArcGIS Workforce, both the mobile and web applications, will be officially retired in the ArcGIS Online Q4 2026 update and in the ArcGIS Enterprise 12.2 Q4 2026 release.
The functionality previously provided by ArcGIS Workforce is now available through the Tasks capability in ArcGIS Field Maps. Customers currently using ArcGIS Workforce or Workforce for ArcGIS must begin planning their transition to using the new Tasks capability in ArcGIS Field Maps to ensure continuity. For more information, read the deprecation notice.
ArcGIS Web AppBuilder will retire in Q2 2027
ArcGIS Web AppBuilder in ArcGIS Online will be retired in the second quarter of 2027 with the following phases:
- Q1 2026—Creating new Web AppBuilder apps will no longer be possible.
- Q4 2026—Updating existing Web AppBuilder apps will no longer be possible.
- Q2 2027—Existing Web AppBuilder apps will be retired and will no longer function.
Apps will continue to work after retirement. However, we recommend you migrate your apps to ArcGIS Experience Builder as updates to browsers could introduce functional or security issues that will not be addressed by Esri. For more information, read the retirement announcement.