Getting Technical - June 2020

June 18, 2020

George Kouroupis

How can you support reopening of businesses using location intelligence? How can Tracker for ArcGIS help you gain real-time information to support critical field activities? How do you get the most from interactive maps? Find out these and more in June’s Getting Technical blog post.

Features

New Whitepaper: Tracker for ArcGIS Deployment Guide for ArcGIS Enterprise
Location tracking is one of the ArcGIS platform’s newest capabilities. It provides the real-time location of an organization’s most valuable assets in the field: their mobile workers. When field personnel carry mobile devices, this capability captures and records their locations. Tracker for ArcGIS is a lightweight mobile solution that captures the locations of field staff, monitors where they are, and can help analyze where they have been. This can help decision makers gain real-time information to support critical field activities.

CityEngine 2020.0 release highlights
We’ve stayed busy during this time and are really proud to announce that the newest version of CityEngine has been officially released. Bye bye Esri CityEngine, say hello to ArcGIS CityEngine!
Yes, CityEngine is now an official part of the ArcGIS family…not that it wasn’t before but the new name cements this further and underpins our aim to build products that are part of a platform and work together seamlessly. Don’t forget to check out the whole list of improvements in the 2020.0 release notes.

A new update to HTML rules in ArcGIS Hub is coming September 2020
The ArcGIS Hub and ArcGIS Enterprise Sites team is making important updates to the Site runtime with regard to your text card, header and custom footer HTML. These updates have begun in ArcGIS Online and will reach ArcGIS Enterprise Sites at version 10.8.1.

ArcGIS Online will enforce HTTPS Only for all organizations in December 2020
The ArcGIS platform uses HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol for secure communication) as a key component of its security for web and service API connections. This includes connections between our software, such as ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Enterprise, with ArcGIS Online. Esri will be enforcing HTTPS Only, without exception, in December 2020, to increase the security of the ArcGIS platform.

Important Update for Enforcement of HTTPS in World Geocoding Service
Esri will be enforcing “HTTPS Only” in the World Geocoding Service on September 8, 2020. This important security update is likely to affect some ArcGIS software and custom solutions. Esri customers will need to act now to be ready for this change. “HTTPS” has always been an available URL for the World Geocoding Service, since the service debuted in 2012. With the upcoming update, the “HTTPS” URL will be enforced as the only available endpoint. Customers will no longer have the option of submitting requests to the “HTTP” URL. This update is in addition to the “HTTPS Only” enforcement that is planned for ArcGIS Online on December 8, 2020.

FAQ: How do you get the most from interactive maps?
How much interactivity to include in your map is a central question in modern cartography. As maps have evolved from static paper documents to interactive digital conversations, we now need to ask “How much do I want my readers to do with this map? How much of it should they be able to change?” While interactivity is a huge part of the appeal of digital maps, we have to be strategic in how we deploy that power.

Hot tip: Vector Tile Style Editor mega hack
The ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor is a super easy way to modify and author styles for your own flavor of vector basemap. It makes editing all manner of cartographic aesthetics a snap. One of the features is the “Colors” tab which lays out a palette of all the colors used in the basemap. Here is the Corporate basemap, which is a monochromatic blue riff on the elegant Light Gray Canvas.

COVID-19 Resources

Visit the ArcGIS Solutions site to learn more about Esri’s suite of coronavirus recovery solutions.

Coronavirus Business Reopening Solution Released
The Coronavirus Business Reopening solution can be used by businesses during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to guide the reopening of locations that are in multiple jurisdictions. The solution includes an ArcGIS Dashboard used to evaluate coronavirus case data and health restrictions, understand the impact on business locations that are in many diverse jurisdictions. The information gathered guides the decision to open or close a location, which can be recorded and shared with key internal stakeholders.

Coronavirus Small Business Recovery Solution Released
Small businesses have been uniquely impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A vast majority have closed temporarily, which has had a profound economic stress on their businesses and the local communities in which they reside. Main Street America’s recent survey found that “nearly 7.5 million small businesses may be at risk of closing permanently over the coming five months”.

Coronavirus Wellness Checks Solution Released
Protecting vulnerable populations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a priority. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has indicated that people 65 years and older are at a higher risk for severe illness. Unfortunately, with social distancing in place, it can be challenging to determine the well-being of at-risk individuals.

Video: New Coronavirus Recovery Solutions

See how the new coronavirus recovery/reopening solutions can be used by government agencies to increase testing capacity, monitor community progress, protect vulnerable populations and promote small business recovery. This video highlights the capabilities provided in the solutions and discusses how you can leverage ArcGIS Solutions in your organization.

ArcGIS Dashboards Workshop for COVID-19
ArcGIS Dashboards enables users to convey information by presenting location-based analytics using intuitive and interactive data visualizations on a single screen. This 5-part training video series helps non-GIS users, such as health professionals; get started with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Dashboards, and how to leverage them for COVID-19 Emergency Management. Check the Learning Plan on the Esri Academy site.

Estimating COVID-19 hospitalizations using the new CDC COVID-19Surge tool
At the beginning of April, Esri released the CHIME Model tool for ArcGIS Pro in the COVID-19 Modeling toolbox. The tool is an implementation of Penn Medicine’s COVID-19 Hospital Impact Model for Epidemics (CHIME) and allows analysts to understand when, where and how large the peaks may be in COVID-19 hospitalizations, and to visualize how social distancing could help flatten the curve. Over 3,500 downloads later, we’ve now added an exciting new tool to the toolbox – the COVID-19Surge (CDC) tool. This tool is an implementation of the CDC’s COVID-19Surge spreadsheet-based tool which provides similar insights to assist hospitals, cities and regions with resource planning. It can also incorporate strategies that involve varying interventions over time, which is particularly helpful at this time when states are considering – or even starting to – reopen.

Connecting People with Lifesaving Resources Across the Globe During COVID-19
Since the launch of ArcGIS StoryMaps last July, the storytelling community globally has built thousands of stories for advocacy and outreach, education, and most recently, COVID-19 response efforts. Read about how organizations are using ArcGIS StoryMaps for COVID-19 communication, get tips for effective storytelling, and learn how you can enable more storytelling across your organization with the new Storyteller role.

Global Dashboard on COVID-19 Government Policies
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pleased to provide the Global Dashboard on COVID-19 Policies to stay informed of the ever-changing regulatory landscape in response to this pandemic.

App of the Month: United Way Centraide’s COVID-19 Radar
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for social services has increased sharply. To help people find food assistance agencies during the pandemic, United Way Centraide is engaged in a nationwide effort to develop resources to help local partners with service distribution. A special COVID-19 edition of United Way Centraide’s Radar app has been released using data from Centraide of Greater Montréal, and it’s our App of the Month for June.

COVID-19 Canada Resource Hub
Esri Canada released in mid-March the COVID-19 Canada Resource Hub, which includes bilingual maps, apps and other resources for the public, customers and media. The hub is constantly updated and features new dashboards on economic recovery, family structure, household dynamics and mental health, COVID-19 open datasets, additional GIS training videos and other resources. The following video shows how you can navigate through Esri Canada’s socio-economic dashboards.

Follow @EsriCanada on Twitter and check out more technical videos using the hashtag #HowtoArcGIS

Epidemiology and ArcGIS Insights - Part 2
This is Part 2 of a two-part blog exploring the scope of epidemiology, how GIS provides an important analytical component, and what ArcGIS Insights can do to support epidemiological analysis. Part 1 of the blog should be read before you dive into this second part.

Free access to GIS Training
Esri is offering free access to GIS training for furloughed professionals affected by the coronavirus. Individuals who are out of work will receive complimentary access to ArcGIS Online and over 20 apps until August 31, 2020, including ArcGIS Pro, along with a library of lessons through Learn ArcGIS and the Esri Academy. Those who would like access can sign up through June 30 for a Learn ArcGIS membership at learn.arcgis.com/en/become-a-member/. Nonprofit organizations can also access at no cost the COVID-19 Response Package, which includes data, templates and solutions, through the Esri Disaster Response Program (DRP).

Announcements

Try the new features planned for upcoming ArcGIS Online updates

ArcGIS Runtime Local Server SDK 100.8 now available!

Two new Python scripting books for ArcGIS Pro

Esri Joins Microsoft-GEO BON Biodiversity Grant Initiative

Update to ArcGIS Enterprise Product Lifecycle

View more announcements in the ArcGIS Blog | My Esri Blog on GeoNet

Service Packs, Patches & User Resources

Critical Security patch for ArcGIS Enterprise portal Released
A critical Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability has been discovered in ArcGIS Enterprise portal. All versions prior to ArcGIS Enterprise 10.8 on both Windows and Linux are impacted by this security issue. In response, Esri has released the Portal for ArcGIS Security 2020 Update 1 patch for all current versions of ArcGIS Enterprise, from version 10.5 through 10.7.1.

New White Paper: Discovering and Limiting Access to Public Survey123 Results
This white paper offers guidance for how to design and configure a public Survey with privacy in mind.

Mapping and Charting Solutions 10.8 Patch 2 (Desktop | Server)
This is a general cumulative maintenance patch for the Mapping and Charting Solutions including; ArcGIS for Aviation (Desktop), ArcGIS for Maritime: Bathymetry (Desktop), ArcGIS for Maritime: Charting (Desktop), ArcGIS for Maritime: Server, Esri Defense Mapping for (Desktop, Server), and Esri Production Mapping for (Desktop, Server). Please download and install this patch at your earliest convenience.

Mapping and Charting Solutions 10.7.1 Patch 6 (Desktop | Server)
This is a general cumulative maintenance patch for the Mapping and Charting Solutions including; ArcGIS for Aviation (Desktop), ArcGIS for Maritime: Bathymetry (Desktop), ArcGIS for Maritime: Charting (Desktop), ArcGIS for Maritime: Server, Esri Defense Mapping for (Desktop, Server), and Esri Production Mapping for (Desktop, Server). Please download and install this patch at your earliest convenience.

ArcGIS (Desktop, Engine, Server) 10.7.1 Azure SQL Database Collations General Patch
If you are using ArcGIS 10.7.1 and enabling enterprise geodatabases in the Azure SQL Database environment, this patch resolves a limitation that prevented use of non-default collations.

ArcGIS (Desktop, Engine, Server) Oracle Data Type Patch
This patch addresses an issue where opening a registered class in Oracle Enterprise Geodatabases using ArcGIS 10.6.1 and newer clients incorrectly changes data type's metadata defined as a double (10, 0) to a long integer.

View more security patches

Web Watch –White Papers, Blogs and Useful Resources

“Creating Tailored Web Pages with ArcGIS Enterprise Sites” Webinar Q&A
Get answers to all your questions related to creating tailored web page experiences with ArcGIS Enterprise Sites.

Use Living Atlas subscriber content in public maps and apps
Living Atlas of the World is a collection of authoritative maps, data, imagery, tools, and apps authored and published by Esri and partners. It also includes contributions from ArcGIS users worldwide. It is a curated subset of ArcGIS Online items Esri and the ArcGIS community.

Piracy & Time Travel
The ability to slide on the data visualization goggles to filter, pivot, animate, and otherwise magically parse a phenomenon is a real wonder. This StoryMap walks through the visual analysis of 30 years of nautical piracy through various cross-sections of the calendar.

Training

Optimizing GIS Workflows with Tasks in ArcGIS Pro
ArcGIS Pro tasks are sets of preconfigured steps that interactively guide users through specific workflows. All types of workflows, from the simple to the complex, can be made into a task. GIS users of all experience levels can use that task to complete the workflow easily and repeat when necessary. In this course, you will use a task created for you, learn how to design and create your own tasks, share a task for others to use and discover best practices to simplify and optimize your GIS workflows with tasks.

View training solutions