Getting Technical - September 2026
As the seasons change one thing remains constant: there's always something new to explore. We've gathered the latest technical updates, resources and expert recommendations from across Esri Canada. In this edition of Getting Technical, you’ll discover topics like what’s new in ArcGIS Hub, AI assistants in popular ArcGIS products and all things Esri Canada User Conference.
Must reads
The Esri Canada User Conference is fast approaching! We cannot wait to connect with fellow GIS enthusiasts and celebrate the power of geospatial technology together. To help prepare you for the event, check out the Frequently Asked Questions page here. If you want to go behind the scenes with the Esri Canada User Conference team, listen to the latest Geographical Thinking podcast episode where Mike Gregotski and Mary Jane Maher of the conference planning team share what goes into shaping an agenda, managing major event logistics and more. Listen here.
Blogs
Beyond the hype: how geospatial AI creates value across organizations
Geospatial AI is rapidly evolving in every conversation across industries, but where does it actually create meaningful value? Beyond the hype, the real opportunity isn't just what geospatial AI can do, but what it can enable. In this blog, you’ll discover five key ways organizations can leverage geospatial AI to improve operations today while building capacity, resilience and innovation for the future.
Real-world uses for ArcGIS Data Reviewer Checks
Ask a GIS professional what keeps them up at night, and there’s a good chance they’ll say bad data. Even the best maps and analyses are only as good as the data behind them. That’s where the extension in ArcGIS Pro called Data Reviewer comes in. In this blog, we’ll explore the basics of Data Reviewer and share real-world scenarios of how Data Checks can help improve data quality across a variety of industries.
View all additional blog posts on the Esri Canada Resource Hub.
Videos
Add arrow symbols in ArcGIS Online Map Viewer
Whether you're indicating the direction of a road network, identifying stream flow or displaying wind direction, arrow symbols are a helpful form of symbology. After this quick tutorial, you’ll be able to add arrows to your symbology in Map Viewer.
Creating a spatial map series in ArcGIS Pro
Need to create a map book that covers a large area divided into grid cells? A spatial map series in ArcGIS Pro can automatically generate a map page for each cell in your grid index layer. In this GeoSnap, we'll show you how to create a spatial map series in ArcGIS Pro as well as how to create the grid index layer that you will need to set it up.
How to enable and manage AI assistants in ArcGIS Online
AI assistants are becoming an important part of the ArcGIS ecosystem, helping users work more efficiently through natural language interactions, workflow assistance, content generation and guidance across supported ArcGIS applications. In this GeoSnap, you'll learn how administrators can enable and manage AI assistants in ArcGIS Online.
Stay up to date on all our GeoSnaps by visiting the YouTube playlist.
Training
AI Essentials: Assistants in ArcGIS
Test-drive your new GIS power tools. Geospatial artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming routine tasks and workflows, giving GIS professionals more time to focus on higher-level projects while enabling others to create and share location-based insights more easily than ever before. This course introduces the use of assistants in popular ArcGIS products to holistically connect and streamline common GIS workflows. Course exercises use a relatable real-world scenario, providing the essential practice that participants need to confidently start leveraging assistants in their day-to-day work.
Esri Canada webinars & seminars
Getting Started with ArcGIS Hub: Core Concepts, Capabilities and What’s New
October 29, 2026
Looking for new ways to connect with your community? Join us for an introduction to ArcGIS Hub and learn how organizations are creating data-driven experiences that inform, engage and inspire action. We'll cover ArcGIS Hub's core capabilities, explore common use cases and demonstrate how it can support everything from information sharing to public participation initiatives.
Bringing Planning Data to Life
November 4, 2026
Planning teams across Canada are facing a multitude of challenges and obstacles – access to usable data shouldn’t be one of them. In this continuation of our webinar series, Smart Cities Start with Spatial Insights, we’ll look at other ways Planning teams can use GIS. In this non-technical webinar, we’ll take a look at some really easy ways to get started with GIS to help with things like development application review, community engagement and telling the story of your growth and policy changes.
Register for these upcoming webinars here.
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.
ArcGIS Trust Center
Visit the ArcGIS Trust Center for critical security announcements and updates to privacy and compliance information.
Product Patches
ArcGIS Server Data Management 2026 Update 1 Patch – (UPDATED - August 31, 2026)
ArcGIS Server 11.5 ArcGIS Pipeline Referencing/ArcGIS Roads and Highways Patch 4 (August 13, 2026)
ArcGIS Pro 3.6 Patch 5 (3.6.5) (August 11, 2026)
ArcGIS Server 11.5 Utility Network Patch 3 (August 11, 2026)
ArcGIS Server 11.1 Utility Network Patch 6 (August 5, 2026)
Portal for ArcGIS Security 2026 Update 3 Patch (August 4, 2026)
Retiring apps & features
Below you’ll find more information about the upcoming retirement of several apps and features included in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise.
ArcGIS Notebooks Runtime Version 10
ArcGIS Notebooks runtime version 10 has been retired since June 2026 and will be removed with the November 2026 update of ArcGIS Online. To avoid disruptions, please follow the instructions included in the deprecation notice.
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 Maps SDK for JavaScript widgets: Q1 2027
Retirement of custom widgets in ArcGIS Experience Builder built with Maps SDK for JavaScript. If you have built ArcGIS Experience Builder custom widgets using ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript widgets, please note that those widgets will retire in Q1 2027, read the retirement notice.
Developers should migrate these custom widgets to JavaScript Maps SDK components by Q1 2027 to ensure continued functionality.
- Immediately start building new custom widgets using JavaScript Maps SDK web components.
- Refactor existing custom widgets that rely on JavaScript Maps SDK widgets to web components.
ArcGIS GeoEvent Server Will be Deprecated in Q2 2027
ArcGIS GeoEvent Server is being deprecated, and its final release is with the ArcGIS Enterprise 12.3 release, which is expected in Q2 2027. This deprecation is driven by the release of ArcGIS Velocity for ArcGIS Enterprise, which is the replacement product for ArcGIS GeoEvent Server.
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 which will not be addressed by Esri. For more information, read the retirement announcement.