Create an app in just 5 minutes with ArcGIS Instant Apps!

You are a GIS technician working in a municipality. You are asked to create an application to warn residents of a water contamination situation in the area. Of course, location is key in communicating the right information to residents. You will need to inform them which neighborhoods are affected by this water advisory on the municipality's website.

In other words, you need to promptly provide a powerful and insightful map. Where will you start? With the Community Map of Canada and ArcGIS Instant Apps there’s no need to panic!

The Community Map of Canada

The Community Map of Canada is a basemap of Canada built from authoritative content. By that, I mean that the data on the map comes from federal, provincial, regional, and municipal governments, as well as First Nation reserves, colleges and universities, and infrastructure organizations such as airports and port authorities. Having a readily available basemap saves you time. You won’t need to update and maintain your own basemap, which means you can start creating a new application faster!

ArcGIS Instant Apps

ArcGIS Instant Apps is the next generation of web mapping app. You can easily build an app within 5 minutes if you choose the express configuration. The available templates allow you to view a map, compare two items, find direction, view a gallery, or search something nearby. Moreover, you won’t have to worry about how your app performs on different devices that’s taken care for you.

Let’s get back to our scenario and see how you can easily build that water contamination advisory application. The following basic steps will get you going in no time at all:

1. Log-in to ArcGIS Online and go to the map viewer.
2. On the left-hand side of the screen, open the basemap gallery and select one of the five Community Map of Canada standard style basemaps, identified by a red half maple leaf and blue ribboned Esri Canada logo.

3. Add the layer representing the zone affected by the water contamination. Save map.

4. After saving the map, select Create app and choose Instant Apps from the drop-down menu.

5. Identify the best template for your application and begin configuring.

And just like that! You have an easy to share app to keep your residents informed of what is happening.

Would you like to learn more about the Community Map of Canada and ArcGIS Instant Apps? Then register for my upcoming French webinar Getting the Most of your ArcGIS Online with the Community Map of Canada on June 15^th!

This post was originally written in French by Frederic Blouin-Michaud and can be viewed here.