Sidebar is a new ArcGIS Instant Apps template that allows app authors to present a web map alongside a side panel that can include tools or text to describe the locations in the map. Tools available in the side panel give app viewers the ability to interact and explore the data in the map.
This multipurpose app can fulfill many purposes, one example being to provide context about population changes using the details and pop-up panels next to a census map of counties in a state. It can also be used to display pharmacy locations with the filter panel to help app viewers find locations with available flu shot appointments, along with displaying other available pharmacy services using the pop-up panel.
Side panel
One of the main features of the Sidebar app is the side panel. The side panel is an area of the app that is used to host various app tools like filters, a legend, or bookmarks. It offers a space to showcase supplemental text to support the features in a web map or to display information-rich pop-ups configured for any layer in the map. By default, when creating a Sidebar app, the pop-up panel is enabled so that app viewers can start exploring the locations in a map. The details panel, also enabled by default and populated with the web map’s item description, can be used to welcome an app viewer to a Sidebar app. App authors can update and add text and images to describe what the app includes or is about.
Additional tools
In Sidebar, there are additional tools that can be configured to provide app viewers with tools to interact and explore the data in a web map. In the side panel, the tools that are available to be added or configured are as follows:
- Legend: Include a legend to explain the symbols being used in the map.
- Bookmarks: These are defined in the web map and allow app viewers to quickly navigate to areas of interest in the app.
- Details: Provide information about the app and content featured in the map.
- Pop-ups: Show feature pop-up content in the side panel to maximize the visibility of the map.
- Layer list: Display a list of layers in the map with icons to turn visibility off and on.
- Editing: Include the option to add, update, and delete features with the edit tool. This tool requires layers to be editable.
- Filter: Add filters to narrow down the locations that are displayed in a map.
In the map, there are additional tools that can be added or configured to encourage and assist with map exploration:
- Home button and zoom controls
- Hover pop-ups
- Navigation boundary
- Scalebar
- Basemap toggle button
- Screenshot
- Social sharing
- Search
Example
The example shown below is based on how a real estate agency could potentially use Sidebar. In this app, certain tools and options have been enabled to highlight the data in the map. The bookmarks panel was enabled to carry over access for bookmarks created in a web map to the app. The bookmarks are to highlight neighborhoods throughout Rochester, New York. Also featured in the side panel are the details and pop-up panels. The map showcased in this app includes rich text that describes the app’s purpose and each feature, and the pop-up panel and details panel provide plenty of real estate to display this information. Finally, the filter panel was also included to show ways for app viewers to directly interact with the real estate data featured in this app. The filters that have been set up include ways to find properties with a certain number of bedrooms or bathrooms and that come with a garage.
To access the app outside this blog: https://arcgis.com/apps/instant/sidebar/index.html?appid=df70dab80ee9402ab497ab05d7c82670
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