What’s new in ArcGIS AppStudio Version 5.4 (June 2022)

Today we are excited to announce ArcGIS AppStudio Version 5.4. This release includes many new feature enhancements and foundational updates to the product suite. Let’s explore what’s new in 5.4.

• New Sidebar Template – Provide a custom map experience in your app
• New Data Editing Tools – Add, update, and delete feature data from an app template
• App Template Updates – Map Viewer, Attachment Viewer, Zone Lookup, Nearby
• New Samples – Overview Map and Arcade Expressions
• Support for ArcGIS Runtime 100.14 and ArcGIS API Keys

New Sidebar Template

We are excited to introduce a brand-new Sidebar app template in this release. With the Sidebar template, you can create a map-focused app with full control of the map tools available to the end-user. The name Sidebar comes from the fact that most of the tools will appear in the side panel next to the map when running on a tablet device. But don’t worry, the Sidebar template has an adaptive design so your apps will also look great on smartphones. And the Sidebar template will work offline (disconnected from a network) when you have prepared offline map areas for your web maps. Sidebar is one of the growing numbers of AppStudio app templates that uses an Instant App web experience for configuration.
Some of the app settings that can be configured for Sidebar include:

• Layer list
• Bookmarks
• Pop-up
• Edit tools
• Map Details
• Data Filters
• Basemap toggle (switcher)

New Data Editing Tools

Now AppStudio users can create a feature data editing mobile app using a configurable app template. This has been one of the most requested AppStudio features, and we are excited to see the solutions our users create with these tools. At this time data editing is included with the Sidebar template, but we have plans to bring it to other templates in future releases.

The new data editing tools provide a great native app experience that works on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. The data editing user experience is designed to be intuitive and touch screen friendly. The tools work with points, polylines, and polygon feature layers. You can create new features, update existing features, or delete existing features; complete with options to undo/redo, discard or apply your edits. You can also edit the attribute data and manage attachments such as photos. Data editing works for feature layer data that is private (requires ArcGIS login) or public (approved for Public Data Collection).

App Template Updates

AppStudio app templates provide a quick and easy solution for any ArcGIS user to create custom native apps to deploy to an organization or publish to an app store (Apple/Google). With each release of AppStudio, we update our templates with new features and user experience improvements. Here are the app template updates for AppStudio 5.4.

Map Viewer

• • Table of contents update to display layers, sublayers, and symbology
  • Legend support for Image Services
  • Improved feature selection graphics

Attachment Viewer

• • The field and sort order of each layer can be set in the Instant Apps configuration
  • Scroll between previous and next features while in the pop-up

Zone Lookup

• • Support for offline maps!

Nearby

• • Search for features using polylines or polygons as a starting location
  • Support for user-defined and predefined filters on feature data

New Samples

The 80+ live samples in the AppStudio Samples gallery are a valuable resource for anyone who is going to include custom code in their apps. The samples are available through AppStudio Desktop where you can run the sample and then view/modify the source code. The samples are also available in the AppStudio Player mobile app so you can quickly run a live version of the sample on any supported device. In this release, we’ve introduced two new samples.

Overview maps provide location context for the current extent of your map view. The Display Overview Maps sample demonstrates how to add a draggable overview map to an AppStudio mobile app.

Arcade is a lightweight expression language used to create custom content across ArcGIS applications. Arcade can do things like perform mathematical calculations, manipulate text, and evaluate logical statements. The new Arcade Label Expressions sample demonstrates how to calculate the population per square mile, and then display it as a dynamic feature label on the map. The sample also shows you how to display pop-up information from an Arcade expression defined in your web map (created using the online Map Viewer).

Upgraded ArcGIS Runtime to version 100.14

ArcGIS Runtime version 100.14 is now fully supported. This means you can use AppStudio to develop apps with new features including mobile geodatabase creation, limiting map view navigation to a custom extent, projecting 3D Objects and Integrated Mesh scene layers, and more.

Support for ArcGIS API Keys in AppStudio Desktop

There are cases where app creators would like to provide public access to some of the ArcGIS location services that typically require authentication through a username/password. In these situations, an ArcGIS API Key (Application programming interface key) offers a solution by providing a permanent access token that defines the scope and permission for granting your public-facing application access to specific ArcGIS location services. In AppStudio 5.4 you can now easily enter an API for your app within AppStudio Desktop.

NOTE: Access to the Survey123 field app and Connect source code in ArcGIS AppStudio is available only upon request. Complete this form if you would like access.

Please review this blog post for ArcGIS AppStudio deprecation Information.

To see a complete list of new features and enhancements, visit the AppStudio 5.4 documentation for “What’s new in AppStudio”.  To see a list of all the issues fixed with AppStudio 5.4 please refer to this post on the Esri Community.

Do you want to learn more about AppStudio? Watch the “ArcGIS AppStudio: An Introduction” session from the Esri Dev Summit 2022 (ArcGIS login required)