Observation layers can be used in projects to collect features from imagery and video. See Add observation layers to learn more about observation layers.
To publish a new observation layer, complete the following steps:
- Browse to the Publish New Hosted Web Layers area from the home page or the Publish Layer button on the side navigation menu. When publishing a new observation layer within an Excalibur project, navigate to the Observation Layer tab and click Add Layer > Define your own layer..
- Provide information for the following details:
- Layer Name
- Define the layer's geometry type by choosing Points, Polygons, or Lines.
- Choose to add the Excalibur Calculated Fields and Analyst Comments Field to the layer.
You will be able to edit additional layer information, add/remove fields, edit the layer styling, and edit specific layer settings after the layer is published.
- Click Publish.
The new layer appears in the Observation Layers tab and a notification appears verifying that the layer was created.
Configure an observation layer
After the creation of an observation layer, choose to configure the layer after it is published or at a later point. The Configure Observation Layer page appears immediately after the layer is published or can accessed in the configuration page by following these steps:
- Click View Details on a project of interest.
The Project Details page appears.
- Navigate to the Observation Layers tab.
The observations added to this project appear here. If there are no observations, click the Add Layer button to select an existing layer or create a new one.
- Click View layer configuration and settings.
The Configure Observation Layer page appears.
The page opens on the Information tab.
Layer information
Within the Information tab on the Configure Observation Layer page, edits can be made to the layer information. After editing, click Save when finished. Navigating away from the information tab without saving cancels the changes.
A notification appears verifying that the updates were saved.
Observation Layer Fields
On the Configure Observation Layer page, in the Fields tab, the Layer Fields and the System Managed Fields can be for your observation layer can be edited. To add or remove fields, follow these steps:
In the Fields tab, the Layer Fields and System Managed Field for observations layers can be edited.
- Click the Fields tab on the Configure Observation Layer page.
The Layer Fields and System Managed Fields appear.
- Click Create New above the Layer Fields table.
- Provide the following information for the new field:
- Field Name (required)
- Display Name
- Data Type
- Optionally, define a Domain Type (domain of coded values or range) for the new field by selecting Coded Values or Range.
A Range domain cannot be made for a new field of type String.
- Choose if this field requires a value or if it should be optional.
- If a domain of coded values was selected, enter a value for the Name and Code parameters for each domain in your pick list, ensuring you add each domain to the list.
- After all domains are added to the new field, click Add.
- Repeat these steps until all additional fields are added to the base schema.
- Click Done when finished.
The new field is added to the Layer Fields table. To edit the field, select Edit Field. When editing the field, the field name and data type cannot be changed after the field is initially created. To delete the field, select Delete Field. A dialog will appear and it will display the areas that will be affected if the field is deleted such as the layer styling, time-enabled settings, and GeoEnrichment Definitions.
Manage system fields and settings
These fields are managed by ArcGIS Excalibur and are used to automatically populate information from the image when an observation is collected.
To add Excalibur-managed fields to an existing observation layer, complete the following steps:
- Click the Fields tab on the Configure Observation Layer page.
The Layer Fields and the System Managed Fields appear.
- Click Add/Remove above the System Managed Fields table.
- Select the System Managed Fields to add and click Save.
A status indicator appears while the fields are added to the layer and a notification appears verifying that the fields have been updated.
Once the fields are successfully added to a layer, the System Managed Fields table update with any changes.
These fields can be used in a project to automatically populate information from the image with every observation collected on that layer.
Remove Excalibur-managed fields
To remove Excalibur-managed fields to an existing observation layer, complete the following steps:
- Click the Fields tab on the Configure Observation Layer page.
The Layer Fields and the System Managed Fields appear.
- Click Add/Remove above the System Managed Fields table
- Deselect any fields you would like to remove and click Save.
A status indicator appears while the fields are removed from the layer and a notification appears verifying that the fields have been updated.
Once the fields are successfully removed from the layer, the System Managed Fields table updates with any changes.
Observation layer styling
On the Configure Observation Layer page, In the Styling tab, Layer Styling can be edited for observation layers. To edit the styling for observation layers, follow these steps:
- Click the Styling tab on the Configure Observation Layer page.
- Choose the observation layer styling based on a single symbol by clicking Single Symbol or on unique values by clicking Unique Values.
By default, the Single Symbol styling option is selected and is based on the geometry type chosen in the observation layer details step.
- Choose the Single Symbol style properties for the layer:
- Points - Size, style, color, outline, and transparency
- Polygons - Outline, fill, outline width, and transparency
- Lines - Color, width, and transparency
- If Unique Values styling is desired, choose the Unique Values option to style your layer based on a coded value.
The Unique Values option is unavailable if your new observation layer does not contain any coded value domains. Range domains are not supported for styling.
- Choose the field to style your observation layer on that contains coded value domains from the Available Fields pick list.
- Click each style icon in the coded values table and change the style properties.
- Click Save.
A notification appears verifying that layer styling has been updated.
Observation layer settings
On the Configure Observation Layer page, in the Settings tab, the Layer Settings for observation layers can be edited. These include:
- Editor tracking (Keep track of who edited the data (editor name, date, and time))
- Time (Enable time based on a specific field)
- Attachments (Allow image attachments to individual features in your observation layer)
To edit the settings for an observation layer, follow these steps:
- Click the Settings tab on the Configure Observation Layer page.
- By default, the editor tracking, time, and layer attachment settings is enabled. Select to disable these settings as desired.
A notification appears verifying that the observation layer settings have been updated.