EarthRanger offers synchronization capabilities with ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Server, empowering users to integrate selected data. Synchronizing with ArcGIS Server necessitates accessibility from EarthRanger servers. This integration is highly configurable and supports three primary data types:
- EarthRanger Events -> ArcGIS Point Layer
- EarthRanger Subject Tracks -> ArcGIS Line Layer
- EarthRanger Observations (individual points from subject tracks) -> ArcGIS Point Layer
- EarthRanger Patrols -> ArcGIS Line Layer
The integration is facilitated through Esri's arcgis Python library. Currently the synchronization exclusively supports the "built-in account" authentication mechanism, requiring an ArcGIS username and password for configuration. These credentials are encrypted and stored in Google Secret Manager.
Event Syncing
When syncing events to ArcGIS, the following information is transmitted:
- ER ID (Unique GUID of the event in EarthRanger)
- Report Number (Serial Number)
- Report Time
- Report Title
- Report Type
- Reported By
- Latitude and Longitude
- Serial Number of the parent incident (if applicable)
- Custom fields associated with the event type
- Notes
- Photos or attachments linked to the event
Subject Tracks
Synchronizing subject tracks involves transmitting vital information such as:
- ER ID (Unique GUID of the subject in EarthRanger)
- Subject Name
- Subject Type
- Subject Subtype
- Start Datetime of track segments
- End Datetime of track segments
Tracks are segmented by days, with newer tracks from the current day replacing previous ones during synchronization.
Observations / Subject Track Points
EarthRanger records individual points from a sensor as Observations. For a telemetry device, an Observation contains the latitude and longitude for an individual sensor reading. A collection of observations for a subject forms a track. The ArcGIS sync allows for these individual sensor readings to be transmitted to ArcGIS. The following information is transmitted:
- ER ID (Unique GUID of the observation in EarthRanger)
- Subject Name
- Observation Time
- Subject ID (Unique GUID of the subject in EarthRanger)
- Latitude
- Longitude
- Additional details provided in the observation object
Patrols
EarthRanger patrols' tracks can be synchronized to an ArcGIS Line layer, transmitting patrol information such as:
- ER Patrol ID (Unique GUID of the patrol in EarthRanger)
- Patrol Number
- Patrol Leader's name
- Patrol Type
- Patrol State (Open, Done, or Cancelled)
- Title
- Start Datetime
- End Datetime
Controlling Data Sync
The ArcGIS integration leverages an API key that is tied to a user account in EarthRanger. In order to control which data are sent to ArcGIS, the permissions of that user account can be configured accordingly. The events transmitted will only include the events to which the user has permissions to view. Similar for observations and track points.
Configuration
The synchronization requires layers be created for EarthRanger to transmit data to, and the URL of those layers are necessary for configuration. For ArcGIS, this typically looks like:
https://services5.arcgis.com/<ArcGIS Account GUID>/arcgis/rest/services/<Feature Layer Name>/FeatureServer/<Layer Number>
A different data layer is necessary for each data type to be synchronized, as outlined above, although the data layers can be contained in the same Feature Layer.
Each layer needs to have the following settings enabled:
- Add GPS Metadata fields
- Keep track of changes to the data (add, update, delete features)
- Keep track of who edited the data (editor name, date and time)
It is expected that the EarthRanger synchronization is the only thing writing to these layers - Any other additions or edits to the layers might be deleted, or they may cause the synchronization to not function properly.
Once the layers are created, please provide the following to an EarthRanger Support Engineer through encrypted email or WhatsApp:
- Layer URLs (up to 4 of them)
- The URL of your ArcGIS Server account (https://www.arcgis.com if using ArcGIS Online)
- A username for an ArcGIS user that you have created for this purpose. The user only needs to have access to the layers you want to synchronize to, and nothing else.
- The password for the ArcGIS user
- Whether you want the include Event photo attachments in the sync (be aware that Esri does charge credits for storage). We can also transmit smaller versions of the photos if you'd like.