It’s probably safe to say that not everyone in the spatial world can claim proficiency in the everyday tasks of application development, though that does not necessarily mean that we don’t have great application ideas just waiting for development. Knowing this, our partners at Esri were quick to think up of Web AppBuilder – a software that empowers all in the GIS space with the ability to create, develop, and share web applications without having to write a single line of code.
This might come as a relief for those who, with the use of Web AppBuilder tools, now have the necessary tools to simply and intuitively build two and three dimensional web apps with fully-featured HTML configuration capability. Some additional features of Web AppBuilder include the ability to create apps that run on virtually any device, the availability of many ready-to-use widgets, configurable themes and customizable looks, and the ability to host created apps online or on your organization’s own server. And the beauty of the whole app creation process is that Web AppBuilder allows you to create these apps by accessing simple and intuitive workflow tabs, including Theme (template framework representing the desired look and feel of your app), Map/Scene (a variety of desired maps/scenes to base your app from), Widget (functionality configuration options for your app), and Attribute (for basic customization of your app’s banner, state, and additional data sources – this includes branding your app with your organization’s logo, a title or subtitle, and links to the banner).
As your app evolves, you can make adjustments like adding/removing attributes and features using Web AppBuilder as well, simply by accessing your My Content tab of the content page. This is key to maintaining authenticity and accuracy of your app as it continues to gain more users both within your organization and among other members of the ArcGIS Online Community.
Our developers here at GeoMarvel had some fun with this tool, creating a web app that featured open source World Traffic Service layer found in the available content on ArcGIS Online. Perhaps, they were a little anxious to get out of the office!
You can view the Web App yourself by following this link: http://arcg.is/18CWH1. Enjoy!
