Create sites—ArcGIS Business Analyst help

In ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App, a site is an area where analysis is performed. To create sites, you can place a point on the map, select from standard geography levels (such as states or counties), or draw a polygon. Once you create a site, you can modify it, analyze it, or remove it from the map using the site menu and the action menu. By default, sites are stored in the project under Point locations (sites), Polygons (sites), and Geographies (sites).

Note:

Depending on the data source selected, sites may be affected by geographic boundaries. Infographics and reports may only display data from the selected country's dataset.

Define the area around a point

To create a point-based site, complete the following steps to place a point on the map and define an area around it:

To place a point on the map, do any of the following:
- Use the Pin tool . If necessary, pan and zoom to change the map extent. Click anywhere on the map to place the pin. From the site menu (a pop-up menu that appears at the point on the map), you can add or modify the site name, move the point, remove the point, or create a site. Click Create site.
- Use the Search tool . Enter your search terms or coordinates and select a location suggestion, use your current location, or select a recently searched location. For addresses and points of interest, a pin appears on the map. From the site menu (a pop-up menu that appears at the point on the map), you can add or modify the site name, move the point, remove the point, or create a site. Click Create site.
- On the Maps tab, click Define areas, and select Find location. The Find location pane appears. Use either the Search tool or the Pin tool to add a point to the map. To create the site, use the Find location pane to name the location, and click Apply.
Choose how the site area around the point is measured using the buffer options as follows:
- Rings—Create up to three rings around the point using specified distances. You can use nonwhole numbers, such as .1, .3, and .5, for ring sizes. The limit for ring size is 1,000 miles or kilometers.
- Drive time—Create drive-time areas around the point using specified times or based on road networks. These areas represent the distance traveled to or from the site in a given amount of time. The limit for drive-time size is 300 minutes, 300 miles, or 482.8 kilometers.
- Walk time—Create walk-time areas around the point using specified times or distances based on paths and roads that allow pedestrian traffic. The limit for walk-time size is 300 minutes, 27 miles, or 43.45 kilometers. The default walking speed is 5 kilometers per hour.
Set the unit of measurement using the drop-down menu, and change the distances or times using the Radius or Time text box.
You must specify at least one buffer around the point to create a site. You can set up to three buffers around the point, measured according to distance or time.
For any of the buffer options, you can check the Use bands check box. Bands create concentric areas that do not overlap. For example, checking Use bands and specifying values of 5, 10, and 15 miles results in bands that are 0-5, 5-10, and 10-15 miles from the point location.
Optionally, for Drive time, click More options, and specify the following:
- From the drop-down menu, choose a driving mode: driving time, rural driving time, or trucking time.
- Choose the away from a facility or toward a facility travel direction.
- Check the Use traffic check box, and do either of the following:
  - Choose Live traffic to calculate time based on the current traffic conditions. Use the slider to factor live traffic conditions up to 12 hours from the current time. Live traffic is not available for all countries.
  - Choose Traffic based on typical conditions for to set a day of the week and time of day on which to base traffic calculations. You can set times for typical conditions by 15-minute intervals for the entire day and night.
Click Apply.
The site is created and displayed on the map with the specified buffers. The site is saved in the project pane under Point locations (sites) under My point locations or in the target layer you specified.
If you are using the Find location pane, click Finish, and perform additional tasks, or click Close to close the workflow pane.

Select a feature on a map

You can select a feature on a map, such as a line or geographic area, to create a site. For example, if you add a web map of railroads, you can create buffers around a line. Or, select a block group on a color-coded map to create a custom geographic site.

To select a feature on a map, complete the following steps:

Select a feature on the map.
A pop-up appears.
For line features, do the following:
1. Click Create buffer.
2. Set a buffer by distance, such as 3 miles in every direction around the line feature.
3. Click Apply.
  With a buffer, the line is transformed into a polygon.
For polygons, such as lines with buffers or standard geographies, do the following:
1. Click Create site.
2. Optionally, modify the fill and border.
3. Click Create site.
4. Save the created site in an existing layer or in a new layer.
  Sites created from features on the map are saved as polygons.

Select a geographic boundary

To select a geographic boundary, such as a state or county, to create a site, complete the following steps:

On the Maps tab, click Define areas, and select Select geography.
The Select geography workflow pane appears.
Choose a method of selection as follows:
- Search—Enter a city, county, ZIP code, block groups, census tracts, and so on. You can also type part of a name or number to search.
- Select from map—Click a geographic area on the map to select it.
- Select from full list—Browse a full list of all geographic areas.
If you chose Search, do the following:
1. Provide geographic information in the Search for your geography field, and click Search .
  The search results appear, showing the first 100 results.
2. Check any search result check boxes, and click the Selected items drop-down menu to modify the selections.
  Checked items appear shaded on the map and are added to Selected items in the workflow pane.
If you chose Select from map, do the following:
1. Click a geographic boundary type from the list.
  The selected geographic boundaries and labels appear on the map.
2. Click a geographic area on the map to select it.
  You can select multiple geographic areas.
  Selected areas appear shaded on the map and are added to Selected items in the workflow pane. Click the Selected items drop-down menu to modify the selections.
If you chose Select from full list, do the following:
1. Click a geographic boundary type from the list.
2. Click the drop-down menus and check boxes to select geographic areas. For example, to select ZIP Codes, click the Select state and Select county drop-down menus to view a list of relevant ZIP codes.
  Selected areas appear shaded on the map and are added to Selected items in the workflow pane. Click the Selected items drop-down menu to modify the selections.
By default, selected areas are created as individual sites.
To combine selected areas into one site, click Yes for Combine selected geographies into one site, and when you finish selecting geographic areas, click Finish.
The site is created and displayed on the map. The site is saved in the project pane under Geographies (sites) under My geographies or in the target layer you specified.
Perform additional tasks, or click Close to close the workflow pane.

Draw a polygon

To draw a polygon to create a site, complete the following steps:

On the Maps tab, click Define areas, and select Draw polygon.
The Draw polygon pane appears.
Choose a drawing method as follows:
- Polygon—Draw a polygon with straight edges by placing points on the map.
- Freehand—Draw a polygon of any shape using the pointer.
Optionally, click the Fill and Border swatches to modify the polygon colors.
If you chose Polygon, do the following:
1. Click the map to start drawing, move to the next point, and click.
2. Continue clicking at each corner of the shape until you create the polygon. A minimum of three points are required to create a polygon.
  While drawing, the Clear last button becomes active. Click Clear last to remove the most recently drawn point.
3. Double-click to stop drawing.
If you chose Freehand, do the following:
1. Click and drag the pointer to draw a shape.
2. To stop drawing, release the mouse button.
The site is created and displayed on the map. The site is saved in the project pane under Polygons (sites) under My polygons or in the target layer you specified.
To edit a polygon, click Edit in the workflow pane, and click a polygon to show its points and edit it.
Click and drag the points to edit the polygon. Click Undo to discard the most recent edit. When the edits are complete, click Stop edit.
When the edits are complete, click Stop edit.

Work with sites

Once the sites are created, there are several ways to work with them. You can use a site's menu to modify the site or start a workflow. You can also access actions for a site from the Action menu Options in the project pane.

Use a site's pop-up menu

To access a site's pop-up menu, click its location on the map. The options differ based on the type of site selected (point, geography, or polygon).

Choose any of the following options:

Edit —Provide a different name for the site.
Attributes —For point locations, provide site attributes for the default fields specified when creating the project.
Infographics —Run the default infographic template for the site.
Reports —Select and run a report for the site. If you select multiple sites, click Download reports to download the reports for all the sites.
Comparisons —Do either of the following:
- Click Compare with geographies to open the Geography comparison window. To customize the geography levels and variables displayed by default, set your preferences, and do any of the following:
  - You can modify how the table appears. Click Transpose table to switch the table's rows and columns. Click a column header to sort the table by the data in that column. Click Customize table to modify which columns appear in the table. Drag the name of a column to change its order in the table. Uncheck the check box next to the column name to deselect it from the table. Click the Rows per page drop-down menu to change the number of rows displayed in the table. Click Next or Back to browse the table pages.
  - To change the geography levels displayed, click Geography levels , and select or deselect options.
  - To change the variables used, click Variables , and browse the data browser.
  - Click Export to Excel to export the data from the comparison to an Excel worksheet.
  - To close the Geography comparison window, click OK or click Close .
- Click New benchmark comparison to add the site to a new benchmark comparisons workflow.
Edit area —Alter the buffers around a point or the boundaries of a geography or polygon.
Add photo —For point locations, view site attributes, add an image to the site attributes, and view reports run on the site.
Details —For polygon and geography locations, view reports run on the site. For point locations, view site attributes, add an image to the site attributes, and view reports run on the site.
Options —Alter colors for the site fill and border and adjust color transparency. Click Clear site to remove the site from the map, but keep it in the project contents.
For point locations, you can also turn labels on or off and click the Symbol drop-down menu to edit how the site symbol is stylized. Click Import custom symbol to upload a symbol in GIF, PNG, or JPG format. The recommended image size is 120x120 pixels or less.

Use a site's action menu

To access a site's action menu, locate the site in the project pane, and click the Action menu Options . Choose any of the following options:

Show details—View site attributes for point locations, notes, attachments, and previously run reports and infographics for a specified site.
Zoom to site—Zoom the map extent to view the site on the map.
Rename item—Provide a new name for the site.
Run reports—Select and run a report for the site.
Run infographics—Run the default infographic template for the site.
Edit site—Alter the buffers around a point or the boundaries of a geography or polygon.
Move item—Move the site to a different layer in the same section of the project. You can also move the site to a different project. To keep a copy of the site in the current project, check the Keep a copy check box.
Delete item—Delete the site.

Set preferences

You can set preferences for Business Analyst Web App in the application preferences. You can specify preferences for the appearance of sites on the map, as well as values and settings for rings, drive times, and walk times. Administrators can set preferences for the entire organization.

To restore the default settings, click Restore defaults. To save your changes, click Save, or click Save and close to close the Preferences window. To view your changes, refresh the app.

Find location

On the app header, click My preferences , expand the Maps section, expand the Define areas section, click Find location, and select Rings, Drive time, or Walk time to set the following preferences:


Preference	Description
Default values	Type up to three default values and select a unit (minutes, miles, or km).
Fill	Use this check box to turn fill on or off. Click the color swatch to select a color. Use the Transparency slider to adjust color transparency.
Border	Use this check box to turn borders on or off. Click the color swatch to select a color. Use the Transparency slider to adjust color transparency. Click the Thickness drop-down menu to specify the weight of the border.
Edit and set bands	Use this check box to use bands for site areas.
Show labels	Use this check box to turn labels on or off.
Drive time options	Select a default drive time option (driving time, rural driving time, or trucking time) toward or away from a facility. Use the Use traffic check box to turn traffic on or off and set live traffic conditions.

Select geography or Draw polygon

On the app header, click My preferences , expand the Maps section, expand the Define areas section, and click Select geography or Draw polygon to set the following preferences:


Preference	Description
Fill	Use this check box to turn fill on or off. Click the color swatch to select a color. Use the Transparency slider to adjust color transparency.
Border	Use this check box to turn borders on or off. Click the color swatch to select a color. Use the Transparency slider to adjust color transparency. Click the Thickness drop-down menu to specify the weight of the border.

Workflow videos

To see videos of the workflows, watch the following:

Feedback on this topic?