An ArcGIS GeoPlanner template is a group of items and includes a web map and a hosted feature service that contains one or more feature layers. To create a template, you must create each of these items and add specific tags to them. Tags help the GeoPlanner app locate the template.
This workflow guides you through creating a GeoPlanner template using ArcGIS Pro and your ArcGIS organizational account. The process includes the following steps:
- Create a GeoPlanner template group in your ArcGIS organization.
- Create and share a template web map.
- Create one or more feature classes and add them as feature layers in ArcGIS Pro.
- Assign symbols to the feature layers and create feature templates.
- Share the feature layers as a feature service to your ArcGIS organization.
Create a group in your ArcGIS organization
Each GeoPlanner template must have its own group. The title, description, and summary of the group are displayed in the Create Project - Select a Template window when you create a project in the GeoPlanner app.
Complete the following steps to create a group for a GeoPlanner template:
- Sign in to your organizational account.
- Click Groups at the top of the page.
The Groups page appears with the My Groups tab active.
- Click Create group
. The Create a group dialog box appears.
- Upload a thumbnail image to represent the group.
You can drag an image or browse to a file. For best results, add an image that is 400 by 400 pixels or larger with an aspect ratio of 1:1 in a web file format such as PNG, JPEG, or GIF. Pan and zoom to what you want to appear in your thumbnail. Depending on the size and resolution of your image file and how far you zoom in to customize the thumbnail, the image may be resampled and scaled when it's saved. If you add an image in GIF or JPEG format, it will be converted to PNG when it's saved.
- Provide a name for the group in the Name text box.
- Optionally, provide a summary for the group in the Summary text box.
- Type geodesignTemplate in the Tags text box.
The geodesignTemplate tag is a required tag that is used by the GeoPlanner app to locate groups; ensure that the tag is typed in the text box correctly. Groups without this tag are not displayed in the GeoPlanner app.
- Optionally, provide more tags for the group in the Tags text box.
- Specify membership details in the Group membership section.
- Click Save.
The page for the new group appears and is listed on the Groups page in your ArcGIS organization under the My Groups tab.
Create a folder in your ArcGIS organization
A folder is a directory under the My Content tab of the Content page in your ArcGIS organization. Although a folder isn't required for a GeoPlanner template, it is recommended for storing all GeoPlanner template resources. A GeoPlanner template folder facilitates content management in your ArcGIS organization, especially if there are a large number of data items on the My Content tab.
Complete the following steps to create a folder for the GeoPlanner template:
- Sign in to your organizational account.
- Click Content at the top.
The Content page appears with the My Content tab active.
- Click Create new folder
in the Folders section.
- Provide a name for the folder and click OK.
A new folder with the provided name appears in the Folders section.
Create a template web map
Once you've created a group and optionally a folder, you need to create a template web map. A GeoPlanner template web map contains operational layers and a basemap. It is used by the GeoPlanner app to create and manage a project.
Caution:
Do not add the GeoPlanner template feature service to the template web map. It is automatically added to the project web map when a project is created. Adding a template feature service to the template web map results in duplicate template feature layers in the project web map.
Complete the following steps to create a template web map and share it to the GeoPlanner template group:
- Sign in to your organizational account.
- Click Map.
- If Map Viewer Classic appears, click Open in Map Viewer.
A new map appears.
- Optionally, click Add and use the existing ArcGIS organization options to add operational data to your map.
- Click Save and open
. - Click Save as.
The Save map dialog box appears.
- Provide a name for the map in the Title text box.
- Choose the folder that you created in My Content.
- Type geodesignTemplateWebMap in the Tags text box.
This is the tag that is used by the GeoPlanner app to find template web maps and it must be spelled as it is written.
- Optionally, provide a summary for the map in the Summary text box.
- Choose a folder in My Content where you want to store the map and click Save Map.
If you didn't create a folder for your GeoPlanner, click Save Map to store the map at the root level of your portal content.
- Click Share Map
. The Share dialog box appears.
- Choose the level of shared access for the web map in the Set sharing level section:
- Owner
- Organization
- Everyone (public)
- In the Set group sharing section, click Edit group sharing to open the Group sharing options.
- Clear selections as necessary and check the check box for the group that you created.
Tip:
Use the search text box and filters to narrow down the available groups.
- Click OK to return to the Share dialog box.
- Click Save.
The web map for the GeoPlanner template is ready for use.
Create a feature class
A GeoPlanner template contains one or more hosted feature layers. These layers provide the feature types available for sketching and design. You define these types as feature templates that have symbology and default values. The layers also contain the attributes you'll use for reporting in the GeoPlanner dashboard.
The following steps describe how to create feature templates and attributes in ArcGIS Pro for a feature class:
- Start ArcGIS Pro and create a blank map.
- On the View tab, in the Windows group, click Catalog Pane
. - In the Catalog pane, right-click the Databases folder and create a file geodatabase.
- Right-click the new geodatabase and click New > Feature Class.
The Create Feature Class pane appears.
- Provide a feature class name and alias.
- Click the Feature Class Type drop-down menu and choose a feature type.
- Specify geometric properties for the feature class and whether it should be added to your active map.
- Click Next.
- Add the following fields to the feature class:
Field name Field type Field length Details LanduseType
Text
30
An example of a field that can be used to define a symbol set to be replaced by your own field name
Geodesign_ProjectID
Text
50
An example of a field that is required by GeoPlanner in every template layer when a project is created
Geodesign_ScenarioID
Text
50
An example of a field that is required by GeoPlanner in every template layer when a project is created
Name
Text
50
An example of a field that can be used to name your attribute
Description
Text
250
An example of a field that can be rendered using a text area instead of a single-line text box in the Attributes pane
Floor_Area_Ratio
Double
An example of a field that can be used to demonstrate how to set default attribute values for each subclass in the feature class
The table contains examples of attributes defined in a land-use polygon feature class. Other attributes can also be added to the feature class.
- Click Next.
- Choose a map projection from the Projected Coordinate System list.
Tip:
For best results with your ArcGIS organization, expand World and use WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere).
- Click Next.
- Accept the default XY tolerance and resolution and click Next.
- Accept the default configuration keyword and click Next.
- Click Finish.
Your feature class is created and added to the Contents pane.
- Repeat the steps you just performed to add more feature classes.
- Save the ArcGIS Pro project.
Your map in ArcGIS Pro now contains a feature class to which you can assign symbols. Keep the project open and continue with the next section to assign symbols to the feature layers.
Assign symbols to feature layers
In the previous section, you created a feature class. Next, you'll add symbols to the feature layers to use for sketching in GeoPlanner.
- If necessary, open the ArcGIS Pro project that contains the feature classes you created, and ensure they appear in the Contents pane.
- Right-click the feature class in the Contents pane and click Symbology
. The Symbology pane for the feature class appears.
- Click the Primary symbology tab .
- Click the Primary symbology drop-down arrow and choose Unique Values to symbolize your layer by category.
- Click the Field 1 drop-down arrow and choose LanduseType.
- If necessary, click the Classes tab.
- Click Add unlisted values
. - Click the Options drop-down arrow and click Add new value .
A table appears with a new row.
- Provide values for the Value and Label fields.
- Click the Options drop-down arrow and click Add new value to create rows for additional values that you want to add to the feature class.
- When you are done creating rows, select all of the rows that you want to add.
This will typically be all of the rows that you just created.
Tip:
Click the Options drop-down arrow and click Select All
to select all of the rows you just created. - Click OK.
The values are added to the table in the Symbology pane and the Contents pane in the feature class you created.
- Click a layer's symbol in the Contents or Symbology pane to edit the symbol.
Tip:
When you add new rows, the color of the symbol is set to gray by default, but you can highlight all of the rows and click the Color scheme drop-down arrow to choose a different color scheme.
The following table lists the types of symbols that you can use in your template:
Geometry type Symbol type Point
Shape marker symbol
Picture marker symbol
Line
Simple line symbol
Polygon
Solid fill symbol
Picture fill symbol
- Right-click the <all other values> row in its Value or Label column and click Remove
. Removing the <all other values> row removes symbols that are not intended for use in the template from being included in the template.
- When you're finished assigning symbols to feature layers, close the Symbology pane.
The symbols are automatically updated in the Contents pane.
- Save the ArcGIS Pro project, leave the project open, and continue with the next section to set default attribute values for feature templates.
Set default attribute values for feature templates
In the previous section, you assigned symbols to features. Next, you'll create feature templates for GeoPlanner and set default values for your sketches.
- If necessary, open the ArcGIS Pro project you used in the previous section.
- Click the Edit tab and click Create in the Features group.
- Click Manage Templates in the Create Features pane.
The Manage Templates pane appears.
- Expand the map
in the Manage Templates pane and click the feature class you created.Feature templates defined for the layer appear in the templates section.
- Double-click a template to edit its properties.
The Template Properties dialog box appears.
- Click General.
- Provide a name for the template in the Name text box.
- Optionally, provide a description for the feature template in the Description text box.
The description can be used to help locate the feature template when performing a search for templates in the GeoPlanner app.
- Optionally, add more tags to the feature template in the Tags text box.
The keyword for the geometry type is automatically generated. You can delete it or add other tags.
- Click the Attributes tab and provide default attribute values.
These values are automatically set when you sketch new features in GeoPlanner.
Caution:
Do not set a default value for Geodesign_ProjectID or Geodesign_ScenarioID. If you set default values, drawing features on the map will not work correctly, and any drawn features will not be associated with the current project and scenario.
- Click OK.
The template is saved and the dialog box closes.
- Save the ArcGIS Pro project.
The feature templates now have default values and you can share the project as a service.
Share feature layers as a service
In the previous sections, you created one or more feature classes in ArcGIS Pro, created feature templates, and set their default values. Next, you'll share the hosted feature layers in the ArcGIS Pro project as a feature service in your ArcGIS organization. You'll also share the feature service with the GeoPlanner template group.
Note:
A GeoPlanner template group must only contain one feature service. If more than one service is shared to a GeoPlanner template group, only the first service is detected by the GeoPlanner app.
- If necessary, open the ArcGIS Pro project you used in the previous section.
- Sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
- On the Share tab, in the Share As group, click the Web Layer drop-down arrow, and choose Publish Web Layer.
The Share As Web Layer pane appears.
- Provide a name for the service in the Name text box.
- Type geodesignTemplateFeatureService in the Tags text box.
The geodesignTemplateFeatureService tag is a required tag that is used by the GeoPlanner app to locate template feature services; ensure that the tag is typed in the text box correctly.
- Optionally, provide more tags for the group in the Tags text box.
- Choose the Feature option under Layer Type.
- Under Share with, specify how the web layer will be shared:
- Everyone—Share your content with the public. Anyone can access and see it.
- My Organization—Share your content with all authenticated users in the organization. This option is available when you are signed in with an organizational account.
Leave all options unchecked to set the sharing level to the owner of the item.
- Click the Groups drop-down arrow and choose the group that you created for the GeoPlanner template in your ArcGIS organization.
- Optionally, click the Content tab to view the folder, new web layers, and sublayers with assigned IDs if available.
If you enabled the Allow assignment of unique numeric IDs for sharing web layers option on the Map Properties dialog box, assigned IDs appear for each sublayer. To change an ID, click the number next to the layer or table. On the Layer Properties or Standalone Table Properties dialog box, on the General tab, type a custom integer ID in the Layer ID or Table ID text box. For more information, see Assign layer IDs.
- Under Finish Sharing, click Analyze
to review for potential problems. Errors and warnings are listed on the Messages tab. Right-click a message to open its help topic or take corrective action in the software. Errors
must be resolved before you can share your GIS resource. Resolving warnings 
is recommended but not required. - After you resolve errors, and optionally resolve warnings, click Publish
to share the web layer.
A dialog box appears showing the progress. Once published, the data is copied to your ArcGIS organizational account.
Move the feature service to the template folder
When you sign in to your ArcGIS organization and click My Content, you'll notice that the feature service you published from ArcGIS Pro is located in the root folder. If you created a folder for the GeoPlanner template, you can move the feature service to the folder you created in your ArcGIS organization.
- Sign in to your organizational account.
- Click Content.
The Content page appears with the My Content tab active.
- Check the check box next to the feature service you shared in the previous section.
- Click Move
and choose the GeoPlanner template folder on the Move Item dialog box that appears. - Click Save.
The item is moved and the dialog box closes.
- On the My Content page, click the GeoPlanner template folder you created to confirm that the feature service appears in the folder.
You can now test the template in GeoPlanner.
Test the template in GeoPlanner
So far, you've created an ArcGIS organization group and a web map, and you've shared one or more feature layers. Complete the following steps to test the GeoPlanner template and ensure that everything is configured correctly:
- Sign in to GeoPlanner.
- On the GeoPlanner Projects page, click Create New.
The Create Project - Select a Template dialog box appears.
- Click the My Organization tab and browse to the GeoPlanner template you created.
- Click Preview.
The Preview Symbol Palette dialog box appears with a list of the feature templates you created.
- Click Select to create a project from the template.
A new GeoPlanner template is created and shared in your ArcGIS organization to the group you created, along with a web map and feature service. The template was tested when you used it to create a project. You can now begin to work in GeoPlanner, start a tutorial, or optionally enable template feature service properties. These properties allow you to export data and feature attachments.