You can create three types of offline map packages, imagery tile packages (TPK), vector tile packages (VTPK), and mobile map packages (MMPK) files using ArcGIS Pro. This tutorial focuses on creating MMPK packages. MMPK supports a combination of both vector and raster layers. Below are the steps needed to create an MMPK using ArcGIS Pro and how to link it to the survey using Survey123 Connect. If you don’t have access to ArcGIS Pro please contact your Cadasta Program Specialist about your interest in using ArcGIS Pro to create offline maps.
Steps
1. Open a New Map in ArcGIS Pro. You will find Light Gray Canvas as a default basemap
2. You will be downloading imagery for our offline survey so you will need to change the basemap to one that has imagery. Go to Basemap under the Map tab and select Imagery
3. Zoom to the area that you want to have offline imagery for
4. Far right under the Map tab you will see the Download Map button. Click it. You will see the message as shown below:
5. Put a checkmark in the box where it says Include basemap & tile layers. Click Download. You will see the message Exporting Tile Cache in the middle of the screen
6. You need to wait until exporting tile cache is completed. Once exported you will see a new .tpk layer in your content. Now that you have the basemap imagery on your local computer you can remove the World Imagery layer now
7. Add a vector layer (in this case we will use a polygon shapefile) to your map. Go to Add Data and Click Data– Add data to the map. Locate the shapefile in your local folder and click OK
8. You will see a polygon layer under the content. Click on the rectangular symbol under polygons in your content to modify the symbol to suit your use case. Here, we are using a transparent fill with a dark blue outline
9. To create a mobile map package (MMPK), click the Share tab and select the Mobile Map tool from the ribbon
10. A new window will appear. Fill in the Name, Summary, and at least one Tag. You can also Clip the vector layer that is located inside the basemap
11. Click Analyze. If there are no errors click Publish. It will notify you after it is published on AGOL
12. Login to your Cadasta Platform homepage using your organizational credentials. Go to Content. You will see a new Mobile Map Package item
At this point, we have created a MMPK that contains both vector and raster layers. Now we need to link this MMPK with the survey that we want to use the offline map with.
Linking an MMPK with a Survey123 form:
1. Open Survey 123 Connect and login using the same user credentials that you used before
2. You can either select a survey that already exists or you can create a new one based on your requirements
3. In this case we are selecting an existing survey that we created for this tutorial: MMPK TEST
4. Click Settings on the top right portion of the application and then select Linked Content. You will see one web map under linked content that has the same name as the survey. This was automatically generated while publishing the survey
5. On the bottom left of the screen you will find an Add Map Link button. Click it
6. You will see different web maps and map packages that were created by members of your organization. The most recent one will be on the top. Go and Select the MMPK – Basemap with Polygons and click OK
7. Publish the survey again
To use the offline map that you created, you need to update the survey on your phone (Inside Survey123 app) and download the offline map while you are connected to the internet. Once the MMPK has been downloaded you will be able to see both the basemap and polygons when using your mobile device when it is offline. You should see something similar to the screenshot below on your phone.
