Use observation tools

Observation tools allow you to conduct inspection-based workflows and collect and edit features on top of your imagery, as well as create image chips around your observations.

Use the Collect Observations tool

The Collect Observations tool is available when there is at least one observation layer in the canvas. The Collect Observations tool allows you to choose from a list of observation layers and interact with the images to collect and record features. The Collect Observations tool allows you to batch collect observations of the same type before submitting them to be written to the underlying editable collection layer, saving time during the collection workflow.

To use the Collect Observations tool, do the following:

1. In an open project, click Tools .

2. Under Observations Tools, click Collect Observations.

   The Collect Observations panel opens with list of observation layers available for editing. You can expand and collapse each layer to make the list more manageable.

3. Choose an observation icon from the list, and click the map or image to add an observation.

   The Collect Observations panel changes from a list of observation layers to a form to provide information based on the defined attributes of the editable observation layer.

4. Click the map or image to continue adding observations until all observations of the same type have been collected.

5. Provide information based on the defined Editable Fields values for the observation.

6. Optionally, select an Analysis Layer to populate the system-managed fields with information from the imagery if the observation is collected on top of the selected Analysis Layer and the observation layer has the system-managed fields configured.

7. Click Submit to commit the collected observations.

   Note:

   A separate entry for each collected observation is written to the editable collection layer and can be viewed in the Feature Table.

Note:

If you collect an observation with a GeoEnrichment definition, attributes from the polygon layer will automatically populate in the point observation layer.

Collect Observations with knowledge graph relationships

When an observation layer is part of a knowledge graph, new observations can be related to other entities participating in the graph network.

License:

ArcGIS Knowledge layers are only supported in ArcGIS Enterprise.

1. In an open project, click Tools .

2. Under Observations Tools, click Collect Observations.

   The Collect Observations panel opens with list of observation layers available for editing. You can expand and collapse each layer to make the list more manageable.

3. Choose an observation icon from the list, and click the map or image to add an observation.

   The Collect Observations panel changes from a list of observation layers to a form to provide information based on the defined attributes of the editable observation layer.

4. Click the map or image to continue adding observations until all observations of the same type have been collected.

   Provide information based on the defined Fields values for the observation.

   Under Knowledge Relationships, click Add .

   Knowledge Relationships expands with parameters to create the relationship.

   Choose a Relationship value defined in the knowledge graph layer.

   Choose the Direction value for the relationship as follows:

   • Forward—The relationship is from the new observation to the target entity.

   • Backward—The relationship is from the target entity to the new observation.

   Choose the Entity value the observation is related to.

   The Select entity pane appears.

   Choose an entity to relate to the observation, and, optionally, use the Select type and Filter entries options to reduce the scope of the selection.

   Click Done to continue with the chosen entity.

   The Select entity pane closes, and the selected entity is shown in the Entity text box.

   Click Add to add the relationship to the observation, or click Cancel.

   Click Submit to commit the collected observations.

   Note:

   A separate entry for each collected observation is written to the editable collection layer and can be viewed in the Feature Table.

Use the Edit Observations tool

The Edit Observations tool is available when there is at least one observation layer in the canvas. The tool allows you to select and edit one or more observations at once, and to copy observations or delete observations.

In the Tools menu, the tools appear in their own section under Observations Tools. Edit Observations allows you to modify observations before submitting them to be written to the underlying editable collection layer. This saves time during the editing workflow.

To use the Edit Observations tool, do the following:

1. In an open project, click Tools .

2. Under Observation Tools, click Edit Observations.

3. Select the observation layer to edit from Select Layer to Edit.

   If only one observation layer is present in the current Excalibur project, the layer is selected by default.

4. Click to select individual observations in the view, or use the sketch tools to draw an area to select several observations.

   Optionally, resketch the selected observations, or click Clear Selection to clear the selection.

5. Choose the operation to perform on the selected observation.

   These operations are described in subsequent sections.

   • Edit—Make changes to the selected observation.

   • Copy—Copy the selected observation to a new observation.

   • Delete—Remove the selected observation.

Edit the selected observation

To modify the location, shape, fields, and attachments on the selected observation, do the following:

1. Click Edit.

2. Click the feature to change the location of the selected observations, or change the shape of your observation if it is a polygon or line observation layer.

   If multiple observations are selected, the features can only be moved, not reshaped.

3. Provide information based on the defined Editable Fields values for the observation.

4. Optionally, change the Analysis Layer that is being used to populate the system-managed fields for the observation. By default, the Analysis Layer input will be empty but it will retain the previous information from when the observation was collected or last edited. If you change the layer, the system-managed fields will rehydrate with information from the selected Analysis Layer if the observation is collected on top of that layer.

5. Optionally, click Create Image Chip under Attachments to create a .jpg image around the observation.

   1. Review the predefined extent in the Map Panel and the resulting chip in the Preview window.

   2. Zoom in or zoom out in the Map Panel to the desired extent, and use Update in the Preview window.

   3. Check Include selected observation to include the feature symbol in the chip.

   4. Type text for Chip Name.

      The name must be fewer than 100 characters.

   5. Click Attach to create the chip and return to Edit Observations.

6. Optionally, click Add Attachments under Attachments to add a document or file to the observation.

   A file browser opens to select one or more files.

   Supported file types are .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .ppt, and .pptx.

   Note:

   Attachments are not supported on knowledge graph observation layers.

7. Click Open to attach the selected files.

8. Click Remove to remove existing attachments from the observation.

   A dialog box appears to confirm removing the attachment.

9. Click Update to save edits to the observation.

   A notification appears confirming your update.

Edit an observation with knowledge graph relationships

Edit observations in an ArcGIS Knowledge observation layer.

License:

ArcGIS Knowledge layers are only supported in ArcGIS Enterprise.

To modify an observation, do the following:

1. Click Edit.

2. Provide information based on the defined Fields values for the observation.

3. Under Knowledge Relationships, click Add .

   Knowledge Relationships expands with parameters to create the relationship.

4. Choose a Relationship value defined in the knowledge graph layer.

5. Choose the Direction value for the relationship as follows:

   • Forward—The relationship is from the new observation to the target entity.

   • Backward—The relationship is from the target entity to the new observation.

6. Choose the Entity value the observation is related to.

   The Select entity pane appears.

7. Choose an entity to relate to the observation, and, optionally, use the Select type and Filter entries options to reduce the scope of the selection.

8. Click Done to continue with the chosen entity.

   The Select entity pane closes, and the selected entity is shown in the Entity text box.

9. Click Add to add the relationship to the observation, or click Cancel.

10. Click Update to save edits to the observation. Alternatively, click Cancel.

    A notification appears confirming your update.

Copy the selected observation

Make a copy of the current observation in the same layer or in a different layer. If copying to a different layer, the field names must be the same or can be matched as part of the copy workflow.

1. Click Copy in the Edit Observations tool.

   A new panel appears where you can copy the selected observations, or source observation layer, to the same layer or you can select a different destination layer to copy it to another observation layer if you have multiple observation layers of the same geometry added to the project.

2. Select the Analysis Layer you would like to use to populate the system-managed fields for the copy, or leave it empty and it will copy the existing information for these fields.

3. For Destination Layer, select where the observation will be copied.

   • To copy the selected observation to a different observation layer, select a different layer for the Destination Layer setting than the Selected Observation Layer setting.

   • Select the same destination layer as selected observation layer to make a copy of the observation in the layer.

4. If the Destination Layer selection is different, match the fields between the source layer and the destination layer so the attributes are copied correctly.

   1. Select the Source field name from the list and its corresponding Destination field name.

   2. Continue matching source fields to destination fields until no source fields remain.

   Click Submit.

   A message appears to confirm the copy was successful.

Delete the selected observation

To remove the selected observation from the observation layer, do the following:

1. Click Delete in Edit Observations.

   A confirmation dialog box appears.

2. Click Delete to remove the observations. Click Cancel to return to the edit options.

Use Chip Observations

The Chip Observations tool is available when at least one observation layer is added to the canvas. The tool allows you to create and attach image chips on individual or multiple observations at once. Only layers with the Attachments setting enabled will be available to use in the tool.

To use Chip Observations, do the following:

1. In an open project, click Tools .

2. Click Chip Observations under Observations Tools.

   The Chip Observations pane appears.

3. Choose the observation layer to modify under Select Layer.

   If only one observation layer is present in the current project, that layer is preselected.

4. Select the observations to attach images to. Either click observations on the map, use the draw tools to draw an area around your observations, or use the Feature Table to select observations. If you select an observation in the Focus Panel, the chips will be generated using the Focus Panel view.

   The Chip Selected Observation section opens in the pane and the selected observations are highlighted. The resulting table lists the OBJECT ID and current attachment COUNT for each observation selected.

5. Optionally, click Clear Selection to start over, or redraw the selection with the draw tools.

6. Click the row of an observation in the Chip Selected Observations table.

   The observation is highlighted, flashes on the map, and is highlighted in the table. A list of the observation's attachments is shown below the table.

7. Optionally, click Zoom to feature location to zoom to that observation, or View feature popup to open the pop-up for the observation.

8. Choose one of two methods to chip images for the selected observations: create multiple chips to batch create chips for the selected observations, or create chips one at a time for the selected observations.

   After the chips are generated, they can be reviewed before attaching them to the observations.

9. To create multiple chips for the observations, do the following:

   1. Click Chip All .

   2. Review the predefined extent and the resulting chip in Preview.

   3. Zoom in or zoom out to the desired extent, and use Update in Preview.

   4. Optionally, check Include selected observation to include the feature symbol in the chips.

   5. Enter a Chip Name Prefix.

      This prefix is applied to all resulting image chips. The prefix must be fewer than 100 characters.

   6. Click Calculate to generate chips for selected observations. Optionally, click Cancel.

   7. Review the generated image chips in the Review and Attach panel by clicking Go to layer extent to see the chip. Exclude any image chips by unchecking it.

   8. Click Attach to attach the checked image chips to their observations. Alternatively, click Cancel to return to the initial pane in the Chip Observations tool.

10. To create chips individually for the observations, do the following:

    1. Select an observation in the Chip Selected Observations table.

    2. Click Chip or Add Chip .

    3. Preview the default chip extent and the resulting chip in Preview.

    4. Zoom in or zoom out to the desired extent, and use Update in Preview.

    5. Optionally, check Include selected observation to include the feature symbol in the image chips.

    6. Enter a Chip Name.

       The name must be fewer than 100 characters.

    7. Click Attach to create the image chip for the selected observation. Alternatively, click Cancel.

    8. Repeat the process for the next observation in the Chip Selected Observations table.