Prepare utility networks

A utility network is the main component users work with when managing utility and telecom networks in ArcGIS, providing a comprehensive framework of functionality for the modeling of utility systems such as electric, gas, water, storm water, wastewater, and telecommunications. It is designed to model all of the components that make up your system—such as wires, pipes, valves, zones, devices, and circuits—and allows you to build real-world behavior into the network features you model.

Note:

After you prepare a utility network in ArcGIS Pro, you can deploy it to Field Maps, where mobile workers can view associations within the network, perform traces, and make edits to network features. Field Maps supports the following utility networks: electric, gas, water, storm water, and wastewater.

Note:

This topic provides information on preparing utility networks for use in Field Maps. To learn how to work with utility networks in the mobile app, see Work with utility networks.

Viewing associations is supported in ArcGIS Enterprise 10.8 and later. Named trace configurations are supported in ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9 and later. Utility networks are not supported in ArcGIS Online.

Get started with utility networks

To create utility networks for use in Field Maps, you must use ArcGIS Pro. See the following resources to get started:

Once you've created a utility network, you can optionally set up display filters, subtype group layers, and named trace configurations before deploying it to Field Maps.

Prepare the utility network

Utility networks are created and configured using ArcGIS Pro. Before deploying a utility network to Field Maps, learn how to get started with utility networks and consider the following:

Requirements—Review the requirements and prerequisites for configuring utility networks in ArcGIS Pro.
Display filters—Optionally, set up display filters to control which features display on the map.
Subtype group layers—Optionally, configure subtype group layers to symbolize and display individual subtypes on the map.
Named trace configurations—Optionally, set up named trace configurations so mobile workers can trace networks.

Once you've configured the utility network, publish and share it with mobile workers so they can access it in Field Maps.

Set up display filters

Note:

To set up display filters for use in Field Maps, you must use ArcGIS Pro 2.9 or later.

Display filters allow you to control the features displayed in containment associations within the utility network. Containment associations often involve a dense collection of features—not all of which may be necessary to display on the map. By adding display filters, you can ensure mobile workers only see the features they need when working with the utility network in Field Maps. To learn how to set up display filters in the utility network with ArcGIS Pro, see Display content features.

Set up subtype group layers and tables

Subtype group layers allow subtypes within a feature layer to be interacted with as individual layers within the map. Subtype group tables allow subtypes in a table to be interacted with as stand-alone tables. Subtype group layers and tables support subtype-level configuration for popups, forms, and other layer settings.

For example, if an electric devices layer contains 50 subtypes, each subtype can be used as a distinct layer. This enhancement allows map authors to define the viewing and editing experience for each subtype layer. Mobile workers using Field Maps can turn individual subtypes on or off and easily distinguish between subtypes while working in the map.

To learn how to set up subtype group layers in ArcGIS Pro, see Subtype group layers and tables.

Note:

It is recommended to use subtype group layers and tables when working with utility network datasets in Field Maps.

Set up named trace configurations

Named trace configurations allow you to return results based on the spatial layout and representation of equipment within the utility network—showing where resources flow from a certain point based on certain criteria. For example, if a power line is down, you can perform a downstream trace in Field Maps that displays all affected homes within a neighborhood. Named traces are configured in ArcGIS Pro and must be shared with the web map to work in Field Maps. To learn how to set up named trace configurations in ArcGIS Pro that can be used in Field Maps, see Named trace configurations.

The following trace types are supported in Field Maps: upstream, downstream, isolation, subnetwork, connected, and loops. To learn how to perform traces in Field Maps, see Trace a network.

Note:

Named trace configurations are supported in ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9 and later and ArcGIS Pro 2.7 and later.

Publish and share the utility network

Once you've configured the utility network, publish and share it as a web map from ArcGIS Pro to your ArcGIS organization so mobile workers can access it in Field Maps.

Configure association in pop ups

After you publish and share the utility network, you can add an associations element to layer pop-ups in Map Viewer. The associations element allows mobile workers to view a feature’s associations in Field Maps and navigate to associated features and nonspatial objects.

When adding an associations element, you can configure the following:

Title and description
Association types—Choose which association types to display, such as connectivity, containment, and structural attachment. .
Layers and table—Filter the associated network sources.
Display count—Set the number of associated features previewed for each layer before mobile workers view the full list.

Note:

When an associations element is configured in a layer’s pop-up, the Contents and Container actions aren’t available for that layer’s features in Field Maps.

To learn how to add an associations element, see Add associations. To learn how mobile workers use associations in pop-ups, see View associations in pop-ups.

Configure branch versioning

Field Maps supports working with branch versioned services in a connected environment. If your map contains branch versioned layers and tables, you can select the version of each feature service that the mobile app should connect to when it is opened in the Field Maps mobile app. Optionally, you can also define a subset of versions for the maps that mobile workers can access in the Field Maps mobile app. If a subset is defined, mobile users can switch to different versions within the mobile map. See Versioning for more information on how to configure branch versioning settings in Field Maps.

There are three types of access that version administrators can define for branch versions:

Private—A version that can only be viewed or edited by the version owner or a portal administrator.
Protected—A version that can be viewed by any user with access to the service, but only edited by the version owner or a portal administrator.
Public—A version that can be viewed or edited by any user with access to the service.

Branch versioning in Field Maps was designed to support the following workflows when working online or connected:

Read only versions—Versions are created to provide view only access to data for mobile users.
- Version administrators will create versions with protected access for view only access to mobile users.
One version per mobile editor—Each individual in the field has their own version for collecting data and submitting edits.
- Version administrators will create versions with private access for each mobile worker and assign the mobile worker as the version owner to their respective version.
- In Field Maps, only the owner of the private version (and portal administrators) will be able to change to a given private version.
One version per project or activity—Versions are created for specific projects or activities around data collection in the field.
- Version administrators will create versions with public access for mobile workers to view and edit in.
- In Field Maps, multiple mobile users can edit within the same version at the same time.

Working with branch versioned services is also supported in a disconnected environment with the following options for version creation when maps are taken offline:

Version creation: None
- The offline replica is created from the sde.Default version.
- Offline edits are synced directly with sde.Default version.
Version creation: Create a version for each downloaded map
- A new private version is created from the sde.Default version.
- Offline edits are synced to this private version.
- Field Maps performs a reconcile on the private version as part of the sync process. This results in updates to the offline map coming from the sde.Default version.

See Work with offline map and branch versioned data for more information on how to configure offline workflows and branch versioned data.

After edits are submitted from the field, users can use ArcGIS Pro or configured web applications to check the changes and post edits to the default version.

Configure maps for offline use

Field Maps supports taking utility network capabilities and datasets offline in multiple ways. You can choose the capabilities included with offline utility networks by defining the Utility Network Offline Capabilities options for each web map. These options are available under the Offline settings in Field Maps Designer and on the map item's settings page under Offline: Advanced Options.

When a utility network is included in the map, Field Maps supports the following offline capabilities:

Edit features and view associations
Trace and edit features, and view associations