Geoportal Search Widget for Flex
How to Use
The ArcGIS API for Flex allows for the creation of Rich Internet applications on top of ArcGIS Server. It is based on the free Adobe Flex framework. Esri provides a viewer application that is integrated with the Geoportal, using the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex.
The Geoportal within ArcGIS for INSPIRE ships with a viewer that is preconfigured with the Geoportal Search Widget. To launch the viewer, go to click the Launch Map Viewer tab on the Geoportal homepage. The Find Data window will automatically be opened when the application is launched; this Find Data window is the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex.
How to search
Notice that the Find Data window has one input field, a Search button, and three radio buttons. The input field accepts any lucene search query. You can type in a simple query, such as just one keyword to search, or you can develop more complex queries using the Lucene syntax. Furthermore, you can limit search results to a certain spatial extent. Select the appropriate radio button: Anywhere means no spatial filter will be applied, Intersecting will retrieve records that touch or overlap the spatial extent currently shown in the Flex Viewer, and Fully Within will retrieve records where the spatial extent falls fully within the extent currently shown in the Flex Viewer.
Once you have entered the search criteria, click the Search button.
Search results matching your criteria are returned. Doubleclick on one of the records, and the interface zooms to the spatial extent of the resource. Another window appears, showing information for that search result resource and links that provide the same functionality that you'd see on the geoportal search page. You will notice that no Preview link is generated, and instead an Add to Map link appears for Live Data. That is because in this Flex application, users preview the service when they chose to add it to the map with the Add to Map link.
Other tools in the Find Data window
At the top right side of the Find Data window, there are four icons. The first is a set of binoculars, and the second is a square chart. These two buttons allow for toggling between the search interface and the list of resources. Click on the binoculars to define a search; click on the chart to see the results from the previous search. The third and fourth buttons define the behavior of the window itself. Click on the green arrow to minimize the window. Click on the X button to close it.
If you close the window, but want to open it again, hover the pointer over the cube Tools icon in the viewer's main menu, and you will see the Find Data tool displayed in the list of available tools. Click on it to restore it to the Find Data user interface.
Viewing a service in the interface
The Flex Viewer provided with the Geoportal supports ArcIMS, ArcGIS Server REST services, OGC WMS, and GeoRSS. If a service is not running or is of an unsupported service type, it will not appear on the map interface.
How to navigate the Flex Viewer map
Documentation for how to use the Flex Viewer is specific to its implementing organization, and will be defined in the Flex Viewer's help by the organization hosting the viewer.