What's new in ArcGIS for Windows Mobile

At the 3.x release, ArcGIS for Windows Mobile (formerly ArcGIS Mobile) includes significant enhancements, changes, and user experience improvements, which are described in this topic.

Installation changes

• ArcGIS for Windows Mobile now comes with two installation programs (setups), one that contains all the applications you need to build mobile solutions and one for the software development kit (SDK), ArcGIS Runtime SDK for Windows Mobile. The SDK is for programmers to extend (customize tasks and extensions for) the ready-to-deploy field applications (the ArcGIS application) or to develop their own SDK applications.
• If you have ArcGIS for Desktop, you can install geoprocessing tools that work with both the 10.0 and 10.1 versions of ArcGIS for Desktop.

Enhancements and changes with building projects

You can:

• Simplify your field deployments by including mobile caches, basemaps, and custom tasks and extensions inside the mobile projects you create and package rather than having to deploy them separately.
• Ensure the integrity of your field projects by detecting issues with your projects before deploying them using the validation framework in the Mobile Project Center.
• Share and upload mobile projects for download by devices using ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Online, and Portal for ArcGIS.
• Simplify the field synchronization process for your field staff by qualifying the behavior of map layers in the Mobile Project Center.
• Synchronization of features and attachments through a mobile map service or check in field edits through the Synchronize Mobile Cache Tool.

Integration with ArcGIS for Desktop

• Support attachments with Create Mobile Cache Tool and Synchronize Mobile Cache Tool.
• Remove custom extent requirements when authoring map documents for mobile solutions. If no custom full extent is set, the extent defined by the data frame's spatial reference is used.
• Provide Mobile Analyzer when publishing a mobile map service through ArcGIS for Desktop.

Mobile Project Center

• Inclusion of all operational layers, basemap (optional), custom tasks (optional) and custom extensions (optional) as one item for deployment.
• Set operational map layer by its purpose and simplify configuration workflow.
• Project user identity mechanism is now realized by Identity layer.
• Less restriction on the schema of a field crew layer or logging layer.
• Set up field autopopulation when your field workers collect or update features using a set of built-in variables (user identity, machine details, GPS details), or define your own variables using custom extensions.
• Package data from all mobile map services before project deployment.
• Flexibility to add a basemap by reference or by copying a basemap to a mobile project.
• Support of tile package in addition to tiled dataset and StreetMap for Windows Mobile as offline basemaps.
• Maintain basemap catalogs to quickly add references to commonly used tiled and streetmap datasets.
• Project validation with detail information about the cause and possible solutions for project issues.
• Share and download projects to and from ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Online, and Portal for ArcGIS.

Mobile Content Server

• Mobile content server inherits same role-based security model from ArcGIS Server. At a minimum, User role type is required to download projects.

Changes to the ArcGIS application for Windows Mobile devices

As a field worker, you can:

• Streamline the download of projects by setting the project's default source location.
• Discover details about the current project (data sources, extensions used, and so on).
• Use a simplified synchronization workflow that gives you the options for both upload and download operational map data.
• Create new features using a simplified workflow that streamlines repetitive tasks.
• Update the geometry of an existing features (extend, re-collect, replace a portion).
• Use a single-shot GPS location (a replacement of the GPS averaging method) to capture a point.
• Use a camera to attach photos or video to a feature using geodatabase attachments.
• Browse the file system and attach files to a feature.
• Download and upload files attached to a feature.
• Navigate to the location of a feature.
• Configure your Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver for use with ArcGIS.
• View GPS position details on top of the map whenever displayed using a GPS Info Bar.
• Set a coordinate system format to be used across the application.
• Standardize the units used across the application for your project needs.

Changes to the ArcGIS application for Windows devices

As a field worker, you can:

• Streamline the download of projects by setting the default project source location.
• Discover details about the current project (data sources, extensions used, and so on).
• Use a simplified synchronization workflow that gives you the options for both upload and download operational map data.
• Use a camera to attach photos to a feature using geodatabase attachments.
• Browse the file system and attach files to features.
• Download and upload files attached to features.
• Use a single-shot GPS location (a replacement of the GPS averaging method) to capture a point.
• Accurately snap to features when sketching based upon what you currently see and zoom to on the map.
• Standardize the units used across the application for your project needs.

SDK

• Provide attachment application programming interface (API).
• Provide Rest API for CatalogServices namespace.
• New operations exposed in Geometries namespace for buffer, union, cut, and so on.
• Provide geodesic calculation.