Using GPS in Windows devices

Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers calculate their positions based on the signal received from satellites. How Windows devices leverage positions from a GPS receiver is essential for your field work. The following sections discuss how you can use a GPS in the ArcGIS application running on a Windows device.

Connecting to a GPS receiver

Steps:

1. Start the ArcGIS application on your Windows device (read Running the application for the first time for more information).
2. If you want to connect to the GPS receiver before opening a project, see steps 3-5. To connect to a GPS receiver when a project is open, see steps 6-7.
3. To connect to a GPS receiver without opening a project, tap the main menu button in the upper left corner, then tap View and Manage Settings > GPS Settings and Status.

   The GPS Settings and Status page appears.

4. If necessary, set the COM port and Baud rate to which you want to connect, then tap Connect.
5. Stand in an open area outside to get a GPS fix.

   When you get a fix, you will see the latitude and longitude of your current position on the GPS Settings and Status page. Additional GPS status information are grouped into three sections: Quality, Location, and Navigation, as shown below:

6. Alternatively, you can connect to the GPS when a project is open. To do so, start the ArcGIS application, then tap a project on the Open Project page.
7. The View Map page appears. Tap the GPS status and connect button in the upper right corner, then tap Connect to GPS.

   When you successfully connect, a blinking green dot on the map view appears to indicate your current location.

Set the GPS COM port auto search

If you don't know the COM port, use the COM port auto search function to locate it.

Steps:

1. On the GPS Settings and Status page (see step 3 in the previous section to open the page), disconnect from the GPS (if you haven't done so) by tapping the Disconnect button.
2. Under the Settings section, tap the serial port drop-down list and select Auto.
3. Tap Connect.

   After a few seconds, the COM port will be auto-populated with the GPS COM port value.

Note:

By setting the serial port to Auto, the application searches for all COM ports with baud rates 4800 and 38400 based on the National Marine and Electronics Association (NMEA) standard. Not all devices follow this standard. If the standard is not NMEA, specify the COM port on the Serial Port settings based on the device manual.

GPS display on the map

The View Map page is where a GPS-aware experience is provided. When the GPS receiver has obtained GPS positions in a World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) geographic coordinate system, the field application transforms the positions based on the map's coordinate system, then displays the transformed positions on the map as a blinking green dot. You can enforce the map to keep your current position in view by tapping the left arrow button on the right side of the View Map page, then choose Keep GPS In View, as shown below.