Essential vocabulary for ArcGIS for Windows Mobile

General

Term	Definition
Project administrator	The person tasked with creating maps for field work using ArcGIS for Desktop or ArcGIS Server; authoring and managing mobile projects using MPC. Typically this person is a geographic information system (GIS) analyst.
Field crew	The workers who use mobile projects in the field applications to perform field operations such as data collection and feature inspection.
GPS	A system of radio-emitting and radio-receiving satellites used for determining positions on the earth. The orbiting satellites transmit signals that allow a GPS receiver anywhere on earth to calculate its own location through trilateration. Developed and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, the system is used in navigation, mapping, surveying, and other applications in which precise positioning is necessary. Today the term has come to refer to any computer or device that is able to determine and communicate its location on the earth.
Server workflow	The server-centric solution in which an ArcGIS for Server is leveraged for serving mobile map data. For details, see Desktop and Server workflows.
Desktop workflow	The desktop-centric solution that relies on the mobile geoprocessing tools to check in and check out mobile map data. For details, see Desktop and Server workflows.
Mobile Project Center (MPC)	A desktop application used by the project administrator to author and manage mobile projects. For details, see What is Mobile Project Center.
Mobile content server	A secured component within an ArcGIS for Server where mobile projects can be stored and downloaded by field applications. For details, see Mobile content server.
Field application (also referred to as the client application)	A task-based ArcGIS application running on two device types: Windows tablet/notebook and Windows Mobile/Windows Embedded Handheld devices. It's used by the field crew to edit, query, or synchronize data. For details, see The field applications.
Create mobile cache geoprocessing tool	A geoprocessing tool that creates a mobile cache directly from a .mxd map document. For details, see Mobile geoprocessing tools.
Synchronize mobile cache geoprocessing tool	A geoprocessing tool that checks in field edits from a mobile cache to its back-end database. It can also check out updates from the back-end to the mobile cache. For details, see Mobile geoprocessing tools.

Security

Term	Definition
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)	A security technology used to establish an encrypted connection between an ArcGIS Server and the ArcGIS for Windows Mobile applications. For details, see Introduction to SSL.
SSL certificate	A digital file containing identity information of an ArcGIS Server site to establish a trusted connection with field applications. For details, see Introduction to SSL.
Self-signed certificate	A SSL certificate signed by the owner of an ArcGIS Server site. It must be exported from the server site and installed in the mobile devices. For details, see Importing and exporting certificates.

Mobile project

Term	Definition
Mobile project (also referred to as a project or field project)	A folder containing a mobile map, tasks, and capabilities to be used for field work. It also contains configurations of how these components are to be used. For details, see What is a mobile project.
Mobile map	A collection of map layers comprising of operational map layers for editing and basemap layers for referencing. For details, see About mobile maps.
.amp file	A configuration file that defines what map data, tasks, and capabilities are to be used in a mobile project and how they behave. For details, see What is a mobile project.
Map layer	An operational map layer or a basemap layer.
Operational map layer (also referred to as an operational layer)	A feature class whose behavior in a field project is configured by project administrator and content is queried, edited, or syncronized by field crew. For details, see What is an operational map layer.
Mobile cache (also referred to as a cache)	A database storing the schema and content of operational layers contained in one data frame of a map document. For details, see What is an operational map layer.
Mobile service	An ArcGIS Server web service consumed by the ArcGIS for Windows Mobile applications to connect to and access the source map data.
Basemap layer	A non-editable layer that provides a visual reference for other layers and to help orient the field crew. For details, see What is a basemap.
Offline basemap	Tile package/tiled dataset or StreetMap for Windows Mobile. They can be used on field devices without network connection.
Tile package	A tile cache of data packaged from a map document and used as a basemap. MPC doesn't consume it directly but extracts and uses the tiled dataset from it. For details, see Tile package/tiled datasets.
Tiled dataset (also referred to as a map cache)	Tiles (images) organized together in a user-defined tiling scheme. A tiled dataset can be extracted from a tile package or a tiled map service. For details, see Tile package/tiled datasets.
Online basemap	ArcGIS Online map service or ArcGIS for Server tiled map service. Network connection is needed for field devices to use them. For details, see Online basemaps.
Basemap catalog	A virtual location managed in MPC that defines folders of tiled datasets or StreetMap for Windows Mobile. For details, see Adding offline basemaps.
Full extent	The full extent defined for a map's data frame, or the entire extent of the data frame's spatial reference if the data frame's full extent is not defined. The full extent determines the maximum extent within which data can be downloaded through a mobile service or created from a map document. For details, see Operational layer properties.
Project extent	The area defined for a project within which field crew perform field operations. For a project containing mobile services, the project extent determines the extent within which data will be downloaded for the project. For details, see About data packaging.
Task	A set of operations performed by field crew during field operations. A task is essentially a guided field workflow with a user interface. Tasks can be the built-in tasks that come with ArcGIS for Windows Mobile applications or can be custom built by third-party developers. For details, see Tasks and capabilities.
Capabilities/Extension	A piece of custom built functionality that extends or modifies the field application. A capability doesn't necessarily have a user interface. For details, see Tasks and capabilities.
.wmpk	A packaged mobile project uploaded through MPC to a mobile content server, ArcGIS Online, or ArcGIS Portal.

MPC

Term	Definition
Identity layer	An operational map layer configured to record who has signed in to a mobile project, and to provide identity information to auto-populate attributes for other operational map layers. For details, see Project user identity.
Logging layer	An operational map layer configured to record the locations of a field crew member at the set interval. For details, see Operational layer properties.
Field crew layer	An operational map layer configured to establish geo-collaboration by updating a crew member's location and downloading others' last known locations at the set interval. For details, see Operational layer properties.
View form/collect form/update form	Configurations done in MPC to define what attributes are shown ad how they are presented when being viewed, collected, and updated.
Feature type	A subtype of an operational map layer.
Packaging (also referred to as pre-caching/data packaging)	A function provided by MPC to cache the data of all operational map layers using the project extent from mobile services. For details, see About data packaging.
Product validation	A function provided by MPC that checks for the integrity of a mobile project. For details, see About project validation.
Local project directory	The folder defined in MPC that stores mobile projects.
Global Positioning System (GPS) quality filter	A setting that defines the least accurate GPS fix type and maximum Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) used to filter out low quality GPS signals. For details, see Understanding GPS/GNSS.

Field applications

Term	Definition
Field device	A Windows tablet/notebook device or a Windows Mobile/Windows Embedded Handheld device that has the field application installed.
Field edits	Data of operational map layers that are collected or updated by field crew.
Project data source	The setting of a default location (ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS) where mobile projects can be downloaded from. For details, see Setting Project Source.
Project folder	A folder on a mobile device where mobile projects reside. While Windows Mobile device supports the default folders, Windows device also allows user-defined folders. For details, see Deploying a mobile project.
Basemap folder	The folders on a mobile device where offline basemaps reside. While Windows Mobile device supports the default basemap folders, Windows device also allows user-defined ones. For details, see Deploying a basemap separately.
Work list	A list of to be inspected features that can be accessed through the view work list task in field applications. The list is maintained by field crew.
Reference location	A reference point captured by field crew using known coordinate or current GPS locations; from/to the reference point an offset is applied to collect a point feature's geometry, or a vertex of a line or polygon.
GPS streaming	A geometry collection method that collects the shape of a line or polygon feature using a series of GPS locations captured at a regular time or distance interval.
GPS location	A geometry collection method that captures a point feature's geometry, or a vertex of a line or polygon feature by taking one shot from current GPS locations.
Geometry editing	A functionality provided by the ArcGIS application running on a Windows Mobile device to edit the geometry of an existing feature. For details, see Updating features using Windows Mobile device.
Auto-population (also referred to as auto-fill)	An ability of the field applications to automatically populate some attributes with values defined by MPC. For details, see Configuring map layer fields.
Auto-post	An ability of field applications to automatically upload field edits to the back-end database at the time set in MPC.
Waypoint navigation	A functionality provided by the ArcGIS application running on a Windows Mobile device to guide the field crew to a destination by showing the distance and heading direction. For details, see Using GPS in Windows Mobile devices.