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Search Widget for Flex

leigpt edited this page Jun 28, 2013 · 25 revisions
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The Geoportal Search Widget for Flex allows users to search other geoportals from within a Flex Viewer.

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 sample viewer application that can be integrated with the geoportal, using the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex. This topic will address how to add the Geoportal Search Widget to an existing Flex Viewer and how to use the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex once it is added.

Table of Contents

How to Add the Geoportal Widget to a Flex Viewer Application

Prerequisite: The following tools are required for project compilation and testing:

If you would like to add the Geoportal Search Widget to a Flex Viewer application, follow the steps below.
  1. Import Flex Viewer source code into Flex Builder.
    1. Download ArcGIS Viewer for Flex 2.x (For Geoportal Server Release 1.2.4 or higher, please download ArcGIS Viewer for Flex 3.x ).
    2. File-->Import Flash Builder Project.
    3. Click "Browse" and navigate to Flex Viewer source code .zip file.
  2. Integrate ArcGIS Flex API into Project.
    1. Download ArcGIS Flex API 2.5 source code (For Geoportal Server Release 1.2.4 or higher, please download ArcGIS Flex API 3.3 source code).
    2. Unzip file and copy .swc file from /ArcGIS_Flex/libs to Flex Viewer libs folder.
      • Windows Default: C:\users\<name>\Adobe Flash Builder 4.6\FlexViewer\libs.
    3. In Flex Builder go to Project-->Properties.
    4. In Properties windows go to Flex Build Path and click Add SWC.
    5. Browse to .swc from previous step and click OK.
    6. Optional: Change Output Folder and Output Folder URL to the directory and URL for your Web server.
  3. Add Search Widget for Flex to Flex Viewer.
    1. Go to Search Widget source code page.
    2. Click Download GNU tarball.
    3. Extract geoportal-trunk.tar.gz and subsequent geoportal-trunk.tar files using 7-Zip or another similar program.
    4. From the /geoportal-trunk/trunk/geoportal folder, copy the three folders below to the Flex Viewer folder (Windows Default: C:\users\<name>\Adobe Flash Builder 4.6\FlexViewer).
      • etc
      • locale
      • src
    5. Yes to merge folders, but No to replace files.
    6. In Flex Builder, return to Project-->Properties and go to Flex Modules.
    7. Click Add and browse to FlexViewer-->src-->widgets-->Find Data, select FindDataWidget.mxml, and click OK.
  4. Update config.xml file.
    1. From /FlexViewer/etc folder, copy the config-eclipse.xml file to the /FlexViewer/src folder.
    2. Rename config.xml to config_bak.xml.
    3. Rename config-eclipse.xml to config.xml.
  5. In Flex Builder click Run to compile Flex Viewer with Flex Widget.
  6. Test the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex integration using the information below on how to use the tool.
Special Thanks to Christopher Close of Esri Canada for his assistance with this section.

How to Use the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex

When the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex is properly integrated into your Flex Viewer, you should be able to launch a Find Data widget from the interface. This Find Data window is the Geoportal Search Widget for Flex. To launch it, hover your mouse 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 launch the Find Data user interface.

How to search for resources

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 Lucene Search Text Queries. 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 should support adding a variety of web services to the map, including 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 even though an Add to Map link is displayed with the search result.

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.

Back to Geoportal Clients for ArcGIS