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Getting Technical - March 2025

What’s new in ArcGIS Online? What’s coming in ArcGIS Excalibur (Beta Release — ArcGIS Online Q1 2025)? How do you customize your ArcGIS Hub site? How do you migrate to the new authentication system in ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET? How do you design effective Dashboards? How do you navigate and prioritize GIS projects effectively? What are the best practices to connect your community with ArcGIS Hub Premium? Get answers to all these questions and more in this month’s edition of Getting Technical.

Features

Esri Canada achieves three ISO certifications in data security
Esri Canada announced it has achieved three certifications from the International Standards Organization (ISO), which publishes globally recognized standards for quality, efficiency and safety of products, services and systems. These certifications reinforce Esri Canada’s position as a trusted partner for its customers and highlights its commitment to deliver secure, reliable and innovative GIS solutions. 

Use vision-language models to optimize object classification
Esri’s curated library of pretrained deep learning models accessible through ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World has an exciting new addition—the Vision Language Context-Based Classification model. What sets vision-language models apart from traditional deep learning models is their ability to understand and process not only image and video prompts but also interpret and generate human-like text.

Extend hosted feature services in ArcGIS Enterprise through service interceptors
Have you grown frustrated that you can’t intercept and modify requests and responses in hosted feature services to automate data filtering, enrichment, and validation? If so, you’re in luck because you’ll soon be able to do just that and more through service interceptors.

Extend the capabilities of custom apps with AI skills
If you’ve been looking to enhance your custom apps with AI to enable features such as speech recognition, human-like text understanding and generation, and image processing to improve user experience and accelerate decision making, then you’re in luck. You’ll be able to do just that and more with the robust set of AI skills Esri is building in its Geospatial AI framework, as well as your own custom skills that you can implement within it.

GIS Projects: Triaging Considerations Series continued – Parts 3, 4, 5 and 6

Feeling overwhelmed by multiple GIS project requests? You're not alone! In this 6-part series, we'll introduce a 6-pillar framework to help you navigate and prioritize these projects effectively. By the end of the series, you'll have a handy guide to assist you in triaging projects, making the process smoother and more manageable.

Our picks for the 2024 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition finalists are in. Vote for your favorite story!
Celebrate storytelling and the 2024 ArcGIS Competition finalists with Esri's StoryMaps team. Read the stories and vote for your favorite.

Building Well-Architected ArcGIS systems
Visit the ArcGIS Architecture Center to learn about the architecture pillars that contribute to the design and implementation of well-architected systems. Also, see the What’s new in the ArcGIS Architecture Center and Well-Architected Framework blog to learn about the exciting new features and enhancements that were just released.

What's new in ArcGIS Online (February 2025)
The February 2025 update includes new capabilities in Map Viewer, bulk attribute editing in ArcGIS Web Editor, the Building Explorer tool in Scene Viewer, an updated ArcGIS Instant Apps home page, along with other enhancements and new functionality throughout ArcGIS Online.

What’s Coming in ArcGIS Excalibur (Beta Release — ArcGIS Online Q1 2025)
Previously only offered within ArcGIS Enterprise, we are happy to announce that ArcGIS Excalibur is now available as a beta in ArcGIS Online, with a full public release planned in the upcoming months!

Introducing the Migration Toolset for ArcGIS Utility Network
This article shows how to use the new Migrate to Utility Network tool.  You can find a complete guide to all these tools and their surrounding workflows, including discussions of the migration process, on the Esri Community site.

Connecting your community with ArcGIS Hub Premium - best practices part 1
This article is one in a series of three that collectively act as a guide for successfully managing your community organization. In this article, we lay out five essential tactics for managing your community organization.

GeoSnaps: Set Default Basemap and Extent in ArcGIS Hub
Looking to customize your ArcGIS Hub site? This GeoSnap will show you how to set a default basemap and extent for your datasets. Learn how to select from one of the six styles of the Community Map of Canada, which provide high-quality basemaps sourced from authoritative Canadian content.

FAQ: How to Migrate to the New Authentication System in ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET 
This blog post will guide you through the transition, highlighting new capabilities, outlining clear paths from deprecated APIs, and providing practical code examples to help you implement these changes quickly and confidently.

Hot Tip: Designing Effective Dashboards
Dashboards can be used for many different purposes. Knowing what the purpose is can inform your design decisions. 

View all product specific blogs on the ArcGIS Blog site.

Announcements

New Trusted AI section of the ArcGIS Trust Center

Introducing Content Store for ArcGIS: Enrich your GIS with Premium Commercial Satellite Imagery

View more announcements in the ArcGIS Blog | My Esri on Esri Community

Service Packs, Patches & Product Support Updates

Esri Support AI Chatbot   

Visit the Esri Support site to ask the AI Chatbot your questions about service packs and recent patches.

Esri Support App
Download the Esri Support app to subscribe to important product updates and bug related notifications. You can also take advantage of Esri’s generative AI chatbot to answer some of your questions.

ArcGIS Trust Center
Visit the ArcGIS Trust Center for critical security announcements and updates to privacy and compliance information.

Migrating from ArcGIS Engine
ArcGIS Engine, launched more than 20 years ago for building and deploying custom GIS desktop applications, is scheduled for retirement on March 1, 2026. In this post, the first in a series dedicated to the migration of ArcGIS Engine apps to a new generation of ArcGIS developer products, we will delve into deprecation specifics, the impending retirement of ArcGIS Engine, strategies for planning your migration, and an introduction to one of the key migration routes leveraging ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps.

 

Announcing the Deprecation of ArcGIS Maps SDK for Local Server
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Local Server is deprecated and will be retired in 2030.

Retiring Apps and Features in Your ArcGIS Online Subscription
Please find below more information about the upcoming retirement of several apps and features included in your ArcGIS Online subscription, including metadata editor classic, ArcGIS AppStudio, Map Viewer Classic, ArcGIS Configurable Apps, ArcGIS Web AppBuilder and classic Esri Story Maps.

Metadata Editor Classic is Planned to Retire in Q1 2025 
Metadata editor classic will be removed from ArcGIS Online upon retirement and can no longer be accessed. We recommend that you start using the metadata editor, built on Esri’s latest web mapping technology, ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript. For more information, read the retirement announcement. 

ArcGIS AppStudio is Planned to Retire in Q1 2025  
ArcGIS AppStudio will be removed from ArcGIS Online upon retirement. While your existing published apps will continue to work, you will no longer have access to download AppStudio desktop, create new apps, or make edits to existing apps after retirement. You can continue to build and maintain your apps and use technical support from Esri until retirement, but you should start the process of selecting the best migration path for your apps. For more information, read the retirement announcement and the ArcGIS AppStudio Retirement: How to Ensure a Smooth Transition blog.  

Map Viewer Classic is Planned to Retire in Q1 2026  
Map Viewer Classic will be removed from ArcGIS Online upon retirement and can no longer be accessed. We recommend that you start using Map Viewer, built on Esri’s latest web mapping technology, ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript. For more information, read the retirement announcement.  

ArcGIS Configurable Apps is Planned to Retire in Q1 2026  
To provide users with more time to migrate their applications, the retirement date has been extended to Q1 2026. Apps built using Configurable Apps will no longer be accessible upon retirement, so we recommend you begin the process of recreating them in ArcGIS Instant Apps. For more information, read the retirement announcement.  

ArcGIS Web AppBuilder is Planned to Retire in Q1 2026  
You will not be able to create new apps or edit existing apps after retirement. Apps will continue to work after retirement. However, we recommend you migrate your apps to ArcGIS Experience Builder as updates to browsers could introduce functional or security issues which will not be addressed by Esri. For more information, read the retirement announcement.   

Classic Esri Story Maps is Planned to Retire in Q1 2026  
To provide you with more time to migrate relevant classic Esri Story Maps stories, the retirement date has been extended to Q1 2026. At that time, classic Esri Story Maps will be removed from ArcGIS Online, and any stories created with classic Esri Story Maps will no longer be available. We recommend that you transition to ArcGIS StoryMaps now to allow sufficient time to evaluate whether to recreate existing classic Esri Story Maps stories and build them in ArcGIS StoryMaps. For more information, read the retirement announcement.  

Portal for ArcGIS Security 2024 Update 2 Released

View all service packs and patches

Web Watch – Blogs, Podcasts and Useful Resources

Spatial Report Podcast Season 1 | Episode 23: End of an Era
This is the final episode of Spatial Report, so we kick things off with some thank yous. Then Alison O’Brien steps in to talk with Mark Ho about all things GIS. First, we’ll learn about what’s new in ArcGIS Monitor with our special guest from Redlands California, Derek Law. Then, Janis Lapointe discusses how ArcGIS Solutions can leverage your data to improve operations, provide new insight and enhance your services.

View more articles in ArcUser | ArcNews | ArcWatch

Training

Sharing Content to ArcGIS Enterprise - Bring your enterprise GIS portal to life

Web maps, apps and other authoritative GIS resources are the lifeblood of an ArcGIS Enterprise portal website. This course covers key workflows and best practices to add resources to your portal and make them easily accessible. Get the information you need to efficiently share a variety of resources that support operational workflows, collaboration within and across business lines, and the ability of portal users to infuse their projects with location-based insight.

View training solutions

Esri Canada Seminars & Webinars

Your Data, Your Way: Building Engaging Dashboards with ArcGIS
March 27, 2025
In this webinar, we’ll show you how to design dashboards that bring maps, charts, and data together in a way that’s both engaging and easy to understand. Whether you’re tracking progress, showcasing achievements, or simplifying complex data, you’ll pick up tips and tricks to create dashboards that wow your audience.

No Code, No Problem: Advanced Workflows for ArcGIS Experience Builder
April 24, 2025
This webinar will explore advanced workflows in ArcGIS Experience Builder that will help you build dynamic, interactive and highly customized applications with ease. We will share useful tips and tricks to guide you in designing more effective workflows and creating high-quality, user-friendly applications.

 

View recorded seminars | View recorded webinars

About the Author

Erica Morra is the Product Portfolio Manager for Esri Canada. She is passionate about promoting the value of location intelligence and communicating the capabilities of Esri's suite of ArcGIS products. Erica has worked as a GIS professional for over 17 years, helping organizations leverage Esri technology to meet their business needs of today and of the future.

Profile Photo of Erica Morra