How To Improve Image Accessibility for Esri Map Tour StoryMap Application

Providing the most accessible websites and browser-based applications should be a goal for every web developer.  Most of my work is with web mapping applications.  And while I consider myself relatively new to web accessibility, I am taking steps on improving this within my organization. In this article, I wanted to share my solution for …

My Attempt To Make The Map Series StoryMap “More Maps” Button More Intuitive

Ever since Esri released the StoryMaps platform, I was a fan.  I remember working with the Lancaster County Planning Commission thinking about how we could deploy one of these for the Northwest River Trail.  When I took the opportunity to work as a GIS Specialist with Cumberland County, I built my first StoryMap showcasing the …

How We Developed a Print Widget Solution for Esri Web AppBuilder

The Property Mapper is our most popular web mapping application.  It allows users to search for properties and get information for tax records.  People might use this website when searching for a new house, or working on a tax assessment appeal (to reduce their property taxes). A few years ago, we migrated this site from …

Building A Leaflet.js Map App With A jQuery UI Date Picker

From 2010 to 2018, Cumberland County was the fastest growing county in the state of Pennsylvania. For a more detailed look, you can check out the Pennsylvania State Data Center's report (pdf). With that growth, comes many subdivision and land development plans that need to be reviewed by the County's Planning Department. They review these …

Announcing the Python for ArcGIS Course

Last summer was a busy and exciting season of life.  My wife and I welcomed our third child into the world, and I had the opportunity to develop the Python for ArcGIS course for Harrisburg Area Community College.  This self-paced online course is now available to purchase. The course consists of video lessons, exercises, and recommended …

Are You Thinking About Your Map Users?

Over the past few years, I've been working on a side project to update the hiking trails map for a small camp.  Though the project has taken longer than I anticipated, it has been very rewarding.  This past week, I think we finally finished the map.  And it was during this last revision process that …

The Most Important App Might Not Be The Most Fun

I have a confession to make: my organization's most viewed and most important web map app is not my favorite app to work on.  And it's taken me awhile to realize that this app is the one that needs to be the highest priority.  The Cumberland County Property Mapper receives around 98% percent of our …

GeoDev Summit Recap

I wanted to give a recap and tell the backstory to the recently held GeoDev Summit.  The event was held on March 5 at Harrisburg University of Science & Technology.  It was a one day conference for current and future GIS Developers.  Sessions covered topics like Esri's JavaScript API, open-source web GIS technologies, and desktop scripting …

Esri Map Service Loading & Error Events in Leaflet.js

Over the summer, we were having a recurring issue where our map services on ArcGIS Server were down.  It seemed to happen at random times.  I even received an e-mail while at a picnic about a service being down.  While this was annoying, more concerning was that my web maps built using Leaflet.js and consuming …

Some Tools I Use As A GIS Developer

I'm teaming up with Harrisburg University to hold the first-ever GeoDev Summit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The event will be held on March 5, 2018, and will have technical sessions for experienced GIS Developers, as well as those just getting started.  As I've been considering what types of sessions to provide for new developers, I thought …