Release notes

Version 1.29

(November 2024)

New language features

for...of loops

New functions

Updated functions

Centroid - added a parameter that allows the expression author to ensure the centroid placement is always within the geometry.

Version 1.28

(November 2024)

New profiles

Updated profiles

Added $view.timeProperties to the Visualization profile.

Version 1.27

(August 2024)

Minor bug fixes and enhancements

Version 1.26

(February 2024)

New data types

KnowledgeGraph

New functions

Updated functions

Better support for checking nested dictionary, array, and geometry properties.

DefaultValue
HasValue

Added sideOfLine output to the following functions:

Updated profiles

The Popup and Popup Element profiles added two new profile variables: $userInput and $graph.

Version 1.25

(December 2023)

New functions

FilterBySubtypeCode

Version 1.24

(October 2023)

New data types

New functions

Updated functions

The following functions were updated with new signatures:

The following functions have updated parameters:

Day, Month, Year, Week, Weekday, ISOMonth, ISOWeek, ISOWeekday, and ISOYear now support DateOnly as an input parameter
Hour, Minute, Second, and Millisecond now support Time as an input parameter
Hash now supports DateOnly and Time values
Text now supports additional formatting for time zones (Z,ZZ,ZZZ, etc)

New profiles

Data pipelines

Updated profiles

Each profile page was updated to define how the default time zone of the execution context is determined.

Version 1.23

(June 2023)

New functions

GetEnvironment - A debugging function that returns information about the execution context of the expression, including the version of Arcade executing the expression, the Arcade runtime engine, locale, and spatial reference for geometry functions.
NearestCoordinate - Returns the nearest location and distance to an input geometry.
NearestVertex - Returns the nearest vertex and distance to an input geometry.

Updated functions

The following functions were updated with new signatures.

Array(inputArray, deep?) - Creates either a shallow or deep copy of an array.
Dictionary(Feature/Geometry) - Casts a Feature or Geometry to Dictionary without having to first convert to JSON Text.
Dictionary(inputDictionary, deep?) - Creates either a shallow or deep copy of a dictionary.
Feature(inputGeometry, attributeDictionary) - Creates a Feature from a Geometry and dictionary of attributes.
Feature(inputDictionary) - Creates a Feature from an input Dictionary without having to first convert to JSON Text.
Feature(inputFeature) - Creates a copy of a feature.

Updated Types

Attachment was updated to include keywords.
Number data values can be represented as binary, octal, and hexadecimal literal values.

Updated Playground

The playground was updated to a more modern UI. It introduces the following improvements from the previous playground:

Intellisense. Get help for the following as you type:
- Arcade functions, including in-line documentation without having to open the right-hand panel.
- Profile variables and their values.
- Previously declared identifiers for functions and variables.
Many commands and shortcuts to improve your efficiency. For example, there's a shortcut for formatting your expression, and another for changing all occurrences of a value.
Better error warning and message reporting as you type.
An enhanced debugging experience, especially when inspecting FeatureSet, Feature, Dictionary, and Geometry values in the output panel.
Better syntax highlighting using high-contrast colorblind-safe colors conforming to WCAG 2.0 (1.4.3) contrast guidelines for users.

Version 1.22

(April 2023)

Updated profiles

The following profile variables were added to the Form Constraint profile: $originalFeature, $editcontext.editType, $layer, $datastore, $featureSet, and $map. Additionally, the profile now supports the Data Access and Portal Access function bundles.

Version 1.21

(February 2023)

Updated profiles

The Constraint profile was renamed to Form Constraint.
The Dashboard Formatting profile was split into three separate profiles: Dashboard Indicator Formatting, Dashboard List Formatting, and Dashboard Table Formatting

Bug fixes

Timestamp - Fixed a bug where calling Timestamp for any date value resulted in incorrectly returning a date and time in UTC where the epoch was shifted based on the offset of the local time zone. Now the epoch for the output date correctly represents the current date and time in UTC.
ToLocal - Fixed a bug where calling ToLocal for any date value resulted in modifying the date's epoch based on the offset of the local time zone from UTC. Now the epoch for the output date matches the epoch of the input date. The output date's time zone is the local or system time zone of the client.
ToUTC - Fixed a bug where calling ToUTC for any date value resulted in modifying the date's epoch based on the offset of the local time zone from UTC. Now the epoch for the output date matches the epoch of the input date. The output date's time zone is UTC.

Version 1.20

(November 2022)

New functions

Updated functions

GetUser no longer requires a portal parameter. If not provided, then user information for the active portal is returned.

New profiles

Quick Capture

Updated profiles

Velocity profile now accepts Track functions.
Popup profiles now split into Feature Reduction Popup and popup.

Updated documentation

We reorganized the documentation and added new content to clarify language features, syntax, and profile and function definitions. The following are some of the highlights:

Introduction - The introduction has been condensed to include a definition of what Arcade is, why it was developed, and where you use it.
Language features - This is a brand new section that clarifies various Arcade language features and attempts to document them in a logical sequence starting with statements, and concluding with debugging tips. Some pages are new, though they describe language features that may have existed since the first release of Arcade, but weren't previously documented.
Profiles - The profiles documentation previously existed on a single page. Now each profile has a dedicated page that documents profile variables (previously known as globals), return types, function bundles, example snippets, and the context where the profile is implemented.
Function reference - Function reference pages were reorganized into more logical groups, mostly based on data type. Functions with multiple signatures or overloads are now separated into their appropriate sections. For example, Geometry functions that accept FeatureSet inputs now exist under FeatureSet functions.
Function bundles - This is a new page that categorizes various function categories into bundles. Profiles define which function bundles are available in each Arcade profile. For example, all profiles include Core functions, but only a few include Data access functions.

Version 1.19

(August 2022)

New language features

while loops

Added support for while loops. The while loop executes a block of code as long as the given condition is true.

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Expects($feature, "*");

var prefix = "Year_";
var y = 1900;
var total = 0;

while(y <= 2020){
  var fieldName = prefix + y;
  if(HasKey($feature, fieldName)){
    total += $feature[fieldName];
  }

  y+=10;  // increment y so the while will eventually stop
}

return total;

Dictionary auto-keys

You can now access dictionary values using auto-keys. Auto-keys assign dictionary key values to Arcade variables with names matching the dictionary's keys.

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var d = {
  name: "Spokane",
  POP_2020: 219185,
  POP_2010: 208916
}
var { POP_2020, POP_2010 } = d;
return ((POP_2020 - POP_2010) / POP_2010) * 100;  // returns 4.9
// +4.9% population change from 2010 - 2020

New functions

ConvexHull

Updated functions

FeatureSet can now be used to create a FeatureSet from a dictionary in addition to Text (JSON).

Version 1.18

(April 2022)

New functions

GetFeatureSetInfo

Version 1.17

(March 2022)

New profiles

Form Calculation

Version 1.16

(December 2021)

New functions

Updated functions

The Attachments function now includes a metadata option. When true, the function returns exif information for the attachments.

New profiles

Updated profiles

The Field Calculate profile was renamed to Field Calculation.

Version 1.15

(September 2021)

New functions

Expects

New profiles

Updated profiles

The Attachments function can now be used in the Popup profile.

Version 1.14

(August 2021)

New functions

Updated functions

All geometry functions now support nautical-miles as a valid unit.
GetUser was updated to return more information about the user by default when the portal is not provided. Note the updated payload for the following expression:

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var u = getUser($featureset)
return text(u);

// payload at 1.14
{
   "id" : <String> //user id
   "username": <String> // username
   "fullName": <String> // First Name + Last name
   "email":  <String> // email
   "groups" -> <Array> // e.g. [ "Electric", "Water" ]`
   "role" -> <String>  // (Administrator, Publisher, User, Viewer or Custom Role)
   "privileges" -> <Array> // Array of fine privileges (edit, view etc.. )
   "userLicenseTypeExtensions" -> <Array> // ["Utility Network", "Parcel Fabric"]
}

// payload prior to 1.14
{
   "username": <String> // username
}

New profiles

Geotrigger Notification

Version 1.13

(April 2021)

New functions

ConvertDirection

Updated functions

Schema was updated to support $feature inputs in addition to FeatureSet inputs.

New profiles

Dashboard data
Dashboard formatting (renamed from Dashboard)

Updated profiles

Added $featureSet global to Attribute Rules and Field Calculation profiles.

Version 1.12

(December 2020)

New functions

New profiles

Velocity

Documentation enhancements

Images were added to the documentation of some geometry functions to clarify meaning. See Angle for an example.

Version 1.11

(July 2020)

The following features were added to ArcGIS Enterprise server 10.8.1, but not ArcGIS Enterprise portal 10.8.1. See version 1.10 for new features added to ArcGIS Enterprise portal 10.8.1.

Bitwise Operators

You can now use bitwise operators in Arcade expressions. The expression evaluates the operation based on the binary representation of numbers.

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7 & 14
// binary 0111 & 1110, which results in 0110
// the expression will return 6

Template literals

Template literals allow for embedding expressions in text literals using the following syntax:

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`Text is wrapped in backticks, and expressions ${ /* go inside curly braces preceded by a $ */ }.`

This allows for easier text manipulation in Arcade. For example, in Arcade 1.11 you can do this...

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var textContent = `The average score was ${Round(Average(scores), 2)}%.`

...instead of text concatenation...

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var textContent = "The average score was " + Round(Average(scores), 2) + "%".

Read the Template literals guide for more information and examples.

New functions

New profiles

Version 1.10

(July 2020)

Updated functions

FeatureSetByAssociation was updated to include two additional associationType types: junctionEdge and midspan.

Updated profiles

The following profiles added a new global, $editcontext.editType, which indicates the type of edit (insert, update, delete) performed on the feature.

Version 1.9

(January 2020)

New functions

FeatureSetByAssociation

Updated profiles

The following profiles added a new global, $originalFeature, which represents the original state of the feature executing the Arcade expression.

Version 1.8

(October 2019)

New functions

Updated functions

Dictionary
- Added an additional signature that allows users to parse stringified JSON as an Arcade Dictionary.
Distinct
- Added support for FeatureSet inputs.
FeatureSetByPortalItem
- Now implemented in the Popup profile with a modified signature. You are now required to provide a reference to the portal where the item belongs.

Documentation updates

The function documentation now displays multiple signatures for functions that have overloaded parameters. This includes new documentation for the following functions:

Version 1.7

(July 2019)

New profiles

New functions

Updated functions

The following functions were updated to support an array of points as inputs.

The following functions were updated to support FeatureSet inputs:

Bug fixes

The parameter order of Contains and Within functions were updated to properly work for FeatureSets and standalone geometries.

Version 1.6

(March 2019)

New profiles

Constraint

New functions

Attachments()

Version 1.5

(December 2018)

FeatureSet support in popups and attribute rules

FeatureSet is a new data type that gives you access to other features in the same layer, feature service, or map as the feature executing an Arcade expression. This functionality is only available in the Popup and Attribute Rule profiles.

We introduced three new global variables in these profiles:

$layer - A FeatureSet containing all features in the same layer as the $feature. This only applies to feature layers.
$map - A collection of layers in the same map as the $feature.
$datastore - A collection of layers in the same feature service as the $feature.

FeatureSets allow you to write expressions that return a result based on the feature's relationship with other features in the map. For example, you can compare the value of a feature's field to the statistics of the same field for all features in the layer.

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// returns the difference between the feature's 'population' and the average value of `population` in the dataset
$feature.population - Mean($layer, 'population');

You can chain functions that support FeatureSet.

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var sensitiveAreas = FeatureSetByName($map, 'Sensitive Land', ['LandType'], true);
var affectedLandPoly = Geometry($feature);
var countAreas = Count( Intersects( Filter( sensitiveAreas, "LandType='Arable'"), affectedLandPoly) );

You can also substitute Arcade variables in functions that take SQL92 expressions as a parameter using the @ character.

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var averageValue = Average($layer, 'POPULATION');
var result = Filter($layer, 'POPULATION > @averageValue');

New profiles

New functions

Existing functions that support FeatureSet

Deprecated functions

Relate()

Version 1.4

(July 2018)

Casting Feature to Geometry

For your convenience, we added support for internally casting features to geometries in all geometry functions. That means you can directly pass a feature (e.g. $feature) to any parameter that accepts Geometry types.

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// At Arcade 1.4, you can pass a feature directly to any geometry
// function, which internally casts the feature as a geometry object

AreaGeodetic( $feature, 'square-meters' )

// This supersedes the previous workflow, which required you to
// cast the Feature to a Geometry yourself

// required syntax at Arcade 1.3
AreaGeodetic( Geometry($feature), 'square-meters' )

New profiles

Arcade expressions can now be executed in the following profiles:

These profiles allow you to write expressions for attribute rules in ArcGIS Pro.

New functions

NextSequenceValue()

Version 1.3

(December 2017)

Geometry operations

We added several new geometry functions that allow you to perform geometric operations in any of the following categories:

Testing topological relationships
Overlay
Measurement
Proximity

See the updated overview of Geometry Functions for more information and the new functions listed below.

Many of the geometry functions, such as the overlay and testing functions, require more than one input geometry. In the current release of Arcade, you can manually construct geometry objects as needed within the expression. For example, you can calculate the distance from one hard-coded point to all points in a layer. In a future release, we will provide methods that allow you to access other geometries within the same layer and features in other layers.

New functions

Version 1.2

(September 2017)

New functions

Constrain()

Version 1.1

(June 2017)

The popup profile was added, allowing users to define expressions that will evaluate and display values calculated on the client when the popup displays in the view. Users can reference Arcade expressions with placeholders that will be replaced by expression values when the popup is opened. See the individual ArcGIS SDKs for examples of how this works within applications.