Arcgis Widgets Ui

ArcGIS Widgets & UI

Use this skill when building user interfaces with widgets, Map Components, and Calcite.

> Best Practice: Prefer Map Components (web components like arcgis-legend, arcgis-search) over Core API widgets. Esri has transitioned to web components as the primary approach.

Import Patterns

Map Components (ESM)

import "@arcgis/map-components/dist/components/arcgis-map";
import "@arcgis/map-components/dist/components/arcgis-legend";
import "@arcgis/map-components/dist/components/arcgis-search";
import "@arcgis/map-components/dist/components/arcgis-layer-list";
import "@arcgis/map-components/dist/components/arcgis-expand";

Core API Widgets (ESM)

import Legend from "@arcgis/core/widgets/Legend.js";
import LayerList from "@arcgis/core/widgets/LayerList.js";
import Search from "@arcgis/core/widgets/Search.js";
import BasemapGallery from "@arcgis/core/widgets/BasemapGallery.js";

Dynamic Imports (CDN)

const Legend = await $arcgis.import("@arcgis/core/widgets/Legend.js");
const Search = await $arcgis.import("@arcgis/core/widgets/Search.js");

> Note: CSS for Map Components loads automatically via npm. Core API widgets require: @import "@arcgis/core/assets/esri/themes/light/main.css";

Map Components Overview

| Component | Purpose | | ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | arcgis-map | 2D map container | | arcgis-scene | 3D scene container | | arcgis-zoom | Zoom in/out buttons | | arcgis-compass | Orientation indicator | | arcgis-home | Return to initial extent | | arcgis-locate | Find user location | | arcgis-track | Track user location | | arcgis-navigation-toggle | Pan/rotate mode (3D) | | arcgis-floor-filter | Filter indoor map by floor level | | arcgis-fullscreen | Toggle fullscreen | | arcgis-scale-bar | Display map scale | | arcgis-legend | Layer symbology legend | | arcgis-layer-list | Layer visibility control | | arcgis-basemap-gallery | Switch basemaps | | arcgis-basemap-layer-list | Layer list for basemap layers | | arcgis-basemap-toggle | Toggle two basemaps | | arcgis-catalog-layer-list | Browse CatalogLayer sublayers | | arcgis-search | Location search | | arcgis-placement | Control widget placement | | arcgis-popup | Feature popups | | arcgis-editor | Feature editing | | arcgis-feature | Display feature info without popup | | arcgis-feature-form | Form-based attribute editing | | arcgis-features | Display multiple features info | | arcgis-sketch | Draw geometries | | arcgis-feature-table | Tabular data view | | arcgis-time-slider | Temporal navigation | | arcgis-expand | Collapsible container | | arcgis-print | Map printing | | arcgis-table-list | List and manage feature tables | | arcgis-bookmarks | Navigate to bookmarks | | arcgis-directions | Turn-by-turn routing | | arcgis-swipe | Compare layers | | arcgis-coordinate-conversion | Coordinate formats | | arcgis-daylight | 3D lighting control | | arcgis-weather | 3D weather effects | | arcgis-distance-measurement-2d | 2D distance measurement | | arcgis-area-measurement-2d | 2D area measurement | | arcgis-direct-line-measurement-3d | 3D line measurement | | arcgis-area-measurement-3d | 3D area measurement | | arcgis-elevation-profile | Elevation profile along a path | | arcgis-line-of-sight | Line of sight analysis (3D) | | arcgis-slice | Slice through 3D data | | arcgis-shadow-cast | Shadow cast analysis (3D) | | arcgis-oriented-imagery-viewer | View oriented imagery | | arcgis-video-player | Play video feeds | | arcgis-link-chart | Link chart visualization | | arcgis-utility-network-trace | Utility network tracing | | arcgis-version-management | Manage geodatabase versions |

Slot-Based Positioning

Available slots: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right, top-start, top-end, bottom-start, bottom-end, popup

Widgets in the same slot stack vertically in DOM order.

Expand Component

Wrap widgets in arcgis-expand for collapsible behavior:

Reference Element (External Components)

Place components outside the map and reference them:

Common Widgets

Legend

// Core API
import Legend from "@arcgis/core/widgets/Legend.js";

const legend = new Legend({
  view: view,
  layerInfos: [
    {
      layer: featureLayer,
      title: "Custom Title",
    },
  ],
});

view.ui.add(legend, "bottom-left");

LayerList

// Core API with actions
import LayerList from "@arcgis/core/widgets/LayerList.js";

const layerList = new LayerList({
  view: view,
  listItemCreatedFunction: (event) => {
    const item = event.item;
    item.actionsSections = [
      [
        {
          title: "Zoom to layer",
          icon: "zoom-to-object",
          id: "zoom-to",
        },
      ],
    ];
  },
});

layerList.on("trigger-action", (event) => {
  if (event.action.id === "zoom-to") {
    view.goTo(event.item.layer.fullExtent);
  }
});

view.ui.add(layerList, "top-right");

BasemapGallery

// Core API
import BasemapGallery from "@arcgis/core/widgets/BasemapGallery.js";

const basemapGallery = new BasemapGallery({ view: view });
view.ui.add(basemapGallery, "top-right");

Search

// Core API with custom sources
import Search from "@arcgis/core/widgets/Search.js";

const search = new Search({
  view: view,
  sources: [
    {
      layer: featureLayer,
      searchFields: ["name", "address"],
      displayField: "name",
      exactMatch: false,
      outFields: ["*"],
      name: "My Layer",
      placeholder: "Search features",
    },
  ],
});

view.ui.add(search, "top-right");

// Events
search.on("select-result", (event) => {
  console.log("Selected:", event.result);
});

FeatureTable

// Core API
import FeatureTable from "@arcgis/core/widgets/FeatureTable.js";

const featureTable = new FeatureTable({
  view: view,
  layer: featureLayer,
  container: "tableDiv",
  visibleElements: {
    header: true,
    columnMenus: true,
    selectionColumn: true,
  },
  tableTemplate: {
    columnTemplates: [
      { fieldName: "name", label: "Name" },
      { fieldName: "population", label: "Population" },
    ],
  },
});

// Watch selection via highlightIds
featureTable.highlightIds.on("change", (event) => {
  console.log("Selected IDs:", featureTable.highlightIds.toArray());
});

TimeSlider

  const timeSlider = document.querySelector("arcgis-time-slider");
  const mapEl = document.querySelector("arcgis-map");
  await mapEl.viewOnReady();

  await layer.load();
  timeSlider.fullTimeExtent = layer.timeInfo.fullTimeExtent;
  timeSlider.stops = { interval: layer.timeInfo.interval };

// Core API
import TimeSlider from "@arcgis/core/widgets/TimeSlider.js";

const timeSlider = new TimeSlider({
  view: view,
  mode: "time-window", // instant, time-window, cumulative-from-start, cumulative-from-end
  fullTimeExtent: layer.timeInfo.fullTimeExtent,
  stops: {
    interval: { value: 1, unit: "hours" },
  },
  playRate: 1000,
  loop: true,
});

view.ui.add(timeSlider, "bottom-right");

// Events
import * as reactiveUtils from "@arcgis/core/core/reactiveUtils.js";

reactiveUtils.watch(
  () => timeSlider.timeExtent,
  (timeExtent) => {
    console.log("Time changed:", timeExtent.start, timeExtent.end);
  },
);

Core Widget Approach

Adding Widgets to View

import Legend from "@arcgis/core/widgets/Legend.js";

const legend = new Legend({ view: view });

// Add to view UI
view.ui.add(legend, "bottom-left");

// Add multiple widgets
view.ui.add([
  { component: legend, position: "bottom-left" },
  { component: search, position: "top-right" },
]);

// Add at specific index (order in position)
view.ui.add(legend, { position: "bottom-left", index: 0 });

// Remove widget
view.ui.remove(legend);

Widget in Custom Container

  import Legend from "@arcgis/core/widgets/Legend.js";

  const legend = new Legend({
    view: view,
    container: "legendDiv",
  });

Calcite Design System Integration

Basic Layout with Calcite

  
    
    
    
    
      html,
      body {
        height: 100%;
        margin: 0;
      }
    
  
  
    
      
      
        
      

      
      
        
          
        
      

      
      
        
      

      
      
        
          
        
      
    
  

Calcite Action Bar

  
    
      
      
      
    

    
      
    

    
      
    
  

  

  document.querySelectorAll("calcite-action").forEach((action) => {
    action.addEventListener("click", () => {
      const panelId = action.dataset.panel;
      document.querySelectorAll("calcite-panel").forEach((panel) => {
        panel.hidden = panel.id !== panelId;
      });
    });
  });

Common Calcite Components

| Component | Purpose | | --------------------- | -------------------- | | calcite-shell | App layout container | | calcite-shell-panel | Side panels | | calcite-panel | Content panel | | calcite-navigation | Header/footer | | calcite-action-bar | Icon button bar | | calcite-action | Icon button | | calcite-button | Standard button | | calcite-input | Text input | | calcite-list | List container | | calcite-list-item | List item | | calcite-card | Card container | | calcite-modal | Modal dialog | | calcite-alert | Alert message | | calcite-loader | Loading indicator |

Theming

  
  
    
    
      :root {
        --calcite-color-brand: #007ac2;
        --calcite-color-brand-hover: #005a8e;
        --calcite-color-text-1: #323232;
      }
    
  

Widget Events

// Search select
search.on("select-result", (event) => {
  console.log(event.result);
});

// LayerList trigger action
layerList.on("trigger-action", (event) => {
  console.log(event.action, event.item);
});

// FeatureTable selection
featureTable.highlightIds.on("change", (event) => {
  console.log(event.added, event.removed);
});

Reference Samples

• legend - Legend widget for layer symbology
• widgets-layerlist - LayerList widget for layer management
• widgets-search-multiplesource - Search widget with multiple sources
• widgets-featuretable - FeatureTable widget integration
• basemap-gallery - BasemapGallery for switching basemaps
• widgets-timeslider - TimeSlider widget for temporal data

Common Pitfalls

1. Missing reference-element: Components placed outside the `` tag cannot find the view without an explicit reference.

```html

```

```html

```

Impact: The component cannot discover the associated view. It either does not render or throws an error.

1. Slot names are specific: Use exact slot names (top-left, not topleft).

1. Calcite CSS not loading: Ensure Calcite script is loaded before using Calcite components.

1. Widget container conflicts: Do not add the same widget to both a DOM container and view.ui.

``javascript // Anti-pattern: widget in both container and view.ui const legend = new Legend({ view: view, container: "legendDiv" }); view.ui.add(legend, "bottom-right"); // Conflicts ``

``javascript // Correct: pick one placement strategy const legend = new Legend({ view: view }); view.ui.add(legend, "bottom-right"); ``

Impact: The widget renders twice or the layout breaks.

1. Dark/light mode mismatch: Add calcite-mode-light or calcite-mode-dark class to body.

1. Core API widgets missing CSS: When using Core API widgets (not Map Components), you must import @arcgis/core/assets/esri/themes/light/main.css. Map Components handle CSS automatically.

Related Skills

• See arcgis-widgets-advanced for specialized widgets (BuildingExplorer, FloorFilter, Track, Locate, etc.)
• See arcgis-map-tools for measurement, print, directions, and swipe tools
• See arcgis-editing for Editor and Sketch widgets
• See arcgis-tables-forms for FeatureTable and FeatureForm details

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: SaschaBrunnerCH
• Source: SaschaBrunnerCH/arcgis-maps-sdk-js-ai-context
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.