Service actions

Service actions operate on data messages as they are streaming into the client application, such as ArcMap, to become tracking features. When you are working with real-time data in ArcGIS Tracking Analyst, features in a real-time tracking layer are being created from the data messages streaming in from a tracking service. Therefore, service actions have the capability of modifying or deleting data contained in tracking data messages before they become features.

Service actions are defined for a tracking service, not a layer. Therefore, they can't be configured through the Layer Properties dialog box. Instead, they must be configured by accessing the Tracking Service Properties dialog box in ArcCatalog or the Catalog window in ArcMap.

The complete set of service actions available in Tracking Analyst is described below.

Filter

The Filter service action should not be confused with the filter layer action. The Filter service action allows you to exclude or include incoming data messages based on location and/or attribute criteria. If an incoming data message meets the trigger criteria for an exclusion filter, the data messages are discarded and the corresponding tracking data will not become features in the tracking layer. An inclusion filter works the opposite way. Data messages meeting the trigger criteria are kept rather than being discarded. Once data messages are discarded, they cannot be retrieved by the client application. For this reason, care should be taken when applying the Filter service action to a tracking service.

The Filter service action can be used to filter out erroneous data from a tracking service. For example, imagine you are tracking aircraft positions in latitude and longitude. You could filter out the events with a latitude value greater than 90 degrees because this would indicate faulty data.

Learn how to apply a Filter service action to real-time data.

Data Modification

The Data Modification service action enables modification of fields in a data message through the use of a function you define. This function can perform calculations using the field values contained in an incoming data message as input. Based on the results of the calculations, field values in incoming data messages can be modified and replaced with output from the calculations. The replaced field values will appear in the features that are created from the data messages in the tracking layer. The function is only run for data messages that meet the trigger criteria you define.

Learn more about the Data Modification service action.

Learn how to apply a Data Modification service action to real-time data.

Email Alert

The Email Alert service action will automatically send an e-mail message to the recipients of your choice when the action is triggered. The e-mail message can be configured using a template editor. The template editor allows you to embed values from data message fields directly into the body of the e-mail. In addition, you can create a master list of e-mail recipients from which you can select the set of recipients for each individual e-mail alert action.

Learn more about the Email Alert service action.

Learn how to apply an Email Alert service action to real-time data.

Data Summary

The Data Summary service action accumulates and summarizes information contained in data messages streaming in from a tracking service. Summary information is calculated on a periodic basis, whenever an amount of time that you specify has elapsed. Summary information is provided on a field-by-field basis for the time interval, and statistics such as data range and mean can be generated. The data fields to be used in the report and the type of summary information to be provided in the report are configurable. The flexibility of the data summary report makes it very powerful for advanced users. The report can be applied in a controlled manner so that it only processes data messages meeting spatial and/or attribute criteria that you define. In addition, the report can be automatically delivered via e-mail, saved to a file, or printed from a network printer.

Learn more about the Data Summary service action.

Learn how to apply a Data Summary service action to real-time data.