---
title: "Public Notification"
canonical: "https://help.cartinuum.com/space/WC/4559306755/Public%20Notification"
format: markdown
---
[The Public Notification widget](https://extensions.cartinuum.com/product/public-notification/T) helps users identify properties within an area and generate mailing labels or contact lists for owners and occupants.

Use this widget when an organisation needs to notify people affected by planning decisions, official actions, public works, incidents, or other location-based activities.

## What this widget does

Public Notification lets users search for a location or feature, define an area of interest, buffer that area, select addressee layers, and generate notification outputs.

Supported output options include CSV contact lists and Avery-style PDF mailing labels.

The widget includes one CSV format and a set of PDF label-sheet presets. The settings panel identifies the PDF presets by label size and labels per page rather than by Avery product number.

## When to use it

Use Public Notification when users need to:

- Find properties near a selected location or feature.
- Buffer an address, parcel, drawing, or selected feature.
- Identify owners, occupants, or addressees from configured layers.
- Review the selected notification recipients.
- Export a CSV contact list.
- Generate printable mailing labels.

## Key features

- Address or feature search.
- Configurable search sources.
- Drawing tools for defining notification areas.
- Configurable buffer distance and units.
- Addressee layer selection.
- Optional review step.
- CSV output.
- Avery PDF label output.
- Configurable printed label page options.
- Label content based on map pop-up text, with a field-list fallback when pop-up text is not available.
- Optional CSV column headers.
- Optional PDF alignment aids for checking printed label placement.
- English, French, and Spanish translations.

## Requirements

- ArcGIS Experience Builder 1.10 or later.
- A Map widget in the Experience Builder app.
- A valid Cartinuum widget license.
- Search sources such as geocoders or feature layers.
- Addressee feature layers in the selected map, with text configured in their Map Viewer pop-ups.
- A geometry service URL in the widget settings. The default is the ArcGIS Online geometry service.

The current implementation performs buffering with the client-side geometry engine, but the settings panel still validates that a geometry service URL has been provided. Keep the default URL unless your organisation needs to use a different geometry service.

## Before you begin

Before configuring Public Notification:

1. Add a Map widget to your Experience Builder app.
2. Identify the search sources users should use.
3. Identify the map layers that contain notification recipients.
4. Configure text pop-ups for each addressee layer using the mailing label format that should appear in generated output.
5. Decide which drawing tools and buffer units should be available.
6. Decide which output formats should be available.
7. Install or enable the widget using the standard widget installation process.

For installation and licensing steps, see [Widget Installation](https://help.cartinuum.com/space/WC/4255481886/Widget+Installation).

## Add Public Notification to an app

1. Open your app in ArcGIS Experience Builder.
2. Add the Public Notification widget to the page.
3. Open the widget settings.
4. Add the widget license.
5. Select the Map widget.
6. Configure search and buffer settings.
7. Configure address layers.
8. Configure notification output options.
9. Save and publish the Experience Builder app.

## Configure the widget

### Search and buffer settings

Use this section to configure search, drawing, and buffer behaviour.

| Setting | What it controls |
| --- | --- |
| Map widget | The map used by the widget. |
| Geometry service URL | Buffering currently uses the client-side geometry engine, so the URL is reserved for future use. |
| Search sources | Locator or feature layer sources users can search. |
| Placeholder text | Text shown in the search box. |
| Show pop-up for found item | Whether to show the feature or location pop-up after search. |
| Drawing tools | Which drawing tools are available for defining areas. |
| Default buffer distance | The starting buffer distance. |
| Default buffer unit | The starting unit for buffer distances. |
| Buffer units to provide | Which distance units users can choose at runtime. |

### Address layers

Address layers are feature layers used to identify notification recipients.

Configure which layers are available and how users can select addressees.

When you select a Map widget, Public Notification looks for feature layers that have text configured in their pop-ups. Layers with pop-up text appear in the Address Layers list, where you can enable, disable, and reorder them.

The widget uses the selected addressee layer's pop-up text as the mailing-label template. Static text in the pop-up is preserved, and field placeholders are filled from feature attributes. Popup Arcade expressions can also be used.

If the widget cannot find pop-up text for the selected addressee layer at runtime, it falls back to the layer fields and creates one output line per field. This fallback is useful, but for clean mailing labels you should configure the layer pop-up text deliberately.

### Notification options

Use this section to configure available outputs.

| Setting | What it controls |
| --- | --- |
| Show review button | Allows users to review the final selection before output. |
| Fetch all addressees | Allows paginated retrieval of all addressees instead of a single server-limited query. |
| Available label formats | Which label formats users can choose. |
| Types of notification format | Whether CSV, Avery PDF, or both are available. |
| Options for printed label pages | Page layout options for printed labels. |

The default label-format list includes:

| Format | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| CSV | Comma-separated values file. Enabled by default. |
| PDF label 2-5/8 x 1 inches; 30 per page | Enabled by default. |
| PDF label 1 x 4 inches; 20 per page | Available to enable. |
| PDF label 1-1/3 x 4 inches; 14 per page | Available to enable. |
| PDF label 2 x 4 inches; 10 per page | Available to enable. |
| PDF label 3-1/3 x 4 inches; 6 per page | Available to enable. |
| PDF label 1/2 x 1-3/4 inches; 80 per page | Available to enable. |
| PDF label 1-3/4 x 2/3 inches; 60 per page | Available to enable. |

## Use the widget

1. Open the Experience Builder app.
2. Search for an address or feature, or draw an area on the map.
3. Set the buffer distance and unit.
4. Add to or remove from the selected area if selection tools are enabled.
5. Choose the addressee layer used for the notification.
6. Review and refine the selected recipients if review is enabled.
7. Choose the PDF label format or CSV output.
8. Download the notification output.

## Troubleshooting

### Search does not return results

Check that:

- Search sources have been configured.
- Feature layer search fields are correct and case-sensitive field names match the layer.
- The search is not limited to the current map extent unless intended.
- The source service is reachable.

### No addressees are found

Check that:

- Address layers have been configured.
- Address layer text pop-ups are configured in the map.
- The buffer intersects features in the addressee layer.
- The addressee layer is queryable.
- The selected layer contains the expected contact fields.

### Output contains fewer records than expected

If the service has a result limit, enable "Fetch all addressees" where appropriate.

### Labels do not print correctly

Confirm that the selected label format matches the physical label sheets being used.

When printing PDF labels, use actual-size printing so addresses align correctly with label boundaries.