Skip To Content

Tile layers

Tile layers are useful when you need to show a map or layer on the web for the visualization of relatively static data.

The basemaps included in an ArcGIS Enterprise portal are tile layers that provide immediate geographic context for your operational layers. For example, you can include a basemap with tiles of streets in your map to provide a visual reference for the street signs in a feature layer that is also in the map. The basemaps included in ArcGIS Enterprise are designed for fast and simple access by web maps, web apps, ArcGIS, and nearly any mapping software application.

Tile layers come in various formats based on the original source data. Tile layers can be stored as prerendered raster tiles, vector tiles, or 3D tiles.. Both raster and vector tiles are designed to provide high-performance and high-scalability delivery of map data for visualization purposes. 3D tiles layers provide high-performance visualization of scene data.

Raster tile layer

A raster tile layer is composed of cached raster tiles, also called map tile caches. These are delivered to client applications as image files (for example, JPG or PNG format) that have been prerendered and stored in ArcGIS Enterprise. The tiles are statically displayed by the client. Raster tile layers are most appropriate for basemaps that give your maps geographic context such as imagery (as in the World Imagery basemap) or feature-based maps such as in the Topographic, National Geographic, Oceans, and other basemaps. Raster tile layers can also be composed of static operational layers such as thematic maps of your data.

The cached tiles are fast to transmit over the internet and are understood by most common mapping software applications, so they are compatible not only with ArcGIS and web apps built with the ArcGIS APIs but also third-party apps that use Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) protocols such as WMTS. Raster tile layers can do the following:

  • Allow you to collaborate across a wide range of applications and devices (web, desktop, and mobile), including desktop applications and older versions of web browsers
  • Provide high-end cartographic capabilities such as advanced label placement and symbology
  • Support compressed three-band imagery and elevation data
  • Allow you to print them from web mapping applications

WMTS layers

Hosted WMTS layers are OGC-compliant views of hosted tile layers. All hosted tile layers that are shared with the public can be accessed using the OGC WMTS protocol. The publisher of the hosted tile layer does not have to perform any special operations to enable WMTS. To access a hosted tile layer using the WMTS protocol, open the layer's item page and open the URL for the tile layer. The page that opens contains a WMTS URL link to the WMTS capabilities document that can be used to access layer tiles in apps that support WMTS.

Raster tile layer creation

The following sections describe the methods you can use to create a raster tile layer in an ArcGIS Enterprise portal.

From a service definition file

A service definition file (.sd) is an archive of the source data or references to the source data that is needed to generate the cache.

Use a service definition file to publish a hosted tile layer when you want ArcGIS Enterprise to generate the layer's cache. The source data is copied to the portal, so you can generate cached tiles for the desired scale levels on the portal whenever needed.

The cached tiles are generated using the resources on the ArcGIS Enterprise portal's hosting server, and the caches are stored in the hosting server's cache directory.

Note:

It is recommended that you do not build tiles during the portal's peak usage hours.

Once you publish the hosted tile layer, edits to the source data cannot be used to update the tile layer.

The following functionality is available when you publish a hosted tile layer from a service definition file:

  • Build tiles—You can adjust the visible range and build tile caches for the extents you specify.
  • Visible range—You can modify the extent and scales at which the tile layer will draw.
  • Update content—You can replace the content of the tile layer with content from another layer.

See Publish hosted tile layers for instructions to publish from a service definition file.

From a tile package

A tile package is an archive of cached tiles generated locally.

Use a tile package to publish a hosted tile layer to avoid using the resources of the ArcGIS Enterprise machines for cache generation. When you publish, the tile caches are uploaded to the hosting server's cache directory.

Note:

This workflow can be time consuming for large packages because the tile content is uploaded to ArcGIS Enterprise. Ensure that the ArcGIS Enterprise portal content directory and the ArcGIS cache directory on the hosting server have twice as much free disk space available as the size of the tile package.

The cache already exists, so there is no need to build tiles after you publish from a tile package.

The following functionality is available when you publish a hosted tile layer from a tile package:

See Publish hosted tile layers for instructions to publish from a tile package.

From a hosted feature layer

If you have a hosted feature layer that is frequently accessed by users for viewing purposes only, you can publish a hosted tile layer from the hosted feature layer. Having cached tiles improves rendering times as compared to accessing the same data in the hosted feature layer.

It is recommended that you publish a hosted vector tile layer in this case; however, if you cannot publish a vector tile layer, you can publish a hosted tile layer from the feature layer instead.

When you publish a hosted tile layer from a hosted feature layer, the resources of the hosting server are used for cache generation, storage, and rendering.

The following functionality is available when you publish a hosted tile layer from a hosted feature layer or hosted feature layer view:

  • Build tiles—You can adjust the visible range and build tile caches for the extents you specify.
  • Visible range—You can modify the extent and scales at which the tile layer will draw.
  • Update content—After features are edited in the associated hosted feature layer, rebuild the tiles in the tile layer to incorporate changes from the feature layer.

See Publish a hosted tile layer for instructions.

Reference precreated caches in a user-maintained data store

You can create a cache dataset, place it in a folder or cloud data store that is registered with a federated ArcGIS Server site, and create a tile layer that references the cache dataset.

Use the Extract Package geoprocessing tool in ArcGIS Pro to create the cache dataset or write your own tool using the Esri tile package open specification.

The layer is published to the server you specify when publishing. The layer references the cache dataset in the cloud or folder data store.

Use this method for publishing a tile layer if you want to control the storage location for the tile caches or when working with large tile content. This workflow is significantly faster, as no content needs to be uploaded to the portal, and disk space allocation is not needed in the server cache directories. The throughput of the tile layer is determined by the bandwidth of the connection to the data store.

The cache dataset already exists, so there is no need to build tiles after you publish the tile layer.

The following functionality is available when you publish a tile layer that references a cache dataset in a folder or cloud data store:

See Publish a tile layer from a cache dataset for instructions.

Vector tile layers

A vector tile layer references a set of web-accessible vector tiles and the corresponding style for how those tiles should be drawn. Vector tiles are similar to raster tile layers, but they store a vector representation of the data; that is, geographic features are represented as points, lines, and polygons in a format understood by the client application. Unlike static raster tile layers, vector tile layers can adapt to the resolution of their display device and be restyled for multiple uses. Vector tiles have a smaller file size than raster tiles, which translates to faster maps and better performance. The combination of tile access performance and vector drawing allows the tiles to adapt to any resolution of the display, which may vary across devices.

For more information on vector tile layers, view the following ArcGIS StoryMaps content:

In Map Viewer Classic (formerly known as Map Viewer), you can customize the style of the vector tile layer and the contents of the map. Other properties of vector tile layers include the following:

  • You can use a single set of vector tiles to generate many map styles. For example, you can change symbols and fonts or change languages for labels on a vector tile layer without having to regenerate tiles.
  • Vector tile layers display at high resolution (for example, on retina devices). Vector tiles can be displayed at any scale level with clear symbology and labels in desktop applications such as ArcGIS Pro.
  • Vector tiles are much smaller in size than corresponding raster tiles. Therefore, they take less time to build and require less disk space to store.
  • Desktop applications, such as ArcGIS Pro, can project vector tile layers into various coordinate systems without distortion of labels and other symbols.
  • When you publish a vector tile layer from ArcGIS Pro (2.8 and later), you can simultaneously publish an associated feature layer. Editors can update the data in the feature layer and you can rebuild the vector tile cache to incorporate the edits into the vector tile layer.

You can add vector tile layers as operational layers or basemaps to Map Viewer (formerly a separate beta installation but now present in the portal automatically), Map Viewer Classic, Scene Viewer, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Collector, ArcGIS Workforce, and ArcGIS Explorer. You can also use maps and scenes with vector tile layers in web apps, using ArcGIS Configurable Apps, ArcGIS Web AppBuilder, ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript, and ArcGIS Runtime SDKs.

Esri provides basemaps delivered as vector tiles. They include a number of styles that you can customize. Visit the Esri vector basemap group to see sample vector styles you can use as well as how you can change the look of the map. Sample styles include simple color changes and more involved redesigns using sprite and font changes. The vector basemaps are updated frequently and include regular contributions from the GIS community.

With ArcGIS Pro 1.2 and later, you can share a vector tile package to your organization and publish the uploaded vector tile package as a hosted layer. With ArcGIS Pro 1.4 and later, you can publish a hosted vector tile layer from a map in ArcGIS Pro directly to your organization.

Considerations for using vector tile layers

The following are some considerations for using vector tile layers:

  • Vector tile layers can be displayed in most current versions of desktop browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.
  • Vector tile layers have the best performance on machines with newer hardware because they require display drivers that support WebGL.

Vector tile layer creation

The following sections describe the methods you can use to create a vector tile layer in an ArcGIS Enterprise portal.

From a vector tile package

A vector tile package is an archive of cached vector tiles generated locally from ArcGIS Pro.

Use a vector tile package to publish a hosted vector tile layer to avoid using the resources of the ArcGIS Enterprise machines for cache generation. When you publish, the vector tile caches are uploaded to the hosting server's cache directory.

Note:

This workflow can be time consuming for large packages because the vector tile content is uploaded to ArcGIS Enterprise. Ensure that the ArcGIS Enterprise portal content directory and the ArcGIS cache directory on the hosting server have twice as much free disk space available as the size of the vector tile package.

The cache already exists, so there is no need to build tiles after you publish from a vector tile package.

You can replace the content of the vector tile layer with content from another layer.

See Publish hosted vector tile layers for instructions to publish from a vector tile package.

Reference precreated caches in a user-maintained data store

You can create a cache dataset, place it in a folder or cloud data store that is registered with a federated ArcGIS Server site, and create a tile layer that references the cache dataset.

Use the Extract Package geoprocessing tool in ArcGIS Pro to create the cache dataset or write your own tool using the Esri tile package open specification.

The layer is published to the server you specify when publishing. The layer references the cache dataset in the folder or cloud data store.

Use this method for publishing a vector tile layer if you want to control the storage location for the caches or when working with large vector tile content. This workflow is significantly faster, as no content needs to be uploaded to the portal, and disk space allocation is not needed in the server cache directories. The throughput of the vector tile layer is determined by the bandwidth of the connection to the cloud or folder data store.

The cache dataset already exists, so there is no need to build tiles after you publish the vector tile layer.

You can replace the content of the vector tile layer with content from another layer.

See Publish a vector tile layer from a cache dataset for instructions.

3D tiles layers

A 3D tiles layer represents a cached tile set that defines integrated mesh or 3D object type data in a hierarchical data structure.

You can load 3D tiles datasets to a folder or cloud storage data store and publish a 3D tiles layer that references that content. This publishing workflow is recommended because it takes less time to publish because no content is copied to an ArcGIS Data Store machine.

If you have a 3D tiles package (.3tz), you can add it to your ArcGIS Enterprise portal and publish a hosted 3D tiles layer.

Tip:

Create the 3D tiles package using the Package 3D Tiles geoprocessing tool, or run the create3D tiles executable file available on the 3D tiles layer GitHub repository.

After you publish a 3D tiles layer, you can use it in ArcGIS Pro 3.2 or later. If you published an integrated mesh 3D tiles layer, you can add the layer to Scene Viewer.

Tile layer summary

The following lists are a summary of purposes and features of each type of tile layer.

Vector tile layers are intended to be used for reference, which provides an image basemap to give context for other layers in a map or scene. The have the following properties:

  • Store cached images as vectors
  • Display at high resolution without the need to generate separate, high-resolution versions
  • Use less disk space and take less time to build caches than raster tile layers
  • Require display drivers that support WebGL
  • Can be scaled and projected into various coordinate systems without distortion of labels and other symbols
  • Can be replaced with another vector tile layer (if the vector tile layer does not have an associated feature layer)

Raster tile layers are also intended to be used for reference, which provides an image basemap to give context for other layers in a map or scene, but they have the following differences from vector tile layers:

  • Store cached images as rasters
  • Can set the minimum and maximum scales at which a hosted tile layer draws when added to a map
  • Can serve elevation data that is used to provide terrain for 3D scenes if the source data contains z-coordinates
  • Can be replaced with another tile layer (if the raster tile layer does not have an associated feature layer)

3D tiles layers are intended to be used for representing large, global 3D content in a scene. They have the following properties:

  • Cached 3D data is stored in three-dimensional tiles.
  • The spatial reference used for the layers is always World Geodetic System (WGS) 1984. The vertical reference is ellipsoidal but rendered as gravity-related heights in Scene Viewer and ArcGIS Runtime apps.
  • Integrated mesh and 3D object 3D tiles layers can be used in ArcGIS Pro 3.2 and later.
  • At this time, only the integrated mesh type of 3D tiles layers can be used in Scene Viewer.