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Enabling dynamic layers on a map service in Manager

If you want to allow clients to change layer appearance and behavior in your map service, you can enable dynamic layers after you've already published a map service. Dynamic layers can increase the amount of interaction that users are able to have with your maps.

To enable dynamic layers on your map service in ArcGIS Server Manager, follow these steps:

  1. Open Manager and log in. If you need help with this step, see Logging in to Manager.
  2. Click Services > Manage Services.
  3. In the Manage Services module, locate your map service and click the Edit Edit icon. If you don't see your service in the list, it may be located within a subfolder under the Site (root) folder.
  4. Click Capabilities > Mapping.
  5. Select Allow per request modification of layer order and symbology.

    If you want to dynamically add layers to your map service in a client application, you'll need to select workspaces that contain the layers you want to add.

  6. If a dynamic workspace you want to use is not listed, add a new dynamic workspace by clicking Add.
  7. Choose the type of workspace you want to add from the Workspace Type drop-down list. You can choose between enterprise databases, file geodatabases, folders containing shapefiles, and folders containing raster datasets.
  8. Enter a workspace ID. When a client requests to add a layer in an application, the ID is included in the request. This is used to identify the workspace from the pool of available workspaces. The ID can be any string of characters and contain spaces.
  9. Based on the type of workspace you selected, the way that you enter the specify the path to the workspace will vary:
    • If you selected Enterprise Database, you can specify the database connection you want to use by clicking Import > Browse. You can optionally lock the database version that users can access. To do so, choose Lock Version.
    • If you selected File Geodatabase, enter the path to the file geodatabase you want to use. Keep in mind that you'll need to add feature classes and/or tables to that file geodatabase at a later time.
    • If you selected Raster Folder, enter the path to the folder that contains the rasters you want to use.
    • If you selected Shapefile Folder, enter the path to the folder that contains the shapefiles and/or dBASE files you want to use.
  10. Review your workspace parameters and click Add.
  11. Click Save and Restart.

Your map service is now configured with dynamic layers enabled. Supported clients will be able to change layer appearance and behavior dynamically.