Set WFS service properties

These are the properties available when using a system-generated capabilities file for WFS services. See Use external capabilities files with WFS services to learn more about defining WFS metadata by using an external capabilities file.

Access WFS service properties

You can access the properties for WFS services using ArcGIS Server Manager or when configuring a web layer in ArcGIS Pro.

Access WFS service properties in Server Manager

You can populate or modify the properties of a WFS service in ArcGIS Server Manager. To do so, follow these steps.

1. Open Server Manager and sign in. For help with this step, see Log in to Manager.
2. Click Services > Manage Services.
3. In the Manage Services module, locate your service and click Edit .

   If you don't see your service in the list, it may be located within a subfolder under the Site (root) folder.

4. In the Edit module, click Capabilities.
5. In the capabilities list, click WFS and verify that WFS is enabled.
6. In the WFS Configuration list, choose Enter service properties below.
7. Populate or modify WFS service properties.
8. Click Save and Restart.

   The edits to your service are applied immediately.

WFS service properties

The following table lists the properties available for WFS services and a description of each:

Property	Description
Name	The name of the map service that was used to create the WFS service. This property is automatically populated by ArcGIS Server and can be modified.
Title	A readable title to briefly identify the WFS service, for example: Eagle nesting locations in Marion County
Abstract	A narrative description that provides additional information about the WFS service, for example: WFS service maintained by Acme Corporation. Contact: [e-mail]. High-quality map showing eagle nests and possible nesting locations.
Keywords	A list of keywords or keyword phrases describing the WFS service that aid in catalog searching, for example: map, bird, eagle, nest, site
ServiceType	The OGC service type, for example: WFS
ServiceTypeVersion	The version of the OGC service type, for example: 1.1.0
Fees	Text describing the fees imposed when accessing the WFS service, for example: none
Access constraints	Text describing the restrictions and legal prerequisites for accessing and using the WFS service, for example: For internal use only. Do not distribute.
ProviderName	The name of the WFS service provider, for example: NASA
ProviderSite	A link to a site with information about the WFS service provider, for example: https://www.noaa.gov
IndividualName	The primary contact person for the WFS service, for example: John Smith
PositionName	The position of the contact person for the WFS service, for example: IT Analyst
Phone	The telephone number where the primary contact person for the WFS service can be reached, for example: [phone]
Facsimile	The fax number where the primary contact person for the WFS service can be reached, for example: [phone]
DeliveryPoint	The address of the WFS service provider, for example: 380 New York Street
City	The city in which the WFS service provider resides, for example: Redlands
AdministrativeArea	The administrative area in which the WFS service provider resides, for example: California
PostalCode	The postal code in which the WFS service provider resides, for example: 92373
Country	The country in which the WFS service provider resides, for example: USA
ElectronicMailAddress	The email address where the primary contact person for the WFS service can be reached, for example: [e-mail]
Online resource	The OnlineResource property lists the URL of the WFS service. It is necessary for a WFS client to communicate correctly with your WFS service. This property is automatically populated by ArcGIS Server and should not be modified.
HoursOfService	The hours in which the primary contact is available to service requests, for example: 24/7
ContactInstructions	Special instructions that should be considered before contacting the WFS service primary contact, for example: Send email to John for normal requests, call John for emergency requests.
Role	Function performed by the party responsible for the WFS service, for example: PointOfContact
Namespace	The WFS namespace property is used to discriminate XML vocabularies from one another. This property is automatically populated by ArcGIS Server but can be modified.
Prefix	The WFS namespace prefix is a unique property that is used in the response of a WFS GetFeatureRequest. This property is automatically populated by ArcGIS Server and can be modified. There are some reserved keywords that cannot be used as a prefix as they conflict with other namespaces that are defined in the WFS service. The reserved keywords that should not be used as a prefix include: wfs, ogc, fes, gml, ows, xs, xsi, gml32, xlink, xsi, or schemaLocation.
Path or URL to stored query file	A stored query file is an XML file that maintains a list of publisher-authored stored queries relevant to a particular service. Place the stored query file in a folder accessible to the web. Then, specify the location of the file in ArcGIS Server Manager or ArcGIS Pro. For full instructions, see Configure a WFS service to use stored queries.
Enable Transactions	The Enable Transactions check box is used to allow edits to be applied through WFS-T. See Web editing with WFS services for more information.
Enable feature locking	When a WFS client connects to a WFS service that has been published with transactions enabled, the edited features and rows can be locked on the server by selecting the Enable feature locking property. Note: This property is no longer applicable for WFS services newer than ArcGIS Server 10.5.1.
Enable maximum number of features	This property allows you limit how many features can be returned by the server to a WFS client for any given query operation. When this option is unchecked, all features are returned.
Maximum number of features	When the Enable maximum number of features property is checked, you can use this property to specify the maximum number of features to be returned. By default, the value is set to 1,000. Keep in mind that specifying a large number of features to be returned by the server can slow the performance of client applications and your GIS server.
Swap axis order	Features returned in some geographic coordinate systems (for example, WGS 84) have an axis order of latitude, longitude (y,x) by default. This is in compliance with the WFS 1.0.0, 1.1.0, and 2.0.0 specifications. Some WFS clients expect the coordinates to be returned with an axis order of x,y. To work with these clients, you can swap the axis order for the WFS service by selecting the Swap option in the drop-down. By default, the axis order will not be swapped. Note: This property was introduced in ArcGIS Server 10.7
Disable Streaming	When the Disable Streaming property is unchecked, WFS responses will be delivered through a response streamer. This can help improve performance when working with very large datasets. This is the default setting. There are some limitations where you may need to disable streaming for your WFS service. For example, streaming does not work when using a proxy server or a server object interceptor (SOI). For these cases, you can check the Disable Streaming check box and WFS service responses will use the legacy delivery method to deliver responses (non-streaming).

Special characters in service properties

The following characters cannot be included in any of the service properties: &, <, >, ", '. If you need to use one of these characters, you must substitute the appropriate escape sequence from the table below:

Character	Character substitute
&	&
<	&lt;
>	&gt;
"	&quot;
'	&apos;

Configure a WFS to use stored queries

Stored queries allow complex filter queries to be stored by Web Feature Service (WFS) 2.0 and run using a basic request. Configuring stored queries allows you to broaden the use of WFS 2.0 in applications:

• Complex queries can be streamlined so they can be run as HTTP GET requests.
• A WFS can be implemented to support only stored queries so the administrator can control how users access the data.
• Stored queries can reduce costs for development of applications since they can be configured to support specific queries rather than complex ad hoc queries and XPath expressions.
• RESTful interfaces can be established on top of the WFS alongside HTTP GET/POST and SOAP to enable the WFS to be used in lightweight client applications.

To use stored queries with WFS 2.0, configure the service to reference the URL of your stored queries file. You can do this using Server Manager or ArcGIS Pro. To learn how to create stored queries files, see Communicate with a WFS service in a web browser.

Note:

Stored queries are only supported by the WFS 2.0 implementation; they are not supported in WFS 1.0.0 or 1.1.0.

Configure in ArcGIS Server Manager

Complete the following steps to configure in ArcGIS Server Manager:

1. Start Server Manager and sign in. For help with this step, see Log in to Manager.
2. Click Services > Manage Services.
3. In the Manage Services module, locate your service and click Edit .

   If you don't see your service in the list, it may be located in a subfolder under the Site (root) folder.

4. In the Edit module, click Capabilities.
5. In the capabilities list, click WFS.
6. In the Path or URL to stored query file (WFS 2.0) text box, provide the file path or URL to your stored queries file, for example:
   • File path—C:\WFS_Testing\WFSStoredQueryFile.xml or \\share\WFS_Testing\WFSStoredQueryFile.xml
   • URL—http://myserver.domain.com/WFSStoredQueryFile.xml
7. Click Save and Restart.

Configure in ArcGIS Pro

Complete the following steps to configure in ArcGIS Pro:

1. When you are configuring a web feature layer in ArcGIS Pro, under Additional Layers, check the WFS box to enable the WFS capability.
2. Next to the checked WFS box, click the Configure Web Layer Properties button

   This opens a dialog box where you can set the WFS specific properties for the service.

3. In the Path or URL to stored query file (WFS.2.0) text box, provide the file path or URL to your stored queries file, for example:
   • File path—C:\WFS_Testing\WFSStoredQueryFile.xml or \\share\WFS_Testing\WFSStoredQueryFile.xml
   • URL—http://myserver.domain.com/WFSStoredQueryFile.xml

   When the web feature layer is shared, the WFS service will use the stored query file specified.

Use external capabilities files with WFS services

Each WFS service exposes service-level metadata through its capabilities file. The capabilities file is the XML response that clients receive when they make a GetCapabilities request on the service. Configuring external capabilities files allows you to do the following:

• Add service-level metadata information to WFS capabilities files.
• Add feature-level metadata information to WFS capabilities files.
• Add additional predefined spatial reference systems from the ArcGIS Server predefined projection list.
• Improve performance when connecting to your WFS service, especially when there are many type names in your service.

To use external capabilities files with WFS services, create the files and configure the files for use with your WFS services. The sections below describe this process.

Note:

By using external capabilities files for your WFS service, you are responsible for validating your capabilities files against the DTD or XML schema from OGC. You also assume responsibility for all the synchronization between your capabilities files and the source map document or geodatabase from which your WFS service is published.

Create external capabilities files

To configure a WFS service to use external capabilities files, prepare three WFS capabilities files: one for version 1.0.0, one for 1.1.0, and one for 2.0. You can create the files from scratch, but it's often easier to use the system-generated capabilities files as templates.

By default, system-generated capabilities files are created automatically every time you send a WFS GetCapabilities request to the service. To use the system-generated capabilities files as templates, manually send the GetCapabilities requests and save the responses as XML.

Follow the steps below to create external capabilities files for your WFS service.

1. If you haven't done so already, publish a map and enable the WFS capability. For more information, see WFS services.
2. In a web browser, provide the URL of your WFS service.

   The URL is formatted as follows: https://gisserver.domain.com:6443/arcgis/services/folder/service/MapServer/WFSServer.

3. Append ?request=GetCapabilities&version=1.0.0 to the end of the service URL and press Enter.

   The XML displayed in the browser is the WFS version 1.0.0 capabilities for your service.

4. Save the results as an .xml file.

   The file name must follow the format <prefix><WFS version>.xml. For example, when you save the result XML from a WFS version 1.0.0 GetCapabilities request, the file must use a common prefix (such as Roads) followed by the three-digit WFS version number (100). The resulting file is Roads100.xml.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to create the capabilities files for WFS version 1.1.0 and 2.0.
6. Configure and customize metadata information for the WFS layers in each capabilities file.
7. Move all the capabilities files into a common folder accessible through HTTP.

   Typically, this will be a virtual directory on your organization's web server.

Configure a WFS service to use external capabilities files

To configure your WFS service to use external capabilities files, update the WFS service to reference the URL of your capabilities files. You can do this in Server Manager or ArcGIS Pro.

Configure in Server Manager

Complete the following steps to configure in Server Manager:

1. Open Server Manager and sign in.
2. Click Services > Manage Services.
3. In the Manage Services module, locate your service and click Edit .

   If you don't see your service in the list, it may be located in a subfolder under the Site (root) folder.

4. In the Edit module, click Capabilities.
5. In the capabilities list, click WFS.
6. In the WFS Configuration list, choose Use external capabilities files.
7. In the Specify the location and prefix box, specify the URL of the folder where you placed your capabilities files plus the common prefix you used for the files.

   For example, if the URL to the folder that contains your files is https://webserver.domain.com/arcgis/WFS/services and the common prefix you used is Roads, the URL you specify in the Specify the location and prefix box is https://webserver.domain.com/arcgis/WFS/services/Roads.

8. Click Save and Restart.

Configure in ArcGIS Pro

Complete the following steps to configure in ArcGIS Pro:

1. When you are configuring a web feature layer in ArcGIS Pro, under Additional Layers, check the WFS box to enable the WFS capability.
2. Next to the checked WFS box, click the Configure Web Layer Properties button

   This opens a dialog box where you can set the WFS specific properties for the service.

3. In the WFS Configuration list, choose Use external capabilities files.
4. In the Specify the location and prefix box, specify the URL of the folder where you placed your capabilities files plus the common prefix you used for the files.

   For example, if the URL to the folder that contains your files is https://webserver.domain.com/arcgis/WFS/services and the common prefix you used is Roads, the URL you specify in the Specify the location and prefix box is https://webserver.domain.com/arcgis/WFS/services/Roads.

   When the web feature layer is shared, the WFS service will use the external capabilities files specified.

Control the number of features returned by the service

To control the maximum number of features returned by the service, set the DefaultMaxFeatures property. The DefaultMaxFeatures property is only supported with WFS 1.1.0, so if you are using external capabilities files, you only need to set this property in the file referencing the 1.1.0 properties.

In an external capabilities file, the DefaultMaxFeatures property is defined in the metadata section of WFSServer 1.1.0 file as follows:

<ows:Constraint name="DefaultMaxFeatures">
 <ows:Value>200</ows:Value>
</ows:Constraint>