Add a point, line, and polygon

Learn how to display point, line, and polygon graphics in a map.

add a point line and polygon

You typically use graphics to display geographic data that is not connected to a database and that is not persisted, like highlighting a route between two locations, displaying a search buffer around a point, or tracking the location of a vehicle in real-time. Graphics are composed of a geometry, symbol, and attributes.

In this tutorial, you display points, lines, and polygons on a map as graphics.

To learn how to display data from data sources, see the Add a feature layer tutorial.

Prerequisites

The following are required for this tutorial:

An ArcGIS account to access API keys. If you don't have an account, sign up for free.
Confirm that your system meets the system requirements.
An IDE for Android development in Kotlin.

Steps

Open an Android Studio project

To start this tutorial, complete the Display a map tutorial. Or download and unzip the Display a map solution in a new folder.
Modify the old project for use in this new tutorial. Expand More info for instructions.
1. On your file system, delete the .idea folder, if present, at the top level of your project.
2. In the Android tool window, open app > res > values > strings.xml.
  In the <string name="app_name"> element, change the text content to Add a point, line, and polygon.
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  1 2 3 4 5 <resources> <string name="app_name">Add a point, line, and polygon</string> </resources>
3. In the Android tool window, open Gradle Scripts > settings.gradle.
  Change the value of rootProject.name to "Add a point, line, and polygon".
  settings.gradle
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4. Click File > Sync Project with Gradle files. Android Studio will recognize your changes and create a new .idea folder.

If you downloaded the solution project, set your API key.

An API Key enables access to services, web maps, and web scenes hosted in ArcGIS Online.

Go to your developer dashboard to get your API key. For these tutorials, use your default API key. It is scoped to include all of the services demonstrated in the tutorials.
In Android Studio: in the Android tool window, open app > java > com.example.app > MainActivity.

In the setApiKeyForApp() method, find the ArcGISRuntimeEnvironment.setApiKey("YOUR_API_KEY") call and paste your API key inside the quotes, replacing YOUR_API_KEY.

MainActivity.kt
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    override fun onDestroy() {
        mapView.dispose()
        super.onDestroy()
    }

    private fun setApiKeyForApp(){
        // set your API key
        // Note: it is not best practice to store API keys in source code. The API key is referenced
        // here for the convenience of this tutorial.

        ArcGISRuntimeEnvironment.setApiKey("YOUR_API_KEY")

    }

Add import statements

Replace app-specific import statements with the imports needed for this tutorial.

MainActivity.kt
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package com.example.app

import android.os.Bundle
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity

import com.esri.arcgisruntime.ArcGISRuntimeEnvironment
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.geometry.Point
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.geometry.PointCollection
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.geometry.Polygon
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.geometry.Polyline
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.geometry.SpatialReferences
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.mapping.ArcGISMap
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.mapping.BasemapStyle
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.mapping.Viewpoint
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.mapping.view.Graphic
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.mapping.view.GraphicsOverlay
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.mapping.view.MapView
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.symbology.SimpleFillSymbol
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.symbology.SimpleLineSymbol
import com.esri.arcgisruntime.symbology.SimpleMarkerSymbol

import com.example.app.databinding.ActivityMainBinding
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Add a graphics overlay

A graphics overlay is a container for graphics. It is used with a map view to display graphics on a map. You can add more than one graphics overlay to a map view. Graphics overlays are displayed on top of all the other layers.

In Android Studio, in the Android tool window, open app > java > com.example.app > MainActivity.
Create a new function named addGraphics().
Create a GraphicsOverlay to display point, line, and polygon graphics and add it to the mapView's collection of graphics overlays.

Call the addGraphics() function from the onCreate() lifecycle function.

MainActivity.kt
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    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(activityMainBinding.root)

        setApiKeyForApp()

        setupMap()

        addGraphics()

    }

    override fun onResume() {
        super.onResume()
        mapView.resume()
    }

    override fun onPause() {
        super.onPause()
        mapView.pause()
    }

    override fun onDestroy() {
        mapView.dispose()
        super.onDestroy()
    }

    private fun setApiKeyForApp(){
        // set your API key
        // Note: it is not best practice to store API keys in source code. The API key is referenced
        // here for the convenience of this tutorial.

        ArcGISRuntimeEnvironment.setApiKey("YOUR_API_KEY")

    }

    private fun addGraphics() {

        // create a graphics overlay and add it to the map view
        val graphicsOverlay = GraphicsOverlay()
        mapView.graphicsOverlays.add(graphicsOverlay)

    }
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Add a point graphic

A point graphic is created using a point and a marker symbol. A point is defined with x and y coordinates, and a spatial reference. For latitude and longitude coordinates, the spatial reference is WGS84.

Create a Point and a SimpleMarkerSymbol. To create the Point, provide longitude (x) and latitude (y) coordinates and a SpatialReference. Use the SpatialReferences.getWgs84() convenience function.

Point graphics support a number of symbol types such as SimpleMarkerSymbol, PictureMarkerSymbol, and TextSymbol. Learn more about symbols in the API documentation.

Next create a solid, blue, 2px-wide SimpleLineSymbol and assign it to the outline property of simpleMarkerSymbol.

MainActivity.kt
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    private fun addGraphics() {

        // create a graphics overlay and add it to the map view
        val graphicsOverlay = GraphicsOverlay()
        mapView.graphicsOverlays.add(graphicsOverlay)

        // create a point geometry with a location and spatial reference
        // Point(latitude, longitude, spatial reference)
        val point = Point(-118.8065, 34.0005, SpatialReferences.getWgs84())

        // create an opaque orange (0xFFFF5733) point symbol with a blue (0xFF0063FF) outline symbol
        val simpleMarkerSymbol = SimpleMarkerSymbol(SimpleMarkerSymbol.Style.CIRCLE, -0xa8cd, 10f)

        val blueOutlineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(SimpleLineSymbol.Style.SOLID, -0xff9c01, 2f)
        simpleMarkerSymbol.outline = blueOutlineSymbol

    }
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Create a Graphic with the point and simpleMarkerSymbol. Display the Graphic by adding it to the graphicsOverlay's graphics collection.

MainActivity.kt
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        val blueOutlineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(SimpleLineSymbol.Style.SOLID, -0xff9c01, 2f)
        simpleMarkerSymbol.outline = blueOutlineSymbol

        // create a graphic with the point geometry and symbol
        val pointGraphic = Graphic(point, simpleMarkerSymbol)

        // add the point graphic to the graphics overlay
        graphicsOverlay.graphics.add(pointGraphic)
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Click Run > Run > app to run the app.
The Android Emulator should display and run your app in the Android Virtual Devcie (AVD) selected in the Android Studio toolbar:

If your app builds but no AVD displays, you need to add one. Click Tools > AVD Manager > Create Virtual Device...

You should see a point graphic in Point Dume State Beach.

Add a line graphic

A line graphic is created using a polyline and a line symbol. A polyline is defined as a sequence of points.

Polylines have one or more distinct parts. Each part is a sequence of points. For a continuous line, you can use the Polyline constructor to create a polyline with just one part. To create a polyline with more than one part, use a PolylineBuilder.

Create a Polyline and a SimpleLineSymbol. To create the Polyline, first create a PointCollection and add individual Points. Then pass the PointCollection to the Polyline constructor.

Line graphics support a number of symbol types such as SimpleMarkerSymbol and TextSymbol. Learn more about symbols in the API documentation.

MainActivity.kt
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        // add the point graphic to the graphics overlay
        graphicsOverlay.graphics.add(pointGraphic)

        // create a point collection with a spatial reference, and add three points to it
        val polylinePoints = PointCollection(SpatialReferences.getWgs84()).apply {
            // Point(latitude, longitude)
            add(Point(-118.8215, 34.0139))
            add(Point(-118.8148, 34.0080))
            add(Point(-118.8088, 34.0016))
        }

        // create a polyline geometry from the point collection
        val polyline = Polyline(polylinePoints)

        // create a blue line symbol for the polyline
        val polylineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(SimpleLineSymbol.Style.SOLID, -0xff9c01, 3f)

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Create a Graphic with the polyline and polylineSymbol. Display the Graphic by adding it to the graphicsOverlay's graphics collection. Next, add a blue outline.

MainActivity.kt
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        // create a blue line symbol for the polyline
        val polylineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(SimpleLineSymbol.Style.SOLID, -0xff9c01, 3f)

        // create a polyline graphic with the polyline geometry and symbol
        val polylineGraphic = Graphic(polyline, polylineSymbol)

        // add the polyline graphic to the graphics overlay
        graphicsOverlay.graphics.add(polylineGraphic)
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Click Run > Run > app to run the app.
The Android Emulator should display and run your app in the Android Virtual Devcie (AVD) selected in the Android Studio toolbar:

If your app builds but no AVD displays, you need to add one. Click Tools > AVD Manager > Create Virtual Device...

You should see a point and line graphic along Westward Beach.

Add a polygon graphic

A polygon graphic is created using a polygon and a fill symbol. A polygon is defined as a sequence of points that describe a closed boundary.

Polygons have one or more distinct parts. Each part is a sequence of points describing a closed boundary. For a single area with no holes, you can use the Polygon constructor to create a polygon with just one part. To create a polygon with more than one part, use a PolygonBuilder.

Create a Polygon and a SimpleFillSymbol. To create the Polygon, first create a PointCollection and add individual Points. Then pass the PointCollection to the Polygon constructor.

Polygon graphics support a number of symbol types such as SimpleFillSymbol, PictureFillSymbol, SimpleMarkerSymbol, and TextSymbol. Learn more about symbols in the API documentation.

Next, create a SimpleFillSymbol that has a solid, 20%-transparent orange fill, and the blueOutlineSymbol defined earlier.

MainActivity.kt
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        // add the polyline graphic to the graphics overlay
        graphicsOverlay.graphics.add(polylineGraphic)

        // create a point collection with a spatial reference, and add five points to it
        val polygonPoints = PointCollection(SpatialReferences.getWgs84()).apply {
            // Point(latitude, longitude)
            add(Point(-118.8189, 34.0137))
            add(Point(-118.8067, 34.0215))
            add(Point(-118.7914, 34.0163))
            add(Point(-118.7959, 34.0085))
            add(Point(-118.8085, 34.0035))
        }
        // create a polygon geometry from the point collection
        val polygon = Polygon(polygonPoints)

        // create an orange fill symbol with 20% transparency and the blue simple line symbol
        val polygonFillSymbol =
            SimpleFillSymbol(SimpleFillSymbol.Style.SOLID, -0x7f00a8cd, blueOutlineSymbol)

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Create a Graphic with the polygon and polygonFillSymbol. Display the Graphic by adding it to the graphicsOverlay's graphics collection.

MainActivity.kt
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        // create an orange fill symbol with 20% transparency and the blue simple line symbol
        val polygonFillSymbol =
            SimpleFillSymbol(SimpleFillSymbol.Style.SOLID, -0x7f00a8cd, blueOutlineSymbol)

        // create a polygon graphic from the polygon geometry and symbol
        val polygonGraphic = Graphic(polygon, polygonFillSymbol)
        // add the polygon graphic to the graphics overlay
        graphicsOverlay.graphics.add(polygonGraphic)
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Click Run > Run > app to run the app.
The Android Emulator should display and run your app in the Android Virtual Devcie (AVD) selected in the Android Studio toolbar:

If your app builds but no AVD displays, you need to add one. Click Tools > AVD Manager > Create Virtual Device...

You should see a point, line, and polygon graphic around Mahou Riviera in the Santa Monica Mountains.

What's next

Learn how to use additional API features, ArcGIS location services, and ArcGIS tools in these tutorials:

Solution

Download solution

Estimated time

10 minutes

ArcGIS Runtime API for Android

Add a point, line, and polygon

Solution

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