Find places in a bounding box

A bounding box search finds places within an extent using the places service. An extent typically represents the visible area of a map. To perform a bounding box search, you use the places package from ArcGIS REST JS.

Prerequisites

This tutorial requires an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account.

Steps

Create a new pen

If you are using the CDN libraries, to get started.

Get an access token

You need an access token with the correct privileges to access the resources used in this tutorial.

Go to the Create an API key tutorial and create an API key with the following privilege(s):
- Privileges:
  - Location services > Places
Copy the API key access token to your clipboard when prompted.

In CodePen, update the accessToken variable to use your access token.

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const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

const authentication = arcgisRest.ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken);

To learn about the other types of authentication available, go to Types of authentication.

Make the request

Copy and paste the code below, following the steps to make a request to the Places service.

Reference the ArcGIS REST JS libraries either through CDN, ES Modules, or Node JS.
1. Set the accessToken with an API key access token from API key credentials.
Define the parameters needed for the request.
Call the Places service and handle the results.

CDN

ES Modules

Node JS

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    <!-- require ArcGIS REST JS libraries from https://unpkg.com -->
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-request@4/dist/bundled/request.umd.js"></script>
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/@esri/arcgis-rest-places@1/dist/bundled/places.umd.js"></script>

    <script>
      /* when including ArcGIS REST JS all exports are available
    from the same arcgisRest global */

    const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

    const authentication = arcgisRest.ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken);

    arcgisRest.findPlacesWithinExtent({
        xmin: -115.2, // Coordinates around the Las Vegas Strip
        ymin: 36.09,
        xmax:  -115.1,
        ymax: 36.161,
        searchText: "Night Clubs", // Search for "Night Clubs"
        authentication,
        f:"geojson"
    })
    .then((response) => {
        console.log("Search results:", response.results);
        document.getElementById("result").textContent = JSON.stringify(response.results, null, 2);
    });

    </script>
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The service will return a list of up to 20 nearby places that match the search criteria.

The places service returns a maximum of 20 search results at a time. To find more places that match your query, you can paginate through place results by making additional requests with a formatted URL. To learn more, go to Paginate search results.

Result

Below is the response from the service:

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[
  {
    "place": {
      "placeId": "68cf4e32bd935d54748de24a95629603",
      "location": {
        "x": -115.186432,
        "y": 36.118848
      },
      "categories": [
        {
          "categoryId": "10032",
          "label": "Night Club"
        },
        {
          "categoryId": "13009",
          "label": "Cocktail Bar"
        }
      ],
      "name": "Crown Night Club",
      "parentPlaceId": null
    }
  },
  {
    "place": {
      "placeId": "636406dc6564e4ad662a2fc86ac757ca",
      "location": {
        "x": -115.176537,
        "y": 36.092016
      },
      "categories": [

See full response

What's next?

Learn how to use additional ArcGIS location services in these tutorials:

Find nearby places and details

Find points of interest near a location and get detailed information about them

Find place addresses

Find coffee shops, gas stations, restaurants and other nearby places by accessing the Geocoding service.

Find a route and directions

Find a route and directions for an origin and destination by accessing the route service.