Find places in a bounding box

Learn how to perform a text-based search to find places within a bounding box.

Find places in a bounding box using API key authentication

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. With the results of the search, you can make another request to the service and return place attributes such as street address and telephone number.

In this tutorial, you use ArcGIS REST JS to perform a bounding box search based on the visible extent on the map and return details about each place. You also use Calcite components to create a basic search interface.

Prerequisites

An ArcGIS Location Platform account.

Steps

Get the starter app

Select a type of authentication below and follow the steps to create a new application.

You can choose one of the following to create a new CodePen:

Option 1: Complete the Display a scene tutorial; or,
Option 2: Start from the Display a scene tutorial .

Set up authentication

Create developer credentials in your portal for the type of authentication you selected.

Create a new API key credential 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 > Basemaps
  - Location services > Places
Copy the API key access token to your clipboard when prompted.

Set developer credentials

Use the API key or OAuth developer credentials created in the previous step in your application.

Add <script> elements in the HTML <body> and create an accessToken variable to store your access token. Set YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN with the access token you previously copied from your API key credentials.

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  <script>

    /* Use for API key authentication */
    const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

  </script>
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Set the defaultAccessToken included with Cesium to authenticate requests to the ArcGIS services used in this tutorial.

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  <script>

    /* Use for API key authentication */
    const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

    Cesium.ArcGisMapService.defaultAccessToken = accessToken;

  </script>
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In both the index.html and callback.html files, set the properties of clientId and redirectUri with the client ID and redirect URL of your OAuth credentials.

index.html
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    const session = await arcgisRest.ArcGISIdentityManager.beginOAuth2({
      clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", // Your client ID from OAuth credentials
      redirectUri: "YOUR_REDIRECT_URL", // The redirect URL registered in your OAuth credentials
      portal: "https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest" // Your portal URL
    })

    const accessToken = session.token;

callback.html
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    arcgisRest.ArcGISIdentityManager.completeOAuth2({
      clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", // Your client ID from OAuth credentials
      redirectUri: "YOUR_REDIRECT_URL", // The redirect URL registered in your OAuth credentials
      portal: "https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest" // Your portal URL
    })

Run the app and ensure you can sign in successfully.

If you are unable to sign in, make sure you have the correct redirect URL and port. This URL varies based on your application and typically takes the format of https://<server>[:port]/callback.html or http://my-arcgis-app:/auth. For example, if you are running an application on http://127.0.0.1:5500/, set http://127.0.0.1:5500/callback.html as your redirect URL in the index.html and callback.html file and your developer credential. They all have to match!

Set the defaultAccessToken included with Cesium to authenticate requests to the ArcGIS services used in this tutorial.

index.html
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    Cesium.ArcGisMapService.defaultAccessToken = accessToken;

Get a Cesium ion access token

All Cesium applications must use an access token provided through Cesium ion. This token allows you to access assets such as Cesium World Terrain in your application.

Go to your Cesium ion dashboard to generate an access token. Copy the key to your clipboard.

Create a cesiumAccessToken variable and replace YOUR_CESIUM_ACCESS_TOKEN with the access token you copied from the Cesium ion dashboard.

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  <script>

    /* Use for API key authentication */
    const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

    // or

    /* Use for user authentication */
    // const session = await arcgisRest.ArcGISIdentityManager.beginOAuth2({
    //   clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", // Your client ID from OAuth credentials
    //   redirectUri: "YOUR_REDIRECT_URL", // The redirect URL registered in your OAuth credentials
    //   portal: "YOUR_PORTAL_URL" // Your portal URL
    // })

    // const accessToken = session.token;

    Cesium.ArcGisMapService.defaultAccessToken = accessToken;

    const cesiumAccessToken = "YOUR_CESIUM_ACCESS_TOKEN";

  </script>

Configure Cesium.Ion.defaultAccessToken with the Cesium access token to validate the application.

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  <script>

    /* Use for API key authentication */
    const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";

    // or

    /* Use for user authentication */
    // const session = await arcgisRest.ArcGISIdentityManager.beginOAuth2({
    //   clientId: "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", // Your client ID from OAuth credentials
    //   redirectUri: "YOUR_REDIRECT_URL", // The redirect URL registered in your OAuth credentials
    //   portal: "YOUR_PORTAL_URL" // Your portal URL
    // })

    // const accessToken = session.token;

    Cesium.ArcGisMapService.defaultAccessToken = accessToken;

    const cesiumAccessToken = "YOUR_CESIUM_ACCESS_TOKEN";

    Cesium.Ion.defaultAccessToken = cesiumAccessToken;

  </script>

Add script references

Reference the routing and request packages from ArcGIS REST JS.

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    <!-- Load Cesium from CDN -->
    <script src="https://cesium.com/downloads/cesiumjs/releases/1.121/Build/Cesium/Cesium.js"></script>
    <link href="https://cesium.com/downloads/cesiumjs/releases/1.121/Build/Cesium/Widgets/widgets.css" rel="stylesheet">

    <!-- ArcGIS REST JS: request and places -->
    <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>

Reference the Calcite libraries.

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    <!-- Load Cesium from CDN -->
    <script src="https://cesium.com/downloads/cesiumjs/releases/1.121/Build/Cesium/Cesium.js"></script>
    <link href="https://cesium.com/downloads/cesiumjs/releases/1.121/Build/Cesium/Widgets/widgets.css" rel="stylesheet">

    <!-- Calcite components -->
    <script type="module" src="https://js.arcgis.com/calcite-components/2.12.1/calcite.esm.js"></script>
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://js.arcgis.com/calcite-components/2.12.1/calcite.css" />

    <!-- ArcGIS REST JS: request and places -->
    <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>

Create a REST JS ApiKeyManager using your access token.

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        viewer.camera.setView({

            destination: Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(-122.32116, 47.57737, 12000),

            orientation: {
                heading: Cesium.Math.toRadians(0.0),
                pitch: Cesium.Math.toRadians(-70.0),
            }
        });

        // Add Esri attribution
        // Learn more in https://esriurl.com/attribution
        const poweredByEsri = new Cesium.Credit("Powered by <a href='https://www.esri.com/en-us/home' target='_blank'>Esri</a>", true)
        viewer.creditDisplay.addStaticCredit(poweredByEsri);

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

Update interface

Change the map's viewpoint to (-122.32116, 47.57737) with a scale of 12000 to focus on Seattle, Washington.

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        viewer.camera.setView({

            destination: Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(-122.32116, 47.57737, 12000),

            orientation: {
                heading: Cesium.Math.toRadians(0.0),
                pitch: Cesium.Math.toRadians(-70.0),
            }
        });

Inside <body>, copy and paste the following HTML to create a basic search interface.

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    <div id="place-control">
        <div class="search">
            <calcite-input type="text" id="search-input" placeholder="Type in a place name or category">
                <calcite-button kind="inverse" icon-start="search" id="search-button" type="submit"
                    slot="action"></calcite-button>
            </calcite-input>
        </div>
    </div>

    <div id="cesiumContainer"></div>

Update styling to the cesiumContainer and body. Then, add styling for the new elements.

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        body {
            margin: 0;
            padding: 0;
        }

        #cesiumContainer {
            position: absolute;
            top: 0;
            bottom: 0;
            right: 0;
            left: 0;
            font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
            font-size: 14px;
            color: #323232;
            z-index: 1;
        }


        #place-control {
            position: absolute;
            top: 15px;
            left: 15px;
            display: flex;
            flex-direction: row;
            z-index: 2;
        }

        .search {
            margin-right: 15px;
        }

        #search-input {
            width: 270px;
        }

        .category-button {
            margin: auto 5px;
        }

Create a set of dynamic buttons for place categories (e.g., Restaurants, Hotels, Museums) using calcite-button elements.

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        const control = document.getElementById("place-control");
        const input = document.getElementById("search-input");
        const placeKeywords = ["Restaurants", "Hotels", "Museums", "ATMs", "Breweries"];

        placeKeywords.forEach(category => {
            const categoryButton = document.createElement("calcite-button");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("class", "category-button");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("round", true);
            categoryButton.setAttribute("scale", "s");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("kind", "inverse")
            categoryButton.innerHTML = category;
            categoryButton.id = category;
            control.appendChild(categoryButton);

        });
        document.getElementById(placeKeywords[0]).dispatchEvent(new Event('click'));
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Add event listeners

The provided for this tutorial includes a basic user interface with a text input and category buttons. Add event listeners to this interface to make requests to the places service on when they are clicked.

Create a showPlaces function to make requests to the places service.

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        function showPlaces(query) {

        };
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Add an event listener to the search button that calls showPlaces on click.

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        const control = document.getElementById("place-control");
        const input = document.getElementById("search-input");
        const placeKeywords = ["Restaurants", "Hotels", "Museums", "ATMs", "Breweries"];

        document.getElementById("search-button").addEventListener("click", e => {
            showPlaces(input.value)
        });

        placeKeywords.forEach(category => {
            const categoryButton = document.createElement("calcite-button");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("class", "category-button");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("round", true);
            categoryButton.setAttribute("scale", "s");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("kind", "inverse")
            categoryButton.innerHTML = category;
            categoryButton.id = category;
            control.appendChild(categoryButton);

        });
        document.getElementById(placeKeywords[0]).dispatchEvent(new Event('click'));
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Add an event listener to each category button that calls showPlaces on click.

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        placeKeywords.forEach(category => {
            const categoryButton = document.createElement("calcite-button");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("class", "category-button");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("round", true);
            categoryButton.setAttribute("scale", "s");
            categoryButton.setAttribute("kind", "inverse")
            categoryButton.innerHTML = category;
            categoryButton.id = category;
            control.appendChild(categoryButton);

            categoryButton.addEventListener("click", e => {
                input.value = category;
                showPlaces(category)
            })

        });
        document.getElementById(placeKeywords[0]).dispatchEvent(new Event('click'));
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Find places in the map bounds

Calculate the current visible extent of the CesiumJS scene with computeViewRectangle. Transform the bounds to latitude and longitude degrees for use with the places API.

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        function showPlaces(query) {

            const rect = viewer.camera.computeViewRectangle();
            const bounds = [rect.west, rect.south, rect.east, rect.north];
            for (let i = 0; i < bounds.length; i++) {
                bounds[i] = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(bounds[i]);
            }

        };
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Use the ArcGIS REST JS findPlacesWithinExtent operation to make a request to the places service. Set the searchText parameter to your query and pass the current map bounding box to the xmin,xmax,ymin, and ymax parameters.

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        function showPlaces(query) {

            const rect = viewer.camera.computeViewRectangle();
            const bounds = [rect.west, rect.south, rect.east, rect.north];
            for (let i = 0; i < bounds.length; i++) {
                bounds[i] = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(bounds[i]);
            }

            arcgisRest.findPlacesWithinExtent({
                xmin: bounds[0],
                ymin: bounds[1],
                xmax: bounds[2],
                ymax: bounds[3],
                searchText: query,
                authentication,
                f: "geojson"
            })

        };
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Display results

The response from the places service will contain a list of place results. Each result will include a place's x/y coordinates, name, category, and unique ID. Add these each result to your CesiumJS application as an Entity.

Access the service results. For each result, add a new Entity containing a name, an id, and a position obtained from the result information.

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            arcgisRest.findPlacesWithinExtent({
                xmin: bounds[0],
                ymin: bounds[1],
                xmax: bounds[2],
                ymax: bounds[3],
                searchText: query,
                authentication,
                f: "geojson"
            })

                .then((response) => {
                    response.results.forEach(result => {
                        viewer.entities.add({
                            name: result.name,
                            description: "Details loading...",
                            id: result.placeId,
                            position: Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(result.location.x, result.location.y),

                        })
                    });
                });
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Create a new PinBuilder to style the appearance of results. When a new request is made, remove all existing entities from the viewer.

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        const pinBuilder = new Cesium.PinBuilder();

        function showPlaces(query) {

            viewer.entities.removeAll();

            const rect = viewer.camera.computeViewRectangle();
            const bounds = [rect.west, rect.south, rect.east, rect.north];
            for (let i = 0; i < bounds.length; i++) {
                bounds[i] = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(bounds[i]);
            }

            arcgisRest.findPlacesWithinExtent({
                xmin: bounds[0],
                ymin: bounds[1],
                xmax: bounds[2],
                ymax: bounds[3],
                searchText: query,
                authentication,
                f: "geojson"
            })

                .then((response) => {
                    response.results.forEach(result => {
                        viewer.entities.add({
                            name: result.name,
                            description: "Details loading...",
                            id: result.placeId,
                            position: Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(result.location.x, result.location.y),

                        })
                    });
                });

        };
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Add a billboard to each result entity. Style the billboards with a blue pin icon.

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                .then((response) => {
                    response.results.forEach(result => {
                        viewer.entities.add({
                            name: result.name,
                            description: "Details loading...",
                            id: result.placeId,
                            position: Cesium.Cartesian3.fromDegrees(result.location.x, result.location.y),

                            billboard: {
                                verticalOrigin: Cesium.VerticalOrigin.BOTTOM,
                                heightReference: Cesium.HeightReference.CLAMP_TO_GROUND,

                                image: pinBuilder.fromColor(Cesium.Color.ROYALBLUE, 48).toDataURL(),

                            }

                        })
                    });
                });
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Run the app. When you click a category button or search for a phrase, the map should display a set of points representing place results.

Display the place address and phone number

You can access more information about a place by using the unique placeId associated with it. Configure a popup that will perform a getPlaceDetails request when the user clicks on an entity. Display the address and phone number of the clicked location.

Create a new ScreenSpaceEventHandler for the viewer to listen for clicks in the scene. Add a conditional statement to only take action if the user clicked on an entity.

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        const getDetails = new Cesium.ScreenSpaceEventHandler(viewer.scene.canvas).setInputAction(event => {
            if (viewer.selectedEntity) {

            }
        }, Cesium.ScreenSpaceEventType.LEFT_CLICK)
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Use the ArcGIS REST JS getPlaceDetails function to get more information about the clicked place. Pass the placeId of the clicked Entity, and set the requestedFields parameter to return the streetAddress and telephone properties.

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        const getDetails = new Cesium.ScreenSpaceEventHandler(viewer.scene.canvas).setInputAction(event => {
            if (viewer.selectedEntity) {

                arcgisRest.getPlaceDetails(({
                    placeId: viewer.selectedEntity.id,
                    authentication,
                    requestedFields: ["address:streetAddress", "contactInfo:telephone"]
                }))

            }
        }, Cesium.ScreenSpaceEventType.LEFT_CLICK)
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Access the service response. Set the Entity description to display results if they are available.

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        const getDetails = new Cesium.ScreenSpaceEventHandler(viewer.scene.canvas).setInputAction(event => {
            if (viewer.selectedEntity) {

                arcgisRest.getPlaceDetails(({
                    placeId: viewer.selectedEntity.id,
                    authentication,
                    requestedFields: ["address:streetAddress", "contactInfo:telephone"]
                }))

                    .then((result) => {
                        let description = ``;
                        if (result.placeDetails.address.streetAddress) description += `${result.placeDetails.address.streetAddress}<br>`;
                        if (result.placeDetails.contactInfo.telephone) description += `${result.placeDetails.contactInfo.telephone}`;

                        viewer.selectedEntity.description = description;

                    });

            }
        }, Cesium.ScreenSpaceEventType.LEFT_CLICK)
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Run the app

Run the app.

The app should display a map with a search control. Upon clicking a button or entering a phrase, place results should appear on the map. Clicking a result will submit another service request to get the place address and phone number.

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

Search for coffee shops, gas stations, restaurants and other nearby places with the Geocoding service.

Find a route and directions

Find a route and directions with the route service.