How to build a partially offline app | Documentation

1. Define app functionalities
Define the functionalities you want to include in your partially offline app.
2. Prepare a mobile data source
Select and prepare a mobile data source based on the functionalities you defined.
3. Build the app
Build the app using the mobile data source you have selected.

1. Define app functionalities

Before you start building your partially offline appA partially offline app is a type of offline app built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps that is designed to work where network connectivity is unreliable.Learn more, you need to define the functionalities you want to offer in your app. Your specific use case will determine the most suitable mobile data source for your application. Some questions to get you started are:

Will you be working with preconfigured 3D scenes or 2D maps?
Will you be editing data offline and synchronizing offline edits?
Will you be geocoding, routing, or finding an address using a locator file?

Once you have outlined the requirements of your partially offline app, you can begin to prepare a mobile data source.

2. Prepare a mobile data source

To start creating a partially offline appA partially offline app is a type of offline app built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps that is designed to work where network connectivity is unreliable.Learn more, you select a mobile data source as the foundation for your app. You can download an offline mapAn offline map is a map area and its data content downloaded from an offline-enabled web map for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps.Learn more from an offline-enabledOffline-enabled is a setting in a web map or hosted layer item that allows it to be downloaded and used by offline apps.Learn more web mapA web map is a map stored as a JSON object that defines properties such as the basemap layer, data layers, layer styles, and pop-up styles. Its JSON structure is defined by the web map specification.Learn more, download offline dataOffline data is data that is generated and downloaded from a feature service, vector tile service, or image tile service for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps.Learn more from a data serviceData services, also known as hosted data services, are services created dynamically to store and provide access to your data in ArcGIS. Examples are feature services, vector tile services, map tile services, image services, and scene services.Learn more, use a mobile map packageA mobile map package (MMPK) is a standalone file that contains one or more map definitions, including the basemap layers, data layers, layer styles, and pop-up styles for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps.Learn more (.mmpk) or mobile scene packageA mobile scene package (MSPK) is a standalone file that contains one or more scene definitions, including the basemap layers, elevation layers, data layers, layer styles, and pop-up styles for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps.Learn more (.mspk) created in ArcGIS ProArcGIS Pro is a professional desktop GIS application that can explore, visualize, analyze, and manage 2D and 3D data.Learn more, or use data filesA data file is a stand-alone file containing geographic data that can be sideloaded on to a device. It is typically used in offline applications that never connect to a network.Learn more containing geospatial features.

If you choose an offline mapAn offline map is a map area and its data content downloaded from an offline-enabled web map for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps.Learn more or offline dataOffline data is data that is generated and downloaded from a feature service, vector tile service, or image tile service for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps.Learn more as your data source, you have the additional capability to synchronize offline edits as soon as your device is connected to a network.

Use the following table to help select your mobile data sourceA mobile data source is a data format used to build offline apps. The formats include offline maps, offline data, mobile packages, and data files.Learn more.

	Offline maps	Offline data	Mobile packages	Data files
2D maps		¹		¹
3D scenes		²		²
Edit data while offline				³
Synchronize offline edits				⁴
Fully disconnected apps/devices	⁴	⁴
Offline geocoding				⁵
Offline routing				⁶
Offline analysis
Set expiration date for data access

Full supportPartial supportNo support

1. Map constructed in code
2. Scene constructed in code
3. Shapefiles, GeoPackages, and KML
4. Custom sideloading workflows required
5. Locator exported from ArcGIS Pro
6. Network Analysis dataset exported from ArcGIS Pro

Once you select a mobile data source, the general steps to prepare the mobile data source are:

Create a web mapA web map is a map stored as a JSON object that defines properties such as the basemap layer, data layers, layer styles, and pop-up styles. Its JSON structure is defined by the web map specification.Learn more using Map ViewerMap Viewer is a browser-based mapping tool that can view, create, and save web maps. It can also perform mapping, visualization, and spatial analysis operations.Learn more or ArcGIS ProArcGIS Pro is a professional desktop GIS application that can explore, visualize, analyze, and manage 2D and 3D data.Learn more.
Enable it for offline use in the Settings tab of the web map's item pageAn item page is a web page in ArcGIS Online or the developer dashboard used to access and manage the properties for an item and the content it references such as a web map, hosted layer, or file.Learn more.
Obtain the item ID so you can download it later.

Launch ArcGIS ProArcGIS Pro is a professional desktop GIS application that can explore, visualize, analyze, and manage 2D and 3D data.Learn more.
Start a new Map project if you are working with 2D maps. Or select a Global Scene or Local Scene project if you are working with 3D scenes.
Set a basemap and add data into the project.
Export the project into a mobile map package (.mmpk) or mobile scene package (.mspk).

3. Build the app

Once you have prepared a mobile data sourceA mobile data source is a data format used to build offline apps. The formats include offline maps, offline data, mobile packages, and data files.Learn more, you are ready to build an offline application. Use the ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native AppsArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps, previously known as ArcGIS Runtime SDKs, are developer products for building mapping and spatial analysis applications for native devices.Learn more to create a partially offline app that runs on your preferred platform.

Example code to access data from a mobile data source in an offline app:

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var portal = await ArcGISPortal.CreateAsync();
var portalItem = await PortalItem.CreateAsync(portal, "YOUR_ITEM_ID"); // Replace with your web map ID
var map = new Map(portalItem);

OfflineMapTask offlineTask = await OfflineMapTask.CreateAsync(map);

GenerateOfflineMapParameters generateParameters =
    await offlineTask.CreateDefaultGenerateOfflineMapParametersAsync(areaOfInterest);

GenerateOfflineMapJob job = offlineTask.GenerateOfflineMap(generateParameters, "path\\to\\map\\directory");

GenerateOfflineMapResult result = await job.GetResultAsync();

if (result.OfflineMap is Map offlineMap)
{
    MainMapView.Map = offlineMap;
}

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MainMapView.Map = new Map(BasemapStyle.ArcGISStreets);
var areaOfInterest = new Esri.ArcGISRuntime.Geometry.Polygon(new [] {
    new MapPoint(-88.153245, 41.778064, SpatialReferences.Wgs84),
    new MapPoint(-88.146708, 41.778870, SpatialReferences.Wgs84),
    new MapPoint(-88.145878, 41.769764, SpatialReferences.Wgs84),
    new MapPoint(-88.153431, 41.770330, SpatialReferences.Wgs84)
});

var featureServiceUri = new Uri("https://services2.arcgis.com/ZQgQTuoyBrtmoGdP/arcgis/rest/services/WaterDistributionNetwork/FeatureServer");
GeodatabaseSyncTask geodatabaseSyncTask = await GeodatabaseSyncTask.CreateAsync(featureServiceUri);

GenerateGeodatabaseParameters gdbGenerateParameters
    = await geodatabaseSyncTask.CreateDefaultGenerateGeodatabaseParametersAsync(areaOfInterest.Extent);
gdbGenerateParameters.ReturnAttachments = false;

GenerateGeodatabaseJob job = geodatabaseSyncTask.GenerateGeodatabase(gdbGenerateParameters, "path\\to\\file.geodatabase");

// Optionally listen for progress changes
job.ProgressChanged += (o,e) => { };

Geodatabase generateResult = await job.GetResultAsync();

MainMapView.Map.OperationalLayers.AddRange(
    generateResult.GeodatabaseFeatureTables.Select(table => new FeatureLayer(table))
  );

MainMapView.SetViewpointGeometryAsync(areaOfInterest, 50);

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try
{
    var mobileMapPackage = await MobileMapPackage.OpenAsync(path: "path\\to\\file.mmpk");
    await mobileMapPackage.LoadAsync();
    MainMapView.Map = mobileMapPackage.Maps.First();
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
    // Handle error.
}

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var shapefileTable = new ShapefileFeatureTable("\\path\\to\\shapefile.shp");

var shapefileLayer = new FeatureLayer(shapefileTable);

MainMapView.Map.OperationalLayers.Add(shapefileLayer);