Introduction to vector tile services

What is a vector tile service?

A vector tile serviceA vector tile service is a data service that provides access to vector tile data and a style definition.Learn more is 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 that provides access to vector tile data. Vector tiles contain styleA style is the visual definition of how geographic data is displayed in a map including colors, backgrounds, outlines, labels, and other visual elements. Each style emphasizes a specific type of cartographic theme and data.Learn more and attributeAttributes are fields and values for a single feature or non-spatial record. They are typically stored in a database or service such as a feature service.Learn more information. A vector tile service is created (published) from an existing hosted feature layerA hosted feature layer is a hosted layer (item) in a portal that is used to manage the properties and settings of a spatially-enabled feature layer in a feature service.Learn more. Each service is composed of one tiled dataset and does not contain multiple layers like feature services. The tiles are a "snapshot" of the features in the feature layerA feature layer (server-side) is a spatially-enabled table in a feature service. All features in a feature layer share the same geometry type and set of fields.Learn more. If the features in the original feature layer change, the vector tile layer needs to be regenerated to match. The symbols and renderer from a feature layer are used to define the styles for the vector tiles. If the input feature layer contains attributes, the fields and values can also be stored with the vector tile data. The style for a vector tile layer adheres to the Mapbox Style specification.

Vector tile services are typically used to take advantage of GPU rendering in a browser to display large amounts of features in mapping applications.

What can you do with a vector tile service?

You use a vector tile service when you want to:

• Publish a vector tile service from a feature layer in feature service.
• Store and access data as pre-cached (static) vector tiles in PBF format.
• Provide styles for tiles that are rendered on the client and can be re-styled.
• Support high-resolution GPU rendering on different devices.
• Create and use your own basemap layer styles with the ArcGIS Vector Tile Style EditorThe ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor is a web-based application used to create, edit, and save a custom style for vector tile basemap layer.Learn more.
• Optimize accessing and displaying large amounts of data as tiles.
• Use vector tile data in offline applications.

What does the service URL look like?

When you publish a new vector tile service, the URL is created by the system. To find the URL you can use the hosted vector tile layer item in the portal associated with your ArcGIS account.

The service URL format to access the style is:

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/resources/styles/root.json

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/resources/styles/root.json

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/resources/styles/root.json

The service URL format to access the vector tiles is:

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}.pbf

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https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}.pbf

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https://{host}/{webadaptor}/rest/services/Hosted/{serviceName}/VectorTileServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}.pbf

Tutorials

Add a feature layer

Access and display point, line, and polygon features from a feature service.

JavaScript Maps SDKKotlin Maps SDKSwift Maps SDK.NET Maps SDKJava Maps SDKQt Maps SDKLeafletMapLibre GL JSOpenLayersCesiumJSPython APIREST JS

Add a vector tile layer

Access and display a vector tile layer in a map.

JavaScript Maps SDKLeafletMapLibre GL JSOpenLayers

Add a map tile layer

Access and display a map tile layer in a map.

LeafletMapLibre GL JSOpenLayersCesiumJS

Style a feature layer

Use symbols and renderers to style feature layers.

JavaScript Maps SDKKotlin Maps SDKSwift Maps SDK.NET Maps SDKJava Maps SDKQt Maps SDKLeafletMapLibre GL JSOpenLayersCesiumJS

Query a feature layer (spatial)

Execute a spatial query to get features from a feature layer.

JavaScript Maps SDKLeafletMapLibre GL JSOpenLayersCesiumJSPython APIREST JSREST API

Query a feature layer (SQL)

Execute a SQL query to access polygon features from a feature layer.

JavaScript Maps SDKKotlin Maps SDKSwift Maps SDK.NET Maps SDKJava Maps SDKQt Maps SDKLeafletMapLibre GL JSOpenLayersCesiumJSPython APIREST JSREST API

Edit feature data

Add, update, and delete features in a feature service.

JavaScript Maps SDKPython APIREST JSREST API

Display a popup

Format a popup to show attributes in a feature layer.

JavaScript Maps SDKLeafletMapLibre GL JSOpenLayersCesiumJS

Workflows

Create a feature service for an app

Learn how to import parcel data, create and style a feature layer, and then access the features in an app.

Create a feature layer view for an editor app

Learn how to import parcel data, create and style a feature layer view, and then access the features in an editing app.

Create a vector tile service for an app

Learn how to import parcel data, style a feature layer, and then create a vector tile service for an app.

Create a map tile service for an app

Learn how to import contour data, style a feature layer, and create a map tile service for an app.

Services

API support

Use data management toolsData management tools are ArcGIS software applications and functionality in portal and ArcGIS Pro that can be used by developers to create, manage, and edit content and data such as web maps, hosted layers, and data services for their applications.Learn more or Client APIsA Client API is a web, native, or scripting Application Programming Interface (including all ArcGIS, open source, and third-party APIs) that has mapping capabilities and can be used to access ArcGIS location services.Learn more to create, manage, and access data servicesData 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. The table below outlines the level of support for each API.

Tools