Style vector tiles

Learn how to customize vector tiles based on their underlying feature data.

You can use Esri Leaflet to display vector tile data using custom styles. Esri Leaflet Vector supports the MapLibre style specification, which allows you to customize the fill, outline, opacity, and other properties of vector tiles to display data effectively. If your vector tiles are published from a feature service, you can also perform data-driven visualizations based on attributes of the original feature service.

In this tutorial, you style land parcels from a public vector tile service according to their use type.

Prerequisites

Steps

Review the source data

This tutorial uses the Santa Monica Mountains Parcels vector tile service. This vector tile service was created by publishing a feature service as vector tiles using the portal. It contains the attributes of the original feature service, which can be accessed to style layers in your application. Find the original feature service in your portal to view the names and values of different attributes.

1. Go to the item page for the Santa Monica Mountains Parcels vector tile layer.

2. Under Details, find the Created from property. Follow the link to view the item page for the original feature layer, Santa_Monica_Mountains_Parcels.

3. Click the Data tab to view the layer's features and attributes. Each feature represents a land parcel and has attributes such as an address, use code, and number of square feet.

4. Review the values of the UseType field. You will use this field to style vector tiles in your application.

Get the starter app

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

Set up authentication

Set developer credentials

Use the API key or OAuth developer credentials so your application can access ArcGIS services.

Add a vector tile layer

Use the VectorTileLayer class from Esri Leaflet Vector to add data from the Santa Monica Mountains Parcels vector tile service to your application.

1. Create a VectorTileLayer and set the url to the URL of the Santa Monica Mountains Parcels vector tile service. Add it to the map.

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         L.esri.Vector.vectorBasemapLayer(basemapEnum, {
           token: accessToken,
           pane: "tilePane"
         }).addTo(map);
   
         const parcelsUrl = "https://vectortileservices3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/arcgis/rest/services/Santa_Monica_Mountains_Parcels_VTL/VectorTileServer";
   
         L.esri.Vector.vectorTileLayer(
           parcelsUrl,
   
         ).addTo(map);
   
       </script>
   

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Style parcels by use type

Use the MapLibre style specification to style land parcels according to their UseType category.

1. Add a style function to the VectorTileLayer.

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         L.esri.Vector.vectorTileLayer(
           parcelsUrl,
   
           {
             style: function (style) {
   
               return style;
             }
           }
   
         ).addTo(map);
   

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2. Add a custom fill-color to the new style layer. Use get to retrieve UseType attribute values, viewed in the previous step. Use case to create a conditional expression that assigns a unique color to each use type.

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         L.esri.Vector.vectorTileLayer(
           parcelsUrl,
   
           {
             style: function (style) {
   
               style.layers[0].paint = {
                 "fill-color": ["case",
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Residential"], "#E8E191", // Yellow
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Commercial"], "#E580A2", // Red
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Government"], "#79E284", // Green
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Industrial"], "#C080E5", // Purple
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Institutional"], "#80BBE5", // Blue
                   "#bfbfbf"
                 ]
               };
   
               return style;
             }
           }
   
         ).addTo(map);
   

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3. Run the app. The vector tiles should appear with custom colors for residential, commercial, government, industrial, and institutional land parcels. All remaining parcels should be displayed in gray.

Add an outline layer

Add another style layer to the MapLibre style object to display parcel outlines.

1. Add a line layer to the list of layers in the style object. Set the source to esri and the source-layer to Santa_Monica_Mountains_Parcels to reference the vector tile service.

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           {
             style: function (style) {
   
               style.layers[0].paint = {
                 "fill-color": ["case",
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Residential"], "#E8E191", // Yellow
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Commercial"], "#E580A2", // Red
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Government"], "#79E284", // Green
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Industrial"], "#C080E5", // Purple
                   ["==", ["get", "UseType"], "Institutional"], "#80BBE5", // Blue
                   "#bfbfbf"
                 ]
               };
   
               style.layers.push({
                 "id": "parcels-outline",
                 "source": "Santa_Monica_Mountains_Parcels_VTL",
                 "source-layer": "Santa_Monica_Mountains_Parcels",
                 "type": "line",
   
               });
   
               return style;
             }
           }
   

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2. Style the color, width, and opacity of the parcel outlines.

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               style.layers.push({
                 "id": "parcels-outline",
                 "source": "Santa_Monica_Mountains_Parcels_VTL",
                 "source-layer": "Santa_Monica_Mountains_Parcels",
                 "type": "line",
   
                 "paint": {
                   "line-color": "#000000",
                   "line-width": 0.25,
                   "line-opacity": 0.25
                 }
   
               });
   

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Run the app

Run the app.

You should see the styled vector tile layer with parcels displayed on the basemap layer. Parcels should be styled in different colors based on their use type, and thin outlines should be present around each parcel.

What's next?

Learn how to use additional location services in these tutorials: