Work with data files

Just as layers in your app can use data sourced from online services, such as ArcGIS Online, WFS, or WMS services, layers can also use data from data files A 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 stored locally on your user’s device. Local data files support scenarios where your users never have a network connection.

This page describes what you can do with data files and lists supported data file formats. It also provides details on how to use a data file in your app, which are summarized in the following steps:

1. Create, sideload Sideloading is the process of deploying a file or package to a device without using a network. Learn more , or download the data file A 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 onto your user’s device.
2. Access the data file A 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 .
3. Create a layer A layer is a reference to a collection of geographic data that is used to access and display data. The data for layers are typically provided by the basemap layer service and data services. Learn more referencing the data file A 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 .
4. Apply a renderer A renderer is a collection of rules and symbols used to display the data in a layer. Learn more to define symbols A symbol defines the properties used to display a geometry or text. Learn more for features in the layer (Optional).
5. Add the layer A layer is a reference to a collection of geographic data that is used to access and display data. The data for layers are typically provided by the basemap layer service and data services. Learn more to a map A map is a collection of layers that are displayed in 2D. It is typically composed of a basemap layer and data layers. Learn more or scene A scene is a collection of layers that are displayed in 3D. It is typically composed of a basemap layer, data layers, and 3D data. Learn more .

For information on mobile map packages and mobile scene packages, which are also stand-alone files, see Offline maps, scenes and data or the ArcGIS Pro topics Share a mobile map package and Share a mobile scene package. For details on working with data from services while offline, see Work with offline data.

What you can do with data files

You can do the following types of things in your app using local data files:

• Display maps or scenes without a network connection.
• Access, display, and analyze geospatial data.
• Include data with the installation of your app.
• Collect data on devices that never have access to a network connection.
• Create new mobile geodatabases, tables, and domains.
• Share datasets between applications using peer-to-peer technology.

Supported data file formats

The following data files are supported:

Vector tile package

Vector tiled layers contain vector representations of data across a range of scales. Unlike raster tiles, they can adapt to the resolution of their display device as you zoom in and out.

When you create a vector tile package, it must be in the same spatial reference as the map in which it will be displayed.

To create a vector tiled layer from the vector tile package (.vtpk), instantiate an ArcGISVectorTiledLayer object with the vector tile package’s file URL. The default style will be loaded directly from the vector tile package.

If you have copied the vector tile package file into the app’s documents folder, you can instantiate a vector tiled layer with the following code:

// Instantiate a vector tiled layer with the path to the .vtpk file.
ArcGISVectorTiledLayer localVectorTiledLayer = new ArcGISVectorTiledLayer(vectorTileCachePath);

ArcGISMap map = new ArcGISMap(new Basemap(localVectorTiledLayer));

mapView.setMap(map);

Image tile package

Image tiled layers are typically used to display pregenerated tiled data as basemaps A basemap is the foundational layer and data that provides the overall visual and geographic context for a map or scene. It typically includes geographic features and labels for land, water, roads, buildings, cities, places, and administrative boundaries, but can also include raster data such as satellite and areal images. Learn more . A tile cache can also be used to provide offline elevation data for visualizing 3D terrain in a scene A scene is a collection of layers that are displayed in 3D. It is typically composed of a basemap layer, data layers, and 3D data. Learn more . You can take a portion of tiled data and store it within a single tile package (.tpk or .tpkx) file for completely disconnected scenarios. To store a portion of tile data as a tile package A tile package is a tiled layer that has been bundled into a single .tpk/.tpkx file. The file contains a tile cache of the data and metadata about the layer, packaged into a single, portable file. Learn more , you must specify area of interest, the tiling scheme, the levels of detail, and the tile format using one of the following approaches:

• Run the ArcGIS Pro python tool, Create Map Tile Package, to create a tile package file.
• In ArcMap, choose File > Share As > Tile Package to create a tile package file, as described in the ArcMap topic, How to create a tile package.
• In ArcMap, choose Share as > ArcGIS Runtime Content to export the map’s basemap layer to a tile package file (.tpk) that is output within the ArcGIS Runtime Content folder. For details, see the ArcMap topic Creating ArcGIS Runtime content, which is available with ArcGIS 10.2.1 for Desktop or later. Also see ArcMap’s tile packages.

When you create a tile package, it must have the same spatial reference as the map in which it will be displayed.

To create a tiled layer from a tile package file, create a tile cache object using the absolute path to the local tile package. Then instantiate an ArcGISTiledLayer with that tile cache.

// Create a File using path to the local package (.tpk or .tpkx file).
File tpkFile = new File(System.getProperty("data.dir"), "./StreetMapTiles.tpkx");

// Create a tile cache from the local data.
TileCache cache = new TileCache(tpkFile.getAbsolutePath());

// Use the tile cache to create an ArcGISTiledLayer.
ArcGISTiledLayer tiledLayer = new ArcGISTiledLayer(cache);

// Display the tiled layer as a basemap.
ArcGISMap map = new ArcGISMap(new Basemap(tiledLayer));
mapView.setMap(map);

To create an elevation source from a tile package file, instantiate an ArcGISTiledElevationSource object with the path to the tile package file on the device.

// Create a File using path to the local package (.tpkx or .tpkx file).
File tilePackage = new File(System.getProperty("data.dir"), "./WorldElevation3DTiles.tpkx");

// Create an ArcGISTiledElevationSource using the absolute path to that file.
ArcGISTiledElevationSource localElevationSource = new ArcGISTiledElevationSource(tilePackage.getAbsolutePath());

// Create a surface with the elevation source.
Surface elevationSurface = new Surface();
elevationSurface.getElevationSources().add(localElevationSource);

// Set the elevation source into your scene as its base surface.
ArcGISScene scene = new ArcGISScene();
scene.setBaseSurface(elevationSurface);
sceneView.setArcGISScene(scene);

Feature layer

Feature layers allow you to display, select, edit, and query individual features and their attributes. You can work with features offline using features stored in a data file, such as a mobile geodatabase file (.geodatabase), a GeoPackage file (.gpkg), or a shapefile (.shp). You can edit feature geometry A geometry is a geometric shape, such as a point, polyline, or polygon, that contains one or more coordinates and a spatial reference. Learn more and attributes Attributes 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 , and, when using a mobile geodatabase A mobile geodatabase (.geodatabase) is a spatial data storage format in a single file on disk that can store, query, and manage spatial and nonspatial data. In applications built with the ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps, mobile geodatabases can be used in offline workflows when taking maps and features offline from services or in desktop-based scenarios as standalone mobile geodatabases from ArcGIS Pro. Learn more , can also edit attachments An attachment is a file, such as a photograph (for example, a .png file) or a document, that is associated with individual features in a geodatabase or feature layer. Learn more and related records.

Mobile geodatabase

Mobile geodatabases A mobile geodatabase (.geodatabase) is a spatial data storage format in a single file on disk that can store, query, and manage spatial and nonspatial data. In applications built with the ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps, mobile geodatabases can be used in offline workflows when taking maps and features offline from services or in desktop-based scenarios as standalone mobile geodatabases from ArcGIS Pro. Learn more (.geodatabase) can be created with ArcGIS Pro (2.7 or later) or ArcMap (10.2.1 or later). At version 100.14, they can also be created in your app.

To create a mobile geodatabase that you can sideload Sideloading is the process of deploying a file or package to a device without using a network. Learn more for use in your app:

• In ArcGIS Pro, follow the instructions in the ArcGIS Pro help topic Create a mobile geodatabase.

• In ArcMap, follow the instructions in the ArcMap help topic Creating ArcGIS Runtime content.

To create a mobile geodatabase with this API:

• Use the static method Geodatabase.createAsync() to create a new geodatabase at the provided path.

To display tables from a mobile geodatabase:

1. Instantiate the Geodatabase object by opening an existing geodatabase or creating a new one. In either case, you need to specify a path to the .geodatabase file.
2. Instantiate a FeatureTable from one of the mobile geodatabase’s tables or create a new one using a TableDescription and associated FieldDescription objects and calling Geodatabase.createTableAsync().
3. Create a new FeatureLayer from the feature table and add it to the map. Optionally, create a new Renderer to symbolize features in the layer. If the layer is based on a new geodatabase table, nothing will appear in the layer until features are created.

If you have copied the geodatabase file into the app’s documents folder, you can instantiate a feature layer with the following code:

// Instantiate geodatabase with the path to the .geodatabase file.
Geodatabase geodatabase = new Geodatabase(geodatabasePath);

// Load the geodatabase.
geodatabase.loadAsync();
geodatabase.addDoneLoadingListener(() -> {
    if (geodatabase.getLoadStatus() == LoadStatus.LOADED) {
        FeatureTable featureTable = geodatabase.getGeodatabaseFeatureTable("Trailheads");

        FeatureLayer featureLayer = new FeatureLayer(featureTable);

        mapView.getMap().getOperationalLayers().add(featureLayer);
    }
});

GeoPackage

GeoPackage is an open, standards-based, platform-independent, portable, self-describing, compact format for transferring geospatial information. It uses a single SQLite file (.gpkg) that conforms to the OGC GeoPackage standard. You can create a GeoPackage file from your own data using the Create SQLite Database tool in ArcGIS Pro.

To display features stored in a GeoPackage file, you must do the following:

1. Instantiate a GeoPackage with the .gpkg file path.
2. Load the GeoPackage and then examine its list of GeoPackageFeatureTable()s.
3. Create a FeatureLayer from one of the GeoPackageFeatureTable()s and add it as an operational layer to the map.

If you have copied the GeoPackage file into the app’s documents folder, you can instantiate a feature layer with the following code:

// Instantiate geopackage with the path to the .gpkg file.
GeoPackage geoPackage = new GeoPackage(geoPackagePath);

// Load the geopackage.
geoPackage.loadAsync();
geoPackage.addDoneLoadingListener(() -> {
    if (geoPackage.getLoadStatus() == LoadStatus.LOADED) {
        GeoPackageFeatureTable geoPackageFeatureTable = geoPackage.getGeoPackageFeatureTables().getFirst();

        FeatureLayer featureLayer = new FeatureLayer(geoPackageFeatureTable);

        mapView.getMap().getOperationalLayers().add(featureLayer);
    }
});

Shapefiles

A shapefile A shapefile is a vector data storage format that contains geometry and attribute data for geographic features. It can also include spatial and non-spatial indexes. Learn more is a vector data storage format that contains geometry and attribute data for geographic features. Despite the name, a shapefile dataset is composed of at least three physical files: .shp, .dbf, and .shx. A shapefile may include several other files, such as projection information, spatial indices, attribute indices, and so on.

To create a feature layer from a shapefile (.shp), do the following:

1. Instantiate the ShapefileFeatureTable with the path to the shapefile. This path must point to the .shp file. The .shp file’s associated files (.shx, .dbf, and so on) must be present at the same location.
2. Create a FeatureLayer from the ShapefileFeatureTable and add it to the map.

If you have copied the shapefile into the app’s documents folder, you can instantiate a feature layer with the following code:

// Instantiate shapefile feature table with the path to the .shp file.
ShapefileFeatureTable shapefileTable = new ShapefileFeatureTable(shapefilePath);

shapefileTable.loadAsync();
shapefileTable.addDoneLoadingListener(() -> {
    if (shapefileTable.getLoadStatus() == LoadStatus.LOADED) {
        // Create a feature layer for the shapefile feature table.
        FeatureLayer shapefileLayer = new FeatureLayer(shapefileTable);

        // Add the layer to the map.
        mapView.getMap().getOperationalLayers().add(shapefileLayer);
    }
});

Raster layer

Raster data consists of a matrix of cells in which each individual cell contains a value representing information. For example, satellite or aerial images and photographs for visualizing an area. You can define renderers to display the raster data. Several raster formats are supported. To work offline, copy the raster data onto your device and add the raster dataset to your app using the Raster class. For more information and a list of supported raster formats, See Add raster data.