Style vector tiles

Learn how to style vector tiles.

You can style vector tilesA vector tile layer is a data layer used to access and display tiled data and its corresponding styles.Learn more, such as customizing the fill, outline, opacity and other properties, and display it in a map. If your vector tiles are published from a feature serviceA feature service is a data service that provides access to spatial and non-spatial data in feature layers, feature layer views, and tables.Learn more, you can also perform data-driven visualizations based on attributesAttributes 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 of the original feature service. To customize ArcGIS vector tiles in a MapLibre GL JS app, use the MapLibre ArcGIS plugin.

In this tutorial, you style land parcels from a vector tile serviceA vector tile service is a data service that provides access to vector tile data and a style definition.Learn more according to their use type using the MapLibre ArcGIS plugin.

Prerequisites

Steps

Review the source data

This tutorial uses the Santa Monica Mountains Parcels vector tile serviceA vector tile service is a data service that provides access to vector tile data and a style definition.Learn more. This vector tile service was created by publishing a feature serviceA feature service is a data service that provides access to spatial and non-spatial data in feature layers, feature layer views, and tables.Learn more as vector tiles using the portalArcGIS portal, also known as a portal, is a website with applications and tools that can be used to create, manage, access, and share geospatial content and data. It supports security and authentication, developer credentials, content and data service management, user and group management, and site administration. A portal can be hosted in Esri's infrastructure or your own infrastructure.Learn more. It contains the attributesAttributes 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 of the original feature service, which can be accessed to style layers in your application. Find the original feature service in ArcGIS.com to view the names and values of different attributes.

1. Go to the 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 for the Santa Monica Mountains Parcels vector tile layerA vector tile layer is a data layer used to access and display tiled data and its corresponding styles.Learn more.

2. Get the item ID of the vector tile layer from the URL, for example:

   • URL: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=f0298e881b5b4743bbdf2c7d378acc84
   • Item ID: f0298e881b5b4743bbdf2c7d378acc84

3. Copy the item ID and store it somewhere safe. You will need this in a later step.

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

5. Click the Data tab to view the layer's featuresA feature is a single record, also known as a row, that represents a real-world entity. It typically contains a geometry (point, multipoint, polyline, or polygon) and attributes but it can also contain just attributes.Learn more and attributesAttributes 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. Each feature represents a land parcel and has attributes such as an address, use code, and number of square feet.

6. 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 credentialsDeveloper credentials are a type of item in a portal that contains parameters for authentication. There are two types of developer credentials: API key credentials and OAuth credentials.Learn more so your application can access ArcGIS servicesA service, also known as an ArcGIS service, is software that supports an ArcGIS REST API and provides geospatial functionality or data. A service can be hosted by Esri or in ArcGIS Enterprise.Learn more.

Add a vector tile layer

To add the vector tile layer to your map, use the MapLibre ArcGIS plugin.

1. Add an event handler to the map load event.

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     map.on("load", async () => {
   
     });
   

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2. Inside the load event handler, use the plugin to create a new VectorTileLayer object that references the item ID of the vector tile layer you copied earlier.

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       const vectorLayer = await maplibreArcGIS.VectorTileLayer.fromPortalItem("f0298e881b5b4743bbdf2c7d378acc84", { accessToken });
   

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3. Add the vector tile source to the map. The source tells MapLibre GL JS how to access the data for the layer, but does not visually add it to the map.

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     map.on("load", async () => {
   
       const vectorLayer = await maplibreArcGIS.VectorTileLayer.fromPortalItem("f0298e881b5b4743bbdf2c7d378acc84", { accessToken });
   
       vectorLayer.addSourcesTo(map);
   
     });
   

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Style parcels by use type

Use a layerA layer in Mapbox GL JS is a visual element that displays data from a source.Learn more of type fill to style land parcels according to their UseType category.

1. Add a fill layer that inherits properties from the default layer. Set a custom fill-color using a case expression that assigns a unique color to each UseType attribute values viewed earlier.

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     map.on("load", async () => {
   
       const vectorLayer = await maplibreArcGIS.VectorTileLayer.fromPortalItem("f0298e881b5b4743bbdf2c7d378acc84", { accessToken });
   
       vectorLayer.addSourcesTo(map);
   
       map.addLayer({
         ...vectorLayer.layer, // The layer property is a preformatted MapLibre layer, including a layer ID, source, source-layer, and paint/layout information.
         type: "fill",
         id: "custom-fill",
         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"
           ]
         }
       });
   
     });
   

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Add an outline layer

The MapLibre style specification has limited options for customizing polygon outlines. Add a second vector tile layer to customize the parcel outlines.

1. Add a line layer that also inherits properties from the default layer. Style the color, width, and opacity of the parcel outlines.

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       map.addLayer({
         ...vectorLayer.layer,
         type: "line",
         id: "custom-outline",
         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: