FAQ

This guide is for:

• New developers interested in building mapping applications using ArcGIS and OpenLayers.
• ArcGIS developers who want to use an open-source library like OpenLayers to display maps in web applications.
• OpenLayers developers who want to integrate ArcGIS services in their applications.

Go to Open Source Mapping Libraries on Esri Community.

The ol-mapbox-style library, provided by the OpenLayers developers, allows you to create a map from Mapbox Style Specification objects in an OpenLayers application. You use the library to display default and custom ArcGIS basemap layer styles.

To learn how to use ol-mapbox-style to add an ArcGIS basemap styles, go to Migration.

OpenLayers has built in functionality to access the following ArcGIS services:

• ArcGIS Basemap Styles serviceThe ArcGIS Basemap Styles service, also referred to as the Basemap Styles service, is a location service that provides basemap styles and data for the world. It returns styles as Mapbox styles and web maps, and data as vector tiles and/or map tiles. It supports all of the styles in the ArcGIS Basemap style and Open Basemap style family. An ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account is required to use the service.Learn more (using the ol-mapbox-style library)
• ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles serviceThe ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles service, also known as the Static Basemap Tiles service, is a location service that provides basemap data as pre-rendered and pre-styled map tiles for the world. It supports key styles in the ArcGIS Basemap style family. An ArcGIS Location Platform account is required to use the services.Learn more
• 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 (via GeoJSON)
• Vector tile serviceA vector tile service is a data service that provides access to vector tile data and a style definition.Learn more
• Map tile serviceA map tile service, formerly known as image tile service, is a data service that provides access to static, pre-rendered mao tiles. The tiles are typical in PNG format. Map tiles are typically retrieved by specifying a specific level, row, and column value.Learn more

You can also access other services such as the ArcGIS Geocoding serviceA geocoding service is a service that can search for addresses, place addresses, businesses, reverse geocode coordinates to addresses, provide suggestions for places, and perform bulk geocoding. It is hosted by Esri as the ArcGIS Geocoding service and can also be hosted in ArcGIS Enterprise.Learn more, ArcGIS Routing serviceA routing service is a service that uses network analysis and streets data to calculate the most effective path and turn-by-turn directions on a street network, optimize fleet routing and deliveries, find the closest facilities, calculate service areas, and more. It is hosted by Esri as the ArcGIS Routing service and can also be hosted in ArcGIS Enterprise.Learn more, and ArcGIS GeoEnrichment serviceA GeoEnrichment service is a service that aggregates demographic data and local facts for locations around the world. It is used to provide insight about the people and places near a location. It is hosted by Esri as the ArcGIS GeoEnrichment service and can also be hosted in ArcGIS Enterprise.Learn more by using ArcGIS REST JS. To find examples, go to Search, Routing, and Data enrichment.

You need either an ArcGIS Location Platform account or ArcGIS Online account to access ArcGIS Location Services. This will give you the ability to access the portal, create developer credentials, and manage your data.

You can not use an ArcGIS Enterprise account to access ArcGIS Location Services.

The table below shows the account types you can use to access each service:

ArcGIS Location Services

Yes, you need to provide an API key or implement another type of authentication to access ArcGIS Location ServicesArcGIS Location Services, also referred to as Location Services, are services hosted by Esri that provide geospatial functionality for developing mapping applications. They include the ArcGIS Basemap Styles service, ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles service, ArcGIS Places service, ArcGIS Geocoding service, ArcGIS Routing service, ArcGIS GeoEnrichment service, and ArcGIS Elevation service. An ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account is required to use the services.Learn more.

ArcGIS Enterprise services

For services that are private, yes, you need to provide authentication to access ArcGIS Enterprise services. You typically implement OAuth 2.0 to do so. Public services do not require authentication.

To learn more about the different types of authentication, go to Types of authentication.

To learn more about ArcGIS Location Services and capabilities, go to the Mapping and location services guide.

To learn more about ArcGIS Enterprise services and capabilities, go to the REST API documentation.

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 are services created dynamically to securely store, manage, and provide access to your data in 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. Some of the types of services that can be created are:

• Feature servicesA 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
• Vector tile servicesA vector tile service is a data service that provides access to vector tile data and a style definition.Learn more
• Map tile servicesA map tile service, formerly known as image tile service, is a data service that provides access to static, pre-rendered mao tiles. The tiles are typical in PNG format. Map tiles are typically retrieved by specifying a specific level, row, and column value.Learn more
• Image servicesAn image service is a data service that can store, process, analyze, and share raster data.Learn more

Data services are typically created by importing data with the 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. A unique URL for the service is assigned by the system when it is created.

The type of data service you use depends on the product you have, the format of your existing data, storage and output data format requirements, the size and complexity of the data, and the service functionality required.

Below is an overview of the main services and the data type each supports.

Yes, Esri offers data hosting through ArcGIS Location PlatformArcGIS Location Platform, formerly known as ArcGIS Platform, is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) product that gives developers access to location services, APIs, and tools to build mapping and spatial analysis applications. It is subscription-based and requires an ArcGIS Location Platform account.Learn more, ArcGIS OnlineArcGIS Online is a GIS mapping, analytics, data hosting, and content management software as a service (SaaS) product. It includes applications, tools, APIs, and location services for users and developers. It is subscription-based and requires an ArcGIS Online account.Learn more and ArcGIS EnterpriseArcGIS Enterprise is a GIS mapping, analytics, data hosting, and content management product that can be hosted on-premise or in a cloud infrastructure. It includes software, applications, tools, APIs, and services for users and developers.Learn more (Portal for ArcGIS) that allow you to securely store, manage, and access your geographic data as hosted data services.

ArcGIS Location PlatformArcGIS Location Platform, formerly known as ArcGIS Platform, is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) product that gives developers access to location services, APIs, and tools to build mapping and spatial analysis applications. It is subscription-based and requires an ArcGIS Location Platform account.Learn more and ArcGIS OnlineArcGIS Online is a GIS mapping, analytics, data hosting, and content management software as a service (SaaS) product. It includes applications, tools, APIs, and location services for users and developers. It is subscription-based and requires an ArcGIS Online account.Learn more allow you to publish your data as hosted layersA hosted layer is an item in a portal that contains the properties and settings for a hosted data service or a layer in a hosted data service.Learn more, which are hosted and managed by Esri's cloud infrastructure. This includes hosted feature layersA 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, vector tile layersA vector tile layer is a data layer used to access and display tiled data and its corresponding styles.Learn more, and map tile layers.

With ArcGIS EnterpriseArcGIS Enterprise is a GIS mapping, analytics, data hosting, and content management product that can be hosted on-premise or in a cloud infrastructure. It includes software, applications, tools, APIs, and services for users and developers.Learn more, you can host data services in your own portal'sArcGIS 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 infrastructure and managed database. This gives you more control but requires maintaining your own servers.

You can import and host many different types of geographic data as 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 main requirement is that the incoming data has geometry coordinates and/or attributes (fields). The main storage formats are features, vector tiles, and map tiles. Some common file types include CSV, XLS, GeoJSON, Shapefile, and File Geodatabase files.

To learn more about supported data types, go to Portal and data services > Data services.

OpenLayers can display data from ArcGIS services by loading them as any other map or feature source.

• Feature services and vector tile services can be requested as vector data (often in GeoJSON format, parsed with ol.format.GeoJSON) and displayed with ol.layer.Vector.
• Map tile services can be added as tiled map layers using ol.layer.Tile.

No, your data is your data. You retain complete ownership of your content.

• ArcGIS Online: As an organization administrator, use the ArcGIS 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 to generate reports on basemap usage.
• ArcGIS Location Platform: Use your ArcGIS Location Platform dashboard to view basemap session and tile usage. To learn more, see Basemap usage .

The cost to access ArcGIS location servicesArcGIS Location Services, also referred to as Location Services, are services hosted by Esri that provide geospatial functionality for developing mapping applications. They include the ArcGIS Basemap Styles service, ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles service, ArcGIS Places service, ArcGIS Geocoding service, ArcGIS Routing service, ArcGIS GeoEnrichment service, and ArcGIS Elevation service. An ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account is required to use the services.Learn more depends on the type of ArcGIS account you have and the service operation you use.

1. If you have an ArcGIS Location Platform accountAn ArcGIS Location Platform account, formerly known as an ArcGIS Developer account, is an identity associated with an ArcGIS Location Platform subscription.Learn more, you are billed in US dollars. To determine the cost of accessing different services, go to Pricing. A free tier of access is available for some services.

2. If you have an ArcGIS Online accountAn ArcGIS Online account, also known as an ArcGIS Organization account, is an identity associated with an ArcGIS Online subscription. It can be used to access ArcGIS tools and develop applications with ArcGIS location services for an organization.Learn more, you are billed in creditsCredits are the currency used by ArcGIS Online Organization accounts to account for data storage and location service consumption. Credits are consumed for specific transactions, such as accessing location services, and types of storage, such as storing features, performing analytics, and using premium content.Learn more. To determine the cost of accessing different services, go to Understanding credits.

If you have ArcGIS Enterprise, there is no cost for accessing your own ArcGIS services.

To find the Esri Terms of Use, go to Terms of use.