Display a map

Learn how to display a map with a basemap layer using OpenLayers.

A map contains layers of geographic data. A map contains a basemap layer and, optionally, one or more data layers. You can display a specific area of a map by using a map view and setting the location and zoom level.

In this tutorial you will use OpenLayers to display a map of the Santa Monica Mountains in California using the topographic basemap layer.

This tutorial is the starting point the other OpenLayers tutorials.

Prerequisites

You need an ArcGIS account to access the developer dashboard and create an API key.

Steps

Create a new pen

Go to CodePen to create a new pen for your application.

Add HTML

Define an HTML page to create a map that is the full width and height of the browser window.

In CodePen > HTML, add HTML and CSS to create a page with a div element called map.

Use the HTML to create a page with a map. Use the map div to display the map. Use the CSS to make the map full width and height.

The <!DOCTYPE html> tag is not required in CodePen. If you are using a different editor or running the page on a local server, be sure to add this tag to the top of your HTML page.

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<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Load the libraries

You will need add <script> and <link> tags to load the JavaScript and CSS files for OpenLayers and ol-mapbox-style.

In the <head> element, add references to the OpenLayers CSS and JavaScript library.

Use dark colors for code blocks
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<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Add a reference to the ol-mapbox-style library, which is required to load and style a vector tile layer using a vector tile style in OpenLayers.

The additional library olms.js is provided by the developers of OpenLayers. The acronym "olms" stands for OpenLayers Mapbox Style. For more information, see the ol-mapbox-style documentation.

Use dark colors for code blocks
Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Create a map and view

Use the Map and View classes to create an OpenLayers map.

The OpenLayers Map class displays the contents of the map and provides a user interface to interact with it. It supports clicking, zooming, panning, rotating, and tilting the perspective of the map. It also lets you interact with the visible contents of the map data, for example finding features at the mouse cursor. You can also use it to modify the data displayed by adding new sources or changing layer properties. OpenLayers takes care of automatically re-rendering as needed in response to changes made to layers.

For further details, see the OpenLayers documentation.

Add a <script> element in the <body> element.

Use dark colors for code blocks
Add line.Add line.Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Use the Map class to create the map with options to control its display and behavior. Set the target property to "map", which is the id of the div element.

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Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Create a View, and use setView to apply it to the map. To center the map view, set the center property to -118.80500,34.02700 and the zoom property to 13.

Use dark colors for code blocks
Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Get an API key

To access location services, you need an API key or OAuth 2.0 access token.

Go to your developer dashboard to get an API key.
Copy the key as it will be used in the next step.

Add the basemap layer

OpenLayers does not directly support a vector basemap or a vector style file, so you will use the openlayers-mapbox-style (olms) JavaScript library to load a Mapbox style from the Basemap layer service and render it with OpenLayers.

The Mapbox style is JSON file that contains a reference to the vector tile layers used in the style, and visual styling rules to apply to one or more data layers in those tiles.

Store your API key as a variable. You will need to include this API key whenever you invoke ArcGIS services.

Use dark colors for code blocks
Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Create a basemapId variable and set it to ArcGIS:Streets.

Use dark colors for code blocks
Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Construct the basemap URL based on basemapId and your API key.

Use dark colors for code blocks
Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>

Use olms to apply the basemap style to your map. The olms function takes two inputs, the map element and the URL for a Mapbox basemap style file.

Use dark colors for code blocks
Add line.
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
    <title>OpenLayers Tutorials: Display a map</title>

    <style>
      html,
      body,
      #map {
        padding: 0;
        margin: 0;
        height: 100%;
        width: 100%;
        font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        font-size: 14px;
        color: #323232;
      }
    </style>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/css/ol.css" type="text/css" />
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/openlayers/openlayers.github.io@master/en/v6.7.0/build/ol.js"></script>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ol-mapbox-style@6.1.4/dist/olms.js"></script>

  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map"></div>

    <script>

      const map = new ol.Map({ target: "map" });

      map.setView(
        new ol.View({
          center: ol.proj.fromLonLat([-118.805, 34.027]),
          zoom: 12
        })
      );

      const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

      const basemapId = "ArcGIS:Streets";

      const basemapURL = "https://basemaps-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/styles/" + basemapId + "?type=style&token=" + apiKey;

      olms(map, basemapURL);

    </script>

  </body>
</html>