Learn how to use a URL to access and display a feature layer in a map.
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A map contains layers of geographic data. A map contains a basemap layer and, optionally, one or more data layers. This tutorial shows you how to access and display a feature layer in a map. You access feature layers with an item ID or URL. You will use URLs to access the Trailheads, Trails, and Parks and Open Spaces feature layers and display them in a map.
A feature layer is a dataset in a feature service hosted in ArcGIS. Each feature layer contains features with a single geometry type (point, line, or polygon), and a set of attributes. You can use feature layers to store, access, and manage large amounts of geographic data for your applications.
Prerequisites
Before starting this tutorial:
-
You need an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account.
-
Your system meets the system requirements.
-
The ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt, version 200.6.0 or later is installed.
-
The Qt 6.5.6 software development framework is installed.
Develop or Download
You have two options for completing this tutorial:
Option 1: Develop the code
To start the tutorial, complete the Display a map tutorial. This creates a map to display the Santa Monica Mountains in California using the topographic basemap from the ArcGIS basemap styles service.
Open a Qt Creator project
- Open the project you created by completing the Display a map tutorial.
- Continue with the following instructions to use a URL to access and display a feature layer in a map.
Include header files
-
Double click on Sources > Display_a_map.cpp to open the file. Include these header files to be able to create
ServiceFeatureTable
andFeatureLayer
instances.Display-a-map.cppUse dark colors for code blocks #include "Display_a_map.h" #include "Map.h" #include "MapTypes.h" #include "MapQuickView.h" #include "Point.h" #include "Viewpoint.h" #include "SpatialReference.h" #include <QFuture> #include "LayerListModel.h" #include "ServiceFeatureTable.h" #include "FeatureLayer.h"
Add a polygon feature layer
This tutorial will draw the map in following order:
- ArcGISTopographic basemap style layer
- Parks and Open Spaces (polygons)
- Trails (lines)
- Trailheads (points)
It is important to add feature layers in the correct order so features are displayed correctly. Polygon feature layers are typically created before lines or points, so that those features are not obscured by the polygons.
Use the FeatureLayer
class to reference the Parks and Open Spaces URL and add features to the map.
-
Go to the Parks and Open Spaces URL and browse the properties of the layer. You may want to explore the Name, Type, Drawing Info, and Fields properties.
-
Within the
setup
method, add the following code. Create aViewpoint Q
instance namedUrl polygon
using an ArcGIS feature server as the feature data source. Then create aFeature Url ServiceFeatureTable
namedpolygon
from that_feature _table Q
.Url Display-a-map.cppUse dark colors for code blocks void Display_a_map::setupViewpoint() { const Point center(-118.80543, 34.02700, SpatialReference::wgs84()); const Viewpoint viewpoint(center, 100000.0); m_mapView->setViewpointAsync(viewpoint); const QUrl polygonFeatureUrl("https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/ArcGIS/rest/services/Parks_and_Open_Space/FeatureServer/0"); ServiceFeatureTable* polygon_feature_table = new ServiceFeatureTable(polygonFeatureUrl, this);
-
Create a
FeatureLayer
instance namedpolygon
, passing in_feature _layer polygon
as the argument. Then append your new_feature _table polygon
to the_feature _layer Map
instance namedm
._map Display-a-map.cppUse dark colors for code blocks const QUrl polygonFeatureUrl("https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/ArcGIS/rest/services/Parks_and_Open_Space/FeatureServer/0"); ServiceFeatureTable* polygon_feature_table = new ServiceFeatureTable(polygonFeatureUrl, this); FeatureLayer* polygon_feature_layer = new FeatureLayer(polygon_feature_table, this); m_map->operationalLayers()->append(polygon_feature_layer);
Press Ctrl + R to run the app.
You should see a map view centered in the Santa Monica Mountains, with your feature layer showing the Parks and Open Spaces layer in the map.
Add a line feature layer
Line features are typically displayed in a feature layer before points. Use the FeatureLayer
class to reference the Trails URL and add features to the map, as described next.
-
Add the following code to create a
Q
instance namedUrl line
using the ArcGIS feature server as the feature data source, in this case,Feature Url Trails
. Then create a_Styled ServiceFeatureTable
namedline
from that_feature _table Q
.Url Display-a-map.cppUse dark colors for code blocks FeatureLayer* polygon_feature_layer = new FeatureLayer(polygon_feature_table, this); m_map->operationalLayers()->append(polygon_feature_layer); const QUrl lineFeatureUrl("https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/ArcGIS/rest/services/Trails/FeatureServer/0"); ServiceFeatureTable* line_feature_table = new ServiceFeatureTable(lineFeatureUrl, this);
-
Create a
FeatureLayer
instance namedline
, passing in_feature _layer line
as the argument. Then append your new_feature _table line
to the_feature _layer Map
instance namedm
._map Display-a-map.cppUse dark colors for code blocks const QUrl lineFeatureUrl("https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/ArcGIS/rest/services/Trails/FeatureServer/0"); ServiceFeatureTable* line_feature_table = new ServiceFeatureTable(lineFeatureUrl, this); FeatureLayer* line_feature_layer = new FeatureLayer(line_feature_table, this); m_map->operationalLayers()->append(line_feature_layer);
Press Ctrl + R to run the app.
The map view should display the Parks and Open Spaces layer (polygons) and the Trails (lines) layer.
Add a point feature layer
-
Add the following code to create a
Q
instance namedUrl point
using the ArcGIS feature server as the feature data source, in this case,Feature Url Trailheads
. Then create aServiceFeatureTable
namedpoint
from that_feature _table Q
.Url Display-a-map.cppUse dark colors for code blocks FeatureLayer* line_feature_layer = new FeatureLayer(line_feature_table, this); m_map->operationalLayers()->append(line_feature_layer); const QUrl pointFeatureUrl("https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/arcgis/rest/services/Trailheads/FeatureServer/0"); ServiceFeatureTable* point_feature_table= new ServiceFeatureTable(pointFeatureUrl, this);
-
Add the following two lines of code to create a
FeatureLayer
, passing inpoint
as the argument. Then append your_feature _table FeatureLayer
to theMap
instance namedm
._map Display-a-map.cppUse dark colors for code blocks 61 62 63Add line. Add line. const QUrl pointFeatureUrl("https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/arcgis/rest/services/Trailheads/FeatureServer/0"); ServiceFeatureTable* point_feature_table= new ServiceFeatureTable(pointFeatureUrl, this); FeatureLayer* point_feature_layer = new FeatureLayer(point_feature_table, this); m_map->operationalLayers()->append(point_feature_layer);
Press Ctrl + R to run the app.
The map view should display all three feature layers in the map. Double-click, drag, and scroll the mouse wheel over the map view to explore the map.
Alternatively, you can download the tutorial solution, as follows.
Option 2: Download the solution
-
Click the
Download solution
link underSolution
and unzip the file to a location on your machine. -
Open the project in Qt Creator.
Since the downloaded solution does not contain authentication credentials, you must set up authentication to create the developer credentials and add them to the project.
Set up authentication
To access the secure ArcGIS location services used in this tutorial, you must implement API key authentication using an ArcGIS Location Platform or an ArcGIS Online account.
Create a new API key access token with privileges to access the secure resources used in this tutorial.
-
Complete the Create an API key tutorial and create an API key with the following privilege(s):
- Privileges
- Location services > Basemaps
- Privileges
-
Copy and paste the API key access token into a safe location. It will be used in a later step.
Set developer credentials in the solution
To allow your app users to access ArcGIS location services, use the developer credentials that you created in the Set up authentication step to authenticate requests for resources.
-
In the Projects window, go to the Sources folder
-
Open the main.cpp file.
-
Modify the code to set the
access
using your API key access token.Token main.cppUse dark colors for code blocks // 2. API key authentication: Get a long-lived access token that gives your application access to // ArcGIS location services. Go to the tutorial at https://links.esri.com/create-an-api-key. // Copy the API Key access token. const QString accessToken = QString("");
-
Save and close the file.
Best Practice: The access token is stored directly in the code as a convenience for this tutorial. Do not store credentials directly in source code in a production environment.
Run the solution
Press Ctrl + R to run the app.
The map view should display all three feature layers in the map. Double-click, drag, and scroll the mouse wheel over the map view to explore the map.
What's next?
Learn how to use additional API features, ArcGIS location services, and ArcGIS tools in these tutorials: