When your app needs to work without a reliable network connection, you can download maps and data to the user’s device before they go offline. The approach you choose depends on the functionality your app needs to support and whether or not the map area and content are known in advance.
You can use the following workflows to consume offline data:
- Download a map area (on-demand) when users need to choose their own area of interest from a web map and control which content is included in the offline map. The app generates and downloads a map for each request.
- Download a map area (ahead of time) when a web map author has defined reusable offline map areas.
An offline map area, also known as a preplanned map area, is an area in a web map used to create an offline map. The map areas are prepared in advance, so multiple users can quickly download the same offline maps for field work. This workflow is also known as the preplanned workflow. - Load a map or scene package to support fully disconnected workflows that don’t require editing. Packages can also include transportation networks (map packages only), locators, and links to online services.
- Work with data files when your app needs to use local datasets directly. You can create, sideload, or download supported data files, create layers from them, and add those layers to a map or scene without a network connection.
Offline maps can include operational data, basemaps, and other content configured for offline use. Depending on the workflow and data source, users can display, query, edit, and synchronize feature data when connectivity is restored. Local data files support additional disconnected scenarios, including apps that never connect to a network.
Before downloading an offline map, prepare the web map and its services for offline use. Then choose the workflow that best matches how your users work, download or access the data on the device, and open the resulting map or create layers from the local files.