Offline enable a web map

To begin working with an offline map, create a web map and enable it for offline use. You can use Map Viewer Map Viewer is a browser-based mapping tool that can view, create, and save web maps. It can also perform mapping, visualization, and spatial analysis operations. Learn more or ArcGIS Pro ArcGIS Pro is a professional desktop GIS application that can explore, visualize, analyze, and manage 2D and 3D data. Learn more to create a web map. These tools allow you to design and configure your map interactively and then save it in a portal ArcGIS 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 .

Once your web map is saved, use the settings available on the ArcGIS Online item page An 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 to enable it for offline use. Make sure that all the layers included in the web map are also offline-enabled. Layers that reference the following services can have their data content included in the offline map:

• The basemap styles service The 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 (including default basemap styles and custom basemap styles created using the ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor The ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor is a web-based application used to create, edit, and save a custom style for vector tile basemap layer. Learn more ).
• A feature service A 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 that has been offline enabled. This includes features, non-spatial data, related records, and attachments.
• A vector tile service A vector tile service is a data service that provides access to vector tile data and a style definition. Learn more that has been offline enabled.
• A map tile service A map tile service, formerly known as image tile service, is a data service that provides access to static, pre-rendered map tiles. The tiles are typically retrieved in PNG format by specifying a specific level, row, and column value. Learn more that has been offline enabled.

Other layers can be included in an offline map but continue to reference the online data source. These layers can be used whenever the offline app has a network connection. In addition to data layers, an offline map can include tables of non-spatial data. A non-spatial table typically contains rows of data related to features in the source web map’s data layers.

Enable services for offline use

To access layer content while offline, you can offline-enable feature services A 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 services A vector tile service is a data service that provides access to vector tile data and a style definition. Learn more , and map tile services A map tile service, formerly known as image tile service, is a data service that provides access to static, pre-rendered map tiles. The tiles are typically retrieved in PNG format by specifying a specific level, row, and column value. Learn more . If services are referenced by layers in a web map A web map is a map stored as a JSON object that defines properties such as the basemap layer, data layers, layer styles, and pop-up styles. Its JSON structure is defined by the web map specification. Learn more , the author can do this when publishing the map, or later using any of the service management tools.

After enabling a web map and referenced services for offline use, you can optionally create one or more 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. Learn more in the web map to define areas of interest and the content to include in each offline map An offline map is a map area and its data content downloaded from an offline-enabled web map for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps. Learn more . See Create map areas (ahead of time) for more information.

Feature services

You must sync-enable a feature service A 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 if you want feature data Feature data is a general term for one or more features, which are records that represent real-world geographic entities, stored as a feature collection, feature layer, or hosted feature layer. Learn more to be downloaded with the offline map An offline map is a map area and its data content downloaded from an offline-enabled web map for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps. Learn more , any edits to be synchronized, or update packages to be received (ahead of time only).

Vector tile services and map tile services

If you want tile service data to be downloaded with the offline map An offline map is a map area and its data content downloaded from an offline-enabled web map for use in offline applications built with ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps. Learn more , you must ensure that the tiled service A 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 has the exportTiles capability enabled. For more information, see the ArcGIS REST API documentation for Vector tile service - Export Tiles and Map service - Export Tiles.

Offline map areas

Offline map areas are always used when you take web maps offline. You can either define the offline map area for the map ahead of time, or the client app that downloads the map will define the offline map area on demand. You can mix both approaches depending on your application’s needs.

On-demand workflow

The on-demand workflow The on-demand workflow is a development pattern for building offline applications where the offline application defines an area of a web map to take offline. Learn more is a development pattern for building offline applications where the app user defines an area of the web map to be taken offline. ArcGIS Maps SDK for Swift requests the server to generate a map for the specified area, and then downloads it when it’s ready.

Each offline map that is created on demand is downloaded only once, and is not hosted for later download by other users. A request for the identical map area will result in the server generating a new offline map for the same area. While this workflow adds flexibility for the app users, it also introduces additional server processing and additional wait time for the user.

There are no additional steps required for preparing your web map for on-demand offline use. If you want to also support ahead-of-time offline areas, you must first define these areas in the web map.

Ahead-of-time workflow

This pattern is sometimes referred to as a preplanned offline workflow. As a map author, you can define offline map areas ahead of time for your users. This works well when workers operate in well-defined geographic areas. Defining offline areas ahead of time means map data is packaged once for all users who need it, rather than being generated individually for each user’s request.

See the Create map areas (ahead of time) topic in this guide for more information about creating map areas ahead of time.

Additional resources

• Take web maps offline ( ArcGIS Online ArcGIS 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 documentation)
• Create an offline-enabled web map (Tutorial)
• Create an offline map area (Tutorial)