A layer can access data from a data source. You can use an ArcGIS Map as a container for layers to display geographic data in a Unity scene.
There are two groups of layers that an ArcGIS Map contains:
- Basemap layers, used for geographic context.
- Data layers, used to display geographic data within the context of the basemap.
A layer's data source can either be a data service or a data file stored locally.
Key concepts
Basemap Layers
You can use one or more basemap layers to provide a background of geographical context for the data layers displayed in your Unity scene.
The basemap layer service provides several vector tile and image tile basemap layers that you can use for your applications. Basemap layers are collected together in a basemap and you use the Basemap property of the ArcGIS Map.
Data layers
Data layers bring additional geographic data into your Unity scene to be displayed in the context of the basemap. You use the Layers property of the ArcGIS Map to control the data layers in your scene. The following types of layers are supported:
Global scenes support data in any geographic coordinate system. For projected coordinate systems, Web Mercator is supported when the spatial reference is set to WGS84.
Local scenes support any projected coordinate systems. For geographic coordinate systems, WGS84 is supported when the spatial reference is set to CGCS 2000.
Refer to Spatial references for more information.
Image tile layers
An image tile layer is a data layer that can access and display image tile data provided by an image tile service or an image tile package.
The tile layer format is fast to transmit over the Internet. Raster tiles are cached at various scales instead of dynamically generating map images at the request of the client application.
Vector tile layers
A vector tile layer contains vector representations of data across a range of scales that is provided by a vector tile service or vector tile package.
Vector tile layers are similar to image tile layers except they store a vector representation of the data. In other words, this format represents geographic features as points, lines, and polygons.
Scene layers
A scene layer is a type of data layer that is optimized for displaying large amounts of 3D data from a scene service or a local scene layer package, as defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium's Indexed 3D Scene Layer (I3S) specification.
Visualizing your information in 3D makes it easier to intuitively understand and experience geographic information. ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity currently supports 3D object scene layers, integrated mesh scene layers, and building scene layers.
Group layers
A Group layer is a collection of layers organized as a group in the map. Layers within a group layer are called sublayers and can be of the same type or different types. For example, an integrated mesh scene layer and a 3D object scene layer can be organized together in a group layer.
Set data layers
- Click the Layers tab.
- Click the + Add New button located on the lower right to open an Add New Layer pop-up window.
- Select a layer type from the Type drop-down list.
- In the Source field, enter an online service URL. To use a local file package, click ··· and select the file.
- Enter a name in the Name field.
- Click Add.
When you click Add, the layer is added to the Layers list.
To use private content, select the matching configuration from the Authentication drop-down list in the Layers section. For more information about using private content, see user authentication.
- Click the ArcGISMap game object in the Hierarchy window.
- Expand ArcGIS Map Component, and then expand the Layers section in the Inspector window.
- Click the + icon to the right of the section to add a new array element.
- Set a Name and select a layer type from Type drop-down list.
- Enter an online service URL or a local file path in the Source field.
To use private content, select the matching configuration from the Authentication drop-down list. For more information about using private content, see user authentication.
Use ArcGISImage, ArcGIS3DObject, ArcGISIntegrated, or ArcGISBuilding based on the layer you add to the scene and register them to the ArcGISMap. Specify the source URL or file path, layer name, opacity value (between 0.0f and 1.0f), visibility, and API key in the constructor. See ArcGISGroup in the API reference for information about working with group layers.
You can find the sample code to add ArcGISImage and ArcGIS3DObject in the SampleAPIMapCreator.cs file. The sample script file is in:
Assets/Samples/ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity/[version]/Sample Content/Scenes/Scripts/APISample
Refer to the FAQ to troubleshoot data loading issues.
Layer management
You can toggle layer visibility on and off, change layer opacity, remove, and reorder layers. When you have multiple layer sources, the last item added to the collection takes precedence and is displayed topmost in the Map Creator UI.
You can perform the following layer management operations from the Layers tab:
- To change the layer order, click ⋮ and select Move Up or Move Down. The layer at the top of the layer list has the highest priority.
- To change a layer name, click the layer name or click ⋮ and select Rename.
- To delete a layer, click ⋮ and select Remove.
- To copy a layer URL, click ⋮ and select Copy URL.
- To change layer visibility, check or uncheck the check box.
- To see a layer's properties, expand the layer registry (triangle icon at the left).
- To set layer opacity, enter a value between
0.0and1.0or use the slider. - Click the Type drop-down list to change the layer type.
- Click the gear icon in scene layers properties to configure additional filters or modifications for the layer.
- To zoom the Scene view camera to the extent of the layer, click ⋮ and select Zoom To.
You can perform the following layer management operations under the Layers section in the Hierarchy window.
- To change the layer order, click = next to the expand (triangle) icon and move the item up or down. The layer at the bottom of the layer list has the highest priority.
- To see a layer's properties, expand the layer registry (triangle icon at the left).
- To change the layer name, enter a new name in the Name field.
- To set the layer opacity, enter a value between
0.0and1.0or use the slider. - To change the layer type, click the Type drop-down list, replace the source URL or file path, and then select a matching authentication configuration.
- To add more layers, click +.
- To delete a layer, click the layer name then click -.
To remove a layer:
arcGISMap.Layers.Remove(arcGISMap.Layers.IndexOf(layer_4));You can update a layer's name, opacity, and visibility without rebuilding the map.
To change the opacity of a layer:
layer_1.Opacity = 0.9f;You can find the sample code to remove a layer and change layer opacity in the SampleAPIMapCreator.cs file. The sample script file is located in:
Assets/Samples/ArcGIS Maps SDK for Unity/[version]/Sample Content/Scenes/Scripts/APISample