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 Unreal Engine 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 on the Layers tab.
- In the Add New Data section, select a layer type from the Layer Type drop-down list.
- In the Layer Source field, introduce an online service URL. If you want to use a local file package, click on ··· and select the file.
- Introduce a name in the Layer Name field.
- Click on the Add button.
When you click the Add button, the layer is listed under the Layers section.
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 ArcGIS Map Actor in the Outliner panel.
- Expand the ArcGIS Map Component, then the Layers section in the Details panel.
- Click the + icon on the right side of the section to add a new array element.
- Set a Name and select a layer type from Type drop-down list.
- Set 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.
- To get a layer collection and add it to the ArcGIS Map, find ArcGIS Maps SDK > ArcGIS Map, select Get Layers, and add it to the graph.
- Use the Set Map node to create a layer collection.
- To add an image tile layer, use the Create ArcGIS Image Layer node.
- To add a vector tile layer, use the Create ArcGIS Vector Tile Layer node.
- To add a 3D object scene layer, use the Create ArcGIS 3DObject Scene Layer node.
- To add an integrated mesh layer, use the Create ArcGIS Integrated Mesh Layer node.
- To add a building scene layer, use the Create ArcGIS Building Scene Layer node.
- To add a group layer, use the Create ArcGIS Group Layer node.
- To set properties for the layer, such as name, visibility, and opacity, select the Create node that has Properties in the name (Create ArcGIS Vector Tile Layer with Properties, for example).
- Connect the API key variable to the API Key pin.
- Use the Add node to add the custom layer to the layer collection.
Use ArcGISImage, ArcGISVector, ArcGIS3DObject, ArcGISIntegrated, or ArcGISBuilding according to the layer you add to the level 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. Refer to ArcGISGroup for group layer API.
You can find the sample code to add ArcGISImage and ArcGIS3DObject in the SampleAPIMapCreator.cpp file. The sample script file is located in:
Plugins/ArcGISMapsSDK/Source/ArcGISSamples/Private
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 Modes Panel UI.
You can make the following layer management operations under the Layers tab.
- Change the layer order by dragging it to a new order position. The layer at top of the layer list has the highest priority.
- Change a layer name by typing a new name under the Name field.
- Add a new layer by clicking the + icon.
- Delete a layer by clicking the v icon in the layer name row and selecting Delete.
- Delete all layers at once by clicking the trashcan icon.
- Add a layer source by directly pasting the URL to the Source field or loading a file package via the ... icon.
- Set a value between
0.0and1.0or use the slider to set the layer opacity. - Hide a layer by marking the checkbox next to the layer name.
- Click on the triangle icon on the left to expand a layer registry and see the layer properties.
- Click the Type drop-down list to change the layer type.
- Replace the layer source URL or file path.
- Select matching authentication configuration.
- Click the gear icon in scene layers properties to configure additional filters or modifications for the layer.
- Click Zoom To Layer to zoom to a specific layer's extent.
You can make the following layer management operations under the Layers section in the Details panel.
- Change the layer order by dragging it to a new order position. The layer at top of the layer list has the highest priority.
- Change a layer name by typing a new name under the Name field.
- Add a new layer by clicking the + icon.
- Delete a layer by clicking the v icon in the index row and selecting Delete.
- Delete all layers at once by clicking the trashcan icon.
- Add a layer source by directly pasting the URL to the Source field.
- Set a value between
0.0and1.0or use the slider to set the layer opacity. - Hide a layer by marking the Is Visible checkbox.
- Click on the triangle icon on the left to expand a layer registry and see the layer properties.
- Change the layer type by clicking on the Type drop-down list.
- Replace the layer source URL or file path.
- Select matching authentication configuration.
When you use the Create node with Properties in their name to add a layer with Blueprints, you can set opacity and visibility in the node (e.g. Create ArcGIS Image Layer with Properties)
For layer management and other layer operations during the play mode, please refer to the nodes under ArcGIS Maps SDK > ArcGIS Layer or ArcGIS Maps SDK > ArcGIS Layer Collections.
For instance:
- To remove a layer, use the Remove node under ArcGIS Layer Collections.
- To change layer opacity, use the Set Opacity node under ArcGIS Layer.
The ArcGISLayer base class has properties that you can use to layer management during the runtime.
To remove a layer:
auto index = arcGISMap->GetLayers()->IndexOf(layer_3);
arcGISMap->GetLayers()->Remove(index);You can update a layer's name, opacity, and visibility without needing to rebuild the map.
To change the opacity of a layer:
layer_1->SetOpacity(0.9f);You can find the sample code to remove a layer and change the opacity of layers in the SampleAPIMapCreator.cs file. The sample script file is in:
Plugins/ArcGISMapsSDK/Source/ArcGISSamples/Private