This is Step 4 of 5 to set up your MapBuilder application.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- Two strategies for preparing your data
- Data types that are compatible with MapBuilder
Two strategies for preparing data
It is important to understand that MapBuilder does not host your data. With that in mind, there are two main strategies for preparing data:
- Identify data hosted by a third-party: You may not need to host your own data! There are many third-party data providers who offer free datasets that you can add to MapBuilder. One great example is the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. Before attempting to host your own data, check existing services to see if it available somewhere else for free.
- Host your own data: There are many free and paid options to host your own data. The most convenient option to start is to use ArcGIS Online, since you already have an account. The amount and type of data you can host on ArcGIS Online depends on what type of account you have. For more information, read the tutorial Creating an ArcGIS Account and Choosing a Plan.
Compatible data formats
Types of compatible datasets depend on where are adding data to MapBuilder. There are two locations that you can add data to your MapBuilder map:
- ArcGIS Online web map: The simplest way to add data to your MapBuilder application. This is the same web map that you created in Step 1: Create a web map in ArcGIS Online. Any data that you add to this web map will appear in a specific layer group in the application.
- Configuration File: For more advanced use cases, you can edit the Configuration File you created in Step 3: Complete the Configuration Form.
When adding data through your ArcGIS Online web map, you can use any dataset that is compatible with ArcGIS Online. Find out more about what you can add to ArcGIS Online in this article from ESRI.
When adding data by editing the Configuration File, the following datasets are compatible with MapBuilder:
- Tiled Layer: Cached raster or vector data hosted on ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Server.
- Dynamic Map Service: A non-cached layer hosted on ArcGIS Server
- Image Service: Layers hosted on ESRI Image Server
- Web Tiles: Layer following the XYZ protocol with z/x/y format
- Web Map Service (WMS): Layer following the standard WMS protocol. Currently, this is supported but has some known bugs.
- Web Feature Service (WFS): Layer following the standard WFS protocol. Currently, this is supported but has some known bugs.
You have now completed Step 4 of 5 for creating your MapBuilder application.