Capabilities files

When a GetCapabilities request is made, the response is a Capabilities file specifying the contents of the service in a standard format. One set of Capabilities files gets created for each WFS-enabled ArcIMS service.

Details on the format and content of a Capabilities file are available in the WFS Specification. The following information is relevant for WFS services created using the ArcIMS WFS Connector.

Location and name of the Capabilities files

The Capabilities files are located in the Capabilities directory. You assign this directory in the WFS Connector Administrator. The directory does not need to exist ahead of time. Once the directory is created, the format of the Capabilities directory is:

<Capabilities Directory>
      |__wfs
         |__<hostname>-<port>
            |__<service>
               |__capabilities_1_0_0.xml
             

where:

• <Capabilities Directory> is the directory you chose in the WFS Connector Administrator.
• <hostname> is the URL domain name of your WFS site. Examples include www.esri.com or a fully qualified machine name.
• <port> is the ArcIMS client port. The default is 5300 but can be changed in the WFS Connector Administrator.
• <service> is the WFS service name. This name is the same as the ArcIMS service.
• capabilties_1_0_0.xml is the name of the capabilities file.

Editing the Capabilities files

The Capabilities files generated by the WFS Connector can be edited, although it is not recommended except for service-specific parameters. If possible, edits should be made to a Capabilities XSL stylesheet. For more information on these files, see Editing the Capabilities XSL Stylesheets.

Caution: If you make edits in a Capabilities file and then update the Capabilities in the WFS Connector Administrator, a new file is generated and overwrites the file you edited. Likewise, if you disable a WFS Service, the Capabilities directory for that service is deleted, and all edits are lost.

Edits that should be made in a Capabilities file are:

• Changing a layer from queryable to nonqueryable. By default, when the WFS Connector generates a Capabilities file, all vector layers are set to queryable="1". If you do not want one of these layers to be queryable, you must change the setting to queryable="0".
• Adding a service-specific SRS (Spatial Reference System) identifier. When a Capabilities file is generated, the following SRS identifiers are included: 4326 (WGS84), 4269 (NAD83), 4267 (NAD27), along with the coordinate system of the service. If you want to add an additional SRS identifier for one service only, make the change in the Capabilities file. If you want to add or remove SRS identifiers for all services, you should make the change in the Capabilities XSL stylesheet. For a complete list of identifiers, see the List of SRS Identifiers.
• Changing the opaque value. By default, opaque="0" for the WFS Service, which means the layer has significant no-data areas that the client can display as transparent. Vector layers commonly fit this category. If your service contains a raster layer or vector layers with minimal no-data areas, you can set opaque="1".

Relationship to XSL stylesheets

When the WFS Connector creates a Capabilities file, the format is determined by the corresponding Capabilities XSL stylesheet. The stylesheet is where you can make global changes to the Capabilities file that affect all WFS services. For more information on these files, see Editing the Capabilities XSL Stylesheets.

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