Selecting layers to display

To select the layers that will be displayed in your application, you will use Manager to connect to GIS servers and select services to add to your map. The services appear as group layers in the map, meaning users of your application will still be able to work with the individual layers within those services.

You can add ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS, ArcWeb Services, and WMS services to your map. You can build applications that combine any of the service types listed above on a single map allowing you to seamlessly integrate map services running on the same GIS server or different GIS servers. For example, you can combine a map service running on an ArcIMS Server with one running on an ArcGIS Server.

The multi-service support allows you to transparently overlay map services. Once you've selected all of the services you want to add to your map, you can use Manager to set the transparency of each service as desired. By default, the backgrounds of all but the bottom service are made transparent.

How to add layers to the map

You can add layers to the map using the Select Layers tab in Manager. Before adding a layer to the map, you must first add a GIS server.

How to add a GIS server

  1. Click Add GIS Server
  2. Select the type of server you want to add:

    • ArcGIS Server Internet

      This option connects to an ArcGIS Server system through HTTP, allowing the use of the GIS server over the Internet.

      To make an ArcGIS Server Internet connection, you will be prompted to enter the URL of the server. This will take the form http://<server>/<instance>/services. In most cases, the instance will have the default name, which is ArcGIS.

      If you're connecting to an ArcGIS Server Internet service that requires a login, click Access Secure Services. You can enter the user name and password at this point.

      An ArcGIS Server Internet connection cannot be used for Web editing layers or any layers that will be worked with through fine-grained ArcObjects. Avoid using ArcGIS Server Internet connections to access non-pooled services.

    • ArcGIS Server Local

      An ArcGIS Server Local connection is used for connecting to a GIS server on a local area network. ArcGIS Server Local connections are typically used when creating Web editing applications, such as those containing the Editing task.

      To make an ArcGIS Server Local connection, you must enter the name of the GIS server you wish to connect to (specifically, the machine running the server object manager, or SOM). After selecting your services, you will see an additional panel of the wizard containing some information about the user account that your Web application will use for connecting to the local server. By default, the application uses the account that you used when you logged into Manager, but you have the option to change which account will be used. The account you choose must be in the agsusers or agsadmin group on the server you're connecting to.

      You can only enter one account per application, so if you connect to multiple local servers in one application, make sure that the account you use is a member of the agsadmin or agsusers groups on each of those servers.

    • ArcIMS

      Use the ArcIMS option for adding Image and ArcMap Image Services. Feature and Metadata Services are not supported in a Web Mapping Application.

      To add an ArcIMS service, you will be prompted to choose either a TCP or HTTP connection. For a TCP connection, you must specify a host and port. The host is the server where the ArcIMS Application Server resides. The machine must be on the same network as the Web server. The port is the port used for the Application Server, and the default is 5300. For an HTTP connection, you must specify the URL of the server you wish to access. For example, if the server is mymachine, the URL is "http://mymachine".

    • ArcWeb Services

      ArcWeb Services is a set of GIS and mapping Web services hosted and maintained by ESRI. Some of these services are available to the public; others are only available on a subscription basis.

      You can add ArcWeb Services to your map by providing the name and password of your ArcWeb Services account. Once you do, you'll see an ArcWeb Services node appear in the Available Services list. This node contains map services that you can add to your map.

      If you want users to identify features on your map using ArcWeb Services data, you'll need to specify a query service. To add a query service, click the Preview Layers tab, highlight the name of an ArcWeb map service, and select a query service from the dropdown list in the lower left corner of the tab.

    • OGC (WMS)

      You can add services to your map that support the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGS) Web Map Service (WMS) specification. You must provide the URL of the service you want to add. The dialog gives example URLs for WMS services published with ArcIMS or ArcGIS Server. WMS services published in other ways may have different URL structures.

  3. Once you have entered the connection information for the server, as described above, click Add Server.

How to add a layer to the map

After adding at least one GIS server, you can start adding layers to the map.

  1. In the Available Services box, click the GIS server that contains the service you want to add.
  2. Click the service to highlight it. Optionally, you can click Preview Map Service to see an image of the service.
  3. Click Add.
  4. Optionally, use the up and down arrow buttons to move the layer to its desired place in the current contents box. A layer first in the list displays on top of layers lower in the list.

How to preview layers and set transparency

You can use the Preview Layers tab to change the name, transparency, or position of a layer. You can also use this tab to select which layer's coordinate system and extent will be applied to the map. You must click Apply for any of the modifications you make with the Preview Layers tab to take effect.

Changing the name, transparency, or position of a layer

  1. Click the Preview Layers tab, if it is not already active.
  2. Click the layer you want to change. You can:
    • Type a new name for the layer
    • Set a transparency percentage for the layer
    • Use the arrow buttons to change the layer order in the table of contents
  3. After making the changes, click Apply. A preview image shows how the map will look within your application.

By default, the backgrounds of all but the bottom layer are made transparent. If you want to change the default way background transparency works for a layer, you can use the MapResourceManager control in Visual Studio.

Choosing the coordinate system and extent

The Preview Layers tab gives you a choice of which layer will provide the coordinate system and initial extent for the map. You choose this layer from a dropdown list of all of the services you have added to your map. Suppose you have one layer that covers the entire world and another that covers a single country. If you want your map to just show the country when it initially opens, you can choose to use the coordinate system and extent of the country layer.

If your map includes two or more layers that are in different projections, the layers will be re-projected on the fly to match the coordinate system of the layer you choose here.

If one of your map layers is cached, you must choose to use the coordinate system and extent of the cached layer if you want the map to take advantage of the cache. If there is a cached layer in your map and you choose "(default)" for this property, the map will use the coordinate system and extent of the cached layer.

When you've finished adding layers

When you're done selecting layers and are ready to configure tasks for your application, click Next to move on to the next portion of the wizard. Or, if you're satisfied with how your map looks and you want to accept the defaults for the rest of the application settings, you can click Finish.

Next topic: Configuring tasks