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ArcGIS Enterprise Offline Workflow for the Community Map of Canada

Now that you have read how to take the Community Map of Canada Offline with ArcGIS Online. It’s time to learn how to take our Community Map of Canada offline for ArcGIS Enterprise. This section will describe how to take the Vector Tile Package (VTPK) offline in a connected and disconnected environment with the New Map Viewer in Enterprise. 

ArcGIS Enterprise New Map Viewer

Since the update of the new Map Viewer, the steps to add the Community Map of Canada Vector Basemap have changed. If you are on a version of ArcGIS Enterprise that is still utilizing the “classic” version of the Map Viewer, please refer to this blog post for the steps.

Going Offline in ArcGIS Enterprise

New item window with the URL filled out with the GFX_NationalVectorTileServer layer. The type is ArcGIS Server web service, and the stored credentials radio button is selected on.

  • Use your ArcGIS Online credentials not your ArcGIS Portal’s credentials

New item window with options to enter in an ArcGIS Online username and password.

  • Type a title and tags to be applied to the package and the hosted layer
  • Open new Map Viewer and add the CMOC_Offline Vector Tile Package (VTPK)
    • Click ‘Add’ > Select the CMOC_Offline VTPK and click the + to add it to the Map Viewer
  • Within the Layers tab, select the three dots by the name and move the layer to the basemap
  • Select the basemap tab and remove the World Topo Map in the three dots
    • Do the same for the World Hillshade layer
  • Save your Web Map, provide tags and set the sharing level to the ‘Organization’ or ‘Public’ for your users to utilize
    • In the Web Map’s item description, select ‘Settings’ and ensure the ‘enable offline mode’ is toggled
  • You also have the option to Manage Map Areas to create small AOI packages for offline use

An offline window with enable offline mode toggled on.

Disconnected Enterprise Environment

Are you configuring ArcGIS Enterprise in an environment where internet access is prohibited by your organization? Follow these steps to implement the Vector Tile package into your disconnected environment.

These steps may be different depending on your Enterprise version, the same steps can be found here.

The CMOC_OfflineVTPK Overview page

  • Click the thumbnail to download the package
    • This package is very large and may take a while to download
  • Sign into your organization and click ‘Content’ > ‘My Content’
    • You must have privileges to create content and publish hosted tile layers.
  • Click ‘Add Item’ and click ‘From your computer’.
    • Browse to the location of the vector tile package file (.vtpk)
    • Leave ‘create a hosted tile layer’ checked

New item window with the prompt “How would you like to add this file?” Add CMOC_Offline vtpk and create a hosted tile layer is selected.

  • This process will take several minutes
  • Type a title and tags to be applied to the package and the hosted layer.
  • If your organization administrator has configured content categories, click ‘Assign Category’ and select up to 20 categories to help people find your item.
    • You can also type in the 'Filter' categories box to narrow the list of categories.
  • Click ‘Add Item’
  • The vector tiles are unpacked, and a hosted tile layer is created.
    • You can see the tile layer in ‘My Content’ and add it to ‘Map Viewer’ or ‘Scene Viewer.’

Applications with Offline Support

If the application you are interested in is not listed below, check that specific application’s documentation to determine whether it supports offline.

This post was translated to French and can be viewed here.

About the Author

Amanda De Medeiros is a Senior Support Enablement Consultant at Esri Canada. She provides support for enterprise customers and internal staff by identifying issues, troubleshooting software, developing workarounds and providing knowledge transfers. Amanda has a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from McMaster University and a GIS post-graduate degree from Niagara College. Her interest in geography developed from city building and strategy games.

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