best practices for designing effective map services: case studies

Technical Workshops |

Esri International User ConferenceSan Diego, California

Best Practices for Designing Effective Map Services: Case Studies

Charlie Frye, Esri, Redlands

Richard Nauman, Esri, Redlands

Michael Dangermond, Esri, Redlands

Deniz Karagulle, Esri, Redlands

July 26, 2012

• Essential Vocabulary

• Finding and going with the grain of the ArcGIS system

• To Make a useful map service ready to use in a web map:- Prepare data

- Create the MXD

- Documentation for Layers and Map

- Publish the map service

- ArcGIS Online (AGO) Items for the service

- Configure and save the pop-up and title

Session OverviewOur goal is to show how to make map services that are easy to use and re-use

Keys to understanding the role of map services within the ArcGIS System

Demo: our goals for re-use of

content

• Map Document or .MXD: no change

• Map Service: aka “Layers” in the online part of the ArcGIS system- Service Definition

- Feature Service

- Image Service

- Map Service (Cached )

• Item: AGO content description- Map Service Item

- Web Map & Item

- Web Map App & Item

VocabularyIt’s new… well some of it is…

Demo: types of content

Go with the grain of ArcGIS to publish online content

The majority of ArcGIS users can make a map service, even if they’ve never used ArcGIS Desktop

ComplexEasy

High

Effort/Expertise

Low

Re-UseLeverage/Ability

MapService Items

MapService Items

Web MapsWeb Maps

Web Mapwith HTML template

Web Mapwith HTML template

CustomAPI-Base

APPS

CustomAPI-Base

APPS

DesktopAuthoringDesktop

Authoring

Data PreparationYour organization’s reputation depends on what you do behind the scenes

- Field Aliases in the database

- Complete data, no <null> or ‘’ or “ “s

- Remove excess or legacy fields

- Pre-format text for labels and pop-ups

Geodatabase Performance TipsDon’t come up empty

Demo: Geodatabase

Properties

• Pop-ups should work for every feature

• Null values and missing data break this experience

• For example:

Dealing with incomplete dataFrom <null> to -99 and everything in between

- Avoid Complex multi-part shapes

- Create indexes for fields used in queries, symbology, and labeling (as a last step)

- Test spatial indexes

- Make generalized editions of the data for use at smaller map scales

Spatial Performance TipsThe web is an impatient culture

Reusability starts with getting the details right in the database

• Schema changes break services- Delete the service…

- but not before you copy the pop-up code to Notepad.

• Schema changes for your database include:• New or removed fields

• Changes to Aliases

• Save As, if you want to experiment with an MXD that is being served

• Schema changes for your map include:- Changes to symbology and legend

- New or removed layers

- Layer order

Practical and NecessaryYour GDB and your MXD are schema for your map services

Once a service is created, changing the “schema” means you need to recreate the service

• Table of Contents- Organize by theme, not scale

- Use only HTTP compliant characters in layer names and legend class names

- Make everything reader-friendly

• Data Frame Properties: Extent Used by Full Extent

• Coordinate System- Avoid Projection on the fly if caching

- Do not project on the fly if using feature services

Create the MXD

Learn which of the properties of your MXD automatically become part of your Map Service Item

Demo: Data Frame

Properties

• Map Properties - (fill them all out)

- Create a thumbnail image

- Use relative paths

• Layer Properties: Descriptions and Credits

Document the Map and LayersThe documentation in your MXD is re-used in several places

ArcGIS Online (AGO) Items for the service

• The “homepage” for your map service- Make it nice and approachable

- Title, summary, tags, credits and thumbnail need to look good as they will appear in search results

• For map services document the following as the last paragraph:- The purpose of the service

- The lineage of the content

- Credit for contributors

Demo: Gallery of Homepages

• Comparison (Advantages Disadvantages)

Publish the Map Service (Cached vs. Feature Services)

Cached

• Usually the fastest performance

• Up front time cost to cache

• No limit to the greatness of your cartography

• Annotation is possible.

• Any supported desktop symbology is possible.

• At 10.1 multilayer caches are possible.

Feature

• Fastest to publish

• Easier to maintain

• Basis for editable data via a web map

• Basis for users being able to change symbology

• Detailed vector features can be slow.

More Considerations for Services

• Multiscale: May require generalization to make data draw fast or best at multiple scales

• We (GIS People) tend to overestimate the idea that others want to turn layers on and off. They don’t. Make the right map for them and don’t make them work.- Your CFO is not your customer

- Answer your customer’s needs based on them telling you what they need

Demo: Pop-ups possibilities and

to do useful & popular options

Demo: putting all of this into

practices

Wrap up

• Plan and design for reuse and ease of production and management

• Everything presented to users needs to be well formatted

• GIS is the means, not the ends.

Thank you

• Session Survey: - URL: Esri.com/ucsessionsurveys

- Offering ID: 953

• Questions