topic Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please in ArcGIS API for Flex Questions

Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

IanHamilton — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:06:43 GMT

I have been trolling the web for a definitive answer to this problem. I have had like many other starting to use Flexviewer run into the rediculous problem of it not doing what I assume many people want it to do. i.e add you own tiled base map map service to the viewer. Like others I have been unable to do this. I have managed to get a dynamic service to overlay Queensland Australia but no amount of trying the many partial solutions I have found on the forum and web in general have worked. I have ebven meed anlt to get a dynamic service in as the only layer but it does not zoom pan etc. The grey screen of death appears without fail.

Is it the proxy or isn't it?
Do I really have to recompile the viewer to get it to work?
What proxy files could I set up to get it to work?
Where are the instructions to do this?

Please, there is someone out there who knows how to fix this, please let the rest of in on the secret.
The power of Flexviewer is that you supposedly don't have to be a guru to get tit to work.
But even mortals need the instruction book.

Using the latest flex on XP and IIS

Thanks

Ian

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:04:21 GMT

Ian,

I will attempt to cover the basics and pitfalls of adding map services to the viewer.

Working with tiled (cached) map services, there are many things to consider.

1. All tiled map services have to be in the same projection (WKID) to function together.
2. All Tiled map services have to have the same EXACT cached LODs (Levels of display)

so if you are using one of esri's basemaps that is in WKID 4326 like http://services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/ESRI_Imagery_World_2D/MapServer and you want to use a cached map service of your our with it, than it has to be in the same WKID (4326 aka: GCS_WGS_1984) and have the same tiled schema (LODs)

The reason that they have to have the same WKID is that ArcGIS Server serves up tiles of the map image already produced at a certain scale and thus will not attempt to re-project the image to meet the maps WKID. A Dynamic map service on the other hand, the image is produced on demand and the data is re-projected to the maps WKID and then the image is produced for the requested extent and return to the client.

The LODs having to be identical is due to the fact that once the first map service is added to the map, it sets the available LODs (levels of display) and if a request is made for a scale that is not in the LOD array then the map will use the closest match to that scale requested and show those tiles. What that means is if your map is cached at different LODs and it is not the first map service added to the map than it will never get displayed because it does not contain any tiles in the requested LOD.

So on to the basics of adding a map service to your Flexviewer 2.0 site. Map services are added by add a mapservice element to the config.xml file that you are currently using for your site. You can have multiple config.xml files as demonstrated in the Flexviewer (i.e. config-all.xml, config.xml, config-classic, etc). The structure of the mapservice element is simple.

label: the name that you want to give the mapservice. This appears in the TOC and is used a the layers ID when calling the layer in actionscript.

type: This is where you specify the map service type (i.e. tiled, dynamic, feature, bing, image). If you do not specify one of these types or misspell one of them that you will be alerted with a message when you run your app.

alpha: 1 being completely visible or opaque, .5 being 50% transparent, etc.

url: This is the fully qualified url of the map service and will end with things like MapServer, FeatureServer.

visible: pretty self explanatory.

autoRefresh: interval at which the mapservice should be refreshed. Value expressed in seconds as this number is multiplied by 1000 for milliseconds.

group: for the classic controller only. This specifies which menu the mapservice will appear in if it is a basemap.

useamf: currently only used for type="feature" to specify if actionscript message format will be used to fast server client communication.

token: For secure services

mode: For type="feature" values are:
    MODE_ON_DEMAND - features are fetched from the server as they are needed.
    MODE_SNAPSHOT - features are fetched from the server based on DefinitionExpression and/or TimeDefinition. When either definition change, the layer updates itself by querying features back from the server. Once the features are fetched to the client, their "visibility" on the map is based on the time and spatial extents of the map. So for example, for a time animation, you can request all features from server, then adjust time extent on Map to only show some of them.

    MODE_SELECTION - only selected features are available on the client side. Usually used in combination with an underlying map service showing the features that can be selected.

icon: For the classic controller only. The icon that will be used in the menu for this basemaplayer.

visiblelayers: A comma delimited list of layer id number that will be visible for this layer (i.e. 0,3,5).

style: Currently only applies to Bing maps. Values are "road", "aerial" or "aerialWithLabels".

key: Currently only applies to Bing maps. See http://www.bingmapsportal.com

culture: Currently only applies to Bing maps. Consult Microsoft documentation about the culture property, including a list of supported cultures.

Hope this clears some things up for you.

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

HaroldBostic — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 23:40:20 GMT

Robert

Where did you get the attribute definitions from? The developer's guide? Or from the online docs. I'm trying to see how far I can get before customizing, but documentation leaves much to be desired. If I have never worked with the fv 1.3 then this process would be much more difficult.

Like I want to know if there is an WMS base map type or how to switch between config files. Please point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:36:56 GMT

Harold,

In the current Beta there is no WMS map service support. To change config files there is two different ways, the quick and easy way and the url way.

The quick and easy way is in the ViewerContainer.mxml change line 50 DEFAULT_WIDGET_CONTAINER_WIDGET:String = "x";

As far as where I found the attributes I followed the code and used Flex's autocomplete to determine property values.

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

HaroldBostic — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:25:38 GMT

As always, thanks for the respone, does the url way involve reading in a query string, if it is anything more complicated than that, I'll start another thread.

Thanks

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:01:10 GMT

Harold,

I forgot to explain the url method.

for your development machine:

1. Open the FlexViewers Project properties (right click FlexViewer in the package explorer window and choose properties).

2. Switch to the Rub/Debug Settings page

3. Select the launch configuration in the window (mine is index (2)) and click the edit button

4. Down in the url or path to launch uncheck Use default and add your config parameter there.

5. Apply/Ok that dialog and you are good to go

In your deployment machine you just add this to your url though the hyperlink to get to your site

?config=config.xml

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

IanHamilton — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 05:52:50 GMT

Thanks very much Robert, as you say several variables and it seems they all have to be correct.

In my case it started working all of a sudden so I must have stumbled on the solution.

Very nice instructions which I'll have on my wall from now on.

Ian

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

StephenLead — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:23:45 GMT

Robert,

Thanks very much for posting those instructions.

Steve

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

jameshawks — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:54:50 GMT

Thanks Robert! I'm a little disappointed in the esri instructions which currently just say 'add your data in'. That's a little vague.

So question about the confix xml files. Which ones need to get the url to my service? Just config.xml or also config-all.xml, config.xml, config-classic, etc ?

Jim Hawks
NOAA
Office of Coast Survey

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:10:57 GMT

Jim,

By default the config.xml is the one that is used so you would want to modify that one or you could change the default by modifying the VeiwerContainer.mxml DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE on line 49

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

jameshawks — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:22:45 GMT

Okay I guessed config.xml and did that, can't see our data. Various questions:

So may type by default is dynamic correct? A tiled service would only be if you tiled all the layers in arccatalog before publishing the msd?

Also our Spatial Reference is :4326 (WGS 84) but really that's the only service I want to show to start.

Also here is the config.xml line:

<mapservice label="ENCDirect" type="feature" visible="true" alpha="1"
url="http://ocs-s-appd1:8399/arcgis/rest/services/AH_flex_tester/MapServer"/>

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:30:40 GMT

James,

Change the type="feature" to type="dynamic" and make sure you have a crossdomain.xml file in the root of your ArcGISServer.

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

jameshawks — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:48:16 GMT

Hmm still can't see our data. Here is my config.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>

<configuration>
    <httpproxy enabled="false">proxy.php</httpproxy>
    <title>NOAA's ENCDirect to GIS</title>
    <subtitle></subtitle>
    <logo>assets/images/noaa.png</logo>
    <stylesheet>lighterside.swf</stylesheet>

    
    <widget right="20" top="55"    config="widgets/MapSwitcher/MapSwitcherWidget.xml" url="widgets/MapSwitcher/MapSwitcherWidget.swf"/>
    <widget left="0"   top="0"     config="widgets/HeaderController/HeaderController.xml" url="widgets/HeaderController/HeaderControllerWidget.swf"/>
    <widget right="1" bottom="1" config="widgets/OverviewMap/OverviewMapWidget.xml" url="widgets/OverviewMap/OverviewMapWidget.swf"/>

    <map initialextent="-15083000 3139000 -4779000 4558000">
        <basemaps>
            <mapservice label="Streets" type="tiled" visible="true" alpha="1"
                        url="http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Street_Map/MapServer"/>
           <mapservice label="Aerial" type="tiled" visible="false" alpha="1"
                        url="http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer"/>
           <mapservice label="Topo"    type="tiled" visible="false" alpha="1"
                        url="http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Topo_Map/MapServer"/>

      <mapservice label="ENCDirect"    type="dynamic" visible="true" alpha="1"
                        url="http://ocs-s-appd1:8399/arcgis/rest/services/AH_flex_tester/MapServer"/>

</basemaps>
        <operationallayers>
            <layer label="Boundaries and Places" type="tiled" visible="false"
                   url="http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Reference/World_Boundaries_and_Places_Alternate/MapServer"/>
            <layer label="Fires" type="feature" visible="false" alpha="1"
                   info="widgets/InfoTemplates/SimpleInfoWinWidget.swf"
                   infoconfig="widgets/InfoTemplates/IWT_Fires.xml"
                   url="http://sampleserver3.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Fire/Sheep/FeatureServer/0"/>
        </operationallayers>
    </map>

    
    
    <widgetcontainer layout="float">
        
        
        
        
        
        
        

        


</widgetcontainer>

</configuration>

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:16:20 GMT

James,

You are mixing web-mercator basemap services from esri and your that is WGS-84 too different projections that is why you can not see yours. You either need to use esri wgs-84 map services like http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/ESRI_StreetMap_World_2D/MapServer instead.

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

jameshawks — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:53:29 GMT

Got it! It was a combination of bad config.xml syntax and not having crossdomain.xml in the proper path. Thanks for the help! On to the giant TOC.

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

StaceMaples — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:27:43 GMT

OK, so now that ArcGIS 10 implements the Web Mercator (Auc Sphere) with a WKID of 3857, rather than the WKID of 102100, which is what the Basemap services in the default FlexViewer app use, how the F@#$ are we supposed to create tilecaches with the same G!@@#$%* WKID as the Basemaps?

You'll have to excuse my lack of surprise at this whole confluence of crappy documentation, implementation changes at every version, and ESRIUC Presentations that are just out-and-out dishonest, but I've been an ESRI user for nearly 20 years and this is nothing but the same old thing. I've said for years that anyone at an ESRIUC that utters the words "Out-of-the-box functionality" should be punched in the face, and this just puts the cherry on top of that cake.

I've been trying all day to figure out why this "New Exciting App that Doesn't require you to be a developer" won't accept my tilecached services and now that I've FINALLY found a GREAT post (kudos to Robert!) on the reason, I find that there doesn't seem to be a way to fix it! That's really awesome ESRI! Do you have a special lab there in Redlands dedicated to F!@#ing with people?

So, does anyone have any thoughts on how to create a tilecache service with a WKID of 102100, short of uninstalling ArcGIS 10 and reinstalling 9.3?

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

BjornSvensson — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:06:46 GMT

Stacey, as for the specific concern on using 102100 and 3857 tiled services together - this should work fine in the Flex Viewer (and other applications written with the Flex API).

3857 is the official ID, while 102100 is the ID that Esri started using before 3857 came into existence. Since it is the same projection, the viewer will treat them as equivalent. Thus it is possible to overlay "3857" tiled services on top of "102100" tiled services. I'll make sure we include that information in our documentation.

If this isn't working for you, does the Flex Viewer work for you if you set your map service as the base map?

Roberts response was in regards to mixing Web Mercator and WGS84, which is different from mixing Web Mercator and Web Mercator.

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

ChayaBalsiger — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:30:39 GMT

Hi,
I tried adding a map service to Flexviewer and I too could not get it to work. I know I must be missing a step somewhere but I am not sure where. Here is some of the code from the config.xml file:

<configuration>
    <title>ArcGIS Viewer for Flex</title>
    <subtitle>... using ArcGIS</subtitle>
    <logo>assets/images/transp.png</logo>
    <stylecolors>0xFFFFFF,0x333333,0x101010,0x000000,0xFFD700</stylecolors> 
    <stylealpha>0.8</stylealpha>

    
    <widget left="10" top="50"    config="widgets/Navigation/NavigationWidget.xml" url="widgets/Navigation/NavigationWidget.swf"/>
    <widget right="-2" bottom="-2" config="widgets/OverviewMap/OverviewMapWidget.xml" url="widgets/OverviewMap/OverviewMapWidget.swf"/>
    <widget right="20" top="55"    config="widgets/MapSwitcher/MapSwitcherWidget.xml" url="widgets/MapSwitcher/MapSwitcherWidget.swf"/>
    <widget left="0"   top="0"     config="widgets/HeaderController/HeaderControllerWidget.xml" url="widgets/HeaderController/HeaderControllerWidget.swf"/>
    <widget left="20" bottom="20" config="widgets/Coordinate/CoordinateWidget.xml" url="widgets/Coordinate/CoordinateWidget.swf"/>

    <map initialextent="-10786000 4272100 -10570000 4365100" top="40">

        <basemaps>
            <layer label="Streets" type="tiled" visible="true" alpha="1"
                        url="http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Street_Map/MapServer"/>
            <layer label="Aerial" type="tiled" visible="false" alpha="1"
                        url="http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer"/>
            <layer label="Topo"    type="tiled" visible="false" alpha="1"
                        url="http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Topo_Map/MapServer"/>

     <layer label="Tulsa" type="tiled" visible="true" alpha="1"
   url="http://map.incog.org/ArcGIS/rest/services/cotweb/MapServer"/>

Thanks,
Chaya

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:45:41 GMT

Chaya,

Your map service is not cached you can tell if a map service is cached or not by looking at the REST Services directory and you will see Single Fused Map Cache: true and then a listing of Tile Info:

So what you need to do is change the type to dynamic.

Re: Clear Instructions to add map services to Flexviewer 2.0 Please

ChayaBalsiger — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:14:49 GMT

Hi,
I changed it to "dynamic" and it shows a white background, but nothing else.

Thanks,
Chaya