topic Re: No longer able to use externalRenderers with 2D MapView in ArcGIS JavaScript Maps SDK Questions

No longer able to use externalRenderers with 2D MapView

ToddRunstein — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:17:17 GMT

In 4.29 "externalRenderers" was deprecated, and in 4.32 it was removed altogether. The replacement is RenderNode, with only works with the 3D SceneView. This affects integrations, specifically DeckGL.

We host many GeoJSON layers, and because the GeoJSONLayer "will only accept one geometry type", we have to use an alternative. We use deck.gl for it's GeoJsonLayers, as well as for some user interactivity features. Converting all of our apps from 2D to 3D isn't feasible, not only because of the work required, but mostly from a usability standpoint. So, what options are available? And does anyone know why support for 2D was removed?

Any ideas, information, suggestions or shared-stories-of-woe are welcomed and appreciated!

Re: No longer able to use externalRenderers with 2D MapView

Noah-Sager — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:16:39 GMT

Hi @ToddRunstein, thanks for posting your question/story here. I haven't worked much with "externalRenderers", but in looking at the past doc, it looks like this functionality was only for 3D SceneViews. So I'm not sure how you were using these in 2D, or what your question is (perhaps you are just looking for anything to render your data?). Can you share a bit more about your use case and question?

Re: No longer able to use externalRenderers with 2D MapView

ToddRunstein — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 18:53:04 GMT

Hey @noah, thanks for looking into this. Trying to write a response put me into a rubber ducking session which made me realize I misspoke and made some bad assumptions. In the deck.gl/arcgis module, I've replaced externalRenderers with RenderNode. However, I'm testing with "DeckLayer", which means I'm actually using "BaseLayerViewGL2D". In either case, I've rebuilt the module and am using it in my app. Everything builds, but trying to load the MapView, I get multiple "WebGL: INVALID_OPERATION: drawBuffers: COLOR_ATTACHMENTi_EXT or NONE" warnings and a blank map.

I don't have much experience with deckgl or webgl, and (perhaps prematurely) assumed it was something that had changed on the ArcGIS side but now I'm not so sure. I'm hoping to have some time next week to dig into this more. Thanks again for prompting me to dig deeper!