topic Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile in ArcGIS Earth Questions

How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 22:08:13 GMT

Hi there

I would like to create a mobile scene package (SLPK) for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile. The mobile version of ArcGIS Earth can only load SLPKs with a geographic coordinate system (WGS 84). I would like to add a satellite image to my SLPK so I first need to convert it to a TPK or TPKX file before adding it to the SLPK. It needs to be in the same projection.

Creating a tile package in Web Mercator is easy as it is based on the ArcGIS Online/Bing Maps/Google Maps tiling scheme. However it is not so easy to generate the tiling scheme to use in creating a TPK/TPKX file for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile. I tried creating a few custom WGS 84 tiling schemes but they do not match that which is being used in ArcGIS Earth so they dont load. I get the below error message.

"The layer's tiling scheme can't be adjusted to align properly with the current spatial reference .."

Can you please provide me with instructions to generate/create an appropriate tiling scheme? Or can you provide me with the tiling scheme xml file? Or am I missing something ?

Thank you.

Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:25:18 GMT

Hey Mervyn,

Thanks for reaching out. We tested the workflow of creating tpkx in Web Mercator (Spatial Reference 3857) and get it to load in Earth desktop and mobile. The data seems to work as expected.

Do you mind sharing your data with us so we could have a better understanding and investigate deeper?

Thanks!

CiCi

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 14:06:57 GMT

Hi CiCi

I realise that tpk/tpkx files can be added as stand alone files to either desktop or mobile versions, but I would like to add a Scene Layer Package that contains a tpk/tpkx of my satellite image. The problem is in creating the SLPK file.

If I am correct, to add it to ArcGIS Earth, you can only do so from a global view and therefor the tpk/tpkx must be in WGS 84. The Create Mobile Scene Package tool cant run in a global view if the tpk/tpkx is in Web Mercator. That is why I need to create a tpk/tpkx file that in unprojected so that I can use it in the Create Mobile Scene Package tool. To do so, I need the appropriate tiling scheme.

I hope that helps explain the problem.

Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Sat, 18 Jul 2020 03:59:46 GMT

Hey Mervyn,

Thanks for providing more details on the workflow. These tiling schemes are located in the installation directory of ArcGIS Pro, in the <install location>\TilingSchemes folder. Mine is located C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Pro\Resources\TilingSchemes. In this folder, there's a list of appropriate tiling schemes as attached below. wgs84_512_tiling_scheme.xml should work. Hope this helps!

Thanks,

CiCi

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 19:59:46 GMT

Dear CiCi

Thank you, this was exactly what I was looking for although surprisingly it has not resolved my problem.

I have tested different tiling schemes and on two different computers but I always get the below error message when adding the SLPK to ArcGIS Earth.

I usually create my TPKs in ArcMap as Pro still has some issues creating TPK files. I create them using the Create Map Tile Package tool. Here I have tried various tiling schemes including wgs84_512_tiling_scheme.xml. I have also created them in Pro Beta 3.

I then add the TPK files to a global scene in ArcGIS Pro 2.6 Beta 3 and create the SLPK using the Create Mobile Scene Package tool.

When I try and add the SLPK to ArcGIS Earth, I get the error message about the tilling scheme cant be adjusted to align properly with the current Earth spatial reference.

Am I dong anything wrong? I cant figure it out. There is a possibility that this may be a bug in Beta 3 software but I have my doubts.

I would love to get this to work.

Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 23:07:00 GMT

Hey Mervyn,

Thanks for all the details. The workflow you provided seems fine, we followed the same steps to get the mspk on our end. To investigate this issue, could you please share with us your tpk file and slpk file? So our dev can look into the data and do more in-depth troubleshooting.

Thanks,

CiCi

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 07:45:04 GMT

Dear CiCi

Thank you for the feedback and willingness to further explore the reasons this is not working.

I have just created a tpk file using ArcMap10.7 and the wgs84_512_tiling_scheme.xml tiling scheme. I then used that tpk to create a slpk using ArcGIS Pro 2.6 beta 3, and the error still persists. I have added these files to a shared folder on Google Drive.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=173x5mx6-AuV0TdIYe72XY-FB43HxhAbX

Regards

Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 20:53:43 GMT

Thanks, Mervyn. We will look into the issue and keep you posted once we have updates.

Best,

CiCi

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 04:39:42 GMT

Hey Mervyn,

To clarify the issue, the need is to load Mobile Scene Package(MSPK) on Earth Mobile correct? If loading Mobile Scene Package(MSPK) on Earth Desktop, the Spatial Reference of Web Mercator and WGS 84 are both supported. However, Earth Mobile currently supports Web Mercator only.

Therefore, to fix the issue, we will need ArcGIS online tiling schemes (which is the default one) to build the TPK/TPKX. And add it as a scene in Pro, then create a MSPK with this input scene. The MSPK output could be loaded in both Earth desktop and Earth Moblie. We have tested the work, it works as expected.

Thanks.

CiCi

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 21:58:53 GMT

Dear Cici

Thank you for the feedback. I notice now that I had confused the issue a bit with mention of SLPKs when I was thinking of MSPK files. Sorry about that.

As I had previously received an error message when trying to add a Web Mercator tpk file to my Global Scene and then creating the MSPK, such as the below example. This error message made me believe that it was simply not possible to add a Web Mercator file to a Global Scene. However I did manage to eventually successfully create a MSPK with my satellite image as a TPK in Web Mercator.

This MSPK now loads in Earth Desktop however the Earth Mobile app crashes as soon as I add the MSPK file. I think the fault may lie with the elevation surface used in the MSPK. Although I have used a tif file as my elevation surface, with a known projection (and I have tried a few different projections), when I add the MSPK to Earth Desktop, I get an error that the file used as my elevation surface does not have a projection, when it does. See below error message. So in Earth Desktop, the scene loads but is flat with no elevation (when disconnected).

I can successfully load the MSPK in ArcGIS Pro and then I get no error messages and the MSPK layers are properly draped over the elevation surface. Perhaps this is an issue with ArcGIS Runtime and raster elevation sources? I will need to explore different formats for the elevation surface, unless you can offer some advice? I suspect I need an elevation tile cache.

Thank you so much for your help.

Best wishes

Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 22:56:27 GMT

Hey Mervyn,

Glad to know that MSPK could be loaded on your Earth mobile device eventually. Regarding your follow-up question about the elevation surface data, what exact projection are you using for this tif file?

Meanwhile, could you please try turn on the 3D effect as shown in the below screenshot and adjust the Elevation Exaggeration upon your needs and see if the behavior gets better?

Thanks,

CiCi

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 19:55:15 GMT

Hi CiCi

I have spent far too much time on this but at least now I can provide some positive feedback, also for the benefit of others.

When I last wrote to you, I could create a MSPK but Earth Mobile would crash as the elevation source used was in raster format (tiff in Web Mercator). In Earth Desktop the imagery would load but not the elevation surface. It could not get the values from the tiff file, but in ArcGIS Pro the MSPK could be successfully loaded. I suspect this is an ArcGIS Runtime limitation. But by including an elevation TPKX file (created using the Manage Tile Cache GP tool) in a Web Mercator projection, the MSPK files would successfully load in Earth Mobile and Earth Desktop.

But probably my biggest headache is a bug that is present in ArcGIS Pro 2.6 Beta 3 and ArcGIS Pro 2.5.1 (the two platforms I tested). It is only after you told me that the TPK/TPKX files must be Web Mercator and in a Global Scene that I persisted.

My just (1) creating a Global Scene; (2) adding the TPK in Web Mercator; (3) adding the elevation source as a TPK file (also in Web Mercator), I would always get an error message "ERROR 002768: Package blah blah .tpk spatial reference incompatible with Mobile Scene Package" (see below image).

However, I finally figured out that it was a bug and that I needed to convert my Global Scene to a Local Scene, change the projection to Web Mercator, then convert the Local Scene back to a Global Scene and then I could create a MSPK.

If the imagery and elevation TPK files were in Web Mercator too, then it would also successfully load into Earth Mobile and Earth Desktop.

Unfortunately the Beta program closed on Friday. I will try and tag the @ArcGIS Runtime and @ArcGIS Pro teams.

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

Andrew--Johnson — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 21:28:42 GMT

Hi Mervyn,

Sorry to hear the time and hassel it has been to author this mspk. That's definitely not a normal experience we want users to run into. We are constantly striving each release to make things smoother and we always welcome feedback. With that said, this is not a bug as a global scene can only be shared out in the Web Mercator coordinate system if there is a basemap (with layers in web mercator) in the scene. I tried to document that in multiple places but of course if there are places you found where you think we should add that info then please let me know!

Author a mobile scene package for ArcGIS Runtime SDK—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

Basemap and elevation layers in mobile scenes—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

5 steps to create a mobile scene package

regards,

Andrew

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 22:11:50 GMT

Hi Andrew

Thanks for the feedback. My own fault for not reading the help! We live and learn.

The links posted are pretty explicit and very useful. A MMPK does not have that dependency on a basemap so I never even thought of that.

I noticed from your blog that you mentioned: Note: ArcGIS Runtime apps on version 100.7 and above support raster layers as elevation sources. As ArcGIS Earth could not read my elevation raster in the MSPK, I gather it has an older version of ArcGIS Runtime?

Thanks,

Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

Andrew--Johnson — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 14:36:33 GMT

Hi Mervyn,

Earth Desktop/Mobile are on newer Runtime versions so that is not the problem here. I'll follow up with the Earth Team and post back here once I have some more information!

thanks,

Andrew

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 20:24:39 GMT

Hi Andrew

I have uploaded a small MSPK with a raster elevation source that does not load in Earth Desktop and causes Earth Mobile to crash. It can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n4mVEfrTm_vuQmZ0Ug6hE1BHfvo5tC7v

When adding it to Earth Desktop, I get the below error.

Note that you need to turn off internet before loading the MSPK in Earth Desktop otherwise it will use the internet to to load an elevation service.

Thanks,
Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 06:04:13 GMT

Hey Mervyn,

Thanks for sharing the data. We have confirmed that this is a known defect regarding the behavior of loading elevation surface in Earth desktop. This defect will be fixed on our next version, which is planned to release in September. We are testing with your mspk file on Earth Mobile and will keep you posted once we have update.

Thanks,

Cici

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

MervynLotter — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 06:16:33 GMT

Hi Cici

Excellent news and thank you for the feedback.

Take care

Mervyn

Re: How do I create a map tiling scheme for use in ArcGIS Earth Mobile

XiChen — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:07:58 GMT

Hey Mervyn,

Another update about loading MSPK in Earth Mobile. We have reproduced the same behavior and will try to fix the issue on our next Earth Mobile release 1.2, which would also be available in September.

Thanks for your feedback!

Cici