topic WMS to feature class or shapefile in ArcGIS Pro Questions

WMS to feature class or shapefile

GIS_User_1996 — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:57:08 GMT

Hi everyone

Is there any way to convert a WMS to a feature class or shapefile so I can edit the data? I know WFS, but the date I received is in a WMS format and I should be able to convert them.

Thanks a lot for every hint or solution.

Cheers, Delia

Re: WMS to feature class or shapefile

RTPL_AU — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:18:44 GMT

Short answer is no.
Longer answer - A WMS is typically served as rendered image tiles.
I assume you were given a URL to the service?
This means that you can technically 'gather' the tiles you need, at the scale you need, and then convert the raster data to polygon data using various processes.
I have had to print map screens to georeferenced images and then digitise them manually to get the data in a format we could use; last resort option though when the WMS has a lot of weird hatches or fills that make automatic processes slower than just hunkering down and doing it by hand.

The best approach would be to request the actual data in a vector format fit for your purpose, or at least in something half decent.
Depending on your timeline, budget, etc it may require you to purchase the raw data, or lodge a FOI request if the data is from an public agency or similar.

Re: WMS to feature class or shapefile

GIS_User_1996 — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:35:15 GMT

Hi, thanks a lot for your answer.

Yes, there is a URL for the WMS-data. I think I will then request the vector data.