I am trying to follow a workflow outlined in a previous thread - Collector with no basemap - specifically the post by Nicolas G on 4/2/2015. My goal is to create a blank basemap that will allow me to zoom to a higher level within Arc Collector but that is not a huge file in terms of size. I have been loading base imagery as tile packs at level 15 in ArcMap but that limits how far I can zoom in on my point and polygon features within Collector.
I believe it will be clearest if I just quote the previous post/workflow:
1. Publish a map service with a blank basemap. In the caching option, define the scales needed (until 1:20) if good zoom required, and specify "build cache manually after the service is published".
2. In the DataManagement toolbox/Tile Cache/Export Tile cache, specify the cache directory of the "cached" service (which is empty but contains some config files including the projection).
3. Copy the very light .tpk on your mobile platform.
4. Finally, download features with the tpk as basemap and you will be able to zoom in until the max zoom you defined in the map
Questions:
In general, I'm hoping to get some more detail for each of these steps because I have not been able to figure them out as is. This is likely just due to inexperience on my part.....but I'm learning.
How do I publish a blank map in Arc? File > Share as > Service is only available if I have a feature in the map. So, I added a shapefile to the map but did not create any features.
Where do I publish the map so it can be subsequently used in Arc's Export Tile Cache tool? I've published maps to Arc Online but cannot figure how to find those maps from within the tool, which allows you to select a file via a windows file browsers.
Are there any specific settings within the Export Tile Cache tool that I should be aware of to make this work?
Any details would be most appreciated. Being able to zoom freely on my points and polygons within Collector will make a huge difference in field data collection.
I understand that the new beta version of Collector allows this without any workarounds, but I'd rather not send my field crews out for weeks at a time with a beta version which will be hard for me to troubleshoot remotely.
Thanks!
