Raster Dataset or Mosaic Dataset, what do I use?

[DiegoLlamas]

Hello,

I am not familiarize with raster images or how the tools work yet and I have several aerial photos from different 10 different years from the same area, San Juan PR. I would like to create a file geodatabase and put all the photos there and then create an image service and an app where I select one area an i can download all the photos from different years of that area and download it. 

does anybody has any idea how i can accomplish this? what I have read is that I need to use a mosaic dataset, is that correct?

Thanks for your help!

Diego Llamas

[CodyBenkelman]

Diego

there are several issues to consider - it is difficult to advise you without more information.  If you can make some time to read through recommendations for data management in ArcGIS Imagery Workflows | Documentation it will help you decide how to proceed.  

Specifically I expect you will use the recommendations here 

Introduction—Managing Preprocessed Orthophotos_Overview | ArcGIS  

For a short answer, I would typically recommend you use a mosaic dataset to manage your data (before publishing an image service) and although the mosaic dataset is stored in a geodatabase, I do not recommend that your image files are loaded into a geodatabase.  the mosaic dataset can access them directly as files on disk.  

Cody B

[DiegoLlamas]

Hello Cody and Peter Becker‌,

I was thinking in create something like usgs has, that you can interact with the images and moved around and select your area.  once you click on the map, it shows what is available for download. 

EarthExplorer 

I would like to use the technologie because we already have Enterprise and image server, so I would like to do a beautiful interface with appbuilder and let people of Puerto Rico download the images we already have and let them use it.

So basically that is my idea but i need to understand how to manage my images. Thanks you for your feedback. i'm going to ready your recommendations. 

Regards,

Diego Llamas

[PeterBecker]

Simplest is to create mosaic datasets of that data that you have and published as image services that users can directly used. Then create an app based on WABIS discovery Tool. (See sample app),  that can be used to drive a download script. You could also extend it to include Export (Ie extracted enhanced section in define projection and pixel size) as shown in the EOExplorer.  The code for both exist in the GiHub/ImageryApps and WABIS

[DiegoLlamas]

Thank you. I will try this suggestion.

Regards,

DLL

[PeterBecker]

If you just want users to download ZIP files that contain a set of data and the required user experience is that users select what they want and then download file fro use in a desktop application, then you only need to load the zipped images into cloud storage and create a feature class with the appropriate attributes to enable search. Clicking on the dataset it enable downloaded. This is not a modern user experience.

If you create a mosaic dataset that references the images and then serve that, users gain a single service that enables them to directly added the imagery to applications and use the imagery without the need to download. This provides access to the imagery without the need to download. As image services uses can export (extract sections of imagery) to be stored locally if required. Download can also be enabled, but typically is not required.

If you have a collection of imagery from different dates you can create a mosaic dataset image service that contains all the image as one service.  This makes it easier to add image or make changes without changing applications. Alternatively you could serve each image as a separate dataset.