Map Service and Image Service as Basemaps

[mpboyle]

With the recent release of ArcGIS Online, I was excited to see you could place multiple layers within the base map.  As such, I was hoping to create hybrid web maps with feature labels (map service) overlaid on imagery (image service).

This seems to work fine if I'm using Chrome as my web browser (which is my default), but the feature labels map service does not show when using Internet Explorer (I'm using IE 11).

The web map I have published is here​, and shared to everyone.

Any ideas why it seems to work in Chrome, but not IE? ... is it because of the 2 different types of services? ... something else?

[ChrisWhitmore]

It looks like the export map request against the label map service is failing (seemed to happen for me in all browsers). Typically, requests to the service would be made as requests for the tiles themselves (like if you added on top of the world topo). But because the service was added on top of a non-tiled image service, any map services on top of the non-tiled will be requested with export map instead of tiles.

thanks ,

Chris

[mpboyle]

A couple follow up questions then...

1) If I moved the feature label map service out of the base map group, would that 'fix' the problem?

2) In general, can image services be used as a base map?

[ChrisWhitmore]

1) If I moved the feature label map service out of the base map group, would that 'fix' the problem?

No, the issue would still persist - as long as the image service is the base layer, the label service would be requested with export map

2) In general, can image services be used as a base map?

yup, absolutely. No known issues with using image services as basemaps. What you could do is add the Esri World Imagery layer as the base layer in the basemap layer group. Then add your image service, and then finally your label service. The label service would then be requested as tiles (the base layer is the tiled world imagery with the same spatial reference / tiling scheme as the label service, so the label service is requested as tiles as well). Not sure if this gets you where you want, but is an option. Here's an example using the layers in your basemap: http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=361a29b1b5104e3098a692441d6681b7

[mpboyle]

Thanks Chris!

I actually kind of like this idea because it will give us surrounding area imagery without having to create a map / tile cache of our own imagery.

So, is the issue the base layer (bottom layer within the base map group)?  Does that control how the other layers are requested?

I appreciate the insight!

[ChrisWhitmore]

Nice! good to hear. Using the world imagery as a base layer has been a common approach, for the reason you mention.

And yes - the base layer sets the spatial reference and tiling scheme for the map, dictating how other layers in the map are requested. With the new multilayer basemap authoring, it can be a little muddy - it's now the base basemap layer (basically the first basemap layer listed). In most cases, not much tangible impact - feature services, map services with export map, and most other layers are requested with the appropriate projection. But when it's multiple tiled layers that don't support export map, they all must match up.