How many layers can a map in ESRI support

[AlbertPaulraj]

Hi,

This is Albert Paulraj. I am new to this forum and ESRI. I have been googling the question and the answers haven't been convincing.

Hence I decided to reach out to experts. I have very limited knowledge on layers and my question may come out silly.

Let's say I have a base map. Now I want to enhance this map by adding different data sets (layers). Example I have a city map. I want to add weather data set (layer 1), topography data set (layer 2), population density data set (layer 3), etc.

How many layers can I add to a map in ESRI ArcGIS. Is it 10, 100 or unlimited? Though I want to add say 100, when I visualize the data I may decide to focus on anywhere from 4-6 layers, but I do not want all the layers to be loaded in one map so that I can analyze any combination of layers as I decide to.

Thanks for your assistance. Also, if you could please point to a  ESRI document that describes the limits on layers that will be very helpful.

Thanks,

Albert

[DarrenWiens2]

I can't answer your question with a number, but because layers themselves are little more than shells pointing to data with notes about things like symbology, the number should be virtually unlimited. With that said, if you find yourself using a map with hundreds or thousands of layers, you may find that the shear volume of data makes the map unusable. Also, you will regret having a "map of everything" when your mxd corrupts. My advice is to only include the layers you need.

If you're really keen, I could set you up with a script that would attempt to add a million copies of a layer to test it out.

[AlbertPaulraj]

Thanks Darren. Answer is helpful and makes sense. We are planning to implement ESRI in our environment. We are replacing Microsoft MapPoint as Microsoft has discontinued support. The users challenge with MapPoint is it fails to respond and freezes when they try to analyze more than 3 or 4 layers in a single map. We are considering ESRI as a replacement for MapPoint and want to make sure that ESRI does not freeze when you load 3-4 layers simultaneously. They are envisioning at least 10-20 layers for analysis. The map will be loaded with 10-20 layers and different users will utilize the same map and turn on or off the layers as they need for their analysis. In your experience have you encountered this scenario and if so could you please throw some light on ESRI performance. We will be hosting ESRI server in house.

Thanks,

Albert

[OwenEarley]

Not sure of the hard limits but I have seen a map document used by a large local government with over 500 layers in it. This was used to publish a map service. Not ideal in my opinion for a range of reasons but it worked for them.

The main issue that you will face as you add more map layers is the rendering time (if they are turned on).

Also as you add more layers it becomes increasingly difficult to create unique symbology to define features and there is also a limit on how much information a user can process in their head at once

[AlbertPaulraj]

Thanks Owen. Real case scenario (500 layers for Government project) is very helpful and gives a perspective on capabilities of ESRI. You are correct on limitations of the information a user can process in the head. Rendering time is a noteworthy point.

Thank you,

Albert