Changing Layer display with local data

[MichaelErlich]

When using an mpk file locally, is there anyway to change the following display characteristics without editing directly in arcMap:
+show/hide a layer (will each layer need to be in its own mpk?)
+specify zoom level for a layer to be displayed
+change the line type, forecolor, backcolor, text color of a layer

[MichaelErlich]

More to add...  Tried adding layers independently as a FeatureLayer from the map pack instead of the dynamicmapservicelayer.  As you can see from the attached image (comparison from arc runtime

and ArcMap

, that didn't work very good.  The streets layer only show 2% of the streets.  The point layer (the dark blue dots on the left) don't show at all as if it ran out of memory processing.  The map data used was the region for one of our smallest customers; hence the concern.  Is the featurelayer not designed for this usage, is it a bug, or is it being misused?  The xaml is the same as presented in the local data feature layer demo, using our own data.

[MichaelBranscomb]

Hi,

ArcMap (within ArcGIS for Desktop 10.1 Beta 1) is the authoring environment for your Map Packages. ArcMap allows you to specify all the properties you're looking for (scale thresholds, visibility, symbology).

Once you're happy with your Map, which might obviously contian several layers of data, you then use the UI within ArcMap (File > Share As) or the packaging GP tools to create a Map Package with ArcGIS Runtime support. That Map Package can then be added to the map control as a LocalArcGISDynamicMapServiceLayer (based on a LocalMapService).   

The reason you only saw 2% of the street features is that there's a default limit of 1000 on the number of features returned but you can override this with the MaxRecords property. The feature layer is also not intended for the display of significant numbers of features. In fact - a layer such as streets sounds like a background mapping layer, or base map, and would likely be much better implemented as a Tile Package (TPK). This is a lot like an online tiled service but in a single, portable package file. For more information on these I definitely recommend checking out the conceptual doc: http://resourcesbeta.arcgis.com/en/help/runtime-wpf/help/#/About_tile_packages/01700000004w000000/.

Hope all this helps, and if anything in the documentation isn't clear or needs more explanation then please let us know - we're looking for feedback on the entire SDK (API, API reference, conceptual doc, samples, project templates) as well as the runtime itself.


Cheers

Mike

[JamesMcElroy]

Hi Mike,

I'm also looking at this issue.  The MaxRecords property doesn't appear to apply to the esri:LocalFeatureLayer xaml.  Do you have to do anything in the code-behind to override this property?  Currently I only have the licensing code in my code-behind and the xaml is just:

        <esri:Map Grid.Row="1" Name="map">
                <esri:LocalFeatureLayer ID="LocalFeatureLayer" Path="Mypath.mpk" LayerName="stuff" OutFields="*" Renderer="{StaticResource stuffRenderer}"></esri:LocalFeatureLayer>
       </esri:Map>

So where do you override the MaxRecords?

Thanks,

James

[MichaelBranscomb]

Hi,

The MaxRecords property is on the LocalFeatureService class so you'll need to create/manage that in code. The following below is approximately what you would write. Currently you always need to set the Path property on a LocalFeatureLayer (or LocalArcGISDynamicMapServiceLayer). We are actually just reviewing this part of the API so now's an ideal time to provide feedback on the process of creating/managing local feature services and their relationship to local feature layers.

            string mpkPath =@"Maps_and_Data\OperationalLayers.mpk";
            LocalFeatureService localFeatureService = new LocalFeatureService()
            {
                Path=mpkPath,
                MaxRecords=100000
            };
            localFeatureService.StartAsync(lfs =>
            {
                LocalFeatureLayer localFeatureLayer = new LocalFeatureLayer(mpkPath, 0);
                MapControl.Layers.Add(localFeatureLayer);
            });  

Cheers

Mike

[JamesMcElroy]

Gotcha, so this would be in addition to the
<esri:LocalFeatureLayer ID="LocalFeatureLayer" Path="Mypath.mpk" LayerName="stuff" OutFields="*" Renderer="{StaticResource stuffRenderer}"></esri:LocalFeatureLayer>
line in the xaml then.

Thanks,

James

Edit:  I just tried it and it worked.  I see what you mean about the performance issue with larger amounts of records.

[MichaelBranscomb]

Hi,

Glad you got it working. Regarding performance, what type of data are you trying to display in the feature layer? (geometry type, number of features, intended purpose).

The FeatureLayer/LocalFeatureLayer isn't intended for the display of large numbers of map features - these should either be within a Tile Package (or server tiled map service) if they are relatively static or if more dynamic in nature and are to allow user interaction then they should be within a Map Package (or server dynamic map service).

There are some ways you can optimize the performance of feature layers:

If you're working with polylines/polygons you can use the MaxAllowableOffset property on FeatureLayer/LocalFeatureLayer to have some generalization applied to the feature geometries before they are returned to the client: 
http://blogs.esri.com/Dev/blogs/arcgisserver/archive/2011/06/13/Feature-layers-can-generalize-geomet....

If you're hoping to use a PictureMarkerSymbol to render points then you should look at using an ImageBrush (http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/37033).


Cheers

Mike

Cheers

Mike

[JamesMcElroy]

Same thing the Mike who started the thread was, city road network with subdivision borders, etc...  Just in general with the map pack, it seems like the DynamicLayer works better than a FeatureLayer which works better than a FeatureLayer with the MaxRecords increased.  Painting in general and refreshing after zoom gets slower as you progress along that line of implementation types.

I'm working on making the Tiled set now, but since it's taking hours I'm continuing to play around with the map pack until it's done.

Not using a PictureSymbol right now, but will definitely keep the ImageBrush implemention in mind when I look to use it.  And since the Generalization stuff is new to me, I'll read up on that first before I try to mess with the maxAllowableOffset stuff.

Thanks,

James

[MichaelBranscomb]

Hey,

Great - sounds like you're on the right track re Tile Package / Map Package / Feature Layer. The thing to bear in mind is that tile packages are pre-rendered (hence they take time to create) so the performance is incredibly fast. Map Packages are rendered dynamically but we're using the ArcGIS optimized drawing engine first seen in ArcGIS Server so it's still nice and fast and lastly feature layers are rendered client-side using an in memory graphics layer so you get great client-side control over how they display and over user interaction with the features/graphics but they can't perform as quickly as the tile package and the dynamic map layer with the same volumes of data.

Cheers

Mike

[MichaelErlich]

So, it sounds like the FeatureLayer is not the best choice here.  Is there a way to change the drawing attributes with the dynamic service layer without having to use ArcMap/ArcEngine?