Vector tile layers reference a set of cached vectors and the information for rendering the vectors. Data in vector tile layers is stored in individual layers containing geometry, attributes, and styles. Styling information is stored separately from the tile geometry and attributes, and more than one style can be defined. This means that one set of vector tiles can be styled numerous ways without having to generate a new cache for each style. This saves space and speeds up the process of creating map styles. Accessing vectors as separate tile layers also improves performance.
Use one of the following methods to publish a vector tile layer to ArcGIS Enterprise:
- Build a vector tile package in ArcGIS Pro, add the package to the portal, and publish a vector tile layer from the package.
- Publish a vector tile layer from ArcGIS Pro to your organization.
When you publish from a vector tile package, a vector tile package file is added as an item in your content. If you publish from ArcGIS Pro and do not include an associated feature layer, a vector tile package file is also added as an item in your content. Once you confirm that the vector tile layer functions, you can delete the vector tile package from the portal to save space but only if you are certain you no longer need the vector tile package.
Build and publish a vector tile package
You can use ArcGIS Pro 1.2 or later to build vector tiles for a map and store them in an easily transferrable vector tile package (.vtpk) file. You can share a vector tile package from ArcGIS Pro to your organization and publish the uploaded vector tile package as a tile layer.
For information about creating vector tiles and a vector tile package, see the following pages in the ArcGIS Pro help:
How you add the package to your organization and publish it as a vector tile layer depends on the size of the vector tile package.
Vector tile package file size is 500 GB or greater
If your vector tile package file size is 500 GB or greater, you may encounter issues uploading the package in your browser. In this case, run the Share Package geoprocessing tool in ArcGIS Pro to add the vector tile package to your organization. After you run the Share Package tool, follow these steps to publish a vector tile layer:
- Sign in to your organization and open Content > My Content.
You must have privileges to publish hosted tile layers.
- Click your tile package to display its item details page and click Publish.
- Type a title.
- If your organization administrator configured content categories, click Assign Category and select up to 20 categories to help people find your item. You can also type in the Filter categories box to narrow the list of categories.
- Type tags and click Publish.
The vector tiles are unpacked, and a hosted tile layer is created. You can see the tile layer in My Content and add it to Map Viewer, Map Viewer Classic, or Scene Viewer.
Vector tile package is smaller than 500 GB
If your vector tile package file size is less than 500 GB, you can add it as an item to your organization and publish it at the same time.
- Sign in to your organization and open Content > My Content.
You must have privileges to create content and publish hosted tile layers.
- Click New item > Your device.
- Browse to the location of the vector tile package file (.vtpk).
- Choose Add vector tile package and create a hosted feature tile layer.
- Type a title and tags to be applied to the package and the hosted layer.
- If your organization administrator has configured content categories, click Assign categories and select up to 20 categories to help people find your item. You can also start typing a category name to narrow the list of categories.
- Click Save.
The vector tiles are unpacked, and a hosted tile layer is created. You can see the tile layer in My Content and add it to Map Viewer, Map Viewer Classic, or Scene Viewer.
Define a map in ArcGIS Pro and publish it as a vector tile layer
See the following pages in the ArcGIS Pro help for instructions to create a vector tile and publish it: