Hosted imagery layers can be used to manage, share, and analyze raster and imagery data in your organization. You can perform analysis using tools and raster functions with hosted imagery layers in Map Viewer or Map Viewer Classic. You can also manage large collections of imagery, and include imagery layers in hosted apps and maps.
Publish a hosted imagery layer in ArcGIS Enterprise using one of the following methods:
- Create imagery layers from local data or a data store using the Create imagery layers window that guides you through creating an imagery layer.
- Upload a compressed .zip file containing images to your portal and publish this image collection as a hosted imagery layer.
To create hosted imagery layers, you must have ArcGIS Image Server and privileges to publish hosted imagery layers and create content.
Additionally, you must configure raster analytics.
Note:
Hosted imagery layers are different from raster tile layers. Raster tile layers support visualization of imagery and raster data, but they do not support analysis. Hosted imagery layers allow access to the imagery or raster data, including the pixel or cell values across multiple bands, and multidimensional data.
Create an imagery layer
To create web maps with raster and imagery data, and to share this data with internal and external users, publish your data as hosted imagery layers.
You can publish data as one or multiple imagery layers, or you can mosaic several images as one imagery layer. You can also publish multiple images as an image collection, which allows you to query the resulting hosted imagery layer for the properties of individual images.
Data will be published as a dynamic imagery layer, or as static image tiles. Dynamic imagery layers support access to imagery pixel data and metadata such as raster attribute tables, statistics, and histograms. You can perform analysis on dynamic imagery layers. With image tiles, groups of pixels are processed as static tiles.
Follow the steps below to create a hosted imagery layer.
- Verify that you are signed in with an account that has privileges to create content and publish hosted imagery layers, and click the My Content tab of the content page.
- Click New item and choose Imagery layer.
- Choose a layer configuration.
The following options are available:
- One Image—Create one hosted imagery layer from a single image. This option supports all supported raster and image formats, multidimensional raster data, and configuration with various source types and compression settings. The only raster type that is supported is the Raster Dataset data type. Use this option for simple imagery layers where advanced metadata is not needed.
- One Mosaicked Image—Create one imagery layer by mosaicking multiple images. This option supports generating a single imagery layer that is a mosaic of multiple images over space, multidimensional raster data, and many raster types that allow you to control how your satellite or aerial products are processed. Use this option for imagery layers where advanced metadata is required, such as for multiband preprocessed satellite scenes.
- Image Collection—Create one imagery layer that manages a collection of many images. This option supports querying single images within the imagery layer that is made up of a collection of images. This option also supports storing the imagery in the original source format.
- Multiple Imagery Layers—Create one imagery layer for each input image. This option generates multiple imagery layers. Use this option instead of choosing the One Image option multiple times.
If you select the One Mosaicked Image option, your input imagery will be copied and converted to Cloud Raster Format (CRF) for rendering efficiency. You may optionally copy and convert the imagery to CRF if using the One Image or Multiple Imagery Layers option when configuring the properties in the next few steps. The Image Collection option preserves the original imagery format.
When you have selected the layer configuration you want, click Next.
- Select the raster type of your input imagery from the drop-down menu. The raster type metadata is used to display, correct, and process the imagery in a consistent manner.
Each raster type contains unique metadata specific to the sensor and image parameters. This option is only available if you select One Mosaicked Image as the layer configuration. For all other configuration types, the only supported raster type is Raster Dataset.
- Click the Configure properties button to specify the properties for the selected raster type.
- On the General tab, configure the options for your imagery layer. If you don't see one or more of the options below, it is because the layer configuration type or raster type you chose does not support the option.
Product Type
Specify the type of product included in your satellite imagery. Product types are typically identified by various processing levels associated with the specific sensor.
This option is available when the layer configuration is One Mosaicked Image or Image Collection and the raster type is set to a satellite product.
Source Type
Choose a source type to match the intended use of the imagery. Your choice will determine the default stretch or rendering options.
- Generic—The raster or imagery does not have a specific use case. This is the default.
- Elevation—The raster contains elevation data such as digital elevation model (DEM), digital terrain model (DTM), or lidar data.
- Thematic—The raster contains classified or thematic data, such as land cover or risk levels.
- Processed—The imagery has been georeferenced and color balanced.
- Scientific—The raster or imagery is in a scientific data format such as NetCDF, HDF, or GRIB.
Resampling Type
Select the resampling method to be used to display the imagery layer:
- Nearest—Nearest neighbor resampling is recommended for discrete data, such as land cover.
- Bilinear—Bilinear interpolation is recommended for continuous data, such as elevation.
- Cubic—Cubic convolution resampling is recommended for continuous data.
- Majority—Majority resampling is recommended for discrete data.
Compression
Select the compression method to use when converting the source imagery to Cloud Raster Format:
- LERC—Lossless or lossy compression that divides the raster into a number of pixel blocks. If you choose LERC compression, you can also specify the Maximum LERC compression error.
- JPEG—Lossy compression that uses the public JPEG compression algorithm. If you choose JPEG compression, you can also specify the Compression quality.
- On the Processing tab, configure the options for your imagery layer. If you don't see one or more of the options below, it is because the layer configuration type or raster type you chose does not support the option.
Processing templates
Select the processing template to use in the imagery layer. The processing template performs common imagery processing tasks, such as extracting specific bands, pansharpening, orthorectification, stretching, and other tasks that are specific to the input data.
The processing templates available depend on the raster type you selected. This option is only applicable to satellite or aerial data products that come with prepackaged processing templates. For example, Landsat Level-2 products include a Surface Reflectance processing template and a Quality Assurance processing template.
Apply default stretch to each raster item
Choose whether to apply default percent clip stretching to each raster item in the imagery layer.
Build footprints using radiometry (remove low quality edge pixels)
Choose whether to build footprints for the imagery layer such that only pixels within a given range of values are included. This will eliminate null data values border pixels, which results in seamless mosaics. Removal of the null data border pixels generates more appropriate statistics for each image item, resulting in better image enhancements and analytical processing. If you choose to build footprints, you can provide additional footprint settings.
Define a pixel value that represents NoData
Choose whether to define a NoData value for the pixels in the imagery layer. Pixels with the NoData value will display as transparent in the map.
Orthorectification
Choose how you want to orthorectify the images.
Pansharpen
Select the pansharpen type you prefer, as well as the sharpen image and band weights. This option is available when the input raster type includes coincident panchromatic and multispectral imagery data.
Footprints
Specify the footprints options to use. These options are available if you chose to build footprints using radiometry.
- On the Spatial Reference tab, select the output spatial reference for your imagery layer or layers. The default coordinate system is WGS84 Web Mercator (auxiliary sphere).
- On the Metadata tab, configure the options for your imagery layer. Options include the image's acquisition date, the measure and unit of pixel values, and the order and wavelength of bands for multiband imagery.
- If you chose Thematic for the imagery Source Type, you will also see the Auxiliary Information tab, where you can provide a corresponding raster attribute table (DBF version 5) or color map file (.clr).
A color map is a text file with the .clr extension, in which each row has four space-delimited integer values to map a pixel value to a color. The row order follows the pixel value order, and the column order is red, green, and blue. Red, green, and blue values all range from 0 to 255. The following are some examples:
0 255 10 150
1 253 0 2
31 0 220 253
- When you have finished configuring your imagery properties, click Apply.
- In the Select input imagery window, you can either use the Browse button to browse to the input data, or drag files into the dotted area.
- If your data is on your local machine, click the From local tab and drag your local imagery files into the dotted area or browse to the input data. A table containing all the files with name, size, and upload status appears. The files are uploaded to the raster analysis server, and the resulting imagery layer will be a hosted imagery layer.
- If your data is in a registered data store, click the From data store tab to display two options for selecting input imagery: Data store or .CSV file that contains cloud URLs or folder/file paths from data
stores.
Use one of these options.
- To select the registered data stores from which to publish, click Data store, expand the data store that contains the data you want to publish, and check the box next to the folder that contains the data to publish. You can select multiple folders from multiple data stores. Selected folders are listed in the Selected Imagery list. To exclude a selected folder, either uncheck the check box, or hover over the folder name in the Selected Imagery list and click the delete button.
- To use a list of registered data stores stored in a .csv file, click .CSV file that contains cloud URLs or folder/file paths from data
stores and either drag the .csv file into the window, or browse to and select your .csv file.
Note:
Using the .csv file option is an efficient way to specify your input imagery if you repeatedly create imagery layers from a data store. Record the paths to the data store and files in the .csv file. Uploading the .csv file will populate the paths without additional steps, and you can publish directly from the paths. Before using this process, verify that you have access to the paths; otherwise, the copy and publishing job will fail.
Depending on your configuration, imagery layers generated from data in a data store with either be imagery layers or hosted imagery layers. For details, see Publish imagery layers from a data store.
- Click Next.
- Provide the item details for your imagery layer or layers. You can provide these details even if the files have not finished uploading.
- Type a title. If you are creating multiple imagery layers, you can provide a prefix and suffix to add to the base title.
- Optionally, type tag terms separated by commas.
- Type a summary, if desired.
- Specify the folder where you want to store the imagery layer or layers.
- Click Create.
The progress of the layer creation is shown, including uploading files and creating the imagery layer item.
The imagery layer is added to My Content. One way to test the new hosted imagery layer once publishing completes is to view it in a web map.
Supported data for imagery layers
When configuring your imagery layers, you can specify the raster type that identifies and uses metadata such as georeferencing, acquisition date, sensor type, and band wavelengths. You can create imagery layers using the raster types listed in the table below. The raster dataset raster type refers to any raster format supported by ArcGIS Pro and does not include any metadata.
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The imagery data you use as input can come from a local folder or from a data store. The output can be hosted imagery layers or imagery layers that reference the registered data source. Imagery layers that reference the registered data source are not managed by ArcGIS Enterprise. When you delete a referenced imagery layer, the data will not be deleted from the data store.
Publish multidimensional imagery layers
You can publish multidimensional raster data as an imagery layer and use multidimensional filtering on your layer to display a specified slice in a web map. You can also use the multidimensional settings to control which time slice is visible and use the multidimensional analysis tools.
To publish a multidimensional raster dataset from a single NetCDF, HDF, or GRIB file, follow these steps:
- Verify that you are signed in with an account that has privileges to create content and publish hosted imagery layers, and click the My Content tab of the content page.
- Click New item and choose Imagery layer.
- For your layer configuration, choose One Layer and click Next.
- Click the Configure Properties button and, on the General tab, check the Convert to CRF format check box. Modify any other properties you want on the General or Metadata tabs, depending on your data.
- Browse to the NetCDF, HDF, or GRIB file, or drag it into the dotted area. Click Next.
- Provide the item details for your imagery layer and click Create.
Publish a single imagery layer from multiple input images
To publish a single imagery layer from multiple input images, follow the steps below. For example, if you have 10 input images and you want to merge them into a single imagery layer, use this option.
- Verify that you are signed in with an account that has privileges to create content and publish hosted imagery layers, and click the My Content tab of the content page.
- Click New item and choose Imagery layer.
- For your layer configuration, choose One Mosaicked Image and click Next.
- Optionally, click the Configure Properties button and modify any properties on the General or Metadata tabs, depending on your data.
- Browse to the location of the input images, or drag them into the dotted area. Click Next.
- Provide the item details for your imagery layer and click Create.
Publish cloud raster format data
You can publish cloud raster format (CRF) raster data as an imagery layer, whether it's multidimensional or not.
To publish an imagery layer from CRF data, follow these steps:
- Verify that you are signed in with an account that has privileges to create content and publish hosted imagery layers, and click the My Content tab of the content page.
- Click New item and choose Imagery layer.
- For your layer configuration, choose One Image and click Next.
- Keep the default Raster Dataset raster type.
- Optionally, modify the properties by clicking the Configure Properties button.
- Drag the entire CRF folder into the dotted area. Browse is not supported for CRF data. Click Next.
- Provide the item details for your imagery layer and click Create.
Publish categorical imagery layers
You can publish categorical (or thematic) imagery layers, such as land cover, for raster data that has an associated attribute table or color map.
To publish a categorical raster dataset as an imagery layer, follow these steps:
- Verify that you are signed in with an account that has privileges to create content and publish hosted imagery layers, and click the My Content tab of the content page.
- Click New item and choose Imagery layer.
- For the layer configuration, choose One Mosaicked Image and click Next.
- Optionally, specify the raster type. Otherwise, keep the default Raster Dataset.
- Click the Configure Properties button and, on the General tab, set the Source type to Thematic.
The Auxiliary Information tab appears.
- On the Auxiliary Information tab, check the box labeled My data has a raster attribute table or colormap.
A browsing window appears.
- Browse to the color map file (.clr) or raster attribute table (.vat.dbf) that is associated with your dataset.
- Click Apply in the raster type properties window.
- Browse to the categorical raster data, or drag it into the dotted area. Click Next.
- Provide the item details for your imagery layer and click Create.
Upload and publish an image collection
You can add all supported raster formats to a .zip file and upload them to ArcGIS Enterprise as an image collection item.
Note:
Raster products and mosaic datasets in a geodatabase are currently not supported.
The following steps explain how to create, upload, and publish an image collection in the portal.
- Create a .zip file containing the images you want to load and publish.
- Place the .zip file in a location you can access from the portal website.
- Sign in to your portal organization and click Content > My Content.
- Click New item > Your device to add the image collection.
- Browse to the .zip file and click Open.
- Choose Image Collection from the Item type drop-down list.
- Click Next.
- Fill in the Title text box.
This is used for both the image collection item and hosted imagery layer in the portal.
- If your portal administrator configured content categories, click Assign Category 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.
- Optionally, type tags and a summary.
- Click Save.
When publishing completes, an image collection item and hosted imagery layer item are added to the portal. These items are accessible only to you by default. You can share these items with other portal members, the public, or members of specific groups.