Hosted Feature Layers in ArcGIS Online

One of the many nice things about ArcGIS Online, is the ability to host Web App templates on your own server. We thought is worth walking through he steps of how this is done.

Step 1 – Log into your ArcGIS Online account and publish a web map

Step 2 – In the web map interface click the share button. From the pop up choose the ‘Make a Web Application’ button. You will see a pop up of Esri templates. Choose a template and from the drop down download a Web App template to your PC

Step 3 – Unzip the template and upload it to your Web server

Step 4 – Create a new group in ArcGIS Online called My Templates

Step 5 – Go to My Content. Click ‘Add Item’. Create a new Web Mapping Application (this will be our hosted template). The application url will be the hosted template on your web server (see Step 3 above)

Make the application (hosted template) configurable (from purpose drop down) and add it to the My Templates group

Step 6 – Now in this Web Mapping Application (hosted template) admin page (see the second image in Step 5) choose edit. At the bottom of the page is a “Configure Parameters’ input area.

Copy and paste the contents of the config.js file (in the template directory on your web server) into this input area. You can use JSONLint to validate the json if needed http://jsonlint.com/

Step 7 – Under your My Organisation tab in ArcGIS Online. Select edit settings then map in left side panel, and change the ‘Web App Templates’ drop down from Esri Default to My Templates.

Step 8 – Open a web map and select share. Select your new template (your hosted template should be shown) and choose publish

Step 9 – Name and share the new web application (which use your hosted template)

Step 10 (optional) – This new web application you have just created uses your hosted template (this is important not to confuse). In this new web application admin window, select the Configure App button, and make changes to the published application

Now users can edit their instance of this web application, which uses your hosted base template.

These solution templates are very powerful. They provide the ability for development companies such as us to build focused targeted apps (essentially) integrated into ArcGIS Online but hosted on our servers.

For more read our ArcGIS Online blog

Tags: ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS.com, editable layers, editing, ESRI, GIS, guide, hosted Feature Layer, Web App templates, web map

Categories: ArcGIS Online, Mobile ArcGIS

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 6:38 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.