Create a vector tile package in ArcGIS Pro and publish it to ArcGIS Enterprise

Summary

This article describes how to create a Vector Tile Package (.vtpk) in ArcGIS Pro and publish it to ArcGIS Enterprise as a hosted vector tile layer.

A vector tile package contains vector tiles and the associated style resources. After publishing, the style of a vector tile layer can be modified without regenerating the tile cache, because the style is maintained separately from the tile data.

The workflow can start from either of the following scenarios:

• An existing .vtpk file that was already created in ArcGIS Pro.
• A 2D map in ArcGIS Pro, from which the .vtpk file is created and then published to ArcGIS Enterprise.

In this example, the source map contains three common layer types:

• Drumuri_OSM, a line layer.
• UAT Simplified, a polygon layer.
• Localitati_RO, a point layer.

This combination is useful for testing and demonstrating post-publication styling, because a vector tile layer can contain multiple layers and can have multiple styles associated with the same tile set.

The Create Vector Tile Package tool generates vector tiles from a map or basemap and packages the tiles in a single .vtpk file. The input map must include a description and tags for the tool to run.

Procedure

Prerequisites

Before performing the workflow, ensure the following:

• ArcGIS Pro is installed locally if the vector tile package must be created or shared from the desktop (for this article it has been used ArcGIS Pro 3.6).
• ArcGIS Enterprise is configured with Portal for ArcGIS and a federated hosting server.
• The signed-in account has privileges to create content and publish hosted tile layers or vector tile layers.
• A 2D map is available on ArcGIS Pro.
• The map contains only layer types supported for vector tile creation, such as points, multipoints, lines, and polygons.
• The map metadata is complete. At minimum, the map must include Description and Tags. The Create Vector Tile Package tool requires a description and tags on the input map.
• If the standard ArcGIS Online / Bing Maps / Google Maps tiling scheme is used, the source map must use the WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere) projected coordinate system.

If the source data covers a larger area than required, prepare an area of interest before creating the vector tile package. The Clip tool extracts input features that overlay clip features and is useful for creating a geographic subset, such as a study area or area of interest.

Option A: Create the VTPK file first, then publish it

1. Open ArcGIS Pro.
2. Create or open a 2D map that contains the data to include in the vector tile package.
3. Confirm that the map contains only layers supported for vector tile creation.
4. If necessary, limit the map to the area of interest.

To create vector tiles for a specific area, define an area of interest polygon. If a real subset of the source data is required, run Clip on each source layer before creating the vector tile package. Use the area of interest polygon as the clip feature. The Clip tool creates a new dataset containing the geographic subset of the source features.

5. Check the map coordinate system.
   • In ArcGIS Pro, open Map Properties > Coordinate Systems. If the standard web tiling scheme is used, confirm that the map uses WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere). The standard ArcGIS Online / Bing Maps / Google Maps tiling scheme requires the source map to use this coordinate system.
6. Complete the map metadata.
   • In the Contents pane, right-click the map name and click Properties. On the Metadata tab, complete at least the Description and Tags fields. The Create Vector Tile Package tool does not run if these fields are missing.
7. Open the Create Vector Tile Package tool.
   • Click Analysis > Tools. In the Geoprocessing pane, search for and open Create Vector Tile Package.
8. Configure the main parameters:
   • For Input Map, select the prepared map.
   • For Output File, browse to the location where the .vtpk file is saved and type the output file name.
   • For Package for ArcGIS Online | Bing Maps | Google Maps, check the option if the standard web tiling scheme is used.
   • For Tiling Format, select Indexed.

The Indexed tiling format is the default and produces an optimized indexed structure that results in a smaller cache.

• • For Minimum Cached Scale, set the smallest scale required.
  • For Maximum Cached Scale, set the largest scale required.
  • For Index Polygons, optionally select an index polygon layer.

Specifying Index Polygons can speed up the process because the tool does not need to create optimized index polygons during processing.

9. Click Run.
10. After the tool finishes, verify that the .vtpk file was created.
11. Add the .vtpk file back to ArcGIS Pro for validation.
    Drag the file from its folder into the map or add it from the Catalog pane through the folder connection that contains the output .vtpk file.
12. Confirm that the package displays correctly.
    Validate the following:
    • Symbols display as expected.
    • Labels display at the expected scales.
    • The map displays correctly across the required scale range.
    • The output covers the intended area.

Option B: Publish an existing VTPK file in ArcGIS Enterprise

1. Sign in to ArcGIS Enterprise with an account that has privileges to create content and publish hosted tile layers or vector tile layers.
2. Go to Content > My content.
3. Click New item.
4. Click Your device.
5. Browse to and select the .vtpk file.

6. Complete the item metadata:
   • For Title, type a title for the item.
   • For Tags, type the required tags.
   • For Summary, optionally type a short summary.
7. Publish the uploaded package as a hosted vector tile layer.
8. After publishing, confirm that the portal created the following items:
   • The Vector Tile Package item.
   • The hosted vector tile layer item.
9. Open the hosted vector tile layer.
10. Add the layer to a web map and confirm that it displays correctly.

Option C: Publish from ArcGIS Pro using Share Package

1. In ArcGIS Pro, confirm that the .vtpk file exists.
2. Confirm that ArcGIS Pro is connected to the correct active portal.
   • The Share Package tool uses the credentials from ArcGIS Pro. The user must be signed in and connected to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise before sharing a package with this tool.
3. Click Analysis > Tools.
4. In the Geoprocessing pane, search for and open Share Package.
   • The Share Package tool shares a package by uploading it to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise. The tool supports vector tile packages (.vtpk).
5. Configure the following parameters:
   • For Input Package, select the .vtpk file.
   • For Summary, type a summary for the package.
   • For Tags, type one or more tags.
   • For Credits, optionally type credits.
   • For Folder, optionally select or type a portal folder.
   • For Publish web layer, check the option to publish the uploaded .vtpk package as a vector tile layer.
     When a vector tile package is shared, the Share Package tool can publish it automatically as a vector tile layer if Publish web layer is checked and the active portal account has the necessary privileges.
6. Click Run.

7. After the tool finishes, verify the result.
8. Confirm the following:
   • The .vtpk package was uploaded successfully.
   • A hosted vector tile layer was created if Publish web layer was checked.
   • The hosted vector tile layer displays correctly in the portal.

Style the hosted vector tile layer after publishing

After publishing, the hosted vector tile layer can be styled without regenerating the cache. The ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor allows vector tile layers to be styled by changing colors, labels, symbols, and other map attributes.

To style the published vector tile layer:

1. Open the item page for the hosted vector tile layer.
2. Click Edit in Vector Tile Style Editor, if the option is available in the ArcGIS Enterprise version used.
   • In ArcGIS Enterprise 11.1 and later, the Vector Tile Style Editor can be accessed from My content or from the item page for a vector tile layer.
3. Modify the required style properties, such as:
   • Colors
   • Layer visibility
   • Labels
   • Line widths
   • Symbols

4. Click Save As to save the result as a separate style item.
5. Open the layer in Map Viewer and verify the new style.

Expected result

At the end of the procedure, the following items are available:

• A correctly prepared 2D map in ArcGIS Pro
• A successfully generated Vector Tile Package (.vtpk) file
• A Vector Tile Package item uploaded to ArcGIS Enterprise
• A hosted vector tile layer published and accessible in the portal
• Optionally, one or more separate styles saved for the same vector tile layer