None of the WMS layers draw

Description

When a WMS service is added to ArcMap, none of the WMS layers draw. The WMS layers are listed in the Table of Contents, however all the checkboxes are greyed out, signifying that the layers are on" but not visible.

Cause

A number of things may cause WMS layers not to draw:

- The WMS service is version 1.0.0. and you are using ArcGIS version 9.0.

- The data frame is in a coordinate system not supported by the WMS service. Pre 9.2 versions of ArcMap will only draw WMS layers in a coordinate system that is supported by the WMS server.

Note:
At version 9.2 ArcMap will draw WMS layers in all ArcGIS supported coordinate systems, even if the WMS server does not support the given coordinate system.

Solution or Workaround

1. This issue has been resolve in ArcGIS 9.1.
   <a href='http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/27937' target='_blank'>Bug:WMS layers do not draw if the WMS service version is 1.0.0</a>
2. A WMS service may only support a limited set of coordinate systems. If you are using a pre 9.2 version of ArcGIS you can use set a new coordinate system for the data frame to one that is supported by the WMS service layer(s).
   <a href='http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/27949' target='_blank'>How To: Set a new data frame coordinate system (spatial reference) to one that is supported by the WMS service(s)</a>
3. Zoom in to a spatial extent that is within the bounding box specified for the layer. The bounding box for each WMS layer is listed in the WMS service capabilities file.
   <a href='http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/27948' target='_blank'>How To: View the WMS service capabilities</a>
4. There is no workaround. Check the WMS service capabilites file to determine if the units are correct.
   <a href='http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/27948' target='_blank'>How To: View the WMS service capabilities</a>
5. Reduce the page size of the layout or reduce the size of the data frame on the page layout that contains the WMS layers until an an image size acceptable to the WMS server is requested. Different WMS servers may support different image size requests. Currently, there is no way for ArcMap to report acceptable sizes.