About OGC WMS
Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC), web services provide a way to make your maps and data available in an open, internationally recognized format over the web. OGC has defined specifications for making maps and data available on the web to anyone with a supported client application. All developers are free to use the OGC specifications to create these supported clients, such as a web browser or desktop map viewer.
OGC Web Map Service (WMS) specification
The website and ArcGIS.com map viewer currently support the OGC Web Map Service (WMS) specification. It is an international specification for serving and consuming dynamic maps on the web. You can add your OGC WMS layer to the website and share it with others, and use it as a layer in a map you create with the ArcGIS.com map viewer. If you share your OGC WMS layer in the website, others can discover it to use in their own maps.
You can learn more about OGC at the Open Geospatial Consortium website. Esri also maintains an Interoperability and Standards web page detailing its support for OGC services in ArcGIS.
Sharing your OGC WMS layer
You can add an OGC WMS layer to the website through the Add Item button on the My Content page. See Supported item types for details. Once you've added your OGC WMS layer, you can share it with groups you belong to or make it public by sharing with everybody. See Sharing items for more information. When others discover your layer, they can automatically open it in the ArcGIS.com map viewer. If your layer uses a projection other than Web Mercator, the projection of the default World Topographic basemap, the ArcGIS.com map viewer uses a GCS WGS84 World Imagery basemap that is usually compatible with OGC services not in Web Mercator.
Adding an OGC WMS layer to a web map
If you know a specific OGC WMS you want to include in a web map, you can add it by entering its URL. See Adding layers from the web for more information.
Customizing the basemap
If your OGC WMS layer uses a projection other than Web Mercator, the projection of the default World Topographic basemap, the ArcGIS.com map viewer attempts to use a compatible basemap. If your layer is in GCS WGS84, the ArcGIS.com map viewer uses the GCS WGS84 World Imagery basemap. If your OGC layer is in a coordinate system other than Web Mercator or GCS WGS84, your layer is used as the basemap. You can use a different basemap as long as it is compatible with your layer's projection. If a basemap in the gallery is not compatible, the ArcGIS.com map viewer will not add it to your map; instead, you will see an error message letting you know your layer is not compatible with the basemap's coordinate system.
You can use a layer as your basemap as long as it is compatible with your OGC service projection, for example, the older ArcGIS Online basemaps in the GCS WGS84 tiling scheme. See Choosing a basemap for more information on using a layer as your basemap.
Considerations for using OGC WMS layers in a web map
- OGC services provide open access to geographic data and software functionality, allowing organizations to incorporate GIS into any application on a variety of computing and mobile devices. These open services help improve the sharing and interoperability of spatial information. There can be associated challenges with OGC services; for example, some are being served out on relatively old servers that can cause performance issues when displaying in newer applications.
- There can be issues related to the support of tiling schemes or projections of layers on a basemap. Basemaps used in the ArcGIS.com map viewer use Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere 102100. OGC services that do not include support for Web Mercator do not align with the ArcGIS.com map viewer basemaps. The ArcGIS.com map viewer detects if your OGC service uses a different projection and will display the GCS WGS84 World Imagery basemap. GCS WGS84 is usually compatible with OGC services not in Web Mercator. You need to add your non-Web Mercator OGC service layer first for the ArcGIS.com map viewer to display it in a compatible basemap. The layer cannot be displayed after you've added Web Mercator layers because the coordinate system won't align with the basemap.
- When you add an OGC WMS layer to a web map through the Add button in the map viewer, all the layers in the service get added to the web map but only the first layer appears in the map. You can turn on the other layers by clicking the Contents button, clicking the WMS layer name, and checking the boxes next to the layers you want to appear in the map. When you add a WMS layer as a basemap, the first 10 layers in the service are added and all 10 layers appear visible. You cannot control the visibility of a basemap through the map viewer. If you want to control which layers are drawn, add the WMS service as an item to My Content then add the layer to the web map. When you add an item through My Content, you can select which layers you want to include. These layers appear visible when you add the service to the web map through the Add button in the map viewer.
Supported functionality
The ArcGIS.com map viewer supports a subset of functionality for OGC WMS. The list below will expand as Esri continues to develop support for OGC.
- View in ArcGIS Explorer Online
- Embed in websites
- Published legends
Limitations
Below are the current limitations of using OGC WMS in the ArcGIS.com map viewer. See Troubleshooting for details.
- Pop-up windows cannot be enabled in OGC WMS.
- You cannot edit features in OGC WMS.
- You cannot set the visibility range in OGC WMS layers.
- Secure OGC WMS layers are not supported.
- Internal OGC WMS layers are not supported.
- OGC WMS layers not in Web Mercator cannot use the ArcGIS.com map viewer basemaps. This is because the coordinate system of the layer doesn't align with that of the basemaps (which are in Web Mercator).