1. Info, Help, & How To
  2. Connect to Connecticut’s Map and Image Services with ArcPro

Connect to Connecticut’s Map and Image Services with ArcPro

ArcPro is the newest desktop GIS software by Esri.

Add Services to ArcPro
Map Services in ArcMap
Image Services in ArcPro

Add Services to ArcPro

You can add services in (at least) two ways: from registered ArcGIS Online Services or from a Server Connection.

Connect to GIS Server

  • On the Insert tab, locate the Connections dropdown and choose New ArcGIS Server.

 

  • Type in the server address, such as https://cteco.uconn.edu/ctraster/rest or https://cteco.uconn.edu/ctmaps/rest. Leave the other fields blank.

  • Open the Catalog pane (View tab) and locate and expand the Servers category.
  • Expand the server name to see folders and services.
  • Right-click over the Map Service to add it to the map. Alternatively, expand the service and right-click over a Map Layer to add it to the map. Adding as a map layer provides more options such as changing symbology.

map service:         map layer: 

Add Data From Path

  • In a web browser, go to the server page. On CT ECO, that is either https://cteco.uconn.edu/ctmaps/rest or https://cteco.uconn.edu/ctraster/rest.
  • Click on a folder and then map service or image service.

Add Map or Image Service

  • To add the complete service to ArcPro, copy the URL of the service (the link ends in MapServer or ImageServer).
  • Back in ArcPro, select Add Data and then Add Data From Path. Paste the URL and click Add.

Add a Map Layer of a Map Service (advantage = more options like changing layer order and symbology)

  • On the MapServer page (step above), find the Layers heading. Layers are numbered started with 0. Some services only have one layer.
  • Click on the layer name. Notice that a number is placed at the end of the URL in the browser.
  • Copy the link in the browser and be sure it includes the number at the end.
  • Back in ArcPro, select Add Data and then Add Data From Path. Paste the URL and click Add.

Add from ArcGIS Online

Services that have been registered with ArcGIS Online can be added to ArcPro directly.

  • Open the Catalog pane (View tab).
  • Click on Portal.
  • To add CT ECO services, type ct eco into the search.
  • Scroll through the services and click Add to add the service to ArcMap. Note that with this method, only services can be added and not layers.

Map Services in ArcPro

Map services are used for vector datasets (points, lines and polygons).

Map Service Tips:
  • Once a map service is added to ArcPro, you might need to turn on its visibility by checking the checkbox.
  • Some map services are groups of layers. Expand the group ( ) in order to see the layers it contains.
  • A grayed-out checkbox means that the service does not draw at that zoom level. Zoom in or out until the checkbox is no longer gray. Alternatively, right-click over the layer and choose Zoom to Make Visible.

The data is already symbolized in map services. When added as a map service, you can view the data and turn individual layers on and off, but you cannot change symbology or open an attribute table for any of the data layers. Add the data as individual Map Layers to access these functions.

Map Layer Tips (when an individual layer is added from a Map Service.
  • A grayed-out checkbox means that the service does not draw at that zoom level. Zoom in or out until the checkbox is no longer gray. Alternatively, right-click over the layer and choose Zoom to Make Visible.
  • Right-click over the Map Layer name to access the Attribute Table, Symbology and more.

Image Services in ArcPro

Imagery and pixel-based elevation are served as image services. Image services offer specific functionality for these types of datasets.

Image Service Options in ArcMap

All image services, whether cached or not, have the following options found in Properties (right-click over the Layer in the Table of Contents and select Properties from the menu).

  • Display: set contrast, brightness, transparency, display overview and tile footprints
  • Symbology: change band combinations for the 3 currently visible bands, set background values, apply stretches

Cached image services have the following capabilities that dynamic image services do not:

  • Faster drawing speed
  • Cache settings in Properties
  • Display: view the mosaic footprints

Dynamic image services have the following capabilities that cached image services do not:

  • Symbology: change band combination for ALL bands, view band histograms
  • Processing Templates: ability to add functions to image service if any have been included
  • Mosaic: change the way the tiles in the mosaic overlap

 

Display Option for Viewing Footprints

The Display option under Properties (right-click over the layer name and choose Properties) contains a checkbox to display footprints. The image services are created from a mosaic dataset which is a virtual mosaic, not a true one. Check the box to see the footprint of each tile that is part of the mosaic dataset. Primary rasters are the original tiles. The mosaic dataset also contains overviews, or images created to display the information quickly at different scales. The overviews are not primary rasters and their footprints will not be displayed if Primary rasters only is checked.

 

Symbology

  • Right-click over the layer name to open the Symbology panel. Although options vary by dataset, Symbology contains different ways to change the how the image is displayed, such as:
    • Options such as RGB, Stretch, Vector, Discrete and Classify.
    • Band combination and stretch types for multiple band datasets
    • Color ramp and stretch for single band datasets

RGB is used for multiple band images (like aerial imagery) where the true color combination or false color combination can be changed. Also notice the Stretch Type. In the statewide aerial imagery datasets, usually no stretch is needed, but feel free to try different ones.

Stretch is used for a single band, or gray scale. You can choose the band (if there is more than one, the color ramp, stretch and more).

 

Raster Functions/Processing Templates

Some image services are published with a Processing Template, also called a Raster Function.

The Ortho2019 image service and elevation datasets that end with a year (for example, East2010 or Statewide2016) have raster functions. Note: elevation datasets ending in a date are NOT reference mosaic datasets which have a function already applied like slope, hillshade, etc.).

  • Right-click over the layer and select Properties then Processing Templates. If a function is being used, it will be shown as well as other options.

Mosaic

The Mosaic option under Properties provides control over the way tiles are displayed. In some cases when tiles overlap, there might be a preference as to which is on top. In most cases on CT ECO, the tiles were cut in such a way that they don't overlap and therefore mosaic methods and overlaps don't change anything.

Viewing a Tiled Service as Dynamic

Map and Image services are ached for quick display. The cache can be disabled to provide dynamic access to all the image service capabilities.

  • After adding the cached or tiled service to the map, right-click over the layer and uncheck Use Service Cache.