Offline maps

Map layers can be downloaded to the mobile device so users can work with them while they are offline.

To make a layer available offline, add these options to the layer in the Rest Services GIS configuration:

• isOffline: Indicates whether the layer is downloaded for offline use.
• offlineContentUri: URI from which offline content is downloaded, if different from the URL for the layer.
• offlineExtent: Specifies the extent to be downloaded. This should be an area that is large enough to be useful without taking up too much space on the mobile device.

  To specify the offline extent, enter geographic coordinates that are consistent with the spatial reference that you are using. You must specify the map coordinates rather than latitude and longitude.

• offlineLevelsOfDetail: For tiled layers, the levels of detail to obtain from the server while synchronizing. Levels of detail are equivalent to zoom levels. As with the offlineExtent, you should download enough levels of detail for the map to be usable offline without taking up too much space on the mobile device. Specify one or more levels of detail in a comma-separated list.
• syncFrequency: Indicates the frequency with which the layer will be synchronized. If set to Always, the layer will be synchronized each time you download map data. If set to Once, the layer is only synchronized once.

  If you want to update a layer that is only synchronized once, you can clear the map data from the mobile device.

• offlineFilter: Data filter to apply when synchronizing offline data for the layer, such as ASSIGNEDTO='jsmith'. This applies to feature layers only.
• isFileDownload: If set to True, then the map data for the layer is downloaded as a .geodatabase or .tpk file from the server, rather than from the map service.

  If you use this option you must specify the location of the data file in the offlineContentUri, as in this example:

  core/filetransfer?Id=offlinemap.tpk&path=Resources\Mobile\OfflineMapFiles

  To use this option you must manually maintain the map file on the server. The advantage is that you can download data without hitting the GIS server, thus potentially saving on cost.

You can configure the mobile app to download map content automatically or manually. To download map data automatically, set the AutoSyncOfflineMapContent attribute on the Settings node in the Mobile configuration to True.

If the automatic sync is not enabled, the user must manually sync offline map data to download the layers to the local device. After it is downloaded, the map data on the device will not be updated until the user syncs offline map data again.