"}],"short_description":"Vector tile services for contours and hillshade offer new opportunities for integrating this content into your map or basemap.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Esri now has vector tiles for World Hillshade<\/a>, and for World Contours<\/a>. These can be accessed directly through the Living Atlas and added to your map as separate layers in Map Viewer or ArcGIS Pro. Blends and effects then provide you with a slew of different ways to incorporate them into your design.<\/p>\n Using the Vector Tile Style Editor<\/a> (VTSE), they are also editable, so you have the opportunity to adjust the way they look alongside other map features.<\/p>\n In fact, it goes a stage further. Both services can be merged directly into an existing vector tile map, giving you a more thorough way of incorporating them into your map hierarchy. Using the VTSE, you can then adjust the display order and specifications so that they are truly part of your base.<\/p>\n Our Vector Tile styles can be multi-sourced. Adding the hillshade and\/or contour information to our Web Mercator basemaps is as easy as adding the URLs to the style\u2019s header information. Here is the information from the \u2018Outdoor Map\u2019:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2438662,"id":2438662,"title":"Code_snippet2","filename":"Code_snippet2.png","filesize":96807,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-living-atlas\/mapping\/editable-hillshade-and-contours\/code_snippet2","alt":"Header code showing the additions for the Hillshade and Contours","author":"4491","description":"","caption":"","name":"code_snippet2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2425592,"date":"2024-07-12 21:20:30","modified":"2024-07-12 21:22:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1138,"height":463,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":189,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":312,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png","large-width":1138,"large-height":463,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png","1536x1536-width":1138,"1536x1536-height":463,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png","2048x2048-width":1138,"2048x2048-height":463,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2-826x336.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":336,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png","wide_image-width":1138,"wide_image-height":463}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Code_snippet2.png"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":" Here is the relevant code if you want to copy it:<\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"code_snippet","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":" \"contours\": {\r\n \"type\": \"vector\",\r\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/basemaps.arcgis.com\/arcgis\/rest\/services\/World_Contours_v2\/VectorTileServer\"\r\n },\r\n \"hillshade\": {\r\n \"type\": \"vector\",\r\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/basemaps.arcgis.com\/arcgis\/rest\/services\/World_Hillshade_v2\/VectorTileServer\"\r\n }","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Center","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Once these services are established in the JSON, the feature layers can be positioned at any point – directly by adjusting the code, or by using the \u2018Layers\u2019 option in the VTSE.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of course there is a catch\u2026<\/p>\n The JSON editor in the VTSE hides the header information, so you can\u2019t add the URLs in there. We need to go \u2018old school\u2019 temporarily:<\/p>\n The contours and vector hillshade are now available to use in your map, but they are still not visible. The relevant code is not present yet.<\/p>\n So, it can be done, but it involves 3 different apps and quite a few hoops to jump through. Here\u2019s an alternative:<\/p>\n In this case we are going to start out with one of the basemaps that already features these services (Say the ‘World Topographic Map (with Contours and Hillshade’<\/a>, or the ‘Outdoor Map’<\/a>).<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible that the icons, shields and patterns have changed (or disappeared) in your new map. This is because it is drawing on the sprites from the original design. You may have to replace these manually using the VTSE.<\/p>\n In your source basemap, go to the \u2018Edit Icons and Patterns\u2019 menu in the sidebar and select \u2018download\u2019 for your chosen symbol. Find the equivalent symbol in your new map and replace it with the download.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2427162,"id":2427162,"title":"SpriteDownload","filename":"SpriteDownload.png","filesize":580681,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-living-atlas\/mapping\/editable-hillshade-and-contours\/spritedownload","alt":"The Download window in the VTSE, and the new map with the sprite being uploaded.","author":"4491","description":"","caption":"","name":"spritedownload","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2425592,"date":"2024-07-08 15:47:59","modified":"2024-07-08 15:49:20","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1954,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":227,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":375,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":937,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload-1536x750.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":750,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload.png","2048x2048-width":1954,"2048x2048-height":954,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload-826x403.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":403,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload-1920x937.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":937}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/SpriteDownload.png"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Whichever way you put it together, you may be lucky and find that the hillshade and contours work well with your map. More likely, you will have to make some adjustments. In the VTSE Layers option, both features appear in the \u2018Natural\u2019 grouping.<\/p>\n Take a quick look through the layer structure. It\u2019s based mostly on scale ranges, and it\u2019s not too difficult to figure out. Color, stroke value and label should be easy to adjust.<\/p>\n This is a bit more complicated. Play around with color and opacity settings and watch carefully what happens to the map<\/p>\n It\u2019s very subtle! You will need to spend some time experimenting with it to find out what works. Adjusting hue should be reasonably easy, but changing contrast and balance needs some concentration. In particular, the \u2018base\u2019 and \u2018highlight\u2019 layers may include a background tint that will affect the overall look of your map.<\/p>\n Remember that you may get the effect you want by adjusting other features rather than the hillshade\u2019.<\/p>\n Regardless of any style changes you make to the new feature layers, their introduction may require some adjustments elsewhere in the style.<\/p>\n For example, hillshade tends to be placed at the bottom of the map hierarchy, and it may be blocked by polygon fills. Consider adding transparency\/opacity to these fills, then darkening the color value to compensate. Alternatively, layer the hillshade above polygon fills, and make similar adjustments to that.<\/p>\n So, there are ways of inserting vector contours and hillshade services directly into your basemap, and adjusting them to improve the look. Neither is trouble-free, but the reward is a map\/basemap that looks much more integrated than a series of separate map layers. \u00a0Here are two examples:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2438452,"id":2438452,"title":"Finished_basemaps","filename":"Finished_basemaps-scaled.jpg","filesize":405864,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-living-atlas\/mapping\/editable-hillshade-and-contours\/finished_basemaps","alt":"The Navigation Basemap, with vector hillshade\/contours added in green, and the Light Gray Canvas Basemap with vector hillshade contours added in brown","author":"4491","description":"","caption":"The Navigation Basemap, with vector hillshade\/contours added in green, and the Light Gray Canvas Basemap with vector hillshade contours added in brown","name":"finished_basemaps","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2425592,"date":"2024-07-12 19:50:00","modified":"2024-07-12 19:51:16","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1319,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-scaled.jpg","medium-width":464,"medium-height":239,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-scaled.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":396,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-scaled.jpg","large-width":1920,"large-height":989,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-1536x792.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":792,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-2048x1055.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1055,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-826x426.jpg","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":426,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-1920x990.jpg","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":990}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Finished_basemaps-scaled.jpg"}],"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/HillshdeContour_card.jpg","wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/HillshadeContour_banner.jpg"},"yoast_head":"\nHow it works<\/h1>\n
That was Easy!<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
Where are they?<\/h2>\n
\n
Adjusting an existing map<\/h2>\n
\n
Sprites<\/h3>\n
Adjusting\u00a0 Colors and Lines<\/h1>\n
Vector Contours<\/h3>\n
Vector Hillshade<\/h3>\n
Other features<\/h3>\n
Summing up<\/h1>\n