Tile package and tiled datasets

A tile package and a tiled dataset are formats of offline basemap layers. They consist of images organized in a user-defined tiling scheme. You can create them in a map document or you can cache a tiled dataset from a map service, you can then use them in ArcGIS for Windows Mobile field applications as disconnected basemaps. Use a tile package and/or a tiled dataset in your mobile project if you cannot guarantee internet connectivity in the field or your want your basemap to render quickly (See Choosing basemap layers to know how to choose a basemap).

For details about creating a tile package or a tiled dataset, see Creating a tile package or tiled dataset.

Tile package

You can construct a tile package directly from a map document in ArcMap. The source layers can be raster, vector, or a combination of both, whatever you need in your basemap. The resulting tile package is a file with a .tpk extension that is stored in the location you specify. Inside of a tile package is a tiled dataset. You can add the tile package to your mobile project in Mobile Project Center (MPC), and MPC will automatically extract and use the tiled dataset inside. Alternatively, you can use the Extract Tile Package tool provided by MPC to extract the tiled dataset from a tile package and use the dataset directly.

Tiled dataset

You can create a tiled dataset by extracting it from a tile package within MPC. You can also cache a map service published to an ArcGIS Server as a tiled dataset and add it to your mobile project. A tiled dataset created this way is stored in your server.

Organization of a tiled dataset

A tiled dataset is organized into a folder consisting of a conf.xml file, a subfolder named _alllayers, and other additional data. If you extract a tiled dataset from a tile package, you can choose the location to store the dataset. However, if you cache the dataset from a map service, the dataset resides on your web server under C:\arcgisserver\directories\arcgiscache\<nameOfYourMobileService\ and has the name of your map's data frame. You can rename the tiled dataset folder (which is usually named Layers) to something more meaningful (BaseMap_Orthos, for example). However, do not rename any content inside of it, as its structure and naming are enforced. To use a tiled dataset inside of MPC, get file access to its directory in the web server, or copy the dataset folder and its contents to a local storage.

Storage of tiled datasets in field applications

Both field applications running on a Windows and a Windows Mobile device store basemaps in the folder that stores mobile projects (named ArcGIS Mobile under the My Documents folder). This is where the offline basemaps should be stored if multiple projects reference the same basemaps. If only one project is using a tiled dataset, the dataset can be stored directly inside of the project. For the ArcGIS application running on a Windows device, you can also include additional basemap storage locations.

For more information about the storage of a basemap, read Deploying basemaps separately.