Manage field and spatial indexes

The Manage indexes setting for a hosted feature layer (item) allows you to manage the field and spatial indexes for a feature layer in a feature service. Creating indexes can greatly improve the response time of queries such as searches and filters.

Item page service
Hosted feature layer item page in a portal showing feature layer settings.

What are indexes?

ArcGIS uses indexes to quickly locate data. Field indexes, also known as attribute indexes, are used to locate features that match an attribute query.

An additional type of field index is a full-text field index. A full-text index works on fields that contain strings with multiple words or terms. The index tokenizes the string into smaller units such as individual words or terms to improve the overall search performance.

Spatial indexes are used to locate features that match a spatial query. Indexes can decrease the time it takes for queries, such as searches or filters, to find the data requested. Attribute indexes can be created for single or multiple fields. They can be unique and can be created in ascending or descending order. Spatial indexes are used to locate features that match a spatial query.

How to manage index settings

The steps to manage the index settings are:

  1. Sign into a data management tool with your ArcGIS account:

  2. Find the item.
  3. Use the item page to change the index settings.

Code examples

You can use data management tools to manage the index settings of a hosted feature layer (item) or you can use the ArcGIS REST APIs. The following examples illustrate how to programmatically get the properties, add an index, and rebuild the index of a hosted feature layer (item).

Get current index properties

This example uses a Feature Service URL to return the indexes of a feature layer.

Request

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POST https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/services/{service_name}/FeatureServer/layers HTTP/1.1

&f=json
&token={access_token}

Response

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      "indexes": [
        {
          "name": "Shape__Area_Index",
          "fields": "Shape__Area",
          "isAscending": true,
          "isUnique": false,
          "description": ""
        },
        {
          "name": "Shape__Length_Index",
          "fields": "Shape__Length",
          "isAscending": true,
          "isUnique": false,
          "description": ""
        },
        {
          "name": "PK__PARKS_AN__C1BEA5A24C987E12",
          "fields": "FID",
          "isAscending": true,
          "isUnique": true,
          "description": "clustered, unique, primary key"
        },
        {
          "name": "user_56805.{layer_name}_Shape_sidx",
          "fields": "Shape",
          "isAscending": false,
          "isUnique": false,
          "description": "Shape Index"
        }
      ],

Set a new attribute index

This example uses the addToDefinition admin operation to add a new attribute index.

Request

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POST https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/admin/services/{service_name}/FeatureServer/{layer_id}/addToDefinition HTTP/1.1

f=json
&token={access_token}
&addToDefinition: {
    "indexes":[{
        "name":"{index_name}",
        "fields":"{field_name1}, {field_name2} ...",
        "isUnique": false,
        "isAscending": false,
        "description": "{index_description}"
    }
]}

Response

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{
    "success":true
}

Set a new full text index

This example uses the addToDefinition admin operation to add a full text attribute index.

Request

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POST https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/admin/services/{service_name}/FeatureServer/{layer_id}/addToDefinition HTTP/1.1

f=json
&token={access_token}
&addToDefinition: {
    "indexes":[{
        "name":"{index_name}",
        "fields":"{field_name1}, {field_name2} ...",
        "indexType": "FullText",
        "description": "{index_description}"
    }
]}

Response

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{
    "success":true
}

Rebuild the spatial index

This example uses the updateDefinition admin operation to rebuild the spatial index.

Request

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POST https://{host}/{organizationId}/arcgis/rest/admin/services/{service_name}/FeatureServer/{layerIdAr}/updateDefinition HTTP/1.1

f=json
&token={access_token}
&updateDefinition: {{
    "indexes":[{
        "name":"{existing_spatial_index_name}",
        "fields":"Shape"
    }
]}}

Response

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{
    "success":true
}

Tutorials

Import data to create a feature layer

Use data management tools to import files and create a feature layer in a feature service.


Define a new feature layer

Use data management tools to define and create a new empty feature layer in a feature service.


Manage a feature layer

Use a hosted feature layer item to set the properties and settings of a feature layer in a feature service.


Create a vector tile service

Use data management tools to create a new vector tile service from a feature service.


Create a map tile service

Use ArcGIS Online or scripting APIs to publish a map tile service.


Workflows

Services

API support

Use data management tools or Client APIs to create, manage, and access data services. The table below outlines the level of support for each API.

CreateManageAccess
ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript1
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Kotlin1
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Swift1
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Java1
ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET1
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt1
ArcGIS API for Python
ArcGIS REST JS
Esri Leaflet2
MapLibre GL JS23
OpenLayers23
Full supportPartial supportNo support
  • 1. Use portal class and direct REST API requests
  • 2. Access via ArcGIS REST JS
  • 3. Requires manually setting styles for renderers

Tools

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