Update an image service

Updating an image service with new raster data is a common workflow in ArcGIS. In ArcGIS Online, only a dynamic imagery layer with the image collection layer configuration for an image service supports the removal of old images and addition of new ones. An image service powered by a tiled imagery layer does not support this workflow, and needs to be replaced entirely if an update is needed. As for image services in ArcGIS Enterprise, the updating an image service workflow is fully supported without any limitation.

How to update an image service

The general steps for preparing raster data:

1. Get the raster data

There are two types of data sources to create an image service: your own raster data and data hosted in ArcGIS.

2. Optimize raster data

There are data preparation toolbox tools available in ArcGIS Pro to optimize your raster data before creating an image service:

3. Find the image service

To access an image service, you can use the service URL or item ID. To find this information, you need to go to the hosted imagery layer item page for the dataset in your portal.

The steps to find and access layers are:

1. Log in to your portal with your ArcGIS account.
2. In My Content, find your hosted imagery layer (item).
3. In the hosted imagery layer item page, find the service URL or item ID.

Service URL

To access the hosted imagery layer in the service directly, use the URL for the layer:

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https://{host}/{organizationID}/ArcGIS/rest/services/{serviceName}/ImageServer

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https://{host}/{webadaptor}/rest/services/Hosted/{serviceName}/ImageServer

Item ID

To access the layer and service through an item, use the portal URL and item ID.

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https://{organizationURL}/sharing/rest/content/items/{hostedLayerItemId}

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https://{host}/{webadaptor}/sharing/rest/content/items/{hostedLayerItemId}

4. Update the image service

The general steps for adding new rasters to an image service are:

1. Specifiy the path to the new raster files.
2. Iterate through each file and add them to the existing image collection.
3. Update the item.

Code examples

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# Specify the new raster data you want to add
new_raster_paths = [
    r"C:\path\to\raster1.tif",
    r"C:\path\to\raster2.tif",
    r"C:\path\to\raster3.tif"
]

# Add the new rasters to the image service
image_collection = image_service.layers[0]
for raster_path in new_raster_paths:
    image_collection.add_rasters([raster_path])

# Publish the updated image service
image_service.update(item_properties={
    "title": image_service_name,
    "tags": "updated image service"
})

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# Delete the specified rasters from the image service
image_collection = image_service.layers[0]
for raster_name in rasters_to_delete:
    image_collection.delete_rasters([raster_name])

# Publish the updated image service
image_service.update(item_properties={
    "title": image_service_name,
    "tags": "updated image service"
})

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# Specify the new raster data you want to add
new_raster_paths = [
    r"C:\path\to\new_raster1.tif",
    r"C:\path\to\new_raster2.tif",
    r"C:\path\to\new_raster3.tif"
]

# Specify the rasters you want to replace
rasters_to_replace = [
    "old_raster1.tif",
    "old_raster2.tif",
    "old_raster3.tif"
]

# Replace the existing rasters with the new ones
image_collection = image_service.layers[0]
for i, raster_to_replace in enumerate(rasters_to_replace):
    image_collection.delete_rasters([raster_to_replace])
    image_collection.add_rasters([new_raster_paths[i]])

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.

Tools