Learn how to display point, line, and polygon graphics in a map.
You typically use graphics to display geographic data that is not connected to a database and that is not persisted, like highlighting a route between two locations, displaying a search buffer around a point, or tracking the location of a vehicle in real-time. Graphics are composed of a geometry, symbol, and attributes.
In this tutorial, you display points, lines, and polygons on a map as graphics.
Prerequisites
Before starting this tutorial:
-
You need an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account.
-
Your system meets the system requirements.
Steps
Open the Xcode project
-
To start the tutorial, complete the Display a map tutorial or download and unzip the solution.
-
Open the
.xcodeproj
file in Xcode. -
If you downloaded the solution, get an access token and set the API key.
An API Key gives your app access to secure resources used in this tutorial.
-
Go to the Create an API key tutorial to obtain a new API key access token. Ensure that the following privilege is enabled: Location services > Basemaps > Basemap styles service. Copy the access token as it will be used in the next step.
-
In Xcode, in the Project Navigator, click MainApp.swift.
-
In the Editor, set the
ArcGISEnvironment.apiKey
property on theArcGIS
with your access token.Environment MainApp.swiftUse dark colors for code blocks init() { ArcGISEnvironment.apiKey = APIKey("<#YOUR-ACCESS-TOKEN#>") }
-
Add a graphics overlay
A graphics overlay is a container for graphics. It is used with a map view to display graphics on a map. You can add more than one graphics overlay to a map view. Graphics overlays are displayed on top of all the other layers.
-
In Xcode, in the Project navigator, click ContentView.swift.
-
Create a class called
Model
that adopts theObservable
protocol. Within that class, create aObject Graphics
as a default value. Initialize the property with an empty initializer and return it. You'll edit this method at a later step to add all of the graphics to display.Overlay ContentView.swiftUse dark colors for code blocks 16 17 18 19 28Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. import SwiftUI import ArcGIS private class Model: ObservableObject { let graphicsOverlay: GraphicsOverlay = { let graphicsOverlay = GraphicsOverlay() return graphicsOverlay }() }
The
Model
class must conform to typeObservable
. See theObject Observable
documentation for more information.Object -
Create a
@
of typeState Object Model
calledgraphics
in theOverlay Model Content
.View ContentView.swiftUse dark colors for code blocks 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 38 39Add line. struct ContentView: View { @State private var map: Map = { let map = Map(basemapStyle: .arcGISTopographic) map.initialViewpoint = Viewpoint(latitude: 34.02700, longitude: -118.80500, scale: 72_000) return map }() @StateObject private var graphicsOverlayModel = Model() }
-
In the
body
, update the map view initializer by adding thegraphics
parameter. Pass in theOverlays graphics
'sOverlay Model graphic
property to add the graphics overlay created in the previous steps to the map view's list of graphics overlays.Overlay ContentView.swiftUse dark colors for code blocks 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45Change line struct ContentView: View { @State private var map: Map = { let map = Map(basemapStyle: .arcGISTopographic) map.initialViewpoint = Viewpoint(latitude: 34.02700, longitude: -118.80500, scale: 72_000) return map }() @StateObject private var graphicsOverlayModel = Model() var body: some View { MapView(map: map, graphicsOverlays: [graphicsOverlayModel.graphicsOverlay]) } }
Add a point graphic
A point graphic is created using a point and a marker symbol. A point is defined with x and y coordinates, and a spatial reference. For latitude and longitude coordinates, the spatial reference is WGS84.
-
Create a
Point
and aSimpleMarkerSymbol
. To create thePoint
, provide longitude (x) and latitude (y) coordinates, and aSpatialReference
. Use theSpatialReference.wgs84
convenience method. Create and style aSimpleMarkerSymbol
.Point graphics support a number of symbol types such as
SimpleMarkerSymbol
,PictureMarkerSymbol
andTextSymbol
. Learn more about theSymbol
class in the API documentation.Use dark colors for code blocks 20 21 22 23 28 29 30 31Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. private class Model: ObservableObject { let graphicsOverlay: GraphicsOverlay = { let graphicsOverlay = GraphicsOverlay() let point = Point(x: -118.80657, y: 34.00059, spatialReference: .wgs84) let pointSymbol = SimpleMarkerSymbol(style: .circle, color: .orange, size: 10.0) pointSymbol.outline = SimpleLineSymbol(style: .solid, color: .blue, width: 2.0) return graphicsOverlay }() }
-
Create a
Graphic
with thepoint
andpoint
. Display theSymbol Graphic
by adding it to thegraphics
using theOverlay GraphicsOverlay.addGraphic()
method.Use dark colors for code blocks 24 25 26 27Add line. Add line. Add line. let point = Point(x: -118.80657, y: 34.00059, spatialReference: .wgs84) let pointSymbol = SimpleMarkerSymbol(style: .circle, color: .orange, size: 10.0) pointSymbol.outline = SimpleLineSymbol(style: .solid, color: .blue, width: 2.0) let pointGraphic = Graphic(geometry: point, symbol: pointSymbol) graphicsOverlay.addGraphic(pointGraphic)
-
Press Command + R to run the app.
If you are using the Xcode simulator your system must meet these minimum requirements: macOS Monterey 12.5, Xcode 15, iOS 17. If you are using a physical device, then refer to the system requirements.
You should see a point graphic in Point Dume State Beach.
Add a line graphic
A line graphic is created using a polyline and a line symbol. A polyline is defined as a sequence of points.
Polylines have one or more distinct parts. Each part is a sequence of points. For a continuous line, you can use the Polyline
constructor to create a polyline with just one part. To create a polyline with more than one part, use a Polyline
.
-
Create a
Polyline
and aSimpleLineSymbol
. To create thePolyline
, provide an array ofPoint
objects. Create and style aSimpleLineSymbol
.Line graphics support a number of symbol types such as
SimpleLineSymbol
andTextSymbol
. Learn more about theSymbol
class in the API documentation.Use dark colors for code blocks 30 31Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. graphicsOverlay.addGraphic(pointGraphic) let polyline = Polyline( points: [ Point(x: -118.82152, y: 34.01395, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.81489, y: 34.00806, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.80887, y: 34.00166, spatialReference: .wgs84) ] ) let polylineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(style: .solid, color: .blue, width: 3.0)
-
Create a
Graphic
with thepolyline
andpolyline
. Display theSymbol Graphic
by adding it to thegraphics
using theOverlay GraphicsOverlay.addGraphic()
method.Use dark colors for code blocks 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40Add line. Add line. Add line. let polyline = Polyline( points: [ Point(x: -118.82152, y: 34.01395, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.81489, y: 34.00806, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.80887, y: 34.00166, spatialReference: .wgs84) ] ) let polylineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(style: .solid, color: .blue, width: 3.0) let polylineGraphic = Graphic(geometry: polyline, symbol: polylineSymbol) graphicsOverlay.addGraphic(polylineGraphic)
-
Press Command + R to run the app.
If you are using the Xcode simulator your system must meet these minimum requirements: macOS Monterey 12.5, Xcode 15, iOS 17. If you are using a physical device, then refer to the system requirements.
You should see a point and line graphic along Westward Beach.
Add a polygon graphic
A polygon graphic is created using a polygon and a fill symbol. A polygon is defined as a sequence of points that describe a closed boundary.
Polygons have one or more distinct parts. Each part is a sequence of points describing a closed boundary. For a single area with no holes, you can use the Polygon
constructor to create a polygon with just one part. To create a polygon with more than one part, use a PolygonBuilder
.
-
Create a
Polygon
and aSimpleFillSymbol
. To create thePolygon
, provide an array ofPoint
objects. Create and style aSimpleFillSymbol
.Polygon graphics support a number of symbol types such as
SimpleFillSymbol
,PictureFillSymbol
,SimpleMarkerSymbol
andTextSymbol
. Learn more about theSymbol
class in the API documentation.Use dark colors for code blocks 43 44 56Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. Add line. graphicsOverlay.addGraphic(polylineGraphic) let polygon = Polygon( points: [ Point(x: -118.81898, y: 34.01375, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.80679, y: 34.02158, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.79143, y: 34.01638, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.79596, y: 34.00856, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.80855, y: 34.00350, spatialReference: .wgs84) ] ) let polygonSymbol = SimpleFillSymbol(style: .solid, color: .orange, outline: SimpleLineSymbol(style: .solid, color: .blue, width: 2.0)) return graphicsOverlay
-
Create a
Graphic
with thepolygon
andpolygon
. Display theSymbol Graphic
by adding it to thegraphics
'sOverlay GraphicsOverlay.graphics
collection.Use dark colors for code blocks 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 58 59Add line. Add line. graphicsOverlay.addGraphic(polylineGraphic) let polygon = Polygon( points: [ Point(x: -118.81898, y: 34.01375, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.80679, y: 34.02158, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.79143, y: 34.01638, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.79596, y: 34.00856, spatialReference: .wgs84), Point(x: -118.80855, y: 34.00350, spatialReference: .wgs84) ] ) let polygonSymbol = SimpleFillSymbol(style: .solid, color: .orange, outline: SimpleLineSymbol(style: .solid, color: .blue, width: 2.0)) let polygonGraphic = Graphic(geometry: polygon, symbol: polygonSymbol) graphicsOverlay.addGraphic(polygonGraphic) return graphicsOverlay
-
Press Command + R to run the app.
If you are using the Xcode simulator your system must meet these minimum requirements: macOS Monterey 12.5, Xcode 15, iOS 17. If you are using a physical device, then refer to the system requirements.
You should see a point, line, and polygon graphic around Mahou Riviera in the Santa Monica Mountains.
What's next?
Learn how to use additional API features, ArcGIS location services, and ArcGIS tools in these tutorials: