Maps Connector for ArcGIS FAQs

General Questions

1. What is the Salesforce Connector for ArcGIS?

• The Salesforce Connector for ArcGIS allows you to display point, line, and shape data from ESRI's ArcGIS Online tool within Salesforce Maps. It connects the ESRI GIS data and Salesforce data together in Salesforce Maps.

2. What is ESRI?

• ESRI stands for the Environmental Systems Research Institute. It is a GIS (Geographic Information System) company that offers products and services for advanced mapping visualization, analysis, and manipulation. They are an industry leader in GIS software. Their headquarters are located in Redlands, California.

3. What's GIS?

• GIS (Geographic Information Systems) are systems of hardware, software, and people that visualize, analyze, and manipulate spatial data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends. The important part of GIS is the link between location and the data associated with that location. GIS helps answer complex spatial questions.

4. What's ArcGIS?

• ArcGIS is ESRI's primary GIS tool to create and analyze maps. It requires specialized training. Usually a few members of an organization are dedicated to using ArcGIS, such as the GIS technician and the GIS Admin. These employees use ArcGIS to manage their data, make maps for decision makers, and perform complex analysis.

5. What is the ArcGIS Portal?

• ArcGIS Portal has basic editing and visualization features and can serve web maps.

6. What is ArcGIS Server?

• ArcGIS Server is a large complex tool used for creating, managing, and hosting GIS data, web services, and applications.

7. What is a shapefile?

• Shapefiles are a specific type of GIS files that stores location and attribute data. Shapefiles have a ".shp" extension. These files can be very large.

8. Where can I get data?

• Many organizations have their own GIS data. Companies may store their sales territories in a GIS system. Cities store their infrastructure data in publicly available databases. Many online websites aggregate common data sets, such as state and country.

9. How does the Connector work?

• Data must be hosted within ArcGIS Online in a supported layer type below. Within Salesforce Maps, you create an ArcGIS web map Marker Layer. This is a reference to the ArcGIS Online web map.
  
  
• Map Image Layers
• Imagery Layers
• Tile Layers (Raster Only)
• Feature Layer (Hosted)
• Feature Layer (ArcGIS Server)
• Feature Collection (CSV)
• Feature Collection (Map Note)
• Feature Collection (Route Layer)
• KML / KMZ
• OGC Web Feature Service (WFS)
• OGC Web Map Service (WMS)

10. What's the difference between public and private data?

• Public data can be accessed via the browser, by anyone in the world, or by Salesforce Maps without authentication. No ArcGIS Online username and password is necessary.
• Private data can only be accessed by those with an ArcGIS Online username and password. Salesforce Maps requires authentication when displaying private data.

Use Cases

1. Which industries would benefit from using the Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS?

• The primary audience for the Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS are Salesforce core and Salesforce Maps users as well as organizations who also use ArcGIS Online. Typically, city and state governments have a large amount of data available in ArcGIS Online (such as fire hydrants, water lines), and may use Salesforce to dispatch or log work orders.

2. What are some specific use cases?

• Imagine you're a 311 city support rep. Suppose a customer calls to report a damaged street sign. When the customer shares their location, you can create a case in Salesforce. You can launch Salesforce Maps, plot the ArcGIS street sign web map, and verify the existence of the street sign. You can then dispatch for repairs accordingly.
• You’re an analyst at the local tax assessment office. A tenant asks the zoning of a new land development. Your city ArcGIS holds the complex tax information. But the tenant's information is in Salesforce. With the Connector, you can see this tenants land in Salesforce Maps, understand the zoning, and answer their question on the first call.

Technical Questions

1. What are the limitations of the Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS?

• The Connector can only plot hosted feature layers. Please refer to the important limitations for the Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS for more details.

2. What kind of data can I display?

Below is a list of supported data connectors:

• Map Image Layers
• Imagery Layers
• Tile Layers (Raster Only)
• Feature Layer (Hosted)
• Feature Layer (ArcGIS Server)
• Feature Collection (CSV)
• Feature Collection (Map Note)
• Feature Collection (Route Layer)
• KML / KMZ
• OGC Web Feature Service (WFS)
• OGC Web Map Service (WMS)

3. What kind of data can I not display?

• These are not supported today: Heatmaps and very large data sets.

4. Which licenses do I need to display ArcGIS Feature layers?

• A Salesforce Maps license.
• For Private Data, an ArcGIS Online license.

5. How does it work?

• By creating an ArcGIS Web Map layer, you create a reference to data hosted on ArcGIS. Salesforce Maps plots this reference using REST services.

6. Can I plot private or public web maps?

• You can plot both. When plotting a private web map in Salesforce Maps, you will be prompted to log in to your ArcGIS account to verify you have access to the private web map. Public web maps do not require you to log in.

7. How do I get the Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS?

• You already have it! The Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS comes installed with the Salesforce Maps package.

8. How does the Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS protect my private data?

• It uses the OAuth protocol to secure your data. This is an industry standard security protocol that ensures your data is only viewable by users with the correct permissions. When you plot a private ArcGIS Online web map in Salesforce Maps, you provide your ArcGIS online username and password.

9. Does the Connector allow me to sync data between Salesforce Maps and ArcGIS?

• Syncing from ArcGIS to Salesforce is currently not possible, however, Salesforce record data can be synced to the ArcGIS Server. Please see this article for more information.

10. What coordinate system do I need?

• The Connector uses standard decimal latitude and longitude values and should handle data in typical coordinate systems like WGS84 and NAD83.

11. Can I edit ArcGIS data in Salesforce Maps?

• No. The ArcGIS Connector for Salesforce Maps is a read-only tool.

12. Does it perform routing or geocoding?

• No. The Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS does not handle routing and geocoding.

13. Can I use single sign-on?

• No. You must use your ArcGIS Online username and password to display private web map and layers. This is done through OAuth. The Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS does not support any single sign-on like Okta, OnLogin, or Microsoft ADFS.

14. I tried to plot a web map and only the base map layer came through. What happened?

• This may be an issue with internet protocols. If your layers reside on ArcGIS Server and are served over HTTP in ArcGIS Online, Salesforce will block the connection and prevent the layers from rendering. This can occur even if your ArcGIS Online account enforces HTTPS. Ensure all of your ArcGIS Server web maps are served over HTTPS. For more information, refer to: The ESRI Community Hub.

15. Do I need to make changes to the URL provided by ArcGIS before plotting it in Maps?

• We have seen instances where there will be two "https:" within the link or a number at the end of the link "/4". In those instances, we recommend removing the first part of the "https" and/or the number at the very end of the URL.

16. Can The Salesforce Maps Connector for ArcGIS be used in an Experience Cloud site?

• Only Public layers are supported. 

17. I know the Enhanced User Experience for Salesforce Maps in v250 and above supports ArcGIS Living Atlas Layers. Can I also plot these Living Atlas layers in Mobile?

• Currently, Living Atlas layers are only supported on the Salesforce Maps desktop interface. Please refer to this article for more information on the Enhanced User Experience for Salesforce Maps.