How to work with WFS using ArcGIS Desktop

ArcGIS Desktop includes the ability to directly use WFS sources based on the GML Simple Features profile for mapping, as geoprocessing inputs, and to convert between this and other GIS data formats.

Note:

To use WFS and GML content in ArcGIS Desktop, you need to install the Data Interoperability extension.

Steps

Here are the steps for adding a WFS service to ArcGIS:

1. In ArcCatalog, add a new interoperability connection by double-clicking Add Interoperability Connection.
2. Click the Format ellipsis button to open the Formats gallery.
3. Choose Web Feature Service (WFS) and click OK.
   This format adds support for the WFS specification into ArcGIS.
4. Almost any place in ArcGIS where you can use a feature class, you can select and use WFS services -- for example, as a map layer in ArcMap or as an input feature class in geoprocessing.