Creating map cache tiles

Once you've determined the tiling scheme and other properties for the cache, as described in Available map cache properties, you can start creating tiles for your cache.

The Manage Map Server Cache Tiles tool allows you to create, delete, or update tiles in your cache. You can open the tool from the Geoprocessing menu or the Toolboxes folder, but most of the time you'll probably access it through the Service Properties dialog box as follows:

Steps:

1. In ArcCatalog or the Catalog window in ArcMap, right-click the map service and select Service Properties.
   Note:

   You cannot complete these steps in ArcGIS Server Manager. Although you can view the Service Properties dialog box in Manager, you cannot create tiles from Manager or launch the caching tools.

2. Click the Caching tab.
3. If this is your first time creating tiles for the cache, set the tiling scheme properties as described in Available map cache properties, then click Apply. A message appears asking if you want to create tiles now. Click Yes.
4. If this is not your first time creating tiles for the cache, click the Update Tiles button.

When you access the tool through Service Properties, most of the parameters will automatically be populated with values that the tool reads from the map service. If you access the tool through the Geoprocessing menu, ArcCatalog, or the Catalog window, you'll need to specify the server you want to connect to (Host) and the map service you want to cache (Map Server). Once you do this, most of the remaining properties will fill in with their default values.

One parameter that you must manually set no matter how you open the tool is the Update Mode. If you're building the cache for the first time, choose Recreate All Tiles. If you're updating the cache, see Map cache updates for guidelines on which settings to use.

Once you've supplied the service name and the update mode, you can get started with creating the cache, or you can change some of the default settings. To understand what each parameter of the tool does, click the Show Help button and click the parameter that you want to learn about.

Below are some additional notes on the Manage Map Server Cache Tiles tool parameters.

• The Input Layers option on the Manage Map Server Cache Tiles tool is only configurable if you're making a multilayer cache. The default and recommended cache type is not multilayer but fused. If you want to make a multilayer cache, you can access this setting on the Advanced Options dialog box of the Caching tab.
• If you want to create tiles for a rectangular area in your map, you can change the default Update Extent. Usually, you'll supply a feature class boundary to constrain your caching and avoid creating unnecessary tiles; however, entering a rectangular extent can be useful when building caches for a test area.
• The antialiasing option is read-only in this tool. It is based on the value that you set on the Caching tab of the Service Properties dialog box.