Oracle APEX 23.2 introduced many new functionalities. One of them is Custom Map Background. Now we can change our background map making our Map region even better! So how to do it? Let's see!

ArcGIS

First, we need to choose a map that will be our background map. In this case, I will use my ArcGIS account. ArcGIS allows us to create and manage maps. Creating a new or selecting an existing map is very simple. In the "Layers" tab, select the "Create data" option. When you select the map and finish editing it, click the "Save" button.

Map in ArcGIS:

Then, in the "API keys" tab, create a new API Key (you can also use the default one). After selecting the "Edit API Key" option in the "Maps, layers and data" section, click the "Set content item scopes" button and select your map. That's all.

Oracle APEX and Background Maps

In "Shared Components", select "Map Backgrounds". Then click the "Create" button. Select "Type". There are 3 options:

• Raster XYZ Tile Layer renders a raster tile that is retrieved from an URL passing x, y, and z values.

• Vector Tile Layer retrieves a map tile layer described in a style.json file from an URL.

• OGC WMS retrieves a layer from the Web Map Service from the Open Geospatial Consortium.

In this example, it will be a "Vector Tile Layer". I also entered my "API Key" and "URL to Map Stylesheet". It is important to use the {api-key} placeholder which will replace API Key in your URL. My Background Map configuration looks like this:

Then, in the attributes of our Map region, in the "Map" section, change the "Background" option to "Shared Components". In the "Standard" field, select "My new background map" (the map you just created).

Save your changes and run the page. Custom Background Map has been added to Map region.

Now, I will change the type of Background Map to OGC WMS. WMS is a standard created by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) for sharing maps on the Internet. In this example, I will use a free map of Wrocław from the link. In "Shared Components", select "Map Backgrounds" and click the "Create" button. This time, select the "OGC WMS" option. My Background Map configuration looks like this:

It is important to correctly declare parameters such as service, layers, styles and version. The rest of the parameters will be added automatically. More about the WMS standard here: link

This is my Map region with the map of Wrocław as a background:

Conclusions

Adding a Background Map is very simple. Once again, a bit of low code magic and we achieve our goal very quickly. Now we can use topographic or administrative maps of the world, countries or cities. This is another functionality that helps us create GiS applications using Oracle APEX. Of course, Background Maps are not the only gift we get in version 23.2. Hmm … Christmas in October?