Image Tile Providers

• Dec 05, 2024
• 9 minutes to read

A MapControl uses image tile data providers to provide map image layers with data from imagery services. Specify the ImageLayer.DataProvider property to add tiles from imagery services to the map.

The Map control supports the following tile providers:

• Bing Maps Data Provider
• Azure Maps Data Provider
• OpenStreetMap Data Provider

Create a data provider to use another online imagery service or load image tiles from an intranet server.

You can also generate tiles from an image tile source at runtime.

Bing Maps Data Provider

This data provider loads image tiles from Microsoft Bing Maps.

Important

On May 21, 2024, Microsoft announced that Bing Maps for Enterprise and its API will be discontinued. Azure Maps will be a single unified enterprise mapping platform available from Microsoft.

We are working on API compatible with Azure Maps and expect to ship it with our next major release (v24.2).

If you have an existing license to Bing Maps for Enterprise, you can continue using our existing API. You need to transition to new API until June 30, 2025 (free and basic license) or until June 30, 2028 (enterprise license).

The last date you can get a new license to Bing Maps for Enterprise is June 30, 2025. If you do not have an existing license after that date, you would not be able to use our map controls with Bing Maps or Azure Maps (until we release the new API). During that time, you can use other map providers supported by our controls, such as OpenStreetMap.

Note

Read and accept the Microsoft® Bing™ Maps Platform APIs Terms Of Use before you use Bing Maps.

You should register a Bing Maps key to use the Bing Maps services. Refer to How to: Get a Bing Maps Key for more information.

Use the BingMapDataProvider class to work with Bing Maps:

C#

private void OnFormLoad(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    ImageLayer imageLayer = mapControl1.Layers[0] as ImageLayer;
    BingMapDataProvider bingMapProvider = new BingMapDataProvider();
    bingMapProvider.BingKey = "Your bing key here";
    bingMapProvider.Kind = BingMapKind.Road;
    imageLayer.DataProvider = bingMapProvider;
}

VB.NET

Private Sub OnFormLoad(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Dim imageLayer As ImageLayer = TryCast(mapControl1.Layers(0), ImageLayer)
    Dim bingMapProvider As BingMapDataProvider = New BingMapDataProvider()
    bingMapProvider.BingKey = "Your bing key here"
    bingMapProvider.Kind = BingMapKind.Road
    imageLayer.DataProvider = bingMapProvider
End Sub

Use the following API members to connect the Map Control to the Bing Maps service:

Member	Description
ImageLayer	Displays map images obtained from map image data providers.
ImageLayer.DataProvider	Gets or sets the provider used to obtain images from an external source.
BingMapDataProvider	The class that loads map images from the Bing Maps data provider.
BingMapDataProvider.BingKey	Get or sets the key that is required to connect to the Bing Maps data provider.
BingMapDataProvider.Kind	Gets or sets a value specifying the type of images to be displayed on a map.

The Map Control also supports the following Bing Maps data providers:

• BingElevationDataProvider
• BingGeocodeDataProvider
• BingRouteDataProvider
• BingSearchDataProvider
• BingRouteIsochroneDataProvider
• BingTrafficIncidentDataProvider

Azure Maps Data Provider

This data provider loads image tiles from Microsoft Azure Maps.

Note

You should register an Azure Maps key to use the Azure Maps services. Refer to the following help topic for additional information: Create an Azure Maps account.

Use the following API members to connect the Map Control to the Azure Maps service:

Member	Description
ImageLayer	Displays map images obtained from map image data providers.
ImageLayer.DataProvider	Gets or sets the provider used to obtain images from an external source.
AzureMapDataProvider	Loads map images from the Azure Maps data provider.
AzureMapDataProvider.AzureKey	Specifies the key you receive when you Create an Azure Maps account.

You can also specify the following settings for a map layer:

Member	Description
AzureMapDataProvider.CultureName	Gets or sets the Culture name used to obtain data from Azure GIS services.
AzureMapDataProvider.LocalizedMapView	Specifies the map view for a certain country/region.
AzureMapDataProvider.Tileset	Specifies the tileset that the provider loads from the service.
AzureMapDataProvider.Projection	Gets a projection used by the Azure Maps data provider.

The following example connects to Azure Maps and specifies map layers:

C#

using DevExpress.XtraMap;
// ...
const string azureKey = "your key";
// ...
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    // Create a map control.
    MapControl map = new MapControl();
    // Specify the map position on the form.           
    map.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
    // Create a layer.
    ImageLayer layer1 = new ImageLayer();
    layer1.DataProvider = new AzureMapDataProvider() {
        AzureKey = azureKey,
        // Set Imagery tileset to display a satellite or aerial imagery on a layer.
        Tileset = AzureTileset.Imagery,
    };
    // Create a layer.
    ImageLayer layer2 = new ImageLayer();
    layer2.DataProvider = new AzureMapDataProvider(){
        AzureKey = azureKey,
        // Set BaseLabelsRoad tileset to display boundaries and label data in the Azure Map style on a layer.
        Tileset = AzureTileset.BaseLabelsRoad,
    };

    // Specify the map zoom level and center point. 
    map.ZoomLevel = 3;
    map.CenterPoint = new GeoPoint(40, -100);
    // Add the created layers to the collection.
    map.Layers.AddRange(new LayerBase[] {
        layer1, layer2});
    // Add the map control to the window.
    this.Controls.Add(map);
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.XtraMap
'...
Private Const azureKey As String = "your key"
' ...
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    ' Create a map control.
    Dim map As New MapControl()
    ' Specify the map position on the form.           
    map.Dock = DockStyle.Fill
    ' Create a layer.
    Dim layer1 As New ImageLayer()
    layer1.DataProvider = New AzureMapDataProvider() With {
        .AzureKey = azureKey,
        .Tileset = AzureTileset.Imagery
    }
    ' Create a layer.
    Dim layer2 As New ImageLayer()
    layer2.DataProvider = New AzureMapDataProvider() With {
        .AzureKey = azureKey,
        .Tileset = AzureTileset.BaseLabelsRoad
    }

    ' Specify the map zoom level and center point. 
    map.ZoomLevel = 3
    map.CenterPoint = New GeoPoint(40, -100)
    ' Add the created layers to the collection.
    map.Layers.AddRange(New LayerBase() { layer1, layer2})
    ' Add the map control to the window.
    Me.Controls.Add(map)
End Sub

The Map Control also supports the following Azure Maps data providers:

• AzureGeocodeDataProvider
• AzureRouteDataProvider
• AzureRouteIsochroneDataProvider
• AzureSearchDataProvider
• AzureTrafficIncidentDataProvider

OpenStreetMap Data Provider

This data provider loads image tiles from the the OpenStreetMap service.

Note

Review the Copyright and License and Tile usage policy pages before using map images in the OpenStreetMap format.

You should provide the UserAgent parameter with a valid value to identify your application.

Use the OpenStreetMapDataProvider class to work with OpenStreetMap:

C#

private void OnFormLoad(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    ImageLayer imageLayer = mapControl1.Layers[0] as ImageLayer;
    OpenStreetMapDataProvider osmDataProvider = new OpenStreetMapDataProvider();
    osmDataProvider.WebRequest += OnProviderWebRequest;
    osmDataProvider.TileUriTemplate = "http://{subdomain}.tile.MyCustomOSMProvider.org/{tileLevel}/{tileX}/{tileY}.png";
    imageLayer.DataProvider = osmDataProvider;            
}
private void OnProviderWebRequest(object sender, MapWebRequestEventArgs e) {
    e.UserAgent = "DevExpress OpenStreetMapProvider example";
}

VB.NET

Private Sub OnFormLoad(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Dim imageLayer As ImageLayer = TryCast(mapControl1.Layers(0), ImageLayer)
    Dim osmDataProvider As OpenStreetMapDataProvider = New OpenStreetMapDataProvider()
    osmDataProvider.WebRequest += AddressOf OnProviderWebRequest
    osmDataProvider.TileUriTemplate = "http://{subdomain}.tile.MyCustomOSMProvider.org/{tileLevel}/{tileX}/{tileY}.png"
    imageLayer.DataProvider = osmDataProvider
End Sub

Private Sub OnProviderWebRequest(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As MapWebRequestEventArgs)
    e.UserAgent = "DevExpress OpenStreetMapProvider example"
End Sub

Use the following API members to connect the Map Control to the OpenStreetMap service:

Member	Description
ImageLayer	Displays map images obtained from map image data providers.
ImageLayer.DataProvider	Gets or sets the provider used to obtain images from an external source.
OpenStreetMapDataProvider	The class that loads map images from a web resource that provides data in the OpenStreetMap format.
MapImageDataProviderBase.WebRequest	Occurs when a Map control sends a request to an external web service.
OpenStreetMapDataProvider.TileUriTemplate	Gets or sets a pattern to obtain image tiles from the OpenStreetMap provider.
MapWebRequestEventArgs.UserAgent	Gets or sets the value of the user-agent HTTP header.

The Map Control also supports the following OpenStreetMap data providers:

• OsmGeocodeDataProvider
• OsmSearchDataProvider

Generate Tiles at Runtime

Follow the steps below to populate a map with custom tiles created at runtime.

• Create an ImageTileDataProvider object and assign it to the ImageLayer.DataProvider property.
• Create a class that inherits the IImageTileSource interface.
• Implement the IImageTileSource.GetImage method that returns a bitmap for each tile based on its indices and the map control’s zoom level.
• Assign an instance of the class you developed to the ImageTileDataProvider.TileSource property.

C#

using DevExpress.XtraMap;
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace InMemoryTileProvider {
    public partial class Form1 : Form {
        public Form1() {
            InitializeComponent();
        }
        private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
            ImageTileDataProvider tileDataProvider = new ImageTileDataProvider();
            tileDataProvider.TileSource = new SimpleTileGenerator();
            this.imageLayer1.DataProvider = tileDataProvider;
        }
        public class SimpleTileGenerator : IImageTileSource {
            readonly Font font = new Font("Arial", 10);
            Random rnd = new Random();
            public bool CanDisposeSourceImage => true;
            public string Name => nameof(SimpleTileGenerator);
            public Image GetImage(int x, int y, int level, Size size) {
                Bitmap bitmap = new Bitmap(size.Width, size.Height);
                using (Graphics gr = Graphics.FromImage(bitmap)) {
                    gr.Clear(Color.FromArgb(128, rnd.Next(255),
                            rnd.Next(255), rnd.Next(255)));
                    gr.DrawString(string.Format("{0} {1} {2}", x, y, level),
                           font, Brushes.Black, new PointF(5, 5));
                }
                return bitmap;
            }
        }
    }
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.XtraMap
Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Threading.Tasks
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Namespace InMemoryTileProvider
    Partial Public Class Form1
        Inherits Form

        Public Sub New()
            InitializeComponent()
        End Sub

        Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
            Dim tileDataProvider As New ImageTileDataProvider()
            tileDataProvider.TileSource = New SimpleTileGenerator()
            Me.imageLayer1.DataProvider = tileDataProvider
        End Sub

        Public Class SimpleTileGenerator
            Implements IImageTileSource

            Private ReadOnly font As New Font("Arial", 10)
            Private rnd As New Random()
            Public ReadOnly Property CanDisposeSourceImage() As Boolean
                Get
                    Return True
                End Get
            End Property
            Public ReadOnly Property Name() As String
                Get
                    Return NameOf(SimpleTileGenerator)
                End Get
            End Property

            Public Function GetImage(ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer, ByVal level As Integer, ByVal size As Size) As Image
                Dim bitmap As New Bitmap(size.Width, size.Height)
                Using gr As Graphics = Graphics.FromImage(bitmap)
                    gr.Clear(Color.FromArgb(128, rnd.Next(255), rnd.Next(255), rnd.Next(255)))
                    gr.DrawString(String.Format("{0} {1} {2}", x, y, level), font, Brushes.Black, New PointF(5, 5))
                End Using
                Return bitmap
            End Function
        End Class
    End Class
End Namespace

The Map Control stores the loaded tiles in cache. To customize cache parameters, use the MapTileDataProviderBase.CacheOptions property.

Custom Image Data Provider

To develop a data provider, create a MapDataProviderBase class descendant and define a custom image tile source for it. This image tile source should be derived from MapTileSourceBase and provide a way to retrieve image tiles.

Example:

• How to: Load Image Tiles from a Local Directory