ArcGIS Data Appliance: Esri Vector Basemaps supports localizing select map labels into the languages listed below. The default map displays a primarily English global view. Localization is another form of basemap customization. As with other customization, there are two main ways to create a style for customization: add a style to the map in Map Viewer Classic or copy a root.json style from the USB flash drive. Review the information in the previous section on how to Customize Esri Vector Basemap styles.
Localization changes the labels on the map for many of the small-scale features when the data supports it. Localize the map by changing the "text-field" value of the map style's resources\styles\root.json file. Use the corresponding codes for the language you want to display. It is also recommended that you change all "text-font" to an Arial Unicode font to allow all glyphs to display on the map. After the localization changes are applied to your JSON, validate the JSON using JSONLint or a similar tool, and update or upload the new localized map style as previously detailed in this help document.
Languages and codes supported in Data Appliance 2023
The following language codes are supported in Data Appliance 2023:
| Language | Code |
|---|---|
Arabic | ar |
Chinese (Hong Kong) | zh_hk |
Chinese (Simplified) | zh_s |
Chinese (Taiwan) | zh_tw |
Czech | cs |
Danish | da |
Dutch | nl |
English | en |
Estonian | et |
Finnish | fi |
French | fr |
German | de |
Greek | el |
Hebrew | he |
Italian | it |
Japanese | ja |
Korean | ko |
Latvian | lv |
Lithuanian | lt |
Norwegian | no |
Polish | pl |
Portuguese (Brazil) | pt_br |
Portuguese (Portugal) | pt_p |
Romanian | ro |
Russian | ru |
Serbian | sr |
Slovak | sk |
Slovenian | sl |
Spanish | es |
Swedish | sv |
Thai | th |
Turkish | tr |
Ukrainian | uk |
Vietnamese | vi |
Features supported for localization
The following features can have their "text-field" values changed to support these languages. The map labels that can be localized are primarily features displayed at small scale. At large scale, the default JSON labels the map in English "{_name_global}" or you can change it to the local language "{_name_local}" in each country where the map data supports it. Apply the small scale feature changes first, before any changes to large scale features. Using a text editor, find each "id" name and change its "text-field" value accordingly.
Small scale features
The default JSON for these features is "text-field": "{_name_global}". Listed below are the 88 "id" fields in the worldtopomap style JSON available for localization when the data supports it at primarily small scales. Other styles may have all or fewer of these features.
For example, to display the map in Chinese (Simplified), the JSON for each of these features changes "text-field": "{_name_global}" to "text-field": "{_name_zh_s}", for French, "text-field": "{_name_fr}", and so on.
Water point/Sea or ocean | Water area large scale/label/River | City large scale/medium | City small scale/large non capital |
Water point/Island | Water area large scale/label/Lake or lake intermittent | City large scale/large | City small scale/large admin0 capital |
Water point/Dam or weir | Water area medium scale/label/Default | City large scale/x large | City small scale/x large non capital |
Water point/Playa | Water area small scale/label/Default | City small scale/town small non capital | City small scale/x large admin1 capital |
Water point/Canal or ditch | Marine waterbody/label/small | City small scale/town large non capital | City small scale/x large admin0 capital |
Water point/Stream or river | Marine waterbody/label/medium | City small scale/small non capital | Admin0 point/2x large |
Water point/Lake or reservoir | Marine waterbody/label/large | City small scale/medium non capital | Continent |
Water point/Bay or inlet | Marine waterbody/label/x large | City small scale/other capital | Disputed label point/Island |
Water line/label/Default | Marine waterbody/label/2x large | City small scale/town large other capital | Disputed label point/Waterbody |
Water line large scale/label/Default | Indigenous/label/Default | City small scale/small other capital | Landform/label/Round small |
Water line medium scale/label/Default | Military/label/Default | City small scale/medium other capital | Landform/label/Round medium |
Water line small scale/label/Default | Admin1 forest or park/label/Default | Admin0 point/x small | Landform/label/Round large |
Water area/label/Dam or weir | Admin0 forest or park/label/Default | Admin0 point/small | Landform/label/Round x large |
Water area/label/Playa | Admin1 area/label/x small | Admin0 point/medium | Landform/label/Round small |
Water area/label/Canal or ditch | Admin1 area/label/small | Admin0 point/large | Landform/label/Round small point |
Water area/label/Small river | Admin1 area/label/medium | Admin0 point/x large | Landform/label/Round medium |
Water area/label/Large river | Admin1 area/label/large | City small scale/town small admin0 capital | Landform/label/Oblong medium point |
Water area/label/Small lake or reservoir | Admin1 area/label/x large | City small scale/town large admin0 capital | Landform/label/Oblong large |
Water area/label/Large lake or reservoir | Admin1 area/label/2x large | City small scale/small admin0 capital | Landform/label/Oblong large point |
Water area/label/Bay or inlet | City large scale/town small | City small scale/medium admin0 capital | Landform/label/Oblong x large |
Water area/label/Small island | City large scale/town large | City small scale/large other capital | Landform/label/Oblong x large point |
Water area/label/Large island | City large scale/small | City small scale/x large admin2 capital | Disputed label point/Admin0 |
Large scale features
Apply JSON changes to the small scale features first. For large scale features, the default JSON is "text-field": "{_name_global}" and displays labels in English. If you are changing the map to the local language in each country where the data supports it, the JSON for these features changes to "text-field": "{_name_local}". Find and replace "{_name_global}" with "{_name_local}" throughout the JSON file. Listed below are the 47 "id" fields in the streetmap style JSON available for local language in each country where the data supports it. Other styles may have all or fewer of these features.
For example, "text-field": "{_name_global}" becomes "text-field": "{_name_local}".
Ferry/label/Ferry | Pedestrian/label/Default | Government/label/Default | Education/label/Default |
Marine park/label/Default | Road/label/Pedestrian | Finance/label/Default | Medical/label/Default |
Marine area/label/Default | Road/label/Local | Emergency/label/Default | Airport/label/Airport property |
Ferry/label/Rail ferry | Road /label/Minor | Transportation/label/Default | Exit/Default |
| Railroad/label/Default | Road/label/Major | Beach/label/Default | Point of interest/Bus station |
Trail or path/label/Default | Road/label/Highway | Golf course/label/Default | Point of interest/Rail station |
Road tunnel/label/Pedestrian | Road/label/Freeway Motorway | Zoo/label/Default | Point of interest/General |
Road tunnel/label/Local | Cemetery/label/Default | Retail/label/Default | Admin2 area/label/small |
Road tunnel/label/Minor | Freight/label/Default | Landmark/label/Default | Admin2 area/label/large |
Road tunnel/label/Major | Water and wastewater/label/Default | Openspace or forest/label/Default | Neighborhood |
Road tunnel/label/Highway | Port/label/Default | Park or farming/label/Default | Building/label/Default |
Road tunnel/label/Freeway Motorway | Industry/label/Default | Point of interest/Park | – |
Other features
There are other features on the map with "text-field": "{_name}" in the JSON file. These features do not support localization; do not change their JSON code.
Changing the font
It is recommended that you change the fonts to Arial Unicode (bold or regular). Esri Vector Basemap styles can have different default fonts. For example, the default fonts for streetmap style are Arial Bold, Arial Italic, and Arial Regular. For the worldtopomap style, the default fonts are Noto Sans Bold, Noto Sans Italic, Noto Serif Regular, and Roboto Condensed Light Italic. Refer to the font list in the ArcGIS Data Appliance: Esri Vector Basemap Reference Document (v2) PDF in the Additional resources topic for complete details. Change the fonts to "text-font" : ["Arial Unicode MS Regular"]. Fonts that are bold by default can be changed to "text-font" : ["Arial Unicode MS Bold"]. There is no italic font in the Arial Unicode family.
Additional JSON edits for Arabic language maps
To ensure that Arabic glyphs appear correctly on the map, either set the text-spacing setting to 0 (zero) or completely remove the "text-letter-spacing" style attribute from the root.json file. JSON styles may display this attribute as follows:
"text-letter-spacing" : 0.05,
Or the style may have more complex syntax such as the following:
"text-letter-spacing" : { "stops" : [[4, 0.1], [8, 0.18]] }
Either change these to "text-letter-spacing" : 0, or remove the lines completely. Be sure to validate any root.json before updating the file on your portal.