ArcGIS Coordinates and Projection

Use this skill for coordinate conversion, projection transformations, spatial reference handling, and displaying coordinates in various formats.

Important: The projection module (deprecated since 4.32) and geodesicUtils (deprecated since 4.33) were removed in v5.0. Use projectOperator and geodetic geometry operators instead.

Import Patterns

Direct ESM Imports

import projectOperator from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/projectOperator.js";
import SpatialReference from "@arcgis/core/geometry/SpatialReference.js";
import coordinateFormatter from "@arcgis/core/geometry/coordinateFormatter.js";
import webMercatorUtils from "@arcgis/core/geometry/support/webMercatorUtils.js";

Dynamic Imports (CDN)

const projectOperator = await $arcgis.import(
  "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/projectOperator.js",
);
const coordinateFormatter = await $arcgis.import(
  "@arcgis/core/geometry/coordinateFormatter.js",
);
const [SpatialReference, webMercatorUtils] = await $arcgis.import([
  "@arcgis/core/geometry/SpatialReference.js",
  "@arcgis/core/geometry/support/webMercatorUtils.js",
]);

Coordinate Conversion Component

Basic Setup

<arcgis-map basemap="topo-vector" center="-117.049, 34.485" zoom="12">
  <arcgis-zoom slot="top-left"></arcgis-zoom>
  <arcgis-coordinate-conversion
    slot="bottom-left"
  ></arcgis-coordinate-conversion>
</arcgis-map>

Coordinate Conversion Widget (Core API)

import CoordinateConversion from "@arcgis/core/widgets/CoordinateConversion.js";

const ccWidget = new CoordinateConversion({ view });
view.ui.add(ccWidget, "bottom-left");

Custom Coordinate Formats

import CoordinateConversion from "@arcgis/core/widgets/CoordinateConversion.js";
import Format from "@arcgis/core/widgets/CoordinateConversion/support/Format.js";

const customFormat = new Format({
  name: "Custom XY",
  conversionInfo: {
    spatialReference: { wkid: 4326 },
    reverseConvert: (string) => {
      const parts = string.split(",");
      return [parseFloat(parts[0]), parseFloat(parts[1])];
    },
  },
  coordinateSegments: [
    { alias: "Lon", description: "Longitude", searchPattern: "X" },
    { alias: "Lat", description: "Latitude", searchPattern: "Y" },
  ],
  defaultPattern: "X°, Y°",
});

const ccWidget = new CoordinateConversion({
  view,
  formats: [customFormat],
});

Spatial Reference

Common Spatial References

Create Spatial Reference

import SpatialReference from "@arcgis/core/geometry/SpatialReference.js";

// By WKID
const wgs84 = new SpatialReference({ wkid: 4326 });
const webMercator = new SpatialReference({ wkid: 102100 });

// By WKT (for custom projections)
const customSR = new SpatialReference({
  wkt: 'PROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_California_VI_FIPS_0406_Feet"...',
});

// Shorthand (autocast)
const sr = { wkid: 4326 };

SpatialReference Properties

const sr = new SpatialReference({ wkid: 4326 });

console.log(sr.isGeographic); // true for lat/lon systems
console.log(sr.isWebMercator); // true for WKID 3857/102100
console.log(sr.isWGS84); // true for WKID 4326
console.log(sr.wkid); // 4326

Client-Side Projection (projectOperator)

The recommended way to project geometries client-side.

Project Geometry

import projectOperator from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/projectOperator.js";

await projectOperator.load();

const projected = projectOperator.execute(geometry, { wkid: 4326 });

Project with Geographic Transformation

import projectOperator from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/projectOperator.js";

await projectOperator.load();

const projected = projectOperator.execute(
  geometry,
  { wkid: 4326 },
  {
    geographicTransformation: {
      steps: [{ wkid: 108190 }], // NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_5
    },
  },
);

Shape-Preserving Projection

For projecting geometries while preserving geodesic shape (great circle arcs):

import shapePreservingProjectOperator from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/shapePreservingProjectOperator.js";

await shapePreservingProjectOperator.load();

const projected = shapePreservingProjectOperator.execute(geometry, {
  wkid: 3857,
});

Geographic Transformation Utilities

import geographicTransformationUtils from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/support/geographicTransformationUtils.js";

// Get available transformations between two spatial references
const transformations = geographicTransformationUtils.getTransformations(
  { wkid: 4269 }, // NAD83
  { wkid: 4326 }, // WGS84
);

transformations.forEach((t) => {
  console.log(t.wkid, t.wkt);
});

Server-Side Projection (Geometry Service)

For complex projections or when the client-side engine is insufficient:

import * as geometryService from "@arcgis/core/rest/geometryService.js";
import ProjectParameters from "@arcgis/core/rest/support/ProjectParameters.js";

const gsUrl =
  "https://utility.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Geometry/GeometryServer";

const params = new ProjectParameters({
  geometries: [geometry],
  outSpatialReference: { wkid: 4326 },
});

const results = await geometryService.project(gsUrl, params);
const projected = results[0];

Coordinate Conversion Utilities

Web Mercator to/from Geographic

import webMercatorUtils from "@arcgis/core/geometry/support/webMercatorUtils.js";

const geoPoint = webMercatorUtils.webMercatorToGeographic(webMercatorPoint);
const wmPoint = webMercatorUtils.geographicToWebMercator(geoPoint);
const canProject = webMercatorUtils.canProject(fromSR, toSR);

Coordinate Formatter

Convert coordinates to/from DMS, UTM, MGRS, USNG strings.

import coordinateFormatter from "@arcgis/core/geometry/coordinateFormatter.js";

await coordinateFormatter.load();

// To Degrees Minutes Seconds
const dms = coordinateFormatter.toLatitudeLongitude(point, "dms", 3);
// Output: "34°29'06.000\"N 117°02'56.400\"W"

// To MGRS
const mgrs = coordinateFormatter.toMgrs(point, "automatic", 5, false);
// Output: "11SNU1234567890"

// To UTM
const utm = coordinateFormatter.toUtm(point, "north-south-indicators", true);
// Output: "11S 500000 3800000"

// To USNG
const usng = coordinateFormatter.toUsng(point, 5, false);

// From string to point
const pointFromDMS = coordinateFormatter.fromLatitudeLongitude(
  "34°29'06\"N 117°02'56\"W",
);
const pointFromMGRS = coordinateFormatter.fromMgrs("11SNU1234567890");
const pointFromUTM = coordinateFormatter.fromUtm("11S 500000 3800000");
const pointFromUSNG = coordinateFormatter.fromUsng("11SNU1234567890");

coordinateFormatter Methods

Display Coordinates

Show Mouse Coordinates

view.on("pointer-move", (event) => {
  const mapPoint = view.toMap({ x: event.x, y: event.y });
  if (mapPoint) {
    document.getElementById("coords").textContent =
      `Lat: ${mapPoint.latitude.toFixed(6)}, Lon: ${mapPoint.longitude.toFixed(6)}`;
  }
});

Multi-Format Coordinate Display

import coordinateFormatter from "@arcgis/core/geometry/coordinateFormatter.js";

await coordinateFormatter.load();

view.on("pointer-move", (event) => {
  const point = view.toMap({ x: event.x, y: event.y });
  if (point) {
    document.getElementById("latlon").textContent =
      `${point.latitude.toFixed(6)}, ${point.longitude.toFixed(6)}`;
    document.getElementById("utm").textContent = coordinateFormatter.toUtm(
      point,
      "north-south-indicators",
      true,
    );
    document.getElementById("mgrs").textContent = coordinateFormatter.toMgrs(
      point,
      "automatic",
      5,
      true,
    );
  }
});

Geodetic Geometry Operations

For geodesic calculations (distance, area, length on Earth's surface):

import geodeticDistanceOperator from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/geodeticDistanceOperator.js";
import geodeticAreaOperator from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/geodeticAreaOperator.js";
import geodeticLengthOperator from "@arcgis/core/geometry/operators/geodeticLengthOperator.js";

// Geodesic distance between two points
const distance = geodeticDistanceOperator.execute(point1, point2, {
  unit: "kilometers",
});

// Geodesic area of a polygon
const area = geodeticAreaOperator.execute(polygon, {
  unit: "square-kilometers",
});

// Geodesic length of a polyline
const length = geodeticLengthOperator.execute(polyline, { unit: "kilometers" });

For full operator documentation, see arcgis-geometry-operations.

Migration from Removed Modules

Common Pitfalls

1. Forgetting to load the projection engine: projectOperator.load() and coordinateFormatter.load() must be called before use:

   // Anti-pattern: using before load
   const projected = projectOperator.execute(geom, { wkid: 4326 }); // Error
   
   // Correct: load first
   await projectOperator.load();
   const projected = projectOperator.execute(geom, { wkid: 4326 });

2. Coordinate order: Geographic coordinates are (longitude, latitude) in the SDK, not (latitude, longitude). Point properties use x = longitude, y = latitude.
3. WKID vs WKT: Use WKID when a well-known ID exists. Use WKT only for custom coordinate systems not in the WKID registry.
4. Datum transformations: When projecting between different datums (e.g., NAD83 to WGS84), provide a geographic transformation for accuracy. Without it, results may be off by meters.
5. Client vs server: Use client-side projection (projectOperator) for speed. Use server-side (geometryService.project()) only for complex transformations the client engine cannot handle.
6. Using removed modules: The projection and geodesicUtils modules were removed in 5.0. Use projectOperator and geodetic operators instead.

Reference Samples

• coordinate-conversion - Converting between coordinate formats
• coordinate-conversion-custom - Custom coordinate formats
• widgets-coordinateconversion - CoordinateConversion widget usage
• widgets-coordinateconversion-custom - Custom coordinate widget formats
• client-projection - Client-side projection of geometries
• layers-csv-projection - CSV layer with projection

Related Skills

• See arcgis-geometry-operations for geometry creation and spatial operators.
• See arcgis-rest-services for server-side geometry service (project, buffer, etc.).
• See arcgis-core-maps for map and view spatial reference configuration.