Integrate WFS feeds using the JSON connector

With the JSON connector, you can connect your WFS data feeds (whose output format is in (Geo)JSON) and create your content lists

1. What is WFS?

WFS (Web Feature Service) is a protocol for retrieving geographic data. It offers the flexibility needed to query and retrieve specific information without having to download entire datasets. This not only improves efficiency, but also the relevance of information displayed on interactive maps.

2. Build my JSON format access URL to use it on Wemap pro

From the URL provided by your GIS service, add the following parameters to configure the feed in the chosen format. For JSON format, use the following structure:

?request=GetFeature&service=wfs&outputFormat=application/json&TYPENAME

Next, add the typename parameter to specify the type of geographic data (or "layer") you want to extract, for example:

TEST_test_wfs_umap:vecteur.sig.test_polygone

Complete URL example:

https://<url_sig>?request=GetFeature&service=wfs&outputFormat=application/json&TYPENAME=TEST_test_wfs_umap:vecteur.sig.test_polygone

URL Element	Description	Example
`https://<url_sig>`	Base URL of the WFS service that hosts the geospatial data. It depends on the GIS server used by the data provider.	`https://example.com/geoserver/wfs`
`request=GetFeature`	Specifies the type of WFS request, here `GetFeature`, which allows extracting geospatial features (points, polygons, etc.) from the requested layer.	`GetFeature`
`service=wfs`	Indicates that the service used is the Web Feature Service (WFS), an OGC standard for exchanging geospatial data.	`wfs`
`outputFormat=application/json`	Desired output format for the data. Wemap only supports JSON format.	`application/json`
`typename=<nom_de_la couche>`	Full name of the layer to query.	`TEST_test_wfs_umap:vecteur.sig.test_polygone`

💡Tip: How to find the layer name in the WFS feed?

If you don't know the exact name of the layer you want to use, you can identify it by querying the feed with the GetCapabilities request:

?SERVICE=WFS&REQUEST=GetCapabilities

This request lists the different information layers available in the feed, so you can select the one you're interested in. This step is optional if you already know the layer name.

💡Note: To integrate geospatial data in a readable format, Wemap also supports WKT (Well-Known Text) format, widely used to represent geometries such as points, lines and polygons.

3. How to use my WFS URL with the JSON connector?

After generating your JSON URL, you can connect it in Wemap to visualize your geospatial data. Here are the steps to follow on Wemap Pro:

List creation: in Wemap Pro, click on Create - List, then choose Connect an app.
JSON feed connection: select the JSON connector and paste the URL you built.
Data loading: click on Features, then on Choose this Path to continue.

Mapping Step

Map the essential fields from your feed:

ID: unique identifier for each entity.
Name: the descriptive name of the entity.
GeoEntities: field containing the geometries you want to display.

Customizing geoentities

Once the GeoEntities field is added, a customization window opens to configure the appearance of your geometries. You can adjust:

The color of each geometric entity.
The line thickness for better visibility.
The opacity to manage element visibility.
Line shape in continuous or dotted

Click on Connect to finalize your list, which is now ready with customized geoentities.