require(["esri/layers/GraphicsLayer", "esri/Graphic"], function(GraphicsLayer, Graphic){
  // Create graphics
  var graphicA = new Graphic({  // graphic with line geometry
    geometry: new Polyline({...}), // set geometry here
    symbol: new SimpleLineSymbol({...}) // set symbol here
  });
  var graphicB = new Graphic({  // graphic with point geometry
    geometry: new Point({...}), // set geometry here
    symbol: new SimpleMarkerSymbol({...}) // set symbol here
  });
  var graphicC = new Graphic({  // graphic with polygon geometry
    geometry: new Polygon({...}), // set geometry here
    symbol: new SimpleFillSymbol({...}) // set symbol here
  });
  var graphicD = new Graphic();
  var graphicE = new Graphic();

  // Add graphic when GraphicsLayer is constructed
  var layer = new GraphicsLayer({
    graphics: [graphicA]
  });

  // Add graphic to graphics collection
  layer.graphics.add(graphicB);

  // Add graphic using add()
  layer.add(graphicC);
  layer.addMany([graphicD, graphicE]);

  // Add GraphicsLayer to map
  map.add(layer);
});

Property Overview

Property Details

declaredClass Stringreadonly inherited

Since: ArcGIS API for JavaScript 4.7

The name of the class. The declared class name is formatted as esri.folder.className.

elevationInfo Object

Specifies how graphics are placed on the vertical axis (z). This property may only be used in a SceneView. See the ElevationInfo sample for an example of how this property may be used.

Properties:

mode String Defines how the graphic is placed with respect to the terrain surface. If the geometry consists of multiple points (e.g. lines or polygons), the elevation is evaluated separately for each point. See the table below for a list of possible values. Mode Description on-the-ground Graphics are placed on the terrain surface. relative-to-ground Graphics are placed at an elevation relative to the terrain surface. The graphic's elevation is determined by summing the terrain elevation and the geometry's z-value (if present). In case featureExpressionInfo is defined, the result of the expression is used instead of the geometry’s z-value. absolute-height Graphics are placed at an absolute elevation (z-value) above sea level. This z-value is determined by the geometry's z-value (if present). If featureExpressionInfo is defined, the result of the expression is used instead of the geometry’s z-value. It doesn't take the elevation of the terrain into account. relative-to-scene Features are aligned to extruded polygons and objects part of 3D Object SceneLayers or IntegratedMeshLayers, depending on which has higher elevation. If the graphic is not directly above a building or any other feature, it is aligned to the terrain surface elevation. If defined, the result of featureExpressionInfo is added to the 3D Object/terrain surface elevation. In this mode z-values are ignored. Possible Values:"on-the-ground"|"relative-to-ground"|"absolute-height"|"relative-to-scene"

offset Number optional An elevation offset, which is added to the vertical position of the graphic. If unit is not defined, the offset is in meters. When mode = "on-the-ground", this property has no effect.

featureExpressionInfo Object optional This object contains information about setting a custom z-value on the feature. Specification: expression String optional An Arcade expression evaluating to a number that determines the z-value of the feature. If the geometry has z-values, they will be ignored and only featureExpressionInfo is used to calculate the vertical position of the graphic. When mode = "on-the-ground", this property has no effect. For line and polygon geometries the result of the expression is the same for all vertices of a feature.

unit String optional The unit for featureExpressionInfo and offset values. It doesn't apply to z-values. Possible Values:"feet"|"meters"|"kilometers"|"miles"|"us-feet"|"yards"

fullExtent Extentautocast inherited

The full extent of the layer. By default, this is worldwide. This property may be used to set the extent of the view to match a layer's extent so that its features appear to fill the view. See the sample snippet below.

Example:

// Once the layer loads, set the view's extent to the layer's fullextent
layer.when(function(){
  view.extent = layer.fullExtent;
});

graphics Collection<Graphic>autocast

Autocasts from Object[]

A collection of graphics in the layer. Each graphic is a vector representation of the location of a real-world feature. Each graphic in a single GraphicsLayer may contain either a Point, Polyline, or Polygon geometry. In addition, each Graphic in the collection may contain its own attributes, Symbol, and PopupTemplate.

To add a graphic to the GraphicsLayer use add(), or GraphicsLayer.graphics.add().

See also:

• Graphic

Example:

// Add graphics to GraphicsLayer directly as an array
layer.graphics = [graphicA, graphicB];

// Add graphics to layer via Collection
layer.graphics.addMany([graphicC, graphicD]);

id String inherited

The unique ID assigned to the layer. If not set by the developer, it is automatically generated when the layer is loaded.

listMode String inherited

Indicates how the layer should display in the LayerList widget. The possible values are listed below.

Value	Description
show	The layer is visible in the table of contents.
hide	The layer is hidden in the table of contents.
hide-children	If the layer is a GroupLayer, BuildingSceneLayer, KMLLayer, MapImageLayer, TileLayer or WMSLayer, hide the children layers from the table of contents.

Possible Values:"show"|"hide"|"hide-children"

Default Value:show

loaded Booleanreadonly

Indicates whether the layer instance has loaded. When true, all the properties of the object can be accessed.

Default Value:false

loadError Errorreadonly inherited

The Error object returned if an error occurred while loading.

Default Value:null

loadStatus Stringreadonly inherited

Represents the status of a load operation.

Value	Description
not-loaded	The object's resources have not loaded.
loading	The object's resources are currently loading.
loaded	The object's resources have loaded without errors.
failed	The object's resources failed to load. See loadError for more details.

Possible Values:"not-loaded"|"loading"|"failed"|"loaded"

Default Value:not-loaded

loadWarnings Object[]readonly inherited

A list of warnings which occurred while loading.

maxScale Number

The maximum scale (most zoomed in) at which the layer is visible in the view. If the map is zoomed in beyond this scale, the layer will not be visible. A value of 0 means the layer does not have a maximum scale. The maxScale value should always be smaller than the minScale value, and greater than or equal to the service specification.

Default Value:0

Examples:

// The layer will not be visible when the view is zoomed in beyond a scale of 1:1,000
layer.maxScale = 1000;

// The layer's visibility is not restricted to a maximum scale.
layer.maxScale = 0;

minScale Number

The minimum scale (most zoomed out) at which the layer is visible in the view. If the map is zoomed out beyond this scale, the layer will not be visible. A value of 0 means the layer does not have a minimum scale. The minScale value should always be larger than the maxScale value, and lesser than or equal to the service specification.

Default Value:0

Examples:

// The layer will not be visible when the view is zoomed out beyond a scale of 1:3,000,000
layer.minScale = 3000000;

// The layer's visibility is not restricted to a minimum scale.
layer.minScale = 0;

opacity Number inherited

The opacity of the layer. This value can range between 1 and 0, where 0 is 100 percent transparent and 1 is completely opaque.

Default Value:1

Example:

// Makes the layer 50% transparent
layer.opacity = 0.5;

screenSizePerspectiveEnabled Boolean

Since: ArcGIS API for JavaScript 4.4

Apply perspective scaling to screen-size point symbols in a SceneView. When true, screen sized objects such as icons, labels or callouts integrate better in the 3D scene by applying a certain perspective projection to the sizing of features. This only applies when using a SceneView.

layer.screenSizePerspectiveEnabled = true

layer.screenSizePerspectiveEnabled = false

Known Limitations

Screen size perspective is currently not optimized for situations where the camera is very near the ground, or for scenes with point features located far from the ground surface. In these cases it may be better to turn off screen size perspective.

Default Value:true

title String inherited

The title of the layer used to identify it in places such as the Legend and LayerList widgets.

type Stringreadonly

For GraphicsLayer the type is always "graphics".

visible Boolean inherited

Indicates if the layer is visible in the View. When false, the layer may still be added to a Map instance that is referenced in a view, but its features will not be visible in the view.

Default Value:true

Example:

// The layer is no longer visible in the view
layer.visible = false;

Method Overview

Method Details

add(graphic)

Adds a graphic to the layer.

Parameter:

graphic Graphic The graphic to add to the layer.

addMany(graphics)

Adds an array of graphics to the layer.

Parameter:

graphics Graphic[] The graphic(s) to add to the layer.

cancelLoad()inherited

Cancels a load() operation if it is already in progress.

createLayerView(view, options){Promise<LayerView>}inherited

Called by the views, such as MapView and SceneView, when the layer is added to the Map.layers collection and a layer view must be created for it. This method is used internally and there is no use case for invoking it directly.

Parameters:

view * The parent view.

options Object optional An object specifying additional options. See the object specification table below for the required properties of this object. Specification: signal AbortSignal optional A signal to abort the creation of the layerview.

Returns:

Type	Description
Promise<LayerView>	Resolves with a LayerView instance.

See also:

• Sample - Custom WebGL layer view

emit(type, event){Boolean}inherited

Since: ArcGIS API for JavaScript 4.5

Emits an event on the instance. This method should only be used when creating subclasses of this class.

Parameters:

type String The name of the event.

event Object optional The event payload.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	true if a listener was notified

hasEventListener(type){Boolean}inherited

Indicates whether there is an event listener on the instance that matches the provided event name.

Parameter:

type String The name of the event.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Returns true if the class supports the input event.

isFulfilled(){Boolean}inherited

isFulfilled() may be used to verify if creating an instance of the class is fulfilled (either resolved or rejected). If it is fulfilled, true will be returned.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Indicates whether creating an instance of the class has been fulfilled (either resolved or rejected).

isRejected(){Boolean}inherited

isRejected() may be used to verify if creating an instance of the class is rejected. If it is rejected, true will be returned.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Indicates whether creating an instance of the class has been rejected.

isResolved(){Boolean}inherited

isResolved() may be used to verify if creating an instance of the class is resolved. If it is resolved, true will be returned.

Returns:

Type	Description
Boolean	Indicates whether creating an instance of the class has been resolved.

load(signal){Promise}inherited

Loads the resources referenced by this class. This method automatically executes for a View and all of the resources it references in Map if the view is constructed with a map instance.

This method must be called by the developer when accessing a resource that will not be loaded in a View.

It's possible to provide a signal to stop being interested into a Loadable instance load status. When the signal is aborted, the instance does not stop its loading process, only cancelLoad can abort it.

Parameter:

signal AbortSignal optional Signal object that can be used to abort the asynchronous task. The returned promise will be rejected with an Error named AbortError when an abort is signaled. See also AbortController for more information on how to construct a controller that can be used to deliver abort signals.

Returns:

Type	Description
Promise	Resolves when the resources have loaded.

on(type, listener){Object}inherited

Registers an event handler on the instance. Call this method to hook an event with a listener.

Parameters:

type String|String[] A event type, or an array of event types, to listen for.

listener Function The function to call when the event is fired.

Returns:

Type	Description
Object	Returns an event handler with a remove() method that can be called to stop listening for the event(s). Property Type Description remove Function When called, removes the listener from the event.

Example:

view.on("click", function(event){
  // event is the event handle returned after the event fires.
  console.log(event.mapPoint);
});

remove(graphic)

Removes a graphic from the layer.

Parameter:

graphic Graphic The graphic to remove from the layer.

removeAll()

Clears all the graphics from the layer.

removeMany(graphics)

Removes an array of graphics from the layer.

Parameter:

graphics Graphic[] The graphics to remove from the layer.

when(callback, errback){Promise}inherited

Since: ArcGIS API for JavaScript 4.6

when() may be leveraged once an instance of the class is created. This method takes two input parameters: a callback function and an errback function. The callback executes when the instance of the class loads. The errback executes if the instance of the class fails to load.

Parameters:

callback Function optional The function to call when the promise resolves.

errback Function optional The function to execute when the promise fails.

Returns:

Type	Description
Promise	Returns a new promise for the result of callback that may be used to chain additional functions.

Example:

// Although this example uses MapView, any class instance that is a promise may use then() in the same way
var view = new MapView();
view.when(function(){
  // This function will execute once the promise is resolved
}, function(error){
  // This function will execute if the promise is rejected due to an error
});

Event Overview

{view: View,layerView: LayerView}

{view: View,error: Error}

{view: View,layerView: LayerView}

Event Details

layerview-createinherited

Fires after the layer's LayerView is created and rendered in a view.

Properties:

view View The view in which the layerView was created.

layerView LayerView The LayerView rendered in the view representing the layer in layer.

See also:

• View.whenLayerView()

Example:

// This function will fire each time a layer view is created for this
// particular view.
layer.on("layerview-create", function(event){
  // The LayerView for the layer that emitted this event
  event.layerView;
});

layerview-create-errorinherited

Fires when an error emits during the creation of a LayerView after a layer has been added to the map.

Properties:

view View The view that failed to create a layerview for the layer emitting this event.

error Error An error object describing why the layer view failed to create.

See also:

• View.whenLayerView()

Example:

// This function fires when an error occurs during the creation of the layer's layerview
layer.on("layerview-create-error", function(event) {
  console.error("LayerView failed to create for layer with the id: ", layer.id, " in this view: ", event.view);
});

layerview-destroyinherited

Fires after the layer's LayerView is destroyed and no longer renders in a view.

Properties:

view View The view in which the layerView was destroyed.

layerView LayerView The destroyed LayerView representing the layer.