Query datasets using the Web Feature Service

Note

Azure Maps Creator retirement

The Azure Maps Creator indoor map service is now deprecated and will be retired on 9/30/25. For more information, see End of Life Announcement of Azure Maps Creator.

This article describes how to query Azure Maps Creator datasets using Web Feature Service (WFS). You can use the WFS API to query for all feature collections or a specific collection within a dataset. For example, you can use WFS to find all mid-size meeting rooms in a specific building and floor level.

Prerequisites

• A dataset

Important

• This article uses the us.atlas.microsoft.com geographical URL. If your Creator service wasn't created in the United States, you must use a different geographical URL. For more information, see Access to Creator Services.
• In the URL examples in this article you will need to replace:
  • {Azure-Maps-Subscription-key} with your Azure Maps subscription key.

Query for feature collections

To query all collections in your dataset, create a new HTTP GET Request:

Enter the following URL to WFS API. The request should look like the following URL:

https://us.atlas.microsoft.com/wfs/datasets/{datasetId}/collections?subscription-key={Your-Azure-Maps-Subscription-key}&api-version=2.0

The response body is returned in GeoJSON format and contains all collections in the dataset. For simplicity, the example here only shows the unit collection. To see an example that contains all collections, see WFS Describe Collections API. To learn more about any collection, you can select any of the URLs inside the links element.

{
"collections": [
    {
        "name": "unit",
        "description": "A physical and non-overlapping area which might be occupied and traversed by a navigating agent. Can be a hallway, a room, a courtyard, etc. It is surrounded by physical obstruction (wall), unless the is_open_area attribute is equal to true, and one must add openings where the obstruction shouldn't be there. If is_open_area attribute is equal to true, all the sides are assumed open to the surroundings and walls are to be added where needed. Walls for open areas are represented as a line_element or area_element with is_obstruction equal to true.",
        "links": [
            {
                "href": "https://atlas.microsoft.com/wfs/datasets/{datasetId}/collections/unit/definition?api-version=1.0",
                "rel": "describedBy",
                "title": "Metadata catalogue for unit"
            },
            {
                "href": "https://atlas.microsoft.com/wfs/datasets/{datasetId}/collections/unit/items?api-version=1.0",
                "rel": "data",
                "title": "unit"
            }
            {
                "href": "https://atlas.microsoft.com/wfs/datasets/{datasetId}/collections/unit?api-version=1.0",
                "rel": "self",
                "title": "Metadata catalogue for unit"
            }
        ]
    },

Query for unit feature collection

This section demonstrates querying WFS API for the unit feature collection.

To query the unit collection in your dataset, create a new HTTP GET Request:

https://us.atlas.microsoft.com/wfs/datasets/{datasetId}/collections/unit/items?subscription-key={Your-Azure-Maps-Subscription-key}&api-version=2.0

After the response returns, copy the feature id for one of the unit features. In the following example, the feature id is "UNIT26".

{
    "type": "FeatureCollection",
    "features": [
        {
            "type": "Feature",
            "geometry": {
                "type": "Polygon",
                "coordinates": ["..."]
            },
            "properties": {
                "original_id": "b7410920-8cb0-490b-ab23-b489fd35aed0",
                "category_id": "CTG8",
                "is_open_area": true,
                "navigable_by": [
                    "pedestrian"
                ],
                "route_through_behavior": "allowed",
                "level_id": "LVL14",
                "occupants": [],
                "address_id": "DIR1",
                "name": "157"
            },
            "id": "UNIT26",
            "featureType": ""
        }, {"..."}
    ]
}