QGIS: Adding a WMTS Layer from ArcGISOnline

  • Software: QGIS 3.20
  • OS: Any
  • Updated: August 2021

This tutorial is going to use some freely available WMTS services at ESRI. I believe the licensing agreement now wants you to be a customer of ESRI to use this service. This is the Imagery WMTS Service.

Go to http://services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer

Web page for the WMTS Service

If you notice at the top this service is published in several different forms – one of these is a WMTS (highlighted). Click on the WMTS link to get this URL:

http://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer/WMTS/1.0.0/WMTSCapabilities.xml

Copy the URL from your web browser to your clipboard.

Open QGIS. Select the Open Data Source Manager icon.

Data Source Toolbar

Once the WMS/WMTS menu open Click New.

WMS/WMTS Tab on the data source manager toolbar

Give the service a name and copy the URL into URL Text Box

New Connection for WMTS

Click OK. Click Connect.

There are two versions of the service. Click the tileset that is “default028mm” and click add.

Connecting to the tileset

Enjoy your new Image Service

Final QGIS Project

Want QGIS Training? Need help with a project? Give us a shout at info at northrivergeographic.com