How to Place an Archive Order on Content Store

Before reviewing this article, it is recommended that the user be familiar with adding an Area of Interest (AOI) polygon or layer on Content Store, as this topic will not be covered here.

For instructions on how to add AOIs and layers to Content Store, please refer to the Adding AOIs on Content Store article.

An archive image is a satellite image that has already been acquired by one of our suppliers on a previous date (same-day archive images may occasionally be available).

On Content Store, SkyWatch offers a variety of high-resolution (50-99 cm), very high-resolution (16-49 cm), very high HD-resolution (<15 cm), and aerial (<15-2.5 cm) images. To view an overview of available supplier images, please refer to our article What Data Can I Get From Content Store?.

In this article, we will provide step by step instructions on how to search and order archive imagery.

In the "Search" tab, located in the left-hand column on the Content Store homepage, you can choose to "Add Layer," "Draw," or create an "Extent" polygon.

Below is an example of an extent polygon generated after zooming into downtown Toronto, Canada.

After adding your AOI, select the dates for which you wish to search for an available archive image.

Once you've selected your dates, click "Search All Results."

All available archive images that intersect with your AOI and were captured within the selected date range will be returned to Content Store and listed in the left-side column.

Note: If no archive images are returned, it means our suppliers have not acquired any images over your AOI within the specified dates. In this case, we recommend expanding your date range. If images still do not appear, you may need to place a tasking order(tasking order).

Each returned archive image will display the following information:

Note:

To learn about the minimum billable AOI sizes for all Content Store products, please review the support article Layer Size & Price Requirements.

To determine the coverage of a returned archive image over your AOI, hover over the search results to reveal the product footprint, which will be highlighted in light blue.

If you'd like to review the image before ordering, you can open a downsampled preview. The preview tool helps confirm the presence of clouds or haze and shows how much of your AOI the archive image covers. To open the preview, select the product of interest in the search column.

To learn more about how to best utilize the preview image tool, please refer to our article How to Use the Preview Image on Content Store.

A selected archive image with a preview will be highlighted in blue in the search column (see red arrow in the image below).

Once you have found the archive image(s) that interest you, click the "Add" button next to each image.

To view your shopping cart, click "Cart" at the bottom of the column.

Inside your cart, you'll find a summary of all your selected orders (both archive and tasking). It is highly recommended to review all orders carefully before proceeding to "Checkout."

In "Checkout", you will see a window pop-up similar to the example below.

You can assign a name and tags to the order. This information will appear in your Orders Table.

You will be prompted to enter a credit card to complete your order. If you wish to update your payment information, click on the "Update Payment Method" hyperlink located in the bottom left corner.

After clicking "Place Order", a confirmation screen will appear, confirming that your order has been successfully placed. You can then track the status of your order in the Order Table.

View When You Use a Credit Card

View When You Use Content Store Data Credits

Reminder: Content Store Data Credits are not the equivalent to ArcGIS credits. To acquire Data Credits, please follow the instructions in our FAQ.

Note: We recommend reviewing your order in the cart before completing checkout, as archived orders cannot be canceled or refunded once submitted.