Allowing read-write access to vector data through transactionsΒΆ

OpenGeo Suite contains a full Web Feature Service (WFS) implementation. This also includes support for WFS Transactions (WFS-T).

However, as unrestricted write access to data is a security risk, the WFS in OpenGeo Suite is set to “Basic” by default. This means that the only requests that will be accepted are:

  • GetCapabilites
  • DescribeFeatureType
  • GetFeature

To enable WFS-T, you will need to change the WFS Service Level in GeoServer to Transactional (or Complete).

  1. Open the GeoServer admin interface.

  2. Under the Services section, click WFS.

    ../../_images/wfslink.png

    WFS in the Services menu

  3. Scroll down to Service Level. Click the box next to Transactional.

    ../../_images/wfst-basic.png

    Default setting: WFS-T not allowed

    ../../_images/wfst-transactional.png

    WFS-T allowed

  4. Click Save.

If you are using the default data directory shipped with OpenGeo Suite, you can easily test that transactions are enabled:

  1. On the left side of the page, click Demos and then click Demo Requests.

  2. Select the WFS_transactionInsert.xml request.

    Note

    The request will need to be modified to produce output. Read the comments at the top of the request for instructions.

    ../../_images/transactiondemo.png

    Transaction demo

  3. Enter your administrative user name and password in the appropriate fields at the bottom.

  4. Click Submit.

  5. The request should execute successfully.

    ../../_images/wfstsuccess.png

    A successful transaction

    Note

    The WFS_transactionDelete.xml request will undo this insert.