ArcGIS Explorer's basemap gallery includes ready-to-use basemaps from ESRI and Bing, but you can also add your own. Here's an overview of how to create and add your own custom basemaps to the basemap gallery.

There are two approaches we can consider when creating our own basemaps. One is that we'll use one of the existing basemaps and add our own specific layers on top. The other approach is to build a completely new basemap from scratch. Let's start with adding to an existing existing basemap, and for this example we'll use one of the ArcGIS map services published by Jithen Singh from Eagle Technology Group, ESRI's New Zealand distributor (and also serving the Cook Islands and Tokelau).

We'll start with the default basemap and add a connection to the New Zealand map service that we want to use to create our own custom basemap. Using Add Content, then GIS Services, we connected to Jithen's New Zealand map service. Here's what our Table of Contents looks like now:

The World Imagery basemap is seen in other parts of the world, but in New Zealand the New Zealand basemap is what we see on top. Here we've zoomed in and used the Swipe tool to show how the New Zealand service is draped on top of the default World Imagery basemap. When we create the basemap, these two services (World Imagery and New Zealand) will be merged into a single basemap.

To save this as a new basemap, just click the ArcGIS Explorer button and choose Save As New Basemap.

We're prompted to specify basemap options in the dialog show below. We've chosen the obvious "New Zealand" as the name for our basemap. A thumbnail will be automatically captured from the current map extent, but you can create a new one and change it now or at any time later. The thumbnail is a 200px by 133px .png file.

Once we click Save the new basemap is created, and we see our new basemap under My Basemaps in the gallery.

Close the current map and open a new one, and now this new basemap can be used just like any other. Here we're in 3D mode and have zoomed out, and you can clearly see the New Zealand map (light blue rectangle) displayed atop the World Imagery.

And in our Contents we'll see the new combined service basemap.

In this approach we've leveraged the existing World Imagery basemap, including the elevation services that are part of that basemap, to create our custom New Zealand basemap by adding the New Zealand map service on top of it.

If we want to focus our basemap for use in New Zealand only, we can omit the World Imagery services (reducing our drawing overhead and optimizing performance) but we'll still want the elevation services, or may want to add our own. So in this next iteration let's change a few steps and author the basemap with only the New Zealand map plus elevation.

As before, we'll open a new ArcGIS Explorer session but this time we'll clear the basemap. Clear Basemap is found at the bottom of the Basemap Gallery.

After we clear the basemap we'll be looking at a blank white map if we're in 2D mode, or an empty wire mesh globe if we're in 3D mode.

We'll begin creating our new basemap by adding the elevation services. There are two places to find the needed elevation services. The easiest place to find them is in the ArcGIS Explorer group on ArcGIS Online. We've added the World Elevation Base as a layer that you can open directly in ArcGIS Explorer.

The other way to add these is to connect directly to the ArcGIS Online server (services.arcgis.online.com/arcgis/services) and look for the elevation services in the Elevation folder. You'll want to use both services you find there.

Now we add our New Zealand map service as above. This is what our Contents looks like at this point:

Now we can save as a new basemap just like before. Looking at our basemap in 3D we see just the New Zealand map.

Note that when creating basemaps there may be other considerations. If you're only authoring for 2D, you don't need the elevation (but the world will be flat in 3D). You may also want to use your own elevation services if you have them available. We'll cover these topics in more detail in future posts. For more information see the Create a Basemap Help topic.

With the latest release of ArcGIS Explorer we've had a few questions about versions. Typically we don't note version numbers with ArcGIS Explorer, and one reason we don't is that ArcGIS Explorer's release schedule differs from other ArcGIS products. We release at more frequent intervals, and if needed we refer to the release by its build number. For example, this latest release is build 1200 (and there is no ArcGIS Explorer 9.3.1).

So how do you figure out if you're using 1200 or not? First, you can just look at the ribbon. The Home tab includes the new Analysis Gallery, an obvious addition.

But a better way is to look at the build number, which you will find by clicking the Explorer button:

Then choosing ArcGIS Explorer Options:

On the options dialog, click Resources then look for the build information under About ArcGIS Explorer:

How do you know if there is an update? One way is to subscribe to this blog. Another is to stay tuned to news from ESRI. And another is check for yourself. Just click the Check for Updates tab you'll see at top right in the same location as above.

If you did this using ArcGIS Explorer build 900 you'd get this message:

And you'll always find the latest version by going to the ArcGIS Explorer Resource Center.

Factoid: Since the first release (build 248) at the end of 2006, we've had 12 releases of ArcGIS Explorer.

A new version of ArcGIS Explorer (build 1200) is now available for download at:

http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/explorer

http://resources.esri.com/arcgisexplorer

If you've not installed ArcGIS Explorer before, you can run the system check utility or review the platform requirements before you install. If you are already using ArcGIS Explorer on the same machine as ArcGIS Desktop, please note that the uninstall may take a few minutes...

What's new in this latest version

ArcGIS Explorer is a free, downloadable GIS viewer that provides an easy way to explore, visualize, share, and present geographic information. The latest release of ArcGIS Explorer (build 1200) has many new features and capabilities that make it ideal for providing wider access to your GIS data and capabilities. The new features are described below,

Updated Basemap Gallery

The ArcGIS Explorer basemap gallery has been updated with new ArcGIS Online content including World Imagery, World Streets, and World Topographic basemaps. Featured are the Bing Maps Aerials, Hybrid, and Roads, now available for free, unlimited use without additional licensing.

All ESRI basemaps have been recently updated. The World Topographic basemap includes detailed data obtained from the ESRI user community via the growing ArcGIS Online Community Maps Program. World Streets and World Imagery also include detailed updates from a variety of sources.

The basemap gallery now includes tools which make it easy for you to add and manage your own basemaps. The gallery is also dynamic, so new ESRI basemaps can be added and updated as soon as they are available. This ensures that you've always got access to the latest and greatest ArcGIS Online content.

New Analysis Gallery

You can connect directly to any ArcGIS Server and execute geoprocessing tools and models. Just enter the URL to an ArcGIS Server, choose from the tools you've published, and click to run it. The Analysis Gallery allows you to manage and share any of the tools you've added, making it easy to extend ArcGIS Explorer with advanced GIS capabilities.

Enhanced Symbol Management

You've always been able to add new symbols from files or from a URL, but now we've enhanced the Symbol Gallery to make it easier to manage your custom symbols. Have your own symbols you'd like to use? Just add them to the Gallery and organize, rename, and remove them as you choose. All symbols work in both 2D and 3D modes.

Fly Along

You've been able to fly along calculated routes between addresses, and now you can interactively add a line across any terrain to fly along it. Control your speed, observer distance, and observer angle. Play the animation, and stop or rewind at any time.

And More...

There's a lot more in this new release, including lots of behind-the-scenes improvements. Other enhancements include:

• Improved worldwide gazetteer, geocoding, and routing using Bing.
  
• Enhanced layer package (*.lpk) support, including label support and new data types such as TINs, terrains, and VPF. The source and data location are shown in the map item properties.
  
• Optimized text and GPS (*.gpx) file import. The GPS import dialog allows you to choose from attaching to the surface or honoring the Z value obtained from the GPS device.
  
• Improved 2D and 3D symbol placement.
  
• The position display now includes support for decimal minutes and other coordinate systems (e.g., British National Grid). The scale bar has also been improved for greater accuracy.
  
• Faster 2D/3D mode switching.
  
• Faster graphics display, including dynamic surface draping.
  
• Connection status display.
  
• Right-to-left language support.
  
• The default map is now 2D, and uses the Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere projection. As in previous releases, all other ArcGIS projections and transformations are supported, and data is projected on-the-fly as needed in both 2D and 3D modes.
  
• No API changes, all existing add-ins and custom code built using the ArcGIS Explorer SDK will continue to work without needing any modification.
  
• Support for space navigator (a 3D navigation device).
  
• New 3D speed check utility.
  
• Updated ArcGIS Explorer and ArcGIS Explorer Labs groups on ArcGIS Online.
  

We'll be going over many of these new features in detail in future posts here on the blog.

For those experimenting with beta versions of ArcGIS 10, we will have another release of ArcGIS Explorer in conjunction with the ArcGIS 10 final release. That release will provide updates and support for new ArcGIS 10 features and capabilities.

The Bing Birds Eye View and the Get Weather Forecast add-ins have been updated, and new versions have been placed on the ArcGIS Explorer Labs group.

 (Submitted by: Nicole Richter, GIS Specialist, Uni CIPR)

Initiated in early 2009, this project aims to compile large quantities of outcrop data into a geodatabase called SAFARI (Sedimentary Architecture of Field Analogues for Reservoir Information). Used to enhance geologists’ understanding of subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs, the first quantitative data from geological outcrop analogues were collected for reservoir modeling purposes as long ago as the late 1980s. Since then significant amounts of data have been collected including geometric measurements (quantitative information on sandbody and shale baffle geometry), pictures, descriptions (e.g. stratigraphy), wells and cross sections. Most recently, spatial data from high resolution acquisition techniques, such as laser scanning (lidar) and photogrammetry, have joined the complement of available datasets, in the form of 3D virtual outcrop models.

The SAFARI geodatabase is combined with ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Explorer to serve its main requirements: extensive data search and query capabilities, and data analysis and visualization of the 3D virtual outcrop models created from lidar data.

Since the beginning of the project, ArcGIS Explorer has been used extensively in meetings and conferences to show and demonstrate the datasets, and the software’s capabilities for data visualization.

The 3D virtual outcrops are currently visualized as 3D pdf files in Adobe Reader, which also contains a degree of interactive functionality. At a later stage of the project, the 3D data may also be implemented in the ArcGIS multipatch files format.

The data sheets for each outcrop location are shown using the popup window function. In order to directly open the file (e.g. a pdf or html file), their paths were stored in a specific attribute column in the feature layer. The popup window was then configured to display the content of this specific column.

Future plans to develop the database include more work to tailor query functions to meet the needs of the users, increased integration of the virtual outcrop models, as well as the continued addition of available datasets. It is hoped that this work will provide the basis for a single integrated environment for studying reservoir analogues.

The ArcGIS Explorer presentation is available as a short movie, which can be viewed online.

For additional information and contacts:

• SAFARI project site
  
• Virtual Outcrop Geology Group at Uni CIPR in Bergen, Norway
  

Both layer packages (.lpk) and layer files (.lyr) are created using ArcGIS Desktop. Layer files store the layer properties, including cartography, and point to the source data. Layer packages encapsulate the data and layer file. Layer packages are ideal for sharing, especially on ArcGIS Online. 

One of the things that the layer file or package author can set is the transparency. There are two lines of thinking when considering transparency in layer file and packages - one approach is that the transparency is set by the author. The other is that no transparency is applied and it's up to the user of the layer file or package to apply transparency if they like. We won't get into a discussion about the merits of the approaches here, but here's how to adjust transparency in Explorer for both scenarios.

In this first example we'll look at a layer package that we've added that has no transparency applied:

We're at maximum opacity, and the layer is completely opaque. To adjust the transparency, just move the slider.

In this second example we've added a layer package with transparency. Though this might seem odd at first, we're at maximum opacity on the slider, but the layer appears somewhat transparent. This makes sense when you consider that what the slider shows is the maximum opacity the author of the layer package chose.

But if we just nudge the slider off of maximum opacity, then we regain control of how the layer looks. Here we've overridden the transparency built-in by the author,and now it's just about completely opaque.

And we can continue to adjust the transparency as we like. Here we're about 70% transparent.

For more information on layers see the Working with ArcGIS Layers and Layer Packages Help topic.

For more information on transparency, see the Controlling Layer Appearance Help topic.

At the opening of yesterday's ESRI Petroleum User Group (PUG) meeting, the upcoming new release of ArcGIS Explorer (build 1200) was showcased. First, an Explorer presentation was used to highlight the new ArcGIS Online basemaps, with detailed imagery, streets, and topo data worldwide. Bing Maps aerials, hybrid, and streets are also featured in the updated basemap gallery, and will be available for free for Explorer users.

Shown below is the newly updated ESRI World Imagery basemap, showing some of the oil facilities and wells in Bahrain.

One of the new capabilities demonstrated was the new Analysis Gallery which provides a way to connect to any ArcGIS Server and use geoprocessing tools directly.

Here we've entered the URL for an ArcGIS Server and connected to its services directory. In the Geoprocessing folder we've discovered several published geoprocessing services, and have chosen one of them.

Once we've connected, the tool becomes part of the Analysis Gallery where it can be managed.

The parameters in the geoprocessing service define the user interface. Here we can see how the tool allows us to draw a polygon to select gas transmission lines, buffer them by a specified distance, and locate leases that fall within the buffer distance that expire in the next three months,

The parameters are sent to the waiting geoprocessing service which performs the analysis, and returns the results. When completed we see a message appear:

The resulting leases can be viewed, and clicked to view additional information.

This is just one of the ways that ArcGIS Explorer can be extended with additional GIS tools. The Analysis Gallery makes it easy to connect to server-based capabilities that can perform advanced GIS analysis.

During yesterday's ESRI Federal User Conference plenary and in a workshop this morning, the soon-to-be-released ArcGIS Explorer (build 1200) and ArcGIS Explorer Online were demonstrated. These new releases are forthcoming, and we'll be taking a closer look at both in future posts, but here's a few highlights as discussed at the FedUC.

The upcoming release of ArcGIS Explorer (build 1200) updates the currently available version with several significant new features. One of them is an updated basemap gallery, providing a variety of best-of-breed basemaps compiled with data from ESRI and major users (USGS, EPA, and local governments) and partners (such as i-Cubed, Tele Atlas, AND, and more). Microsoft Bing Maps for Enterprise,including aerials, aerials with labels, and streets, are now available for free, unlimited use, and require no additional licensing. The Bing maps are featured at the top of the gallery.

Also included are the recently updated World Imagery, World Streets, and World Topographic basemaps. The Streets and Topographic maps include detailed content, such as building footprints, elevation data, and even vegetation, providing coverage to 1:1000 scale in major US cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and others.

Users can also add their own basemaps to the gallery using new tools that make it easy to manage and organize custom basemaps along with the built-in basemaps.

Another significant new feature is the Analysis Gallery, providing an easy way to connect to GIS services without having to write any code or manage configurations. The Analysis Gallery makes it very easy to extend Explorer's capabilities with geoprocessing services and models authored using ArcGIS Desktop, and served using ArcGIS Server.

Sample geoprocessing services from ESRI are available, so you can try these out and download the geoprocessing tools to host from your own server.

The Analysis Gallery can also be used to add and manage add-ins, including the large selection available on the ArcGIS Explorer Labs group on ArcGIS Online.

Other enhancements and improvements will be detailed in future posts.

ArcGIS Explorer Online is a rich internet client that works directly with ArcGIS Online and other server and file-based content (such as GPS files and text files), and features many of the same capabilities (like presentations) and look and feel of the desktop version. It's built using ESRI's Microsoft Silverlight API.

ArcGIS Explorer Online offers the same Bing and ESRI basemaps to choose from. It also makes it easy to create mashups by searching ArcGIS Online, the Web, or specific ArcGIS Servers, and share your maps with others using ArcGIS Online or by simply sending a link to your saved map.

More in upcoming posts, but the FedUC has provided the first glimpse at what we think will be very exciting releases of Explorer and Explorer Online.

(Submitted by: James Tedrick, GIS Specialist, M-NCPPC) 

As the planning agency for Montgomery County, MD, one of the M-NCPPC's responsibilities is tracking and enforcing easements for forest conservation on private land.  After a large amount of work compiling existing easements, we created a website for our public to learn about the easements and a Flex Web map so that they can find and view the easements and also report possible violations.  To launch this website, Ben Gruswitz, one of the environmental planners with the easement project, created a presentation for our Planning Board using ArcGIS Explorer.

Using slide images and charts, the presentation showed the current state of the easements, including overall statistics. 

ArcGIS Explorer also allowed the presentation to focus on some example sites using the ArcGIS map services we developed for the Web site.  Additionally, we were able to use Pictometry (Birds-Eye) imagery in the presentation.  This was done by exporting an image with GIS overlays, zooming and rotating the Explorer window to match the Pictometry image, and then placing the Pictometry image in the presentation. 

The presentation from the January 7, 2010, Planning Board meeing can be viewed online.

For additional information:

M-NCPPC Forest Conservation Site

Forest Conservation Web Map

Joseph Kerski explores the geography of Valentine's Day keywords in his recent GIS Education Community blog post using GNIS searches exported to text files, then added to ArcGIS Explorer.

Panoramio is described on Wikipedia as a geolocation-oriented photo sharing website with the goal of enabling users to learn more about a given area by viewing photos that other users have taken at that place. One of the ArcGIS Explorer add-ins found in the ArcGIS Explorer Labs group let's you view geolocated Panoramio photos directly on your map.

First, grab the add-in from the ArcGIS Explorer Labs group. Once added you'll see it along with other add-ins you may be using:

Click to begin using the add-in, it's very simple. It works off the target of your current view and will search outward from the target to return photos by date or by popularity. Here we've zoomed in around Redlands, left the default number of photos to search for at 10, and have chosen the most popular.

Here's the photos as they appear on the map. We've switched to the Streets basemap so you can see the billboarded photos better against the background.

Just click the photo thumbnail to view any photo as it appears on Panoramio.

To add one or more photos to your contents and save them with your map, just highlight, right-click, and choose Move to Map.

The add-in was written by Michael Waltuch using the ArcGIS Explorer SDK and works against the Panoramio API to find and place photos on your map.

Twitter can be used for all sorts of things - to keep in touch with your friends (and even those you don't know so well), and to keep abreast of the latest happenings in technology, the arts, what's going on in your community, and much more. One of the capabilities offered by Twitter is their Geo API, which lets developers build geolocation into their tweets and twitter-based applications. Here's an example of leveraging geolocated tweets to learn more about crime using the ArcGIS Explorer Twitter add-in.

Here we've used the add-in's keyword search to find all tweets using the word "burglary" within a 10-mile location of where we've clicked. Any tweet that uses the keyword will be found and placed on our map.

To do this we clicked the add-in's Search tab, entered our keyword and search radius, and used the pointer tool to choose the location for the search on our map.

One of the matches we found was from a specific user source named alexandr_crime. This source uses information from spotcrime.com to generate geolocated tweets of where crimes have been reported. Note that it shows up in our results with a red pushpin. The red pushpin is automatically inserted by the Twitter add-in when the Geo API is used in the tweet. Other posts may still have a location associated with them, but these red pins specifically indicate those coming from an app using the Twitter Geo API.

Knowing this we can now search for all crimes reported from this particular user to get details about crimes in Alexandria, Virginia. Here's our choices in the Twitter add-in:

And here's the results on our map. You can click any pushpin to see the tweet and learn more about the crime.

For more information you can search for other posts about the ArcGIS Explorer Twitter add-in.

Here's a video we found published by GIShistory on YouTube. Produced with ArcGIS Explorer, this animation shows all earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater in the Southern California area between 1932 and 2008. Data from USGS.

ESRI shares many useful maps and layers on ArcGIS Online that are of interest to ArcGIS Explorer and other ESRI product users. The ArcGIS Explorer team has also shared maps and add-ins on ArcGIS Online, and many users are doing the same. How do you refine your search to more easily find what you're looking for?

Keyword search

By default when you enter a keyword you'll find all matches. Matches start with tags, but include matches in the description. This means all types of shared content by all authors that have made them searchable. So if we enter demographics:

we will find all content types that match the keyword that have been publicly contributed by all authors.

Search by owner

One way you may want to filter your search is by owner. All ESRI content has been authored by the user "esri." If you're looking for ESRI authored content you can add owner:esri to your search:

This search returns a variety of types, some specifically for use in ArcGIS Desktop or Web maps that can't be used directly in ArcGIS Explorer.

Search for a specific type

But if you look underneath the search box, you'll find you can qualify the results further by choosing a type:

By choosing layers, we're choosing a type (layer packages or layer files) that can be used directly in ArcGIS Explorer.

The ArcGIS Explorer team has organized content and tools (add-ins) into a couple of groups specifically for Explorer users. You can search for all arcgis_explorer shared content using a search like shown below:

Or can search for groups instead of content:

There's lots of other permutations - for more information on searching, visit the narrowing your search results ArcGIS Online Help topic.

A new video has been posted on the ESRI YouTube channel that provides an example of social networking and feeds integrated using ArcGIS Explorer to look at the recent Haiti disaster.

The video illustrates how to use ArcGIS Explorer, the Twitter Add-in, and a number of GeoRSS feeds to build a real-time model of the disaster situation in Haiti.

Check out the recent post on the ArcGIS Developer blog to learn more.

The Twitter add-in can be found in the ArcGIS Explorer Labs group on ArcGIS Online.