ArcGIS Explorer Blog : 900

New version now available and what's new

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:00:00 GMT

A new version of ArcGIS Explorer is now available to download at:

http://www.esri.com/arcgisexplorer

http://resources.esri.com/arcgisexplorer

What's New in ArcGIS Explorer

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 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 and you can also view the online slideshow.

New user experience

The new release of ArcGIS Explorer introduces a ribbon-based user interface that’s intuitive and easy to use. Functionality is presented in the context of what you are doing, and the various controls include integrated tool tips.

Basemap gallery

The basemap gallery contains a variety of ready-to-use ArcGIS Online maps that you can choose from, including imagery, transportation, streets, physical, and more. Bing ™ Maps (imagery, hybrid, roads) are also included. Click to choose a new basemap while maintaining the order and appearance of other layers in your map. Easily add your own basemaps to the gallery by choosing Save As, then New Basemap.

Integrated 2D/3D display

ArcGIS Explorer now includes an integrated 2D/3D display which can be toggled on-the-fly, providing complete control over your visualization experience. You can choose which mode works best for your data, and save your maps to open in one mode or the other.

Enhanced data support

Data support has been improved with the following:

A consistent user experience is presented for all content, with enhanced access to all supported local data and services.
ArcGIS Desktop layer files (*.lyr) and layer packages (*.lpk - introduced at ArcGIS 9.3.1) are now supported. Layer files and layer packages enable ArcGIS Explorer to leverage ArcGIS Desktop cartography.
Improved KML / KMZ support.

Easy to configure and customize

Application configurations provide an easy way to configure and customize ArcGIS Explorer, and enable you to tailor ArcGIS Explorer for specific users, tasks, or workflows. Configurations are created and managed using the Application Configuration Manager, and configurations are saved and stored as a single file (*.ncfg). Application configurations do not require programming, and multiple configurations can be authored and centrally managed.

Presentations

ArcGIS Explorer includes new capabilities that enable you to create dynamic and interactive presentations that include your own maps and data. Add titles and overlays, show popups, toggle layers, and more. Maps can be saved to open in presentation mode, including automatic slide advancement.

ArcGIS Online

ArcGIS Online provides continually updated and ready-to-use basemaps and layers for ArcGIS Explorer. The ArcGIS Explorer basemap gallery lets you choose from a wide variety of ArcGIS Online basemaps.

ArcGIS Online also provides an online library of maps, layers, and tools for GIS users. ArcGIS Explorer users can discover a variety of shared resources from ESRI and from other contributors.

ArcGIS Explorer hosts two groups on ArcGIS Online:

ArcGIS Explorer – provides selected maps and layers of particular interest to ArcGIS Explorer users.
ArcGIS Explorer Labs – unsupported samples and examples from the ArcGIS Explorer team.

Bing™ Maps Services

Microsoft Bing Maps (formerly known as Virtual Earth) services, including aerial imagery, aerials with labels, and streets, are now available to ArcGIS Explorer users. Bing Maps are included in the basemap gallery.
These services are free for ArcGIS Desktop users and available in ArcGIS Explorer for free if using ArcGIS Desktop. For standalone ArcGIS Explorer users, Bing Maps are available on a subscription basis.

Localization

ArcGIS Explorer is now fully localized and supports the following languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.

Projections

The coordinate system used to display your map can be chosen in 2D mode. Data you add is projected on-the-fly onto your map or globe. All ArcGIS projections and transformations are supported.

ArcGIS Explorer SDK

The ArcGIS Explorer SDK has been redesigned with Microsoft .NET usability in mind, and also to reflect the new capabilities in ArcGIS Explorer. Use the SDK to create new buttons, dockable windows, galleries and extensions for ArcGIS Explorer. Customizations are easily packaged and delivered as add-ins.

Expansion Packs

Expansion packs add new capabilities and resources to the core ArcGIS Explorer, and can be found on the ArcGIS Explorer download page. Expansion packs include:

ArcGIS Explorer Data Access – provides support for direct connect to multiuser geodatabases.
ArcGIS Explorer Fonts – adds ESRI fonts for use with ArcGIS Explorer. These are useful when displaying ArcGIS layer files and layer packages.
ArcGIS Explorer Projection Engine – adds more projections and transformations for use within ArcGIS Explorer.

And more…

These are just a few of the new features and capabilities in this release. For more information visit

http://www.esri.com/arcgisexplorer

http://resources.esri.com/arcgisexplorer

Creating layer packages part 2 - using group layers

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:51:00 GMT

We covered some basics in an earlier tutorial post on creating layer packages. Here we'll build on that and take a look at how group layers can be used to create a multi-layer package.

We visited the NPS Data Store and downloaded geologic data for the Old Faithful quadrangle in Yellowstone National Park. The data included multiple layers used to create a map of surficial geology, and when we opened the provided ArcMap document here's what we saw:

Because we opened the ArcMap document (.mxd file) the layers were already symbolized as the author intended with scale dependencies applied. We tweaked some of the properties for each layer as described in our earlier tutorial, and made sure we enabled the HTML popup property for each.

The map organized the content as separate layers, and we could have created unique layer packages for each one of them. But the layers were cartographically designed to work together, with scale dependencies applied to show various geologic details. To preserve the cartography the approach we used was to create a group layer, collecting all the individual layers in the group and preserving all the intended cartography. We then used the group layer to create the layer package containing all the layers. Here's how we did it.

First, using ArcMap we created a new group layer:

We named the group layer, selected all the individual layers, then dragged them into the group layer:

Next we right-clicked the group layer and chose Create Layer Package... This put all the sublayers into a single, easily portable package.

Below is the layer package shown in ArcGIS Explorer 900. We've opened the group layer to show all the original sublayers. Cartography, including scale-dependencies, has been preserved in the layer package. We can now view the data in ArcGIS Explorer the same way we viewed it using ArcGIS Desktop, including the popup window contents.

A tutorial for creating good layer packages

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:01:00 GMT

With the release of ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.1 the ability to create layer packages was introduced. Layer packages encapsulate the data, cartography, and other properties of the layer as it's authored in ArcMap (or ArcGlobe) into one easily shareable package.

Layer packages can be shared with other ArcGIS Desktop users, shared on ArcGIS Online (public beta soon), and are also supported in ArcGIS Explorer 900 along with layer files. What's significant for Explorer users is that now the cartographic capabilities of ArcGIS Desktop can be seen using Explorer. In the past only simple rendering options were available in Explorer for local data sources, now these are expanded to include ArcGIS Desktop cartography via layer files and layer packages.

ArcGIS 9.3.1 was released not long ago, and ArcGIS Explorer 900 is currently in Beta. But since you may want to begin to create layer packages now for use in Explorer 900 when it becomes available we thought we'd cover a few basic pointers on how to create good layer packages.

We began by downloading some data and an ArcMap document (.mxd file) from the USGS. The data we downloaded was from an open file report with data from the Engineering aspects of karst map.

We downloaded the data, started ArcMap, opened the provided map document, and this is where we started. Our goal for this post was to take the karst_polys_polygon layer in the map and share it as a layer package with ArcGIS Explorer 900 users.

You can see the data (from a personal geodatabase) is already symbolized so we have a good start. But there's a few things we want to do during the process of authoring the layer package that will ensure those we share the layer package with have the best possible experience and that we present the data in the best possible way. We think authoring is a good way to think about this process, and we'll step you through the basics of what to consider.

Step 1: We opened the layer properties and began with the General tab.

The default name for a layer is the same as the layer source. In this case the layer was named karst_polys_polygon which isn't particularly user friendly. So we changed the name and added a brief description and credits. We gave the layer the same name as the title of the map, and added the description from information we found on the USGS Web site.

Step 2: Symbology tab

In this tab we checked off the all other values option since it's not needed and will appear in the final legend. We also changed the label for the heading of the field that was used for the unique value rendering. The original label was the same as the field name - K_TYPE - and doesn't provide a lot of meaning. So we changed that to Karst Type to make it more user friendly and understandable.

We also noticed in the original map document that some polygons were outlined and some were not. So we changed the symbol properties so that all polygons were represented in a similar way (not outlined).

Step 3: Fields tab

All of the fields were checked on for display, the default for a layer. But most of these fields offered little valuable information. We didn't want the recipient of our layer package to see irrelevant fields like OJBECTID, SHAPE, and others. So here we checked them off except for the two that provided the essential information.

We also changed the not-so-friendly K_TYPE and DESCRIPT to the more user friendly Karst Type and Description by entering aliases for the field names.

Step 4: HTML Popup tab

The HTML popup tool is new at ArcGIS 9.3.1, and this tab controls its properties. For Explorer users this is important because it also controls how the popup looks when the feature is clicked. By default the HTML popup tool is disabled, so first we check it on. We leave the default option on for displaying a table of the visible fields. The Verify... button allows us to preview how the popup looks in ArcMap, and how it will look in Explorer.

Here you can see the two remaining fields we've left checked on (remember we turned off all the ones that didn't make sense in Step 3 and also created field aliases). This is a preview of what the popup will look like, and it has all the essential information we want. At this point we make sure we save all of our changes.

Taking a look at this in ArcMap we see the new HTML Popup tool on our toolbar, highlighted with the red arrow below. The green arrow points to the Identify tool.

And we can compare Identify and the HTML Popup tools below. First we use Identify:

And below is what things look like using the HTML Popup tool:

Note the leader tail to the clicked location, the shadow effect around the popup, and the styled view of our attributes - a much nicer way to view the information.

Step 5: Create the layer package

Now that we've finished making changes we can create the layer package. This will encapsulate the data and capture our cartography and other changes we've made to our layer in one easily shareable package. To create the layer package we right-click the layer and choose Create Layer Package....

It takes just a few seconds, and when finished we see the following message. Note that the layer package has an extension of .lpk.

Now we'll open the layer package in Explorer 900. You can drag and drop the LPK file directly onto Explorer, or use the Add Content and choose ArcGIS Layers...

Below we see the layer package added to ArcGIS Explorer 900.

Things to note are:

the original data source was a personal geodatabase, which has been encapsulated in the LPK file and is now being used by Explorer 900
the layer name is the same as we saved from ArcMap
the data is displayed using the same cartography as authored in ArcMap
the legend is exactly the same as in ArcMap
the popup window is styled as we've defined in Step 4 and is the same style as we saw using ArcMap's HTML Popup tool
the layer packages looks exactly the same in 2D mode and 3D mode

If we shared this on ArcGIS Online (beta to be announced soon) the description we entered would automatically appear with our shared content. Here's a snapshot of the current development site after we shared our layer package. We've searched using the keywords USGS and Karst and can see the description we entered in the layer properties in ArcMap that have been read directly from the layer package when we shared it on ArcGIS Online.

You can now understand how layer packages open up a whole new world for sharing data not only with other ArcGIS users, but also with a much broader audience using ArcGIS Explorer. Using these basic steps you can confidently create layer packages now for use in ArcGIS Explorer 900 soon... And we'll cover this in more detail as we get closer to Explorer 900's public release.

Explorer 900 DevSummit plenary recording now online

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:30:00 GMT

If you missed the DevSummit plenary, the recording of it is now online at the ESRI DevSummit site.

If you missed the live ArcGIS Explorer 900 demonstrations during the plenary, you can view them from among the videos. Just look for the Explorer and Online button among the choices of video segments to view.

Explorer 900 at the DevSummit Plenary - Part 3

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:50:00 GMT

(be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2)

Larry Young continued to discuss the ArcGIS Explorer SDK, also free with ArcGIS Explorer. The SDK features a pure .NET managed code environment, and and easy yet powerful object model.

Larry explained that different types of add-ins can be created using a variety of supplied templates in the SDK. These are designed for use directly in Visual Studio. One of the templates allows you to quickly implement a dockable window. Larry showed and example that performs a drive time analysis and shows the demographic information within a 3 minute drive time within a dockable window.

Larry showed another example, this one targeted at sports fans and using the recent World Baseball Classic as its premise. This customization uses another type of add-in - a button which in this case turns on the layers showing the teams that are participating in the classic and the location of their first round games.

Another type of add-in is a gallery. This gallery shows all the teams that participated in the classic grouped by the site of their first round games.

Larry showed the Visual Studio code view and explained how the gallery was created. You create the individual items by providing a caption, image, and tool tip, then you have the option of grouping them together for easier access.

Larry concluded by saying that ArcGIS Explorer provides lots of opportunities for developers and non-developers alike, via configuring the user experience with application configurations and also by creating custom add-ins using the SDK.

Explorer 900 at the DevSummit Plenary - Part 2

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:40:00 GMT

(make sure to check out Part 1)

After the presentation of the out-of-the-box capabilities, the stage was turned over to technical product manager Larry Young who explained how the ArcGIS Explorer 900 user experience can be streamlined and how functionality can be configured using something called application configurations. Application configurations control Explorer's appearance, including everything from it's startup splash screen and logos, tools and ribbon configuration, and it's startup map. All these elements together create a custom tailored user experience.

Here's the custom splash screen that opened on startup. Your company or organization logo could be used.

Larry explained his custom configuration was designed specifically for DevSummit attendees, so it includes tools and content just for them, even adding the locations of favorite Palm Springs restaurants in the default startup map. Note below that the user interface has been streamlined, with fewer tools and a different organization, and that the default map zooms to Palm Springs, showing favorite restaurant locations.

Larry explained that one of the great features was that these configurations did not require programming. Using the application configuration tool included with the ArcGIS Explorer installation, these can be easily created and managed. Here's what the tool looks like.

To be continued in Part 3...

Explorer 900 at the DevSummit Plenary - Part 1

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:11:00 GMT

ArcGIS program manager Jim McKinney emceed the morning plenary officially opening the DevSummit. He introduced ArcGIS Explorer as taking a big leap from the currently released ArcGIS Explorer 500 to the forthcoming ArcGIS Explorer 900.

He introduced Bern Szukalski who began by highlighting the new ribbon UI, explaining that it made ArcGIS Explorer easy to use, and a great choice for delivering broader access to GIS data and GIS capabilities.

Bern also showed how shared content found on ArcGIS Online can be used in ArcGIS Explorer, and Explorer's new integrated 2D/3D display capabilities. Much of the demonstration was similar to what was presented earlier in the week during the BPC plenary which was covered in our BPC Plenary - Part 2 blog post.

Bern also mentioned that Microsoft Virtual Earth aerial, hybrid, and streets map services, which are included in a built-in gallery of basemaps you can choose from, would also be freely available to Explorer users that also used ArcGIS Desktop. Standalone Explorer users will be able to subscribe to the Virtual Earth services, and these will also be available via ESRI enterprise licensing options.

Next Bern highlighted the new presentation capabilities by opening a pre-authored presentation, stepping through each "slide" (which was actually a live Explorer display). This was also along the same lines of what was shown during the BPC plenary, and we covered in our BPC Plenary - Part 3 post.

But then attendees got a behind-the-scenes look at the presentation authoring tools, as Bern created a few new slides by positioning the globe, adding captions and popups, and capturing the application state as new slides.

Here's one of the newly created slides showing the location of Alaska's Mount Redoubt, along with a popup window showing an MSNBC flash animation of how volcanoes form.

To be continued in Part 2....

Explorer 900 DevSummit Pre-con Seminar

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:46:00 GMT

Jeff Jackson and Andy MacDonald started the morning off with the Introducing ArcGIS Explorer 900 seminar before a full room. Here's how it looked as the morning started.

After an overview of Explorer's capabilities, which were sprinkled with demos, Jeff and Andy delved into what most people came to hear about - Explorer 900's configuration and customization capabilities. Andy and Jeff highlighted application configurations, an easy way to customize Explorer for specific users or workflows.

Application configurations are files (.ncfg) that define the functionality available in Explorer, and how it is organized. These are easy to create, can be centrally managed within an organization, and don't require programming. Configurations can be edited and managed via the Application Configuration Manager, a portion of which is shown below.

Developers were happy to learn that custom tools could be created using a native .NET API via Explorer's SDK, which is a separate download but also free.

We also appreciate what Dave Bouwman had to say about things.

And here's Jeff and Andy after the seminar, fielding questions in the ESRI showcase area.

Explorer 900 at the BPC Plenary - Part 3

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:15:00 GMT

(Be sure to view Part 1 and Part 2)

Continuing with his demonstration, Bern Szukalski opened another Explorer map. He explained that one of Explorer's strengths and distinguishing characteristics is that it can use a wide variety of data and Web services directly, in their native formats without the need to convert to another format. He also said that Explorer excelled at being able to use other, non-GIS content, like documents, photos, movies, and more, and place those in a geographic context where they gained additional meaning.

He explained that he had added lots of different kinds of content - GIS Web services, layer packages, local data, streaming videos, and more to his map - and would use those to showcase Explorer 900's new presentation capabilities. He explained that the presentation capabilities were ideal for giving briefings, for educators, and for anyone wanting to communicate geographically. The presentation was started at the click of a button.

When the first "slide" appeared, ArcGIS Explorer switched to full-screen mode, with just a few tools available for advancing through the presentation. But this is not a static "slide" in the sense of PowerPoint, but rather a "live" ArcGIS Explorer application. Bern explained you could click the arrows, or use the space bar to advance. Note the presentation tools in the upper left of the screen capture below.

The next slide looked just like a PowerPoint slide, and Bern explained that he had actually created it in PowerPoint and had simply added it to his ArcGIS Explorer presentation. This demonstrated the ability to easily incorporate PowerPoint-like slides and other overlays into a briefing using the new Explorer tools, providing an ideal combination of live data and navigation with informational slides.

He used this slide to announce the upcoming ArcGIS Explorer 900 early adopter beta program. The slide is pretty much self explanatory, but we'll provide additional details on the program in an upcoming blog post.

Like going to the movies, the above was the trailer for the feature presentation, introduced with the following "slide" (again, actually live ArcGIS Explorer in presentation mode).

The presentation was themed around federal lands and national parks, and used a wide variety of different data, including 3D data and lots of media content. We don't have room to show everything, but here's a couple of highlights.

The Explorer presentation slide captured below shows a zoomed in view of the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. The ArcGIS Online topographic basemap is shown, along with a geologic map obtained from the NPS Web site and symbolized using ArcGIS Desktop (it's a layer package). The geology map has been made partially transparent. Note the title in the upper right, and the popup window containing the legend for the map. All of these can be controlled and toggled as part of presentation authoring in ArcGIS Explorer 900.

Here's another presentation slide showing a flash animation of the movement of the Yellowstone hotspot through geologic time. The animation was created by the National Park Service, and was displayed directly from their Web site in ArcGIS Explorer using a popup window. This is just one example of the many different types of rich media content that can be used in ArcGIS Explorer 900 presentations. Once again, note the title in the upper right, and also the popup window with the interactive flash animation.

Explorer 900 at the BPC Plenary - Part 2

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:41:00 GMT

(be sure to view Part 1)

Bern Szukalski then turned to ArcGIS Explorer 900, mentioning that users would immediately notice the new ribbon user interface. He explained that it's not just attractive, but also very well-designed, and provides an easy and intuitive user experience, making Explorer ideal for providing broad access to GIS data and capabilities. Here's how it looks.

Next Bern opened ArcGIS Online to search for shared content to add to ArcGIS Explorer. He searched for "world energy" finding a couple of matches, one an Explorer layer (.nmc file, and new in 900) and the other a layer package authored and created using ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.1.

Clicking the layer package in ArcGIS Online, it opened automatically in ArcGIS Explorer, and here's how it looked.

Bern noted that the ArcGIS Desktop cartography, field definitions, popup style, and other properties are included in the layer package, and fully supported when opened in Explorer 900. Bern also noted that the current view was 2D, but it could be flipped to 3D at the click of a button.

In 3D mode the features in the layer package were extruded, and Bern explained that this was because the layer package contained 3D features and had been created in ArcGlobe. In 2D mode, 3D features are draped flat. In 3D mode 3D features are extruded. This brought about a hearty round of applause from the audience.

To be continued in Part 3...

Explorer 900 at the BPC Plenary - Part 1

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:46:00 GMT

A packed house attended this morning's opening of the Business Partner Conference, with many product announcements and demonstrations. ArcGIS Explorer 900 was among those highlighted, with a few important announcements of its own.

Jack Dangermond introduced Explorer 900 as "a big step," and of course we'd agree. Jack cited the new user experience, the integrated 2D/3D display capabilities, a variety of basemap choices (including Microsoft Virtual Earth imagery, hybrid, and streets basemaps), and presentation capabilities as important aspects of the new release.

ArcGIS Explorer product manager Bern Szukalski was introduced, and he began with a demonstration of layer packaging (new in ArcGIS 9.3.1) and ArcGIS Online sharing (also new at 9.3.1). An important point noted by Bern was that ArcGIS Online is a tremendous resource for GIS users, and soon you'll be able to easily search for and share maps, layers, and even tools. These will include the already available ArcGIS Online content from ESRI, and will soon include shared content from GIS users as they begin to leverage ArcGIS Online sharing.

Bern demonstrated using ArcGIS Online's new search capabilities to add shared web services to his ArcGIS 9.3.1 map. Here's the simple search interface you'll use to find shared GIS maps, layers, and tools.

Next Bern created a layer package from one of his layers, using the new layer packaging capabilities in ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.1. One of the important aspects of layer packages is that they encapsulate ArcGIS Desktop cartography along with the data in an easily shareable format. For Explorer users this is especially significant. Since Explorer 900 now supports layer files and layer packages, Explorer users now can leverage all of ArcGIS Desktop's cartographic capabilities.

Here's a view of a Bern's shared content. Content can be shared to everyone, or controlled within specific groups. Note that there are many different kinds of content that can be shared, Web services, maps, layer packages, Explorer layers, and much more.

Here's a view of several groups, which serve to organize shared content within specific communities, and can also be used to choose how content is shared.

To be continued in Part 2....

Explorer 900 at the BPC/DevSummit

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:16:00 GMT

For those planning to attend the upcoming BPC/DevSummit, there's lots of ways to see and learn more about ArcGIS Explorer 900.

Here's the Explorer schedule of events, in order by date and time:

Monday, March 23, 8:30 a.m.
Presummit seminar: Introducing and Implementing ArcGIS Explorer 900

Tuesday, March 24, 2:00 p.m.
Demo Theater: ArcGIS Explorer 900 Developer: A truly managed experience

Tuesday, March 24, 5:00 p.m.
Meet the ArcGIS Explorer 900 Development Team

Wednesday, March 25, 10:00 a.m.
Demo Theater: Using application configurations to roll out a customized ArcGIS Explorer 900 experience

Wednesday, March 25, 2:45 p.m.
Technical Session: Introducing and Implementing ArcGIS Explorer 900 - Part I

Wednesday, March 25, 4:30 p.m.
Technical Session: Introducing and Implementing ArcGIS Explorer 900 - Part II

ArcGIS Explorer will also be featured in the ESRI Showcase. The showcase is a great place to get a more detailed and hands-on look at Explorer 900, and meet with development team members to get specific questions answered.

Monday, March 23, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 24, 12:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 25, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

ArcGIS Explorer 900 will also be shown during the plenary sessions at both conferences:

BPC Plenary Session - Sunday, March 22, 8:30 to noon.

DevSummit Plenary Session - Tuesday, March 24, 8:30 to 11:45 a.m.

Ok, so what's coming in ArcGIS Explorer 900?

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:22:00 GMT

There's a high level overview of what's coming in ArcGIS Explorer 900 that's recently been published on the ArcGIS Explorer Web pages on esri.com.

At the upcoming Business Partner Conference and Developer Summit we'll be hosting a presummit seminar and a double technical session detailing the 900 release.

You'll also get to see ArcGIS Explorer 900 during the plenary presentations, and also at the ESRI Showcase where you'll have an opportunity to meet and talk with the ArcGIS Explorer team.

We'll be looking forward to seeing you there, and talking in more detail about ArcGIS Explorer 900.

ArcGIS Explorer 900 at the 2009 PUG

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:14:00 GMT

Earlier this morning ArcGIS Explorer 900 was showcased at the ESRI Petroleum User Group (PUG) conference in Houston, Texas, marking the second time in a week the forthcoming 900 release has been featured at a major ESRI event. ArcGIS Explorer was also featured during last week's ESRI Federal User Conference covered in a previous post.

At PUG, ESRI director of products Clint Brown set the stage for Explorer by introducing work being done with a variety of new basemap services that will be part of ArcGIS Online. Bern Szukalski demonstrated several of the basemap services via JavaScript applications, and then used the not-yet-public ArcGIS Online sharing to search for and add new basemaps to an existing ArcGIS 9.3.1 (still in beta) map focused on petroleum exploration in Wyoming.

Below is the map showing various petroleum operational layers (PennWell pipeline data, powder river basin, Wyoming oil fields) along with the underlying topographic basemap services from ArcGIS Online.

The Wyoming oil fields layer was saved as a layer package, one of the new capabilities in ArcMap at 9.3.1. Layer packages capture the cartography along with the data (or links in the case of Web-based services) into an easily portable and shareable file. The layer package was shared via ArcGIS Online in one of the groups; data can be shared publicly to anyone or reserved for use within specific communities.

Using ArcGIS Explorer, several features were highlighted including the new ribbon-based UI, the ability to dock and hide the contents in various ways, and the integrated 2D/3D display. The presentation tools were highlighted next, with a demonstration of how they can be used to author and then give a presentation or briefing. The presentation tools include the ability to control layer visibility, popups, and can include rich media content like videos, photos, and other documents.

Here's the opening presentation view that included a popup title. Note how the application is in full-screen mode during a presentation, with tools available in the upper left to advance to the next slide or navigate. Though they can be thought of as slides, each stop in the presentation is "live" and full control of the application can be had at any time.

Next, the Wyoming oil fields layer package was opened by dragging and dropping it onto Explorer, and the data was incorporated into the presentation. Note that since the layer package contained 3D data that it was extruded when viewed in 3D mode, and would be draped flat when viewed in 2D mode. The data shows the Wyoming oil fields shaded and extruded based on potential oil value.

ArcGIS Explorer has always been an ideal way to view ArcGIS Online maps and user-authored map services. Bern emphasized that layer packages make ArcGIS Explorer ideal for providing broad access to all types of GIS data, local content via layer packages as well as GIS services, and would unlock GIS data from "professional only" use. He characterized many of the potential users of ArcGIS Explorer 900 as geographic information users - those that need to use GIS data, but may not be GIS experts or analysts themselves.

ArcGIS Explorer at the 2009 ESRI Federal User Conference

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:00:00 GMT

ArcGIS Explorer 900, the forthcoming release of ArcGIS Explorer, was showcased a few hours ago during the opening plenary presentations at the 2009 ESRI Federal User Conference in Washington, D.C. ArcGIS Explorer was introduced by ESRI president Jack Dangermond with slides, and ArcGIS Explorer product manager Bern Szukalski showcased some of the new features and capabilities of Explorer, and how they're related to other new features that will be delivered with ArcGIS 9.3.1.

The context was set by demonstrating the new ArcGIS Online search that can be used to find GIS data. Bern started off by opening an ArcMap document missing some desired layers, then typing in keywords to search for and find needed data via ArcGIS Online. The data could be previewed, and then added to ArcMap from the search results with a single click. Shown below is the search page (on the right) and the search results (on the left).

The ability to create layer packages was then highlighted, a new feature of ArcGIS 9.3.1. Layer packages encapsulate ArcMap cartography and data (or URLs to services, if a service layer) in an easy-to-share share package. To create a layer package in ArcMap, just right-click a layer and choose Create Layer Package.

Jack Dangermond explained that layer packages can be shared in a variety of ways; they can be E-mailed, published onto CDs or DVDs, or placed on network drives. Bern showed another new way to share - via ArcGIS. He logged in to his ArcGIS Online account, then added his newly created layer package to other items he'd added previously. All ArcGIS users will have their own ArcGIS Online account, and have space available to share their data with others.

Shared data can be of many types, from source data to complete maps and layer packages, and even links to Web maps. These can be organized and shared publicly, or within groups that can be created and managed to allow public access or restricted access within specific user communities. Below are some of example groups that were demonstrated.

The demonstration then moved to ArcGIS Explorer 900, the forthcoming new release of the product. The new ribbon-based user experience was highlighted, as well as other features that improve its ease of use.

One of the shared layer packages was opened in ArcGIS Explorer, and showed how ArcMap cartography is captured in the layer package and can now be displayed in ArcGIS Explorer. ArcGIS Explorer has always been a great way to view and publish GIS services, but now it's also great for providing broad access to GIS data via layer packages created using ArcMap. ArcGIS Explorer 900 has an integrated 2D/3D display, and the layer package was opened in 2D mode.

The display was switched from 2D to 3D. Bern explained that the layer package he had just opened contained 3D content, and when opened in 2D mode it was draped on the map. But when the display was toggled to 3D mode the data was shown as extruded 3D polygons.

Also demonstrated was the new Basemap Gallery. These allow users to quickly switch basemaps without having to change or reorder any other operational layers they may have added. These new basemaps also include Microsoft Virtual Earth streets, imagery, and hybrid maps, which will be available to all ArcGIS users.

The demonstration concluded by showing an ArcGIS Explorer presentation. Explorer 900 includes tools that allow users to create presentations for briefings, meetings, educational use, and more. The full-screen presentation mode allows layer visibility and popups to be toggled, yet allows full control of the application at any time during the presentation. Presentation mode also allows various types of rich media to be incorporated, and the demonstration included streaming videos, live Web cams, and flash animations.