ArcGIS Explorer Blog : video

WGA Video Now Online

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:35:00 GMT

ESRI President Jack Dangermond's presentation at the Western Governors' Association meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has recently been posted in the Showcase area of the ESRI GIS for Conservation Web site.

The video of the presentation includes recordings of demonstrations using ArcGIS Explorer, ArcSketch, and a Web application built using the ArcGIS JavaScript API.

We covered the elements of the ArcGIS Explorer presentation in an earlier post, but the entire presentation is now available online, and tells a compelling story about protecting wildlife habitat areas, managing natural resources, and how GIS can be used to solve and mitigate the sometimes competing issues and problems that arise.

Using The GeoNames Search Task

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:33:00 GMT

Find Place is one of the default tasks that you see when you first start Explorer. It's a handy way to locate cities, towns, airports, zipcodes, and the like. But what about other places, like place names on a topo map? That's where the GeoNames Search task can be used to complement Find Place, and leverage the vast GeoNames.org database.

Here's a video showing how you can use GeoNames Search:

Now let's take a closer look. We've been given directions to go to West Glacier, Montana, and then drive to a place called The Loop where we can find the trailhead to go to Swiftcurrent Pass, our final destination. We've added the topo layer from the resource center already, and that's where we begin.

Using Find Place, we locate West Glacier, Montana.

To locate The Loop and Swiftcurrent Pass, both placenames on the topo map, we open the ArcGIS Explorer Resource Center to add the GeoNames Search task.

GeoNames Search searches the GeoNames (geonames.org) geographical database. It returns geo-referenced candidates from which you can create results or use for navigation. The database contains over eight million geographical names and consists of 6.5 million unique features.

Here we've entered The Loop in the GeoNames Search. Note that because "The Loop" is such a common placename we've bumped up our maimum number of names to show from 10 to 20 to find the one in Montana. After we find it, we check it and then choose Create Result.

Next we enter Swiftcurrent Pass, and create another result.

And now our map has all three locations, one found using Find Place, and the other two found using GeoNames Search.

GeoRSS Feeds in Explorer

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:58:00 GMT

According to Wikipedia, GeoRSS is an emerging standard for encoding location as part of an RSS feed. What that boils down to for Explorer users is that it's another connection type that enables you to add dynamic, constantly changing information to your map.

The following video clip shows how you can connect to and use a GeoRSS feed:

The first step is to establish a connection to a GeoRSS feed. We'll use one from the USGS Earthquake feeds and data site. Right underneath the KML section you'll see a section for Atom and RSS Feeds. Click the one for magnitude 2.5+ earthquakes over the past 7 days, as shown by the red arrow below.

Copy the URL at the top of the page that opens...

Then in Explorer choose File > Open, highlight Servers, and choose GeoRSS Feed...

And then paste the URL into the Server input box.

After stepping through the wizard (you can accept all the defaults), you'll see a new connection appear. Click to open it and add the feed to your map.

Here's the GeoRSS feed in Explorer, click each to display other information associated with the event. In this case it's a link to the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program Web site with additional details about the quake.

We also covered GeoRSS feeds in an earlier post, and more information can be obtained by viewing the Help documentation on opening content and GeoRSS feeds.

Quick Content

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:30:00 GMT

The Quick Content task is a recent addition to Explorer, introduced with the 480 release in June. It provides a simple way to create your own Web-based menu for adding and displaying information using ArcGIS Explorer. The following video clip shows how you can access the task, and begin using it:

The Quick Content task is not in the collection of tasks you see when you open the default map. But you can add it very easily by choosing Tools > Manage Tasks. You'll see it at the bottom of the default tasks list, just highlight it and use the arrow to move it to the right hand available in this map list.

When you first open Quick Content, you'll see a sample page that you can use as a template.

Click GeoTagged photo, and you'll automatically zoom to a result location (in this case the ESRI campus) and will see a photo appear in the popup window.

How'd we do this? The Quick Content example is just a Web page, and it could be anything that we can display in a browser. If we look at the Quick Content source (right click in the content and choose View Source), you'll see that the link we clicked to view the photo references an NMF file.

To create the NMF file we used the Create Note task to add a note result, using the the photo of the ESRI campus in the note description so it would open in the popup window. With the popup window open, we exported the result, and put it in a location that anyone could access (also making sure the ESRI photo could be externally accessed).

You can create your own Quick Content page, then just paste your URL into the address at the top. Below we used a local path, but obviously if you want this to be available to others in your organization or extenally, you would need to place it in an location that can be accessed externally. When you save your map your custom Quick Content will be available every time you open it.

You can add your own layers, results, and even tasks to the Quick Content, even making your own complete resource center (there are other ways to link your own resource center directly in Explorer using your own home server, which we'll cover in a future post).

A Quick Content task was also demonstrated during the recent User Conference Plenary, covered in this blog post.

For more information see the Quick Content Help topic.

Importing GPS via GPX

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:46:00 GMT

Data can be imported and symbolized quickly and easily from a GPS device using the GPX data exchange format. According to Wikipedia it's an XML schema designed for describing GPS data between software applications. The GPX format encapsulates waypoints, tracks, and routes. With the release of Explorer 480, GPX became one of the formats that can be imported directly. Take a look at the video, then follow along in this post to learn more.

To import a GPX file choose Tools > Import File. You'll see the new option for GPX under Text.

Here we've chosen a GPX file that we downloaded from the topografix.com GPX examples. It's a GPX file of a mountain bike loop at Middlesex Fells reservation near Winchester, MA, named fells_loop.gpx.

When we open the file we're presented with the Import GPS options. We can choose to import everything, or just the waypoints, tracks, or routes. Since we're not sure what the file contains, we're keeping everything checked on.

After the import is complete, you'll see a result. Click to navigate to its location like we've done here.

The symbols that you see are matched to the icon name in the GPX file. A description of the symbol mapping can be found in the Explorer Help. You can always change your symbols via the result properties.

For more information check out the complete importing GPS data files Help topic.

Raster Transparency in Explorer 480

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:15:00 GMT

One of the new features introduced with ArcGIS Explorer 480 is the ability to set any color in a raster image transparent. This is very handy when working with georeferenced images with "no data" values. Have a look at the video, then follow along in this post.

Let's take a closer look. First, we've added a local raster file, in this case a TIF image that was used during the California fire response last year. To add a local raster go to File, then Open, and choose Rasters, and then browse for the file you want.

In this particular file you will see that we have black areas representing "no data" surrounding the image, and blocking the view of the underlying basemap information.

To set the black areas in the image transparent, first open the raster layer properties. To do this, right click the layer in Contents, then choose Layer Properties.

In the layer properties, choose Raster Background. You can specify the transparent color in one of two ways, by typing in the actual RGB values, or by clicking on the image on the map. It's easiest just to click on the color you want transparent in the raster.

After we apply the changes, you'll see that we've turned the black RGB values transparent, and created a much nicer overlay.

For more information, see the Raster Background Color Help topic.

Adding Geotagged Photos To Your Map

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:03:00 GMT

One of the new tasks delivered with ArcGIS Explorer 480 is the Add Photo task. The Add Photo task places photos that have been geotagged on the map. Have a look at the video, then follow along in this post.

Let's take a closer look. First, add the task from the ArcGIS Explorer Resource Center. Choose File > Resource Center and from the Content tab choose Tasks. You can also open the Resource Center by choosing Help > ArcGIS Explorer Resource Center, then click on the Content tab, then Tasks. The Add Photo task is circled below, just click to add it to Explorer.

Your photos must have been taken with a GPS enabled camera that can capture the location in the image header (written to the EXIF header). An increasing number of cameras (like the Ricoh GPS camera, some Nikon models, and others) and even camera equiped cell phones (like the Nokia N95) are GPS-enabled.

If you don't have one of these devices the location can be added to your photos afterwards using applications like Google Picasa and others.

Activate the task and click Browse to navigate to a folder containing geotagged photos. The folder's contents are displayed in the task (note that only JPEG format images are supported). Just check the photos you want to add, and click Place Photos.

A collection of results will appear, and the photos will be placed on your map.

When you click the result the photo will open in the popup window. Here we've added a couple of geotagged photos taken during a recent search and rescue operation in the San Bernardino Mountains near Redlands. These photos were taken by a member of the SAR team, and are now placed on our Explorer map.

The Add Photo task allows you to specify settings which let you control whether subfolders are searched, and how various image sizes are handled and displayed in the popup window.

Sharing via E-mail Video

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:47:00 GMT

Here's a video showing the E-mail capabilities in ArcGIS Explorer 480. The video complements a previous blog post that presents a short tutorial on the same topic.

Sharing via E-mail with ArcGIS Explorer

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:18:00 GMT

(View a video of how to share Explorer results via e-mail)

You've always been able to E-mail your saved or exported NMF files, but until the 480 release you've had to do that outside of Explorer. With the latest release (Explorer 480) you can now e-mail an entire map, a layer, or a result directly from ArcGIS Explorer. Here's how.

To e-mail your entire map, go to File and choose E-mail (or hit Ctrl+E).

To E-mail a layer, right click the layer and choose E-mail. Note that the E-mail capability is only enabled for Web-based services that can be shared, not for local data sources that might not be available to the e-mail recipient.

There are several ways to e-mail a result. The first is to right-click the result in the result window and choose E-mail. You can e-mail a single result, or an entire group or results this way.

The second way is to right-click the result on the map, and choose E-mail. Here we've right-clicked a result that is the location of a live traffic cam in the Phoenix area.

The third way is to open the popup window for a result, and choose the E-mail Result option which appears at the bottom of the window. If you e-mail a result with its popup window open, when the recipient opens it the popup window will automatically appear. Here we've chosen one of the traffic cam results, and e-mailed it with its popup window open so the recipient will automatically see the current traffic conditions.

In each of the above cases, the NMF file is generated on-the-fly and automatically added to your e-mail as an attachment, along with some descriptive text. You can add your own message to the text that is automatically inserted, or clear the message and start your message from scratch. All the recipient needs is to have ArcGIS Explorer installed (there are instructions automatically inserted in the e-mail) and then double-click the NMF attachment to view it using Explorer.

For more information view the Sharing content with e-mail Help topic.

New Streaming Video: Creating and Using Notes

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:20:00 GMT

A new streaming video showing some of the things you can do with notes is now available. The video was produced by Jim Barry, Program Manager for the ESRI Developer Network, and shows Explorer team member Bernie Szukalski working through some note examples.

View the video

You may also want to check out some of the previous blog posts on notes.

Adding Photos and More to Note Popups

Liven Up Explorer with Live Content

And you can review the creating notes Help topic for additional information.

New Explorer Video Posted

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:21:00 GMT

An Overview of ArcGIS Explorer video has been posted on the ESRI Web site. The video captures a demonstration presented at the ESRI Business Partner Conference earlier this year. The demonstration shows adding various Web services, local content, and KML to Explorer, and also shows using notes and various tasks, including custom geoprocessing tasks published via ArcGIS Server.

Tutorial: Putting YouTube in Your Notes

ArcGIS-Explorer-Team — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:13:00 GMT

One of the things we demonstrated at the User Conference was a note that began playing a video when it was clicked. In this particular case the note popup opened a link to one of the videos published on YouTube. We've had several questions about how this was done, so here's how:

First, go to the YouTube site and find a video you'd like to open in the note popup. If you're not familiar with notes, we covered the basics in an earlier post so you might want to check that first, or go directly to the notes Help.

Here we've gone to YouTube and searched for "ESRI" and found that the first hit is a video showing the TouchTable at the 2005 ESRI User Conference.

Click the video to play it, and look for the Share Video link on that page. Once you click Share Video you'll see an input box that contains the URL link to the video that you can copy and paste into an email to send to others.

Highlight and copy the link. Then in Explorer create a new note. Use this link along with a little HTML as the note text as shown below:

Then place the note, and click the pushpin. The video will open automatically in the note popup.

You can do the same with any video, just substitute the new URL or path in place of what you copied from YouTube. In the next release (coming in July) it will no longer be necessary to add those few HTML tags, so it will be even easier to include videos in your Explorer maps.