Hello again. This is Kevin H., group lead for the ArcGIS Server group here in ESRI Support Services. Lately, I’ve been fielding questions and have noticed the answers are coming from all sorts of different places. Usually I get the follow up question, "Kevin, how did you know about that resource?" This got me thinking, how do I know about this? The answer, I suppose, is built on the amount of time I spend surfing the ESRI Website. I realize that not everyone can spend hours every day reading and searching for new content, so here’s a quick list of some of the hot areas I go back to time and time again.

Blogs – Funny, a blog reference within a blog post. More and more ESRI employees are sharing tips, tricks and excellent information in blog format. Check the blog home page and find information you may not have known we were writing about. (While you’re there – use the RSS link to subscribe to your favorite ESRI blogs)

Resource Center – The Resource Centers bundle a ton of information into one convenient spot. So what do you get once you’re in a particular resource center? A wealth of information!

The following two lists break down ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Desktop, respectively.

• Resources Gateway: return back to the main Resource Center landing page
• Resources: SDK and ArcGIS Online links
• Data Management: Geodatabase management and use links
• Help: the online help
• Communities: Links to code galleries by programming/scripting language

• Resources Gateway: return back to the main Resource Center landing page
• For Developers: Gateway to customization based on language
• Data: Link to ArcGIS Online basemaps for use in Desktop
• Help: the online help

ESRI Support Center – A wealth of information resides here as well, so much so, that this could be its own blog post. Here are a few of the highlights.

• Software: Link directly into a particular software page to get pre-sorted information on the product of interest. (Use the quick DT or AGS click to drill into ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Server links, respectively)
• Focused knowledge base articles (DT / AGS)
• System Requirements (DT / AGS)
• Samples, Utilities and ArcScripts (DT / AGS)
• Patches and Service Packs for download (DT / AGS)
• Product Life Cycle (DT / AGS)
• Knowledge Base: Everything from the Web Help to White Papers, to helpful articles written by knowledgeable and insightful ESRI employees!
• Downloads: The main page for anything downloadable from ESRI Support Services (patches, service packs, samples and arcscripts to name a few).
• User Forums: The best spot to interact with other ESRI users. Post a question, offer your insight, or just read the headlines to get a feel for what the rest of the GIS community is up too.

ESRI Product Page – The main landing page for all ESRI products. Get product briefs, see demos, and read about success stories.

There are a lot of links provided above, and sometimes it isn’t as much about “knowing the answer”, as much as it is “knowing where to get the answer”. You’ll also probably realize that you can get to the same areas through different starting points. Because of this, you’ll probably come to use one starting point time and time again as you familiarize yourself with the navigation. There isn’t a right or wrong way to find what’s important – just the way that helps you be successful.

If all else fails, contact us at ESRI Support (USA Customers / Intentional Customers) – we love working with you and seeing you through to a successful resolution!

-Kevin H., ArcGIS Server Group Lead, ESRI Support Services