Introduction to

is a custom mapping application that lets you view one or multiple ArcIMS and Web Map Service (WMS) map services in your Web browser. Use to access hundreds of ArcIMS and WMS map services available through the or other mapping sites to view individually or together. With , you can create beautiful, informative maps using geographic data from many of the world's leading publishers.

What It Does

Viewing ArcIMS and WMS map services using , you can

How It Works

is a custom Web mapping application developed by ESRI. may be used in a standard Web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape) without any special plug-ins or applets. ESRI developed using Java Server Pages (JSP) and JavaScript with most of the needed processing performed on the ESRI servers. The application uses Java Advanced Imaging (JAI) to perform the image fusion when viewing two or more map services at once. The application is available as a hosted web service to be customized for use on your own site.

Below are descriptions of each tool available in the application.

New Map   Click the New Map button to remove all services and start a new map.     Remove Services   Click the Remove Services button to remove one or more map services. When the dialog displays, highlight a map service or use the Ctrl or Shift keys to highlight multiple services and click Remove. Then click Close.     Move Services   Click the Move Services button to move map services up or down. When the dialog displays, highlight a map service and click the up or down arrow. This moves the map service up or down. Repeat until you have the map services in the desired order. Click Refresh Map, and click Close.     Set Transparency   Click the Set Transparency button to set transparencies for map services. Use 0% for opaque and 100% for full. Type the desired transparency value for the map service. Repeat for all desired map services. Click Refresh Map, and click Close. Note: By default, all map services are set to 50%. Once you change the transparency of a map service, it remains that way until you change it again. Moving a map service up or down does not change the transparency of the service.     Add Services   Click the Add Services button to add map services to . Click the Look in dropdown arrow and select an Internet server or type the URL for an Internet server to connect to. To access restricted services, check Show restricted services and type the user name and password for the services. Click OK. A list of all services available on the server displays. Select the services you want to add to your map using the Ctrl or Shift keys to highlight multiple services and click Add. Click Close.       Click the Add Services from button to search for a service in the and add it to . Use the Explorer dialog that displays to find the service you want to add to your map. When you find the desired map service, click the Add To ArcExplorer Web button to add the map service to your map. Note: The Explorer dialog allows you to search for data by geographic extent, data type, and/or keyword. You can also click the Browse tab in the dialog to browse through the available data by Publisher. Close the Explorer when you are done adding map services.     Stop Loading   Click the Stop Loading button to stop refreshing or loading a map.     Refresh Map   Click the Refresh Map button to reload the map.     Zoom In   Click the Zoom In button and click on the map or click and drag a rectangle on the map to zoom in to an area on the map.     Zoom Out   Click the Zoom Out button and click on the map or click and drag a rectangle on the map to zoom out from an area on the map. You cannot zoom out past the initial extent of the map.     Pan   Click the Pan button, then click and drag the map to change the center of the map.     Zoom to Visible Services   Click the Zoom to Visible Services button to zoom to the extent of all visible services.     Zoom to Full Extent   Click the Zoom to Full Extent button to display the full extent of the map.     Back   Click the Back to Previous Map button to return to the previous map display.     Forward   Click the Forward to Next Map button to return to a map display after using the Back to Previous Map button.     Find Places/Addresses   Click the Find Places/Addresses button to zoom to a Place or U.S. Address. Type a place name and click Go, then choose from the list of possibilities; or type a U.S. Address and click Go. The map display then zooms to that location and a marker is placed at the location. Click Close to close the dialog.     Remove Marker   Click the Remove Marker button to remove the marker placed on the map during a Find operation.     Identify   Click the Identify button to display attributes for a map feature. When the Identify dialog displays, highlight a layer in the dropdown list and click on the map. The feature under the pointer is identified in the dialog if vector data is available. Click Close to close the dialog.     View Map Legend   Click the View Map Legend button to display the legend for the displayed map services. Click Close to close the dialog.     Create Link to Map   Click the Create Link to Map button to view the HTML code associated with recreating the current map. Save this code in an HTML file and you will have a link to the map on your Web page. Click Close to close the dialog.     Open Saved Map   Click the Open Saved Map button to open a map you have saved. To do this, you must login to your ESRI Global Account if you have not already done so in the current session. Select the map from the list and click Open. The selected map will be displayed. If you already had a map displayed before you clicked the Open Saved Map button, you will be given the option to save it before opening the selected map. Click Close to close the dialog.     Save Map   Click the Save Map button to save the current map. To do this, you must login to your ESRI Global Account if you have not already done so in the current session. Type a name for the map and click Save. The map will be saved. Click Close to close the dialog.   Open Print Page   Click the Open Print Page button for a printable version of the map display. When done printing, click Close to close the dialog.       For more information on ArcExplorer Web, see Frequently Asked Questions.