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Configuring ArcGIS Explorer
Defining ArcGIS Explorer application configurations allows you to centrally manage all aspects of how you work with Explorer, including the content you work with, the functionality and capabilities of the application, and the home server that Explorer connects to the first time it starts. Users will use the defined application, but you can configure different applications to target different users in your organization.
You can turn off capabilities of the application, for example, you can prevent users from printing a map or adding local content to the map. You can also specify the functionality shown on the ribbon for users to access. By default, the application includes all the built-in functionality of ArcGIS Explorer, but you can include custom functionality from an add-in created by a developer using the ArcGIS Explorer software development kit (SDK). The custom functions included in the application display on the ribbon beside built-in controls. You can configure where the functions on the ribbon display to the end user.
When configuring an Explorer application, you can also remove built-in functions that are not relevant for your target users. For example, if you are configuring an application for a group of geologists to view and query geology information, the Find Directions and Find Route functionality is not particularly useful; therefore, you can remove that functionality (buttons) from the ribbon. You can also replace built-in functionality with your alternatives by developing add-ins.
Creating add-ins for ArcGIS Explorer
Add-ins contain classes that can add a wide variety of functions to the standard ArcGIS Explorer interface, because they execute your code. For example, by creating add-ins, you can do the following:
- Retrieve images from the Internet
- Query a Web service and receive an answer
- Query a remote database
- Call a geoprocessing service and extract information from the results
- Draw, then display a graph
- Perform other operations for which you can write .NET code.
Add-ins can also interact with the existing application and its map by using the core ArcGIS Explorer object model. For example, you can find out information about existing map items, add new map items or remove existing ones, search features, and query the attributes of geodatabase layers.
ArcGIS Explorer supports six types of add-in classes as a way to extend the application—buttons, check boxes, combo boxes, dock windows, extensions, and galleries. Templates in the SDK are available to create each type of add-in for you. For more information on these different types of customizations, see Customizing ArcGIS Explorer.