In this topic
- About the ArcGIS Explorer SDK
- Synching with the table of contents
- Working with tabs
- Using the query topic
- Working with samples
- Using snippets
- Getting F1 Help on types within Visual Studio
About the ArcGIS Explorer SDK
Welcome to the ArcGIS Explorer software development kit (SDK). The aim of the SDK is to support you, the developer, in using the ArcGIS Explorer application programming interface (API) to build customizations that plug in to the ArcGIS Explorer application.
This SDK is for both beginning and experienced ArcGIS Explorer developers. It includes technical documentation, code examples, library references, object model diagrams (OMDs), and Visual Studio Tools for ArcGIS Explorer, such as templates to help you create customizations.
If you are new to ArcGIS Explorer development, see the topics in the Getting started section for an introduction to the platform.
Synching with the table of contents
When you click a link and are directed to a new topic, it is helpful to know the location of that topic in the table of contents (TOC). This enables you to access all surrounding related topics. To locate a topic in the TOC that is open in the viewer, click the Sync with Table of Contents 
button, which shows on the toolbar at the top of the Microsoft Document Explorer (used to view the Help files).
button, which shows on the toolbar at the top of the Microsoft Document Explorer (used to view the Help files).Working with tabs
The Microsoft Document Explorer uses tabs that allow you to have multiple topics open at one time. You can think of these as a stack of topics, where although they are all open, you can only read the one on the top of the stack. However, the title of each topic is visible on the tab at the top of the viewer window.
To switch between tabs, click the tab at the top of the viewer window to bring the topic you want to read to the top of the stack. You can also switch between tabs using the Active Files 
button, which is located alongside the tabs and next to the Close 
button for closing tabs. The Close button is the one to use to exit from a single tab but leave the rest of the Help system open.
button, which is located alongside the tabs and next to the Close button for closing tabs. The Close button is the one to use to exit from a single tab but leave the rest of the Help system open.If you notice that the Back button on the Microsoft Document Explorer toolbar is disabled, check at the top of the viewer window to see if your other topic is open in another tab besides the one currently opened.
Using the query topic
The ArcGIS Explorer SDK includes a query page that lets you locate topics and samples based on the main categories it falls into (for example, New functionality, Geometry, Layers, and so on), as well as the document type (that is, Conceptual, How To, Library Overview, Sample, or Walkthrough).
See the following screen shot:
Working with samples
Samples have been included to give you full, working code examples. For general information on how to use the samples, see Using the ArcGIS Explorer samples.
Each sample has a page in the Help system that gives information particular to using it, including licensing and extension information, as well as links to view the main sections of the sample's code. You can find samples by task under the Samples node in the TOC or by using the query page and selecting Sample as the type.
Using snippets
Snippets are chunks of reusable code that aid programmers in performing common tasks. ArcGIS Explorer snippets are available in the Visual Basic and C# code editors of Microsoft Visual Studio.
Using snippets in your code, the format of ArcGIS snippets, and viewing the snippet Extensible Markup Language (XML) documentation are discussed in Using Snippets under the Visual Studio heading. Snippets are a part of the Visual Studio Tools for ArcGIS Explorer, and additional topics will be in that content area on the query pages.
Getting F1 Help on types within Visual Studio
When you are programming within the Visual Studio IDE, you can open the Help page for the interface or class your cursor hovers over by pressing F1. This is the same keyboard shortcut that Visual Basic 6 developers are familiar with from VB6.
For F1 Help to work correctly in VB .NET, set the Microsoft Document Explorer to locate it in your local Help. To set it, open the Microsoft Document Explorer, click Tools, Options, then click the Help node. Click Online and verify that "Try local first, then online" is selected under the "When loading help content" area.