Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Data and Services
Sharing data and maps with other systems and users
- Can I open maps saved by older versions of ArcGIS Explorer Online?
- Can I open maps saved from ArcGIS Explorer Desktop, ArcMap, or other Esri software?
- Can I share maps with individuals instead of groups?
- Can I customize ArcGIS Explorer Online, or embed it into my website?
- Can I save my maps elsewhere than ArcGIS Online?
Other
- How do I open ArcGIS Explorer Online?
- Where is the Legend button? How can I hide and show the Legend panel?
- Where is the Identify tool?
- Where is the Time button? How can I hide the Time Navigator?
- ArcGIS Explorer Online appears to be streaming data, but I did not add any data. What is it doing?
- When I run my presentation, why is the extent of the map shown in the slide is different to the extent of the map when I edited the slide?
- What are the system requirements, and which browsers can I use with ArcGIS Explorer Online?
- How can I run ArcGIS Explorer Online in a different language?
What kind of data can I add to ArcGIS Explorer Online?
You can add ArcGIS Server map, image and feature services, Open Geodata Interoperability Specification (OGIS) web mapping service (WMS) data, and KML/KMZ files. You can also import shapefiles and point data in comma-separated value (CSV) format.
If you wish to work with other local data in a free client application, you may wish to consider using ArcGIS Explorer Desktop
Which version of ArcGIS Server services can I use with ArcGIS Explorer Online?
It is recommended that you use services published by ArcGIS Server version 9.3.1 and forwards.
Can I use geoprocessing services in ArcGIS Explorer Online?
No, ArcGIS Explorer Online cannot run geoprocessing services directly; however, if your geoprocessing service creates a map service or feature service, you can add that to ArcGIS Explorer Online. If you wish to run geoprocessing services, you can use ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Explorer Desktop, or a web client.
Can I open maps saved by older versions of ArcGIS Explorer Online?
You can open maps saved to ArcGIS Online by previous versions of ArcGIS Explorer. Items in the map which are not supported or presented in the same way may be converted:
- Notes are converted into an editable layer called Map Notes, and the pop-up window content for each feature in the layer is preserved as far as possible.
- Changing the color of the symbols used for point features is not supported. If you changed the symbol color of note features in a map created with the previous version, then that symbol will be drawn black when opened in the current version. There are several color variations of each symbol you can choose from to update it.
- Links are now supported in-line with pop-up window content description text, and are no longer a separate property set when configuring pop-up window content. You can define as many links as you like in a description. If you open a map that had a Related Link property set in the previous version, that link” is automatically added to the end of the description in the pop-up window content when the map is opened in the current version.
- Embedded videos are not supported in pop-up windows in this version of ArcGIS Explorer Online. The best strategy for including videos is as a hyperlink to the video; this link could be associated with an image in the pop-up window content.
Learn how to edit the pop-up window content of a feature
If you have problems opening a map you have previously saved with ArcGIS Explorer Online, share the map and report the problem on the Esri forum for ArcGIS Explorer Online. At the top right of the screen, click the drop-down arrow next to Help, then click Forums to open the forum in a new browser window.
Can I open maps saved from ArcGIS Explorer Desktop, ArcMap, or other Esri software?
ArcGIS Explorer Online works with maps that use the Esri web map format. If you create a map with ArcGIS Explorer Online, you will be able to open it in many different ArcGIS clients, including ArcGIS Desktop applications, and ArcGIS Explorer Desktop, in a browser, or on a mobile device.
ArcGIS Explorer Online cannot open maps saved to the default ArcMap format, the Map Document (*.mxd). However, there are several ways to share information between different clients, as well as sharing web maps as described above.
Can I share maps with individuals instead of groups?
Maps can be made publically available, so that any individual can find them; alternatively they can be shared with a specific group. If you want to share your map with a specific individual and you do not mind other users discovering it too, then you can make the map public and then send the user a link to the map. If you cannot make your map public, you must make a new group and invite the user you wish to share the map to join that group.
Can I customize ArcGIS Explorer Online, or embed it into my website?
ArcGIS Explorer Online is not customizable, and the application itself cannot be embedded into your own website. However, you can embed just the web map in your own website.
Learn more about embedding a map in another web page
Alternatively, consider using the ArcGIS API for Silverlight and writing your own web mapping application to meet your requirements; ArcGIS Explorer Online is built using the ArcGIS API for Silverlight, which supports using web maps. Other web APIs for Flex and JavaScript are also available from Esri which may be suitable for your requirements.
Can I save my maps elsewhere than ArcGIS Online?
ArcGIS Explorer Online always saves maps to the ArcGIS Online account you have signed in with; there is no option to save maps elsewhere.
How do I open ArcGIS Explorer Online?
To open a specific map from ArcGIS Online, first find the details page of the map using the ArcGIS Online website, click the arrow next to the Open button to show a list of choices, and choose Open in ArcGIS Explorer Online.
You can also open Explorer Online directly from www.arcgis.com/explorer.
Where is the Legend button? How can I hide and show the Legend panel?
The Legend button has been removed from the toolbar, as the Map Legend panel is automatically added to the left side panel when one or more layers in the map have available legend information and are visible. You can hide the Map Legend by clicking a different tab in the left side panel, or by clicking the arrow to hide or show the left side panel entirely.
Where is the Identify tool?
The Identify tool has been removed, as the intent is that the user is better able to explore information about features in the map by using configured pop-up information windows. Information pop-up windows can be configured to show attribute information in a table layout, formatted descriptive text including attribute values at specified locations in the text, and also to include the display of images, feature attachments, and charts derived from feature attributes.
Where is the Time button? How can I hide the Time Navigator?
The Time button has been removed as the Time Navigator is now shown and hidden automatically. The Time Navigator will be shown if a time-enabled layer is visible in the map. To hide the Time Navigator, turn off time-enabled layers in the map by unchecking the checkbox next to the layer in the Map Contents panel. To see which layers in the map are time-enabled, open the Time Settings dialog box by clicking the Time Settings button 
in the Time Navigator. You can choose to show or hide the Time Navigator while running a presentation.
ArcGIS Explorer Online appears to be streaming data, but I did not add any data. What is it doing?
ArcGIS Explorer Online shows an indicator bar over the bottom center of the map when it is streaming data. This happens after you have added a layer to the map, but also when you are navigating around the map, or turning layers on or off. This can happen frequently if you have layers which are automatically refreshed at an interval, or if you are animating a time-aware layer.
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When I run my presentation, why is the extent of the map shown in the slide is different to the extent of the map when I edited the slide?
When running a presentation in full screen mode, the center point and scale of the map in the slide is preserved, so that the appearance of any layers with scale-dependent display is preserved. This can sometimes mean that the extent of the map shown in the slide may be slightly different when running a presentation.
What are the system requirements, and which browsers can I use with ArcGIS Explorer Online?
To run ArcGIS Explorer Online, you must install the Silverlight platform from Microsoft, and use a browser which supports Silverlight; for example, current versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer or Google Chrome browsers on the Microsoft Windows platform, or the Safari browser on the Macintosh platform. Explorer Online currently requires version 4 of the Silverlight runtime, specifically a minimum of release number 4.0.60310.0. If you do not have the appropriate Silverlight runtime installed, you will be informed when you try to open ArcGIS Explorer Online, and a link to install the correct runtime will be displayed.
More specific details on supported browsers can be found at the Esri support website.
Learn more about Esri web API browser support
If you wish to view or edit a web map, but your system cannot support these requirements, you may wish to use the ArcGIS.com map viewer instead, which does not require any browser plug-ins.
How can I run ArcGIS Explorer Online in a different language?
ArcGIS Explorer Online supports eleven different languages. If your web browser is configured to use one of the supported languages, this will automatically be detected by Explorer Online, and the text captions in the application on buttons, tabs, tooltips and other items will be shown in the selected language. Also, numbers and dates will be formatted according to the rules used by that language.
You can override the browser setting by signing in to your ArcGIS Online account and setting the Language value to one of the supported languages. Restart ArcGIS Explorer to see the new language.
For an up to date list of the languages supported by ArcGIS Explorer Online, refer to the ArcGIS.com Learn more about what's new in ArcGIS.com help topic.