Common Questions

• Shapefiles
• ArcSDE layers (3.02 or later)
• Coverages using ArcSDE for coverages (8.02 or later)
• Images

ArcExplorer 9.3.1 uses Java Advanced Imaging (JAI) to support TIFF, PNG, BMP, GIF, and JPEG. Other images are supported if they are included in an ArcMap map service started by ArcIMS Administrator.

Yes. For those formats that use world files, the world files must accompany the image when used in ArcExplorer 9.3.

1. Cyan, magenta, yellow, and key black (CMYK) imagery is not supported.
2. Eleven- or 16-bit imagery is not supported.
3. Encrypted MrSID files are not recognized.

For more information, go to www.lizardtech.com.

Yes. UNC path names instead of mapped drives can be used in AXL files. However, you cannot use UNC path names in the Open Project dialog box.

If ArcExplorer 9.3 finds more than one TIFF, PNG, BMP, GIF, or JPEG in a folder, the *ImageDirectory entry appears at the top of the Catalog tree. Clicking this will allow you to add every TIFF, PNG, BMP, GIF, and JPEG found in the folder.

ArcExplorer saves map documents as AXL (.axl) files. An AXL file is a configuration file that contains all the basic information about the content in an ArcExplorer map document, such as the location of the data and the layer symbology. AXL files do not contain the map data, just instructions to find and display the data.

Yes. If you create an AXL with shapefiles and images that are not supported client side, you can open the AXL (using the Open Project button) in ArcExplorer 9.3.1, but you will not see the image displayed in the map (it will appear in the legend). An AXL referencing an image that has a nonstandard extension, such as the CIB image format, cannot be opened in ArcExplorer 9.3.

Transparent GIFs cannot be displayed in ArcExplorer due to a known limitation with JAI. However, support for transparent PNGs is available.

ArcExplorer—Java Edition for Education was designed to provide an introductory-level desktop application that could handle basic GIS data and spatial processes on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Because it was conceived with a K–12 education audience in mind, the tools address many of the basic tasks that students and teachers want to accomplish with GIS.

ArcExplorer—Java Edition for Education covers most of the basic functions users need with spatial data: display, pan, zoom, identify, select, classify, symbolize, hyperlink, and make layouts. ArcExplorer—Java Edition for Education can also open and save projects and work with data from both local sources and ArcIMS servers over the Internet. Also, ArcExplorer—Java Edition for Education is free, so teachers and students can use it both at school and at home, even if they are on different platforms.

Yes. The tool has been optimized for education, but others have found its basic capacities, modest interface, and multiplatform access useful. Use and distribution outside noncommercial education is limited by the click-through license and constraints mentioned in the tutorial and below.

Yes. The click-through license and constraints in the tutorial describe this more fully. Fundamentally, the software can be shared with others at no cost if the installer is provided in exactly the form supplied by ESRI. It may be easiest to link people to the download page for best access to the latest version.

ArcExplorer—Java Edition for Education installs a quick-start tutorial guide as a PDF file found in the folder AEJEE/DATA/LESSONS. Additional lessons using ArcExplorer—Java Edition for Education can be found on ESRI's ArcLessons Web site (choose By Software—ArcExplorer).

• Shapefiles
• ArcSDE layers
• CAD data (DXF and DGN support on Windows only)
• Image formats including .tif and .jpg
• X,y point data from .dbf, .txt, and .csv files
• ArcIMS services

ArcExplorer—Java Edition for Education includes sample world, U.S., local, and Cartesian data that you can use to learn the software, practice spatial thinking, and explore a variety of interesting spatial patterns.