What's Coming in ArcGIS Desktop 9.3

With the ArcGIS 9.3 release, ESRI has implemented many of your enhancement requests and addressed a significant number of common technical support issues to help make you more productive.
View demo of what's new in ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.

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General Enhancements

• The new ArcGIS Desktop Resource Center makes it easy to access online resources such as documentation, help, support pages, forums, blogs, best practices information, and key data services such as ArcGIS Online basemaps. View demo
• A new Convert Graphics to Features function allows you to create features by drawing graphics without using the editor. View demo
• Bookmarks are much easier to access and can be reordered, sorted, exported, and loaded between different maps. View demo

  The new Bookmarks pull-down menu in ArcGIS 9.3

• The ability to export layers to KML files is now built into ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 for all users and no longer requires ArcGIS 3D Analyst. You can now specify pop-ups for your KML features containing feature attributes, URLs, etc. You can use the KML files you export from ArcGIS Desktop in Google Earth, the Google Maps "My Maps" tab, Microsoft Virtual Earth "Collections," and other clients that support KML. View demo Improved KML support
  View demo New KML export support
  
  A new HTML pop-up tool has been added which allows different HTML content to be viewed on individual features. View demo
• The labeling process can be temporarily paused to increase performance while you assemble your map or do analysis. View demo
• Field aliases and definition queries are now retained when you join tables, and you can now sort tables on multiple fields. You can now view the properties of joins and relates, such as the name and location of joined tables. New table window shortcuts let you quickly toggle between showing field aliases or actual field names. View demo
• The Identify window now respects field properties like primary display field and field aliases when you follow relates, and you can now launch a layer's properties and table window directly from the Identify dialog after identifying a feature.
• You can now add layer files into your maps by launching them from Windows Explorer, Outlook, Web pages, etc. This makes it easier to distribute layers to co-workers, and putting your layer files on Web pages provides a simple way for ArcGIS Desktop users to add your Internet-based maps services directly into their maps.
• The new Address Inspector tool lets you click on the map and get the address for that location (reverse geocoding).
• Markups created in ArcReader can be loaded into ArcMap as a guide for editing data.
• A new error-reporting system automatically tracks errors and sends reports to ESRI.
• You now have the option to display map scales throughout the ArcMap user interface in relative format, in the units of your choice, thus making scales easier to understand. View demo
• The Identify tool now allows you to immediately launch the properties dialog and attribute table of the layer that a feature belongs to directly from the Identify window. View demo

Cartography

• All legend symbols now simulate transparency to more closely match transparent layers in your maps. View demo
• ArcGIS 9.3 has new and improved functionality for exporting maps to Adobe PDF format. Feature attributes can be included in exported PDFs and accessed interactively by Adobe Reader users with the Object Data tool. Group layer and data frame hierarchies are now reflected in Adobe PDF layer lists. 9.3 also adds support for the new geospatial capabilities in the PDF formats introduced in Adobe Acrobat 9, including support for coordinate readout, find XY, measurement, and markup. Learn more.
• Many enhancements in Maplex for ArcGIS include better contour labeling and more control over where labels are placed inside and around polygons.
• New options for color balancing and matching make it easier to create seamless raster mosaics.
• A new Disperse Markers tool allows you to spread out representation markers when they coincide.
  

  Points placed with the new Disperse Markers tool

• WYSIWYG editing of cartographic representations and geometric effects allows you to better see how an edit will impact your map. View demo

Modeling and Analysis

• Geoprocessing error messages are improved and now let you hyperlink to a full description of the problem. The geoprocessing progress bar gives a better indication of current status. View demo
• Python scripts can be run in process, significantly reducing execution time.
• A new scatterplot matrix graph lets you explore relationships between sets of related variables.
• The Near tool has been improved to work with points, lines, and polygons and can find multiple feature classes.
• The new, advanced Ordinary Least Squares and Geographically Weighted Regression tools help you understand how processes vary over space.
• New tools to create spatial weights matrices show spatial relationships in feature classes and network datasets.
• Buffer tool improvements include support for geodesic buffers and better performance.
• Geostatistical functions like kriging can now take advantage of multiple CPUs.
• Viewshed, inverse distance weighting (IDW), and Combine functions now work with very large input datasets.
• A new vehicle routing problem (VRP) solver in ArcGIS Network Analyst generates routes for fleets of vehicles.

3D Visualization

• Improved contouring with the new Contour with Barriers tool is included.
• Support for Collaborative Design Activity (COLLADA) models provides more realistic displays.
• Support for graphics in ArcGlobe as well as billboard marker symbols has been improved.
• The ArcGIS Tracking Analyst extension is now supported in ArcGlobe, enabling dynamic tracking and visualization of moving objects in 3D.
• A new Point File Information tool makes it easier to create terrains by performing mass point QA/QC before loading them into the geodatabase.
• The Profile Graph tool can now profile multiple lines in one graphic plot and graph line-of-sight results.

ArcGIS 9.3 is expected to be available in July 2008.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Does ArcGIS 9.3 run on Windows XP or Vista 64-bit operating systems?

ArcGIS Desktop is fully supported on 64-bit Windows at 9.2 Service Pack 3 and beyond. While ArcGIS is a 32-bit application, it has been tested and certified on the 64-bit versions of Windows. We have no immediate plans to release a native 64-bit version of ArcGIS Desktop, although we will continue to research this possibility.

At ArcGIS 9.2, we released 64-bit versions of the ArcSDE component of ArcGIS Server for some UNIX platforms. At 9.3, we released a native 64-bit version of ArcSDE technology for Windows and Linux.

Does ArcGIS 9.3 support Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 6.0?

ArcGIS 9.3 supports Visual Studio 2008 in ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Engine, and ArcGIS Server for customization and development. In addition, ArcGIS 9.3 continues to support Visual Studio 2005. ArcGIS 9.3 still has the Visual Basic (VB) 6 Software Developer Kit (SDK) for ArcGIS Engine and ArcGIS Desktop, but it is the last release that supports VB 6. ArcGIS Server 9.3 supports .NET 3.5.

Does ArcGIS 9.3 support Visual C++ 6.0?

ArcGIS 9.3 does not support Visual C++ 6.0. In fact, ArcGIS 9.1 was the last release that supported it. However, if you want to do COM Visual C++ development at ArcGIS 9.2 and 9.3, ESRI supports that language via Visual Studio 2005 (not Visual Studio 6).

For additional information, please visit the system requirements page.

I heard a rumor that the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) interface and functionality are not available in 9.3. Is this true?

This is not true. VBA is fully supported in ArcGIS 9.3, and we have no plans to retire VBA support in the near term. However, we do not recommend VBA for extensive application development or customization, and users should employ Visual Studio and ArcObjects to do more complex development.

What operating systems are supported for ArcGIS Server 9.3?

ArcGIS Server 9.3 supports the following operating systems:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES 4.0 Update 2
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
• Sun Solaris 10 (SPARC)
• Sun Solaris 9 (SPARC)
• Windows 2000 SP4 Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter
• Windows 2003 SP2 Server Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter
• Windows 2003 SP2 (64-bit) Server Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter
• Windows Vista SP1 Ultimate, Enterprise, and Business
• Windows XP SP2 Professional Edition

To what extent will KML support be provided?

KML Support in ArcGIS Desktop
The ability to export maps and layers to KML files is now built into ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 for all users at all license levels using the Layer To KML and Map To KML tools in ArcToolbox. Previously, these tools were only available with the 3D Analyst extension.

Using the new HTML pop-up functionality in ArcMap, you can specify pop-ups for KML features containing attributes, URLs, or formatted Web content. The ability to define HTML pop-ups can also be found in ArcGlobe and ArcScene at 9.3.

You can put the KML files you create with these tools onto the Internet so they can be accessed in applications like ArcGIS Explorer and Google Earth. You can also load your KML files into Web maps like Google Maps (via the My Maps tab) and Microsoft Virtual Earth (via the Collections menu). This functionality provides new ways for you to share maps and data with others and tell your geographic story.

KML can be accessed directly in ArcGlobe or in the free ArcGIS Explorer 3D client. ArcMap users can add KML into their maps by accessing their content as GIS features using the ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension. A number of third-party scripts and tools for ArcGIS Desktop have also been created for importing and exporting KML files.

KML Support in ArcGIS Server
Support for serving GIS data in KML format is greatly improved in ArcGIS Server at 9.3.

Authoring KML-Enabled Services
ArcGIS 9.3 introduces several new features that allow you to control how your map services display in KML client applications. The KML Description for a feature is now based on the HTML pop-up configured for the feature layer in ArcMap. Point features are no longer automatically labeled. Additionally, you can now control the label size and color by defining these properties in ArcMap. Any legends authored in the layout view of ArcMap will be exported for network links authored in Manager and the Generate KML option in Services Directory. Legends authored in ArcMap can be viewed in KML clients like Google Earth.

Publishing KML-Enabled Services
At 9.3, ArcGIS Server support for KML has been greatly enhanced and is now enabled by default when you publish a map service, geocode service, or geoprocessing service. Additionally, queries against map services can be returned as KML, for example, finding all cities in a layer with a population greater than one million. Geocoding and geoprocessing services can now return their results as KML. Map and image services can display in KML client applications. Map and image services can also return their footprint (the centerpoint of the extent of the data) as KML. The 9.2 URL for the KML capability (KMLServer) continues to be supported for backward compatibility.

Consuming KML Services
At 9.2, if you wanted to deliver your map services to people using Google Earth, you used Server Manager to author a KML network link that you could then send out to them. Upon opening the network link, the map service would then display over the globe in Google Earth. Now at 9.3, map and image services automatically generate a network link that can be accessed via a URL. At 9.3, ArcGIS Server can provide a direct URL to a KMZ file representation of a particular service or output from a service. This allows you to share your services by simply sharing the URL with them. For example, you might send the URL in an e-mail or incorporate it on a Web page so that when a user clicks a link, ArcGIS Server returns a KMZ file that can be opened directly in an application like Google Earth. This functionality is supported by the new ArcGIS Server REST API so it can be accessed by Web applications and mashups.

Is Crystal Reports included in ArcGIS Desktop 9.3?

ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 ships with a 30-day evaluation copy of Crystal Reports 2008 (developed and sold by Business Objects). However, a full version of Crystal Reports is not included. Also, at 9.3, ArcGIS Desktop continues to provide the ability to create simple reports based on attributes from layers.

• Customers who have ArcGIS Desktop 9.1 or 9.2, which included Crystal Reports XI, can continue to use Crystal Reports XI with ArcGIS 9.3 Desktop.
• Customers interested in the latest version of Crystal Reports 2008 can purchase it through the Business Objects eStore.
• International customers may purchase Crystal Reports 2008 through the Business Objects eStore or through their local ESRI distributor.

Does ArcGIS 9.3 support geospatial information in Adobe PDF maps?

Yes. ArcGIS 9.3 has new and improved functionality for exporting maps to Adobe PDF including map layers and location information for end users with Adobe Acrobat 9 or Reader 9 software. These enhancements are available as a freely downloadable patch for ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Server, and ArcGIS Engine. Learn more.