ArcGIS Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

No. ArcGIS 9.3.1 installs on top of ArcGIS 9.3.

Yes. You need to install ArcGIS 9.3 before installing the ArcGIS 9.3.1 Update.

ArcGIS Desktop users who are current on maintenance will be able to access Microsoft Virtual Earth at no additional cost. This access comes with an annual transaction cap that will be enough to meet the needs of most users. However, users who need more can purchase an annual subscription to the Virtual Earth service that has no transaction limitation.

ArcGIS Server users will be able to easily access a free 90-day watermarked evaluation of Microsoft Virtual Earth that can be leveraged with the .NET ADF as well as with JavaScript, Flex, and Silverlight APIs. After the evaluation period, ArcGIS users can purchase an annual subscription.

ArcGIS Explorer users who have an existing ArcGIS Desktop license on the same machine as ArcGIS Explorer can use the Microsoft Virtual Earth content at no additional cost. ArcGIS Explorer users that do not have an ArcGIS desktop license can evaluate Microsoft Virtual Earth for 90 days (watermarked), and then purchase an unlimited use subscription.

We have worked on several major areas in ArcGIS 9.3.1 to improve the performance of dynamic map services. First of all, we have incorporated a new toolbar in ArcMap, which allows you to tune your map documents easily. This toolbar "analyzes" your map document and tells you how you could make it better performing. For example, it will detect if

any of your layers are being projected on the fly.
building a specific index on a field in your geodatabase is advisable.
a layer does not have scale dependencies.
a complex multilayered symbol is being used.
Etc.
Additionally, through this toolbar you can export your map document to a map service definition (msd) file, which is optimized for performance in ArcGIS Server.

ArcGIS 9.3.1 also uses significantly improved drawing technology to accelerate map display, boosting your server's throughput.

Finally, we have optimized the output images created by the map service to make sure that they are as small as possible (while maintaining high cartographic standards). Smaller files mean faster download times, especially on low bandwidth networks.

Yes. You can optimize your map documents and publish them through map service definition files, which will accelerate your map caching process.

Yes. However, the Map Service Publishing toolbar in ArcMap will warn you if there are any data sources that are not compatible with making high performance maps.

Yes. From a client point of view, ArcGIS 9.3.1 dynamic map Web services look just like 9.3 map Web services, but they are faster. Web applications built with the ArcGIS JavaScript API and the ArcGIS API for Flex will be able to transparently connect to your 9.3.1 map services. Web ADF applications will be able to connect to 9.3.1 services as long you do so over Internet connections.