What's New in ArcGIS 9.3

• Manage spatial information more efficiently.
• Make better maps.
• Share common operating information.
• Send and receive real-time information to and from the field.
• Perform better planning and analysis.
  

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.

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.
• A new Convert Graphics to Features function allows you to create features by drawing graphics without using the editor.
• Bookmarks are much easier to access and can be reordered, sorted, exported, and loaded between different maps

• The ability to export layers to KML files is now built into ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 for all users, and you can now specify pop-ups for your KML features containing feature attributes, URLs, etc.
• A new HTML pop-up tool has been added which allows different HTML content to be viewed on individual features.
• The labeling process can be temporarily paused to increase performance while you assemble your map or do analysis.
• Field aliases and definition queries are now retained when you join tables, and you can now sort tables on multiple fields.
• 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.
• 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.

Cartography

• All legend symbols now simulate transparency to more closely match transparent layers in your maps.
• 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.
• 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.
• WYSIWYG editing of cartographic representations and geometric effects allows you to better see how an edit will impact your map.

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.
• 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.

Here are just a few of the quality enhancements and new features you get with ArcGIS Server 9.3.

Create GIS Web Mashups with New ArcGIS JavaScript APIs

Innovative new ArcGIS JavaScript APIs make it easy to include ArcGIS Server maps in Web pages or develop complete GIS applications. You can easily combine your services with others such as ArcGIS Online basemaps. The ArcGIS JavaScript API extensions allow you to mashup ArcGIS Server maps, data, tasks, and geoprocessing services with Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth to take advantage of those popular Web maps.

These freely available APIs dramatically simplify creating Web applications and let developers unleash a new generation of GIS mashups incorporating trusted GIS content and professional grade GIS analysis.

Improved Support for KML and Other Standards

KML support has also been greatly enhanced at 9.3. Map services you publish with ArcGIS Server 9.3 can now be accessed directly via a URL in clients that support KML network links like ArcGIS Explorer and Google Earth, and the results of geoprocessing, queries, and geocoding can also be returned as KML. People can use search engines like Google to discover maps and other services you publish and launch them directly in Web clients for easy integration with other Geoweb content.

Support for additional OGC standards has been enhanced to include to cover Web Coverage Services (WCS), Transactional Web Feature Services (WFS-T), and Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) support for WMS.

Easier to Create High Performance Cached Map Services

ArcGIS Server 9.3 makes it easier to create cached map services and gives you more control over how your cache gets built and updated. You can cache particular areas on your map or create the cache on demand as your service is used. Caching your map services for display with ArcGIS Online, Google Maps, and Microsoft Virtual Earth is much easier as those tiling schemes are now built into the caching tools.

Enhanced Security

ArcGIS Server's new role-based security at 9.3 lets you manage access to your services and applications for different users. It is easy to configure security using the new Security tab in the Server Manager. 9.3 also introduces the option to use token-based security for Web services and applications.

Better Diagnostics

More detailed logging at 9.3 makes it easier to track down problems and bottlenecks occurring on your GIS server.

Advanced Imagery Capabilities with the ArcGIS Image Server Extension

ArcGIS Image Server is now an optional extension to ArcGIS Server providing a complete imaging solution that enables you to manage and process huge volumes of raster data and provide enterprise-wide access to the data from GIS, CAD, imaging, and Web applications. Unlike simply serving your imagery as a map service, ArcGIS Image Server lets you serve image services that allow image processing and analysis to be performed directly by client applications. The ArcGIS Image Server extension dramatically shortens the time between image capture and making imagery available to end users. At 9.3, image services can be used as full raster data sources throughout ArcGIS, and performance, editing capabilities, and developer options have been improved.

New Resource Center and Improved Documentation

The new ArcGIS Server Resource Center brings together the various online resources for the product including documentation, help, support pages, forums, blogs, Web basemaps, and best practices information.

Major additions have been made to the Server documentation, especially in the areas of publishing your GIS content and geoprocessing services on the Web, administering your server, and developing Web applications including many new code samples.

Here are just a few of the quality enhancements and new features in ArcGIS Engine 9.3.

New ArcGIS Snippet Finder

This new tool makes it easier to search and choose how code snippets are inserted (e.g., fully qualified/using statements/commented). Previously, you could only browse the list of more than 250 code snippets.

New Configurations Supported

The ArcGIS Engine Java Developer Kit version 6 includes support configurations for SUSE Linux 10, 64-bit Red Hat Linux (must use 32-bit Java Virtual Machine [JVM]), and Windows Vista operating systems.

Improved IDE and Debugging Experience

Integrated with the Eclipse 3.3 plug-in, you can now inspect the state of ArcObjects under the Java platform.

New Topics and Samples

There are three or four times more help topics and samples to assist developers.

New MXD Editor Tool

MXD Editor is a tool that can be used to inspect and fix broken layers in map documents (.mxd files) on Windows, Linux, or Solaris machines that have ArcGIS Engine Java Developer Kit for the Java platform. The tool is based on the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) framework and leverages the ArcObjects components provided by ArcGIS Engine.

The ArcGIS Engine Add Data Dialog Box Now Supports ArcSDE Geodatabases

The Add Data dialog box in ArcGIS Engine supports connections to ArcSDE geodatabases. This enables users of ArcGIS Engine applications to connect to any ArcSDE geodatabase (including personal, workgroup, and enterprise ArcSDE) to access data.

Improved Dynamic Display Capabilities

The dynamic display capabilities have been considerably enhanced in 9.3. Dynamic display can be used and configured using ArcObjects by developers on all supported ArcGIS Engine development environments.

At 9.3, dynamic display has been further improved with better display caching:

• Background tiles loading thread
• Reused during dynamic sessions (activate and deactivate)
• Reused between dynamic sessions (layer files and map documents)
• Generated before use
• Invalidated areas
• Tiles compression format
• Layer drawing characteristics

Version 9.3 also supports feature selection, adds new continuous zoom/pan and roam tools, and has enhanced performance.

Personal ArcSDE Included in ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit

ArcGIS Engine 9.3 includes the SQL Server 2005 Express installation and the ArcSDE personal geodatabase Post Installation wizard. This allows ArcGIS Engine developers to use personal ArcSDE geodatabases as a data source.

New ArcGIS Mobile Application for Windows Mobile

At 9.3, the ArcGIS Mobile is enhanced with the addition of a new ArcGIS Mobile application for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices. This includes out-of-the-box mobile GIS capabilities that integrate with ArcGIS Server to provide central management, configuration, and deployment of mobile GIS data, maps, tasks and projects from the ArcGIS Server Manager. The ArcGIS Server Manager is a Web-based portal that is optimized for mobile Internet Explorers and enables any organization to host the ArcGIS Mobile application and their ArcGIS Mobile projects for deployment to Windows Mobile-based devices. The ArcGIS Mobile application provides mobile workers with the ability to access their specific ArcGIS Mobile projects from a centralized server to:

• View and navigate mobile maps
• Collect new GIS features
• Edit existing GIS features
• Utilize the device rocker, stylus or Global Positioning System (GPS) to sketch
• Search for and manage a list of GIS features to perform future work

ArcGIS Mobile Software Development Kit Enhancements

ESRI released the ArcGIS Mobile Software Development Kit at 9.2 as part of ArcGIS Server Advanced Enterprise edition. This SDK currently supports customers and business partners developing custom mobile GIS applications.

The ArcGIS Mobile platform at 9.3 includes improvements to the software developer kit providing:

• Enhanced map control rendering to support multiple data sources and graphic layers
• Improved data storage capabilities with support for large compressed basemaps
• Expanded projections for nongrid-based ArcGIS projects
• Improved editing and new sketch tools for manipulating geometries
• Increased Global Positioning System (GPS) performance
• Signed cabinet file (CAB) including ArcGIS Mobile runtime components

The geodatabase continues to be the common data storage and management framework for ArcGIS. At ArcGIS 9.3, the geodatabase offers improved spatial data management and enhanced capabilities for integration with enterprise systems.

Raster data management

• New geoprocessing tools make the transfer of unmanaged raster catalogs (in Microsoft Access personal geodatabases and file geodatabases) from one location to another much easier.

Geodatabase replication

• Microsoft Access personal geodatabases and file geodatabases can participate in one-way replication as child geodatabases.
• ArcGIS 9.3 allows for more detailed logging of geodatabase replication activity.

Direct Connect backward compatibility

• ArcGIS 9.3 clients can make direct connections to pre-9.3 enterprise geodatabases (e.g., 9.2, 9.1, and 9.0).
• Backward compatibility allows easier implementation of phased migration strategies for new ArcGIS releases.

Versioned editing

• The Merge Geometries option enhances conflict and reconcile management.
• The Version Changes Viewer tool allows a version to be compared with an ancestor version without performing a reconcile operation.

Support for PostgreSQL (Open Source DBMS)

• Enterprise geodatabases can be implemented on PostgreSQL with full support of the geodatabase data model.
• Vector geometry is stored in the ESRI spatial type.
• PostGIS Open Source spatial type is supported.

Support for SQL Server 2008

ArcGIS 9.3 will support the two new spatial types in Microsoft SQL Server 2008. A geodatabase implemented on SQL Server 2008 will be able to store vector geometry in either spatial type (Geography or Geometry).

New 64-bit platform support

• Enterprise ArcSDE technology will be available as a native 64-bit application for Windows and Linux at 9.3 SP1.
  

At 9.3, ArcGIS Server provides enhanced support for the three leading OGC Web standards: WMS, WFS, and WCS. With the recent announcement from OGC that KML 2.2 is now an official OGC standard, ArcGIS Server at 9.3 will comply with the OGC specification of Keyhole Markup Language (KML).

Enhanced Support for OGC WMS

In ArcGIS Desktop, support has been added for accessing WMS 1.3.0 services, and it is much easier to access specific layers of WMS services containing large numbers of layers.

In ArcCatalog, you can now expand WMS services to access and drill into the layers as well as layer collections you want to work with and drag them directly into your map or globes.

Also, in the ArcMap context menu for layers in a WMS service, a new command enables you to add WMS legends to your map as a graphic.

ArcGIS Server supports the WMS 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.1, and 1.3 specifications and complies with the ISO 19128 WMS standard. At 9.3, this support has been enhanced for both the ISO-certified 19128 WMS standard and the OGC styled layer descriptor (SLD) specification. The symbology in the SLD documents can be rule driven, the rules being specified using the OGC filter encoding (FE) specification.

Enhanced Support for OGC WFS

At 9.3, ArcGIS Server supports WFS 1.1 and the simple features profile of GML. ArcGIS Server also supports Transactional WFS (WFS-T) 1.1. This allows any GIS client to carry out transactions against geodatabases using the WFS-T service published by ArcGIS Server.

Support Added for OGC WCS

An Add WCS Server command has been added to ArcGIS Desktop, enabling you to expand the server to see all the individual WCS services it contains. When added to ArcMap or ArcGlobe, a WCS service works like any other raster data source.

• The layer properties dialog box for a layer referencing a WCS service is the same one used for other rasters.
• Raster geoprocessing tools and ArcGIS Spatial Analyst tools support WCS layers as inputs.
• You can export from an OGC WCS service to a raster dataset.

ArcGIS Server 9.3 allows users to publish any raster data type as an OGC WCS 1.0, 1.1, or 1.1.1 service. Using the WCS specification

• Clients can get subsets of the data.
• Clients can request server-side resampling of the data.
• Geoprocessing models that consume WCS services can be published.

For example, a WCS service with precipitation data can be used as an input to a geoprocessing model for calculating near real-time flood delineation.

Enhanced Support for KML

KML support in ArcGIS Server now enables map and image services to automatically generate a network link that can be accessed via a URL.

• Services can easily be integrated into Web maps.
• Services available can be browsed and displayed in ArcGIS Explorer, Google Earth, or any other application that directly supports KML.
• URLs to your services can be embedded directly on your organization's Web site.
• Service metadata gets indexed by search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo), allowing your services to be found simply by doing Web searches.

ArcGIS Server supports KML 2.2.

In ArcGIS Desktop 9.3, tools are included that enable you to quickly convert maps and layers to KML. This makes it easy to use your data with any client capable of reading KML including ArcGIS Explorer, Google Earth, and Google Maps.

• A new HTML pop-up functionality in ArcMap, ArcGlobe, and ArcScene at 9.3 enables you to define and format how the attributes of features and related URLs will appear when layers are accessed as KML.
• At 9.3, support for accessing KML in ArcGlobe has been improved to include support for KML 2.0 and 2.1 tags, screen overlays, auto-refresh behavior in KML network links, and Collaborative Design Activity (COLLADA) models in KML.

Support Added for COLLADA

ArcGIS 9.3 includes support for the COLLADA file format. Using these new capabilities, ArcGIS users can leverage COLLADA files for a variety of purposes in ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server as well as display more realistic 3D models.

• COLLADA files can be used as 3D point symbology in ArcGlobe and ArcScene.
• Features symbolized using COLLADA files can be served via the ArcGIS Server 3D extension.
• Users can import COLLADA files into the geodatabase and directly display them in ArcGlobe.

Interoperability between different vendor products is key to being able to share information throughout an organization. ArcGIS 9.3 enables users to easily integrate their geographic information with the latest products from third-party software vendors through support for their latest version releases.

The following new versions of platforms and technology are supported at 9.3:

Adobe PDF Support

The quickest way to share the maps you create in ArcMap with the rest of the world is to simply export them to PDF. You can send the files by e-mail or put them on Web pages.

The PDF export function in ArcMap has been enhanced so that Adobe Reader users can customize maps by turning layers, group layers, or individual members of group layers on and off.

At 9.3, PDFs exported from ArcMap can also include feature attributes that people can access interactively using the Object Data tool in Adobe Reader.

KML Support

Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is an XML-based language provided by Google for defining the graphic display of spatial data in applications such as Google Earth and Google Maps. KML enables these applications to support the open integration of custom data layers from many GIS users. KML files have either a .kml file extension or a .kmz file extension (for compressed and zipped KML files). KML has recently become an Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC), standard.

• 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.
• 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—Several new features allow you to control how your map services display in KML client applications.
  • Publishing KML-enabled services—ArcGIS Server ability to support KML client applications has been extended.
  • Consuming KML services—Map and image services can automatically generate a network link that is accessible via a URL. This allows you to share your services with other Web applications and mashups by simply providing the URL to them.

Operating Systems

ArcGIS is supported on Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003 and 2008 (32 bit and 64 bit), Linux, and Solaris operating systems.

64-Bit Operating System Support
At 9.3, ArcGIS is certified to run on the Intel and AMD 64-bit processor families.

• ArcGIS Desktop (ArcInfo, ArcEditor, ArcView) is a native 32-bit application and runs as a 32-bit application on 64-bit Microsoft Windows, so it can take advantage of some of the performance benefits of the 64-bit environment.
• ArcReader is a native 32-bit application and runs as a 32-bit application on 64-bit Windows, 64-bit Solaris, and 64-bit Linux.
• ArcGIS Server and ArcIMS are native 32-bit applications. They have both been certified running as a 32-bit application on 64-bit Microsoft Windows. ArcGIS Server and ArcIMS support 64-bit Solaris.
• ArcGIS Engine is a native 32-bit application and has been certified running as a 32-bit application on 64-bit Microsoft Windows, 64-bit Solaris, and 64-bit Linux.
• ArcSDE is available as a native 64-bit application for Sun Solaris (Oracle and IBM DB2), HP-UX (Oracle and DB2), HP with Intel Itanium (Oracle), and IBM AIX (Oracle and DB2). On Windows, ArcSDE is a native 32-bit application and runs as a 32-bit application on 64-bit Microsoft Windows. ArcSDE is a 32-bit application on Linux for both Oracle and DB2. When running ArcSDE for Oracle on Red Hat Linux, the Oracle DBMS and Red Hat Linux OS must both be 32 bit, even if the server on which they are installed is a 64-bit server.
• ArcGIS License Manager fully supports 64-bit Windows environments.

Database Management Systems

Support for Microsoft SQL Server 2008
ArcGIS 9.3 supports the two new spatial types in Microsoft SQL Server 2008. A geodatabase implemented on SQL Server 2008 can store vector geometry in either spatial type (Geography or Geometry). In addition, Microsoft SQL Server Express support includes advanced services with full-text search.

Support for Oracle
Enterprise ArcSDE 9.3 technology supports Oracle XE, Oracle9i, Oracle 10g, and Oracle 11g.

Support for PostgreSQL (Open Source DBMS)
The open source RDBMS PostgreSQL is now supported by Enterprise ArcSDE.

• Enterprise geodatabases can be implemented on PostgreSQL with full support of the geodatabase data model.
• Vector geometry is stored in the ESRI spatial type.
• PostGIS Open Source spatial type is supported.

Support for IBM DB2 and Informix
ArcGIS 9.3 supports DB2 z/OS in Enterprise ArcSDE and also includes Informix enhancements for text search DataBlade module products.

Developer Environments

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2005 Support
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 Server 9.3 supports .NET 3.5.

.NET Desktop and Engine Software Developer Kits (SDKs)

• Visual Studio 2008 support
• Improved documentation including new Snippet Finder tool

Java SDKs

• Supports Java Developer Kit 6, SUSE Linux 10, 64-bit Red Hat Linux with 32-bit JVM, and Windows Vista
• Improved IDE Integration: Supports Eclipse 3.3 (Engine and Server) and NetBeans (Server)

Web Applications

New REST and JavaScript APIs

These APIs dramatically simplify your development experience and enable you to deliver fast and user-friendly mashup GIS Web applications. The JavaScript libraries also let you embed ArcGIS Server maps, geocoding, and geoprocessing services into Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth.

ArcGIS Server REST API

• Provides Web interface to GIS services
• Enables you to browse services with new Services Directory Web pages

Building Mashups with ArcGIS JavaScript APIs

• ArcGIS JavaScript API
• ArcGIS JavaScript Extension for Microsoft Virtual Earth
• ArcGIS JavaScript Extension for Google Maps API

Interoperability

• Enhanced KML delivery
• Expanded OGC support

Web Application Development Framework (ADF) for the Microsoft .NET Framework

• Microsoft Vista support and Visual Studio 2008 support
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 and 3.5 support
• Fully documented Web ADF JavaScript library

At 9.3, ArcGIS Data Interoperability has been updated to FME 2008, the latest FME developed by Safe Software. This new version of FME includes improvements to the existing software and new functionality for better usability and productivity.

New and Improved Support for Formats and Transformers

• Improved support for existing formats
• New formats such as industry foundation class (IFC) Standard for the Exchange of Product (STEP) files, CityGML, LandXML, GeoRSS, Trimble JobXML, Autodesk 2007 (DWG/DXF), and Aeronautical Information Exchange Model (AIXM)
• New transformers—more than 35 additional transformers that can be utilized in existing or new extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes

Enhanced Workbench Improvements

Workbench, the graphical authoring environment used to build Data Interoperability ETL processes, has several usability enhancements including the following:

• A new Overview window lets you view your entire ETL workspace at a glance and provides easy navigation to different parts of the workspace.
• All windows displayed in the Workbench interface can now "float" independently of each other and the Workbench window frame.
• The transformer gallery is now customizable. You can create your own folders and store your favorite transformers for quick access. These folders are saved so you can share them with other users in your organization.
• An Update Feature Types option has been added, which is very helpful when data changes during or after the creation of a spatial ETL tool. Using this option updates the entire workspace at once rather than your making the changes manually throughout the workspace.