New in ArcGIS for Desktop Basic (ArcView) 10.1

ArcMap Basics

• There is a new coordinate system selection experience.  This includes the addition of searching for spatial reference by name, well-known id, and spatial extent.
• Compound datum transformations can now be created in the user interface.
• The dot density renderer now includes the ability to set a seed for the fixed placement of the dots.  There is a new option in the dot density rendere that allows you to choose between dot size and dot value as a way to maintain the density.
• There are new layers supported for ArcMap basemap layers: Dot density layers, Dimension layer, TIN and terrain layers, Schematics layer, Geostatistical layers - contours and filled contours, XY enent layers, Linear referencing event layers.
• Python is now supported as a scripting language for all locations where scripting is used.  This includes label expressions, display expressions, hyperlink scripts, dimensions, and linear referencing hatching.
• Credits are now available for service layers.

 Text and Labeling

     The Maplex for ArcGIS extension functionality has been moved into the core ArcGIS for Desktop product and is referred to as the Maplex Label Engine.  The following list summarizes new functionality for labeling, annotation, and the Maplex Label Engine:

• There's improved internationalization support for text display of complex scripts (for example: Arabic, Hebrew, and Thai).
• The Maplex Label Engine is the default label engine for ArcMap.
• The global label placement parameters controlling line connection and multipart polygons have been moved from the general Maplex label options to the label class level.
• Additional ability  to control the white space used in your label has been added to the Label Expression dialog box.
• A new Label Density tab has been added to the Placement Properties dialog box to organize the parameters that affect the density of labels.
• Key numbering has been added as a label-fitting strategy.
• An option has been added to the Regular Placement style to support labeling line on either side of the feature when the label is stacked and you are using an offset label position.
• An option has been added to the repeat line labels parameter to allow you to label near line junctions and the map border.
• Options have been added to the truncation parameter to allow you control over what characters are removed first, the minimum word length, and the marker character.
• An option has been added to the point label offset parameter to allow you to measure the offset from the exact symbol outline.
• Street Placement has been improved to include the line connection parameter.
• The line options from Standard Label Engine (one per feature, one per feature part, and one per feature segment) have been added to the line connection parameter.
• The spread words parameter can now be applied to polygon labels.

Symbols and Styles

• GIFs, PNGs, and JPEGs are now supported in picture symbols.
• Representation rules and representation markers stored in a style now support tags for searching.
• The representation rules and representation markers in ESRI.style, C2 Military Operations.style, and Military METOC.style have been populated with searching tags indicating representation composition and color.
• When a localized version of ArcGIS is installed, localized versions of commonly used styles will also be installed.  These styles will be used by ArcGIS rather than the English versions.

What's New for Representations

• ArcGIS 10.1 introduces three new line geometric effects: Extension, Offset Tangent, and Suppress.
• Representation marker placement styles have been updated to include a check box to toggle clockwise rotation.
• Representation rules and representation markers stored in a style now support tags for searching.

Page Layouts and Data Frames

• The legend has been enhanced to be dynamic.  That is, legends support the display of only features in the visible extent and feature counts.  Also, the legend can now have a fixed area on the page.  The frame size will remain fixed, and as legend items are added or removed, they will adjust to fit inside.
•  A new True North option has been added as well as calibration angle enhancements.
• Scale bars have been enhanced to allow you to set the zero point as the anchor so that multiple scale bars of differing untis can be aligned with each other.

Exporting to PDF

• ArcGIS now supports exporting password-protected PDF files from the ArcMap user interface.  In v.10.0, password protection of PDF documents was only possible via Python scripting.  In v.10.1, you can use the Security tab in the PDF options of the Map Export dialog box to set a document-open password and other PDF security features.

Automating Map Workflows

• You can now automate symbology properties for the following renderers: Graduated Colors, Graduated Symbols, Unique Values, and Classified Rasters.
• An export report function is available that allows you to automate the generation of reports.
• ArcGIS v.10.1 provides access to a layer's time properties so you can perform analysis over time.  You can also enable time on layers.
• Various other enhancements have been made to arcpy.mapping including setting text size, setting relative paths, and reading page size.

Cartographic Generation and Symbol Conflict Detection

•  Many of the generalization and graphic conflict resolution tools in the Cartography Toolbox are now enabled for partitioning to allow them to process much larger datasets.  Partitioning dynamically subdivides input data for processing, ensuring that a seamless result is output.
• New geoprocessing tools have benn introduced to further support a workflow to process road and building features for clear display at a smaller scale.

Sharing Maps and Data

• ArcGIS for Desktop offers a unified publishing experience.
• You can create GP task and Address locator packages from ArcGIS for Desktop.

Desktop Search

• Spatial search support - The search window supports a variety of ways to spatially search for the GIS content.  (Map-based, Text-based, and Scale-dependent spatial search support.)
• The search window now supports sorting and grouping of your search results so you can quickly narrow down your search results.
• Synonym support.
• Improved indexing performance and added the ability to log corrupt data and attempt to skip over such data at index time.
• Ability to auto-generate thumbnails at index time.
• Several enhancements to improve the look and feel of search results including the ability to show thumbnail for each search result, enabled context menu on each search result item, and more.

Temporal Data

• The time slider supports visualizing the most current updates to temporal data using the live mode.
• The time window on the time slider can be configured to display or hide temporal data that falls exactly on the start and end time of a specified time window.
• You can embed time as text when exporting images or videos of your time visualization from the data view in ArcMap, ArcScene, or ArcGlobe.

Reports

• You can create a report using visible features of a chosen layer by choosing the Visible Extent for the Dataset option.
• You can now generate a report that include the related data from the source layer.
• An export report function is available that allows you to automate the generation of reports.

Databases

• The altered Data Connections dialog box and Create Database Connections geoprocessing tool allow you to connect to a supported database from ArcGIS for Desktop and view the data.
• You can install the ST_Geometry data type in an Oracle or PostgreSQL database using the Create Spatial Type geoprocessing tool.
• You can use the Create Database User tool to add a user to Oracle, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server.  Users are granted privilages sufficient to create database objects.  In SQL Server, the users also have privileges sufficient to read system tables containing lists of database logins and roles.  In Oracle, they are created with privileges sufficient to read the database role system table.
• You can create a database role in an Oracle, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server database using the Create Role geoprocessing tool.  You can also use this tool to add users to the roles.
• From ArcGIS for Desktop, you can create tables and feature classes in a database and load data into them.
• You can add, drop, or rename fields in database tables.
• You can rename database tables.
• You can truncate database tables.
• You can create views on database tables using the Create Database View geoprocessing tool.
• You can rebuild indexes on existing database tables using the Rebuild Indexes geoprocessing tool.
• You can use the Analyze Datasets to update database statistics for database tables and their associated indexes.
• A new type of server - the ArcGIS Spatial Data Server - is available to let you serve the geometries, attributes, symbols, and template information for vector data you have stored as tables in your spatially enabled databased in DB2, SQL Server, Oracle, or PostgreSQL.
• You can use the Add Incrementing ID Field geoprocessing tool to add a database-maintained ID field to an existing table.
• A new geoprocessing tool is available (Make Query Layer) to allow you to script the creation of a query layer.

Geodatabases

     A new toolbox is available - Geodatabase Administration - that contains some tools that were previously in the Database toolbox (Upgrade Geodatabase, Upgrade Spatial Reference, Change Privileges, Compress, Migrate Storage, and Register With Geodatabase) plus the following new geodatabase tools:

• Create Enterprise Geodatabase:  Create a database and geodatabase administrator in PostgreSQL or SQL Server and enable enterprise geodatabase functionality in it, or create a tablespace and geodatabase administrator in an existing Oracle database and enable enterprise geodatabase functionality within.  This tool performs the geodatabase administrator creation, geodatabase creation, and authorization functions previously accomplished with the ArcSDE for SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL Post Installation wizard on WIndows.
• Enable Enterprise Geodatabase:  Enable geodatabase functionality in an existing DB2, Informix, Oracle, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server database.  This tool performs the geodatabase creation and authorization functions previously accomplished with the ArcSDE for DB2 and Informix Post Installation wizards on Windows.
• Rebuild Indexes:  Data owners can use this tool to rebuild indexes on multiple feature classes.  Geodatabase administrators can use this tool to rebuild indexes on the states, state_lineages, and mv_tables_modified system tables.  This tool replaces the Rebuild Index tool.
• Analyze Datasets:  Data owners can use this tool to update database statistics for multiple feature classes.  Geodatabase administrators can update database statistics on all geodatabase system tables.  This tool replaces the Analyze dialog box opened from the Analyze command on the dataset context menu.
• Reconcile Versions:  Reconcile then post versioned edits in the recommended order to optimize a subsequent geodatabase compress operation.  This tool replaces the Reconcile Version tool, which could only reconcile one version at a time.
• Create Versioned View:  Data owners can create a versioned view (formerly called multiversioned views) with a user-specified name on a versioned feature class.  If a versioned view already exists on the feature class, it is dropped and the new view created.
• Create Database View:  You can define a view on a database or enterprise geodatabase table or tables.
• Create Database User:  You can create users in an enterprise geodatabase or database.  This tool can be used with Oracle, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server.  Users are granted privileges sufficient to create database objects.  In SQL Server, the users also have privileges sufficient to read system tables containing lists of database logins and roles.  In Oracle, they are created with privileges sufficient to read the database role system table.
• Create Role:  You can create a database role in an enterprise geodatabase or database and add users to the roles.  This tool can be used with Oracle, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server.
• The new Create Database Connection geoprocessing tool allows you to create connections to databases or enterprise geodatabases.
• The new Geodatabase Administration dialog box allows geodatabase administrators to view and administer user connections, locks and versions.
• Geodatabase administrators can block new connections to the geodatabase by changing a property on the database connection in ArcGIS for Desktop.
• Dataset owners can view the locks held on their data in an enterprise geodatabase.
• You can set up your datasets to store information about edits made to the data and who added each record, and even enable ownership-based access control once a feature is published.
•  New geoprocessing tools:  Add Edge-Edge Connectivity Rule To Geometric Network, Create Geometric Network, Add Edge-Junction Connectivity Rule To Geometric Network, Remove Connectivity Rule From Geometric Network, Remove Empty Feature Class From Geometric Network, Trace Geometric Network, Set Flow Direction.
• A new geoprocessing tool (Export Topology Errors) lets you export topology errors to three feature classes; one for each type of geometry topology error.
• The new Attachments geoprocessing tool allows for Enable, Add, Remove, Disable, and Generate Attachment Match Table options.
• Versioned views are automatically created on all data registered as versioned in ArcGIS v.10.1.  For existing versioned data, you can create versioned views using the Create Versioned Views command in ArcGIS for Desktop or the new Create Versioned Views geoprocessing tool or a Python script.
• The new Upgrade Dataset geoprocessing tool upgrades mosaic datasets, parcel fabrics, and network datasets to the latest ArcGIS release.
• The new Truncate Table geoprocessing tool can be used to delete all rows in a table.
• A new API is available that lets you directly access file geodatabases without using ArcObjects.
• New and upgraded geodatabases in SQL Server will use the SQL Server Geometry type for feature classes by default.

Improved Functionality

• Database connections are made from the Database Connection node (formerly Spatial Database Connections) in the Catalog tree.  The connection dialog box itself has changed to allow you to connect to databases that do not contain geodatabase tables, functions, procedures, and also simplifies connections.
• The Privileges dialog box has been improved to see what privileges a user has been granted on a datasheet, the user's role and whom can be assigned privileges, independently grant, revoke, update, insert, and delete privileges on nonversioned datasets.
• The Version Manager interface (which has moved to the new Geodatabase Administration dialog box) is improved to provide more information and functionality.
• The Register With Geodatabase tool in ArcGIS for Desktop has been altered to fully register database feature classes; you no longer have to register with ArcSDE and the geodatabase separately.
• You can now control the amount of information that is written to the replica activity log.  Set the level of logging through the Replication Manager dialog box.
• You can make changes to the versioned topologies without having to unversion the feature dataset in which they are stored.
• You can see who owns domains in an enterprise geodatabase by looking at the Domains tab of the Database Properties dialog box.  A new column, Domain Owner, has been added to this interface.
• You can rename attribute domains.
• The new Sort Coded Value Domain geoprocessing tool lets you sort the code or description of a code value domain.
• You can rename fields in tables and feature classes.

Changes in Setups

• Connect directly to a database or enterprise goedatabase, you must install the DBMS client on the ArcGIS client machine.  You can download DBMS client files from the Esri Customer Care Portal.
• The ArcSDE application server and administration commands are provided as downloads separately from ArcGIS for Server.  Note that the ArcSDE application server and administration commands are only supported on 64-bit operating systems.
• No separate installation is needed for geodatabases in DB2 on z/OS since it does not use application server connections.  The files that are needed to create a geodatabase on DB2 on z/OS have been placed in the DatabaseSupport folder of ArcGIS clients.

ASCII or Text File Tables

The process of accessing data in delimited text files and working with them as input for a layer has been made simpler at ArcGIS 10.1. Rather than using the Microsoft OLE DB provider for Open Database Communication (ODBC) drivers and the Microsoft ODBC Text Driver for text files to access tabular data in text files, ArcGIS reads these files directly. This means that schema.ini files are no longer required to display the information from a text file. However, if a schema.ini file is present, ArcGIS will use the settings in the file to display the data.

Additionally, ArcGIS recognizes the coordinate information in the ASCII or text file as numeric fields, which can be used to either display your information as a layer or as input to tasks, such as geocoding.

There are also fewer restrictions on characters that can be used in the field names of the ASCII or text file.

Editing

• Feaure templates are created on a layer-by-layer basis rather than for a workspace.  If you start editing and no feature templates are present for a particular layer, they are created for you.
• When feature templates for editable layers are not being displayed, a message appears at the top of the Create Feature window.  Click it to see a list of any hidden feature templates and get an explanation of why they are not being shown.
• The new Auto-Complete Freehand construction tool appends polygons to existing ones, creating the shape of the new polygon by drawing a line that follows the movement of your pointer.
• The new Select Topology dialog box integrates the experience of using the Topology toolbar drop-down list to choose the topology and opening a different dialog box to create a map toopology.  You can now perform these from a single dialog box.
• Map topology now uses layer information and reflects layer properties, including name and visibility.
• The Reshape Edge tool allows you to select and reshape multiple edges at once.  Use the new Topology Edit Trace tool to select multiple connected edges.
• The Shared Features window is dockable and has been enhanced.
• The Topology and Advanced Editing toolbars have been redesigned.
• Splitting and moving a topology edge has been simplified.
• The new Generalization Edge tool is used to simplify topology edges.
• You can add a rule or feature class to or remove one from a versioned geodatabase topology without having to unversion it.
• New data coincident tools like Align To Shape, Replace Geometry, and Align Edge.
• ArcGIS 10.1 includes the ability to record information about who made changes to datasets and when the edits were performed. Through Editor Tracking, an editor's user name and time stamp are stored in attribute fields directly in the dataset. Editor tracking can help you maintain accountability, enforce quality control standards, and create a log of changes that have occurred to your data.

Editing Parcels

• Parcel fabric feature class and tables can be accessed by expanding the parcel fabric dataset in ArcCatalog or the Catalog window. 
• Parcel fabrics or selections of parcel fabrics can be copied and appended using the new Append Parcel Fabric and Copy Parcel Fabric geoprocessing tools.
• Parcel traverses can be adjusted to eliminate closure using the Compass adjustment method, the Transit adjustment method, or the Crandall adjustment method.
• The parcel traverse tool has been further enhanced to allow you to specify starting and ending coordinates for your parcel traverse.
• Remainder parcels in ArcGIS 10.1 can now be created from multiple, overlapping parcels instead of from a single, overlapping parcel.
• Parcel joining is enhanced to allow the cartographic integration of new parcels even when boundaries do not match or join up.
• Parcel joining has further been enhanced with the trace-link tool, which you can use to detect join links automatically along a traced boundary.
• A selection of parcels can be moved or transformed using the new Transform Parcels tool. 
• Replication is now supported for parcel fabrics.
• The attributes of parcel fabric features can be edited in the Attributes window.
• The new Annotate Parcel Courses tool can be used to annotate and remove duplicate annotation from a selection of parcels.  This tool is useful for managing duplicate annotation on parcel fabric boundary lines.
• At ArcGIS 10.1, parcel fabrics are supported by replication.

Raster Data

• Overall, there have been significant improvements to display, enhance, and process various types of raster and image data in ArcGIS.
• Reading support has been added for 15 formats.
• Raster Product appears as a new data type and is designed to make adding imagery from sensors to your map simpler.
• The Image Analysis window provides mensuration tools, an interactive stretch window, and a function editor tool.
• New default rendering settings are available for rendering rasters, and the defaults have been improved.
• New geoprocessing tools have been introduced and some existing tools have been enhanced.
• New support is available to directly add and rasterize LAS data, terrain datasets, or LAS datasets in mosaic datasets.
• Batch function editing is available to edit multiple raster functions.
• There is new and improved raster functionality in ArcGIS for Server.

Metadata

• Validation has been extended to include more metadata styles.
• Improvements have been made to the metadata editor's table of contents to help you see if you are missing any information or the wrong type of information for your metadata style.
• A contacts manager page has been added to allow you to store frequently referenced contact information, which can be loaded into your metadata.
• A new ArcGIS to ISO 19139 translator is provided.

General

Create geoprocessing packages to share your geoprocessing tasks. A package consists of tasks, and each task contains a tool, the data used by the tool, and the environment settings used by the tool.

The way you publish geoprocessing services has changed. At 10.1, publish the results of your analysis directly from the Results window.

Python and ArcPy

At ArcGIS 10.1, you can program your own buttons and tools using Python add-ins.  Python toolboxes are a new kind of toolbox you can create with Python.

ArcGIS for Server has been rearchitected at 10.1 to work in 64-bit architectures and use a more cloud-friendly, web services-oriented design.

Architecture

• ArcGIS for Server runs exclusively as a native 64-bit application.
• The SOM and SOC have been replaced with a single component, the GIS server.
• ArcGIS for Server local (DCOM) connections are no longer supported.  All communication with GIS services is through HTTP using SOAP or REST.
• ArcGIS for Server can host services out of the box and does not required a web server on installation.  You can optionally connect it to your own web server using a new component called Web Adapter.
• The new REST-based ArcGIS Server Administrator API allows you to administer your ArcGIS Server site through scripting.  With this API you can automate tasks such as creating a site, adding machines, publishing services, querying the logs, and starting and stopping services.

ArcGIS Server on Amazon Web Services

Amazon Machine Images (AMI) that can be used to deploy ArcGIS for Server on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) are now available with the following operating systems and database management systems: for the Linux computing platform in addition to Windows. The new ArcGIS for Server architecture allows better support for cache creation and geoprocessing on Amazon EC2.

• ArcGIS Server on Ubuntu Linux with PostgreSQL
• ArcGIS Server on Windows with SQL Server Standard
• ArcGIS Server on Windows with SWL Server Express

There is also a new application—ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder on Amazon Web Services—to deploy your ArcGIS Server on Amazon Web Services site, create templates, make backups of your sites, or delete sites.

Publishing

You can publish services directly from ArcGIS for Desktop, and you now have the option to copy the relevant data to the server at the time you publish. This is especially helpful for distributed deployments or cloud deployments where you may not have permissions to directly log in to the server.

A new service definition file type (.sd) helps with this effort. It contains the complete definition of a GIS service. An SD file can be saved and copied between machines.

All map services are now required to use the optimized drawing engine for ArcGIS Server that was introduced as an option at 9.3.1.

Web ADF

ArcGIS 10.1 for Server is the last release to support ArcGIS Server Web ADF for Microsoft .NET and Java. As a result, the Web ADF Applications Manager has been moved to a separate installation. New web applications should be written as JavaScript, Flex, or Silverlight applications.

Additionally, ArcGIS for Server local (DCOM) connections to Web ADF applications are no longer supported, and Web ADF applications using nonpooled services are no longer supported. Exceptions are connections to pre-10.1 services.

ArcGIS smartphone applications and software development kits (SDKs), are on shorter release cycles than ArcGIS, but the following mobile products all have new functionality available in the ArcGIS 10.1 timeframe:

• ArcGIS for Android
• ArcGIS for iOS
• ArcGIS for Windows Phone
• ArcGIS for Windows Mobile
• ArcPad

~ArcGIS 3D Analyst~

At ArcGIS 10.1, the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension has expanded online integration of 3D. It includes an active blog and a template gallery from which you can download data to practice using 3D data and scenarios.

Additionally, 3D Analyst includes improved support for 3D city and campus-level data for virtual cities and virtual campus models. The editing experience is improved, as is display for the maintenance of urban landscapes and visualization support for large datasets.

You can also expect a vast growth in the support for lidar in 3D Analyst—especially in the development of the LAS dataset. Now ArcGIS 10.1 reads LAS files natively, thereby providing immediate access to lidar data without the need for data conversion or import. Many new optimization methods are available to manage, display, and analyze these las files.

~ArcGIS Data Interoperability~

At ArcGIS 10.1, the Data Interoperability extension has been updated to run on the new FME 2012 spatial data transformation platform by Safe Software. In addition to new transformers and increased support for lidar, the extension is now installed with the following independent setups:

• ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension for Desktop
• ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension for Server

You can install both setups on the same 64-bit machine and run them simultaneously.

The ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension for Server requires its own license and it is not interchangeable with a desktop license.

~ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst~

There are two new interpolation methods available in ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst extension:

• Areal interpolation, which extends kriging theory to data averaged or aggregated over polygons
• Empirical Bayesain kriging, which uses repeated simulation to account for the error introduced by estimating the semivariogram.

There is a new normal score transformation available: the multiplicative skewing approximation method for normal score transformation. This is now the default transformation for simple kriging.

Simple kriging is now the default kriging method for Geostatistical Analyst.

Geostatistical Analyst tools now support the mask environment.

~ArcGIS Network Analyst~

There are five new geoprocessing tools for the ArcGIS Network Analyst extension extension at 10.1:

• Generate Service Areas
• Solve Vehicle Routing Problems
• Update Traffic Data
• Update Traffic Incidents
• Copy Traversed Features

There is a new Network Analyst module within the ArcPy site package; also, support for Python scripts is now available for field and script evaluators.

Additional new functionality for Network Analyst includes the ability to use the hierarchy of a network to solve service areas; the expansion of historical traffic data support to all solvers; support for live traffic data feeds for all solvers; an expanded restrictions model that has the ability to not only prohibit network elements entirely but also to merely avoid or even prefer them; plus several new features for the ArcGIS for Server Network extension.

~ArcGIS Tracking Analyst~

There are two new dockable windows available for the ArcGIS Tracking Analyst extension in the ArcGIS 10.1 release:

• Tracking Manager allows you to view and interact with the tracks and tracking features contained in your map.
• Tracking Services Monitor allows you to view and monitor the status of your real-time tracking services.

Also, there are two new geoprocessing tools available for the ArcGIS Tracking Analyst extension in the ArcGIS 10.1 release:

• Track Intervals To Feature
• Track Intervals to Line

~ Maplex~

The Maplex for ArcGIS extension functionality has been moved into the core ArcGIS for Desktop product and is referred to as the Maplex Label Engine.

Geocoding

• You can create and share locator packages, which are compressed files containing one locator or a composite locator along with its participating locators.
• You can publish geocode services directly from a locator or composite locator in ArcGIS for Desktop.
• A new Address Locator Properties dialog box is available, which allows you to modify the setting of a locator.
• The Geocoding toolbar and Find dialog box contain a new option - Use Map Extent - which allows you to search for locations that are relevant only to the current map extent.
• Two new address locator styles have been added: US Address-Street Name and US Address-City State.
• There are two new geoprocessing tools in the Geocoding toolbox:  Consolidate Locator and Package Locator.

A new set of software developer kits (SDKs)—ArcGIS Runtime SDKs for Windows and LInux—will be in beta release when ArcGIS 10.1 is released.

Enhancements have been made to the SDKs available for mobile applications.

There have been a few changes to ArcObjects (.NET) enumerations and architecture; new features, such as the ability to renew or upgrade SDKs silently and a streamlined deployment model for server object extensions; new samples are available; and enhancements have been made to libraries throughout the software.

At 10.1, renewing or upgrading your license has been simplified and improvements have been made in License Server Administrator.

Automatic license upgrade or renewal

ArcGIS for Desktop, ArcGIS Engine, and License Manager now allow you to upgrade older versions of licenses or renew expired licenses on your machine without having to reauthorize your software. For ArcGIS for Desktop, once the software is installed, you are prompted to upgrade or renew licenses when ArcGIS Administrator is launched. For ArcGIS Engine, licenses can be renewed by launching ArcGIS Administrator, opening the Support Operations folder, then clicking Renew or Upgrade, which launches Authorization Wizard. Authorization Wizard then checks Esri Customer Service for upgradable or renewable licenses and guides you through the process.

Better usage visibility in License Server Administrator

License Server Administrator now displays transferred and checked out licenses in addition to borrowed licenses in the Availability window.

Selective deauthorization

For ArcGIS for Desktop and ArcGIS Engine Concurrent Use and Single Use licenses, you can now choose which licenses to deauthorize instead of deauthorizing all licenses by default.

At ArcGIS 10.1, if you pause your pointer over a control in a toolbar or a menu item, you now see longer, more descriptive ToolTips rather than the single line ToolTips you saw previously. Some of these ToolTips contain a link to the installed ArcGIS for Desktop Help so you can access more information. These ToolTips replace the pop-up context sensitive help that was previously accessed through the What's This help tool in the Standard toolbar. That tool has been removed at 10.1 and the context sensitive help has been retired. ArcObjects developers can specify these new style ToolTips for controls they create, and include links in the ToolTips either to CHM files or web pages.

Pop-up context sensitive help in dialog boxes has also been retired at 10.1 and the question mark (?) control in the top-right corner of the dialog boxes has been removed. Instead, links to the installed Desktop Help topics have been added to many key dialog boxes. The removal of the pop-up context sensitive help, which was based on the obsolete Microsoft WinHelp (HLP) format, improves the compatibility of ArcGIS with Windows 7.

In addition, the ArcGIS Resource Center has been reorganized around functionality to make it easier to find all the online resources for a particular aspect of ArcGIS.