ArcGIS Online vs. ArcGIS Explorer

Question

I have been creating maps on ArcGIS Online and having crashing problems and features don't show up on the map and a laundry list of other issues. I search in other forums and see that others have generally the same type of issues when creating from ArcGIS Online. ESRI reps have been recommending to use Explorer which seemed to solve many of the problems people are having including myself. So what's the point of ArcGIS Online since everything can be done better in Explorer? and why is ArcGIS Online having that many issues?

Mike Minami · Answer

1. Yes, there is a bug displaying some layers on mobile devices. This will be addressed when the apps update.

2. We do plan to enhance the My Content display to be able to show thumbnails. Also to be able to more easily open items like a map without having to view its details first.

3. Yes, it would be nice to reorder layers by dragging. Explorer Online has the advantage of the Microsoft Silverlight plugin, which provides additional capabilities. There are also other technical issues that make this challenging because certain layers (those drawn by the browser) can't be displayed below layers drawn by a server. It's easy to gray out buttons when you can't move a layer any further, but if you're dragging, we'd need a different visual way to let you know.

Both the arcgis.com website and ArcGIS Explorer Online are client applications that access your maps and data stored in ArcGIS Online. They were developed simultaneously. Silverlight provided additional user interface capabilities, but some users didn't want to install a browser plugin to use it. In general, web development appears to be trending away from utilizing plugins, thus we are focusing our efforts on enhancing the arcgis.com client.

Thanks for your feedback. We'll get the bugs fixed, so please continue to let us know if you find any more.

Mike

DrewSutton1 · Answer

Anas Malkawi

Perhaps you can provide your laundry list of issues here so that we can address them.

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Mick,

Some of my thoughts:

1. Explorer maps actually work.  Online seems to have more bugs.  Once of the most frustrating I have found is an issue that once you change a layers symbology it causes the map to crash in when viewed through one of the ArcGIS mobile apps.  The only way to currently over come it is to open and save it in Explorer.
2. If find the 'My Content' set up much easier to use in Explorer.  It give you thumbnails so you can see what your maps are instead of having to reply on the description or clicking on the link to see the thumbnail (like in Online).
3. You can easily organise your layers in Explorer by dragging them, unlike Online were you have to click on the layer then click 'move down' repeatedly until you get it where you want it.
4. Most of the tools, such as Configure Pop-up window, are much easier to use in Explorer than Online.  Having in it's own window instead of the sidebar seems to work better.
5. The Layer Details in Explorer have

These are only my thoughts and although Online offers most of the features that Explorer does, I have found they are executed much better in Explorer.  It makes me wonder why ESRI didn't just built onto Explorer instead of building a whole new system.

Drew

Mike Minami · Answer

Anas Malkawi

Perhaps you can provide your laundry list of issues here so that we can address them.

Thanks,

Mike