Need more practical tools out of the box

Question

I know this was discussed some during the beta testing. For us non-programmers/developers it be nice if there were some more tools that are out of the box that make it easier to work with our local data. For example search our data based on fields. There is a query tool but for end-users who do not know what to type in they would be confused. I know there is a Find for the ArcGIS API for Silverlight, but I would not know how to configure the file to make it work for me, and that is what I am looking for and I am sure others would be also. I know we can use the out of the box search feature to search addresses but it is not as accurate as our local address locators and not being a programmer I do not know how to write anything to add this feature. To me these are basic tools that someone looking for an out of the box application would like. These are just a couple things that I am frustrated with, both now and during the beta testing, when I am trying to make a easy to use application for staff that want to do as little as possible to look at data mainly parcel/tax data.

Thanks,

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DerekLaw · Answer

Ryan and Tom: ... I know we can use the out of the box search feature to search addresses but it is not as accurate as our local address locators and not being a programmer I do not know how to write anything to add this feature.

I agree with you Ryan address location services is the most basic of all needs.

The next release of the ArcGIS Viewer for Silverlight (coming very soon) will have OOTB support for custom locators.

Hope this helps,

Anonymous User · Answer

Original User: Tomsriv

I agree with you Ryan address location services is the most basic of all needs.  I have spent the last 6 weeks learning Silverlight and C# JUST TO FIND AN ADDRESS!  I'm getting closer to having something I can use but I don't have time to do this full time.  ESRI just told me as the "Developer" I need to figure it out.  I'm not a developer!  I'm about to ask ESRI to give us our money back on this useless Server boondoggle.

Anonymous User · Answer

Original User: Law

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for your feedback. With the first Silverlight Viewer release, we wanted to provide a broad range of core GIS mapping tools. As with any software product release, sometimes we don't quite address the needs of all our users, because of different priorities placed on different functionality needs. When developing the Viewer, we strive to balance the project scope, release schedule, and available resources. ... For us non-programmers/developers it be nice if there were some more tools that are out of the box (OOTB) that make it easier to work with our local data.

I agree and this is our long term objective. The plan is to add more OOTB functionality in future releases. You specifically mention: searching on attribute fields of local data, querying, and applying a custom locator service. These are all great ideas and are under consideration for future releases.

I suggest that you submit these enhancements formally on the ArcGIS Ideas site so other users can vote for them to help us prioritize what functionality is important to our users.

Hope this helps,