topic Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017? in ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Questions

Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

DavidWheelock — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 16:09:19 GMT

The last new release of ArcGIS Explorer Desktop for Windows was in 2015, version 3400.

Is there any new development planned by #esri‌?

Re: Is There a Future ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

DavidWheelock — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 16:10:45 GMT

Mark Bockenhauer was a knowledgeable source on this topic in 2015. What's the current state?

Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

MarkBockenhauer — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 16:16:15 GMT

There are no updates planned for ArcGIS Explorer Desktop. 3400 is the final version.

Mark

Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

DavidWheelock — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 16:36:43 GMT

Thanks Mark.

Will there be any updates to the Android or iOS versions?

Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

MarkBockenhauer — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 17:20:46 GMT

David,

Explorer for ArcGIS continues on IOS and Android. While similar in name Explorer Desktop and Explorer for ArcGIS are separate software products.

For the latest on Explorer for ArcGIS check out this blog article Announcing Explorer for ArcGIS Beta | ArcGIS Blog

Mark

Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

DavidWheelock — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 21:01:56 GMT

Thank you, Mark.

Are there plans for a Windows version of the new "Explorer for ArcGIS"?

Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

SteveCole — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 21:06:07 GMT

This is....disappointing but ESRI's herding us to where its mountain of money is located.

Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

MarkBockenhauer — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 00:44:49 GMT

David,

No concrete plans at this time. If it is developed, it will be developed for Windows 10 and later. At this time the product team is not seeing enough demand for Explorer for ArcGIS on Windows, when measuring against the demand for Android and IOS.

Mark

Re: Is there a future for the ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Application in 2017?

SteveCole — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 15:08:59 GMT

If there was an "unlike" option, I'd click that. I see a market that AGS Explorer for Desktop served that (to me) is no longer covered under ESRI's current offerings. Thanks to the availability of the .NET SDK, there was an option for developing a GIS application that had no cost for licensing. Now, I know the dutiful ESRI employee will quickly point to AGOL/Javascript API and/or a EDN account options but for some situations, that's not a good option.

Speaking for myself, and as an individual not covered by an enterprise license agreement, I wanted to develop an application that the average public could use to be better informed about proposed projects on federal lands.I could kind of do this using the Javascript API (and I've started that to a degree) but I run into two issues- I must pay to serve up any associated datasets using AGOL since I don't have the resources for an AGS Server license *OR* I must roll the dice an assume that any data currently made available in AGOL will continue to exist. I've already been burned by option #2. Somewhat related, coding for browsers has limitations due to JS (and browser in general) security.

If I can bundle the data with my application for desktop use, it's always there. I don't have to worry about outages, slow internet, lack of internet, etc. Great! Develop a desktop app using an EDN account (which still costs money) and use the runtime SDKs! Well.......I'm doing this for philanthropic reasons. I can't afford to pay licensing fees, let along know how many licenses would be needed.

It's not that I'm developing some uber robust GIS application. To the contrary, it's a fairly basic application but I feel that the desktop Explorer + SDK might have been the best path for me to proceed with what I want to accomplish. I'm not the majority, I know, and ESRI has to maintain it's "positive growth". It's just......sad.