ArcGIS Explorer Takes forever to open...please help.

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07-25-2011 06:36 AM
LindaDeMasi
Emerging Contributor
I have tried the following remedies and nothing seems to help.  It takes 8 to 9 minutes to open.  I have put together a Desktop Explorer for my division, but it take so long to open on all the computers.  There are connections to layer packages, shapefiles, and a couple of online webmap servers.

I have made sure my video card/processor/everything has the ability to run it.  When I run the "can you run it" the computers pass with flying colors. I have cleared the cache, but still a no go.  Java is up-to-date.

Is there anything I am missing?  I understand that it is a free application, but the podcast at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/explorer/flyers-podcasts.html talks about how they have used it successfully in sort of the same way I want to use it for our division.  Surely, it doesn't take them anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to open it.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone may have! 
Linda
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16 Replies
LindaDeMasi
Emerging Contributor
The files are too large to upload here, even zipped.  Could I put them on our ftp site, perhaps?
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AndreiIvanov
Deactivated User
you can try that. what is the size of these files? How many features are there? That's what could cause slow ArcGIS Explorer start up as well.
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LindaDeMasi
Emerging Contributor
Thanks again!

The size of the files vary...this is the breakdown. 
Under 5 mb:  89 shapefiles; 3 layer packages (Most of the files are statewide coverage for Arkansas)
5 to 10 mb:  12 shapefiles (All statewide coverage for Arkansas)
10 to 30 mb: 15 shapefiles (All statewide coverage for Arkansas)
30 to 50 mb:  7 shapefiles; 1 layer package (All statewide coverage for Arkansas)
30 to 100 mb:  4 shapefiles (All statewide coverage for Arkansas)
100 to 150 mb: 3 shapefiles (All statewide coverage for Arkansas)
150 to 200 mb:  1 layer package (All statewide coverage for Arkansas)

I have also attached a picture of my "Contents"

Am I asking too much of the program?  Once I get it to open, everything seems to work okay...except every-so-often the program shuts itself down.
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AndreiIvanov
Deactivated User
might be. I've added around 50 shapefiles to my AGX map, load time was around minute and a half. Though, I am not sure whether your data locates on network and what's your machine spec. Slow speed might be due to complex map you've created indeed.
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BernSzukalski
Esri Frequent Contributor
I agree with Andrei - it seems you have lots of data and many layers you are trying to load at once - each of which adds a bit of overhead on load and consumes memory in the process. And as Andrei mentions other factors may also be coming into play, like the physical location of where these data are located on your network/drives. I'd suggest taking a "divide and conquer" approach and carving up that one large map into several smaller ones. That may also help to figure out if any of those layers in particular is causing the slow load, plus will provide the added benefit of turning what seems to be an intimidating number of choices for a user in your contents into a more manageable number that might be focused on specific workflows or projects.

It also seems from your list of data that you are using local data sources entirely, some of which are quite large. If you can, some of those layers might be better published as a service to increase performance.
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LindaDeMasi
Emerging Contributor
I would need ArcGIS for server in order to publish them as a service?
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AndreiIvanov
Deactivated User
yes, you are correct.
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