Latest Contributions by MikeMinami

Sounds like there is a problem with the particular service since you can't access it from ArcMap either. I'd try restarting that particular service through Manager or ArcCatalog. Thanks, Mike ... View more

Chris, LYR files can't be added to the ArcGIS Online Viewer. The only type of "layers" you can add to the Viewer at this time are map services that are hosted by ArcGIS Server. Thanks, Mike ... View more

Hi, You might get a better response to your question if you instead post it in the ArcGIS Desktop forum here: http://forums.arcgis.com/forums/5-ArcGIS-Desktop-General Thanks, Mike ... View more

There was an issue where packages were not being opened properly. This was addressed, I believe, in 9.3.1 service pack 2. However, I don't know how service packs relate to the Education Edition. Your best bet is to call technical support and have them help you out. Thanks, Mike ... View more

There is a technical reason and a non technical reason why you can't change the URL of a service. The technical reason is due to how we store services in our database. They are stored differently from Web mapping applications, which explains why you can change the URL an app. The non technical reason is that we decided that changing the URL of a service is a "deep" change that means it's actually a new item. We thought that service urls don't change that frequently. We thought that people might also expect that if they change the URL to the map service, then any web map that referenced it would automatically update. This is not the case. So we decided not to allow people to update URLs. Now, that's not to say we can't reconsider our decision...  You might see what other users think by posting your idea here: ArcGIS Online Ideas thanks, Mike ... View more

Chris, As a 9.3 user, you can upload and download files, like MXDs and LYRs. These files work as they do on your desktop. The person who uses them must have access to the data they reference. However, it can be a way to share these files with others who you know have access to the data. You can also add references to your services running on ArcGIS Server (if you have one). Yes, you do need 9.3.1 to create layer packages. Layer packages extend the above in that the data is included with the package so if someone downloads it, they'll get the data as well. Layer packages can only be uploaded and downloaded. There is no ability to "web enable" them at this time. Thus, layer packages don't take the place of ArcGIS Server. You still need ArcGIS Server to create map services that you want to view on the web. We are working on "web enabling" layer packages so they can be displayed as a layer on the web. When we release this feature, it will likely be a premium feature (for fee) of ArcGIS.com. Hope this helps, Mike ... View more

Hi Kirk, Yes, I am still around 🙂 To answer your question, you can't add your layer package over the map. It's not supported yet. It's something we're working on for a future release. Hope you are well. Mike ... View more

You want to add labels to your map... I assume you're working in ArcMap. Try reading this help file to get going. http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.3/index.cfm?TopicName=An_overview_of_working_with_text Thanks, Mike ... View more

ArcGIS Desktop version 10 supports opening maps you made in ArcGIS.com into ArcMap. Previous version of ArcGIS Desktop don't support this feature. However, you can essentially recreate the same map in ArcMap by adding the same map services you added to your web map. Thanks, Mike ... View more

You can change the draw order of layers, it just works a little different than what you may be used to. See this help topic for more information. http://explorer.arcgis.com/help/hh_goto.htm#control_layer_draworder.htm Thanks, Mike ... View more

Yes, I can see what you mean. In Explorer Online, http:// is automatically added as a prefix to the URL. Unfortunately, that's the way it works. Perhaps you can copy your pdfs to your HTTP site instead? Thanks, Mike ... View more

How would you improve the site navigation to make this more intuitive? Thanks, Mike ... View more

Because your layer package is now shared with everyone (public), anyone will be able to search for it and find it. They will be able to download the layer package and view it in ArcGIS Desktop clients, like ArcMap and Explorer Desktop. The layer package gets unpackaged automatically into its component parts.  You can also send (email) someone a link to your layer package by copying the URL to the details page of the layer package (in My Content, click on the name of your layer package). Presently, layer packages can only be uploaded and downloaded. There is no support for viewing the layer package in a web application. This is something we're working on. When we do release this feature it will likely be a premium feature (for a fee). Thanks, Mike ... View more

Let's see if I can help clear things up for you. There is a new web map that lives in ArcGIS.com. It doesn't exist as a file on your computer, but only in ArcGIS.com. This web map can be authored using the ArcGIS.com map viewer or in ArcGIS Explorer Online (http://explorer.arcgis.com). The web map can also be viewed in ArcGIS Explorer Desktop (, ArcMap version 10 and the iPhone. Essentially the web map contains layers that reference map services. So it is possible to look at the contents of a web map and manually add those map services as layers in ArcMap 9.3.1. You can also embed the web map in your own website, much like you can embed a video in a website. In ArcGIS.com, create your web map on the Map tab. Once you save your map you can share it. Click the Share button and copy/paste the "embed this map" text into a web page. ArcGIS.com also supports uploading files, such as ArcMap documents (MXD) and ArcGIS Explorer  Maps (NMF). These files can be searched for and downloaded, but you can't display them on the web. They will only open in the application that created them. Hope this helps, Mike ... View more

Chris, This is what I think you are doing... You created and saved your map. Then you navigated away from the map tab to a different page in ArcGIS.com. Then to go back to your map, you navigated to My Content, found your map and clicked Open to view it. Is that correct? The ArcGIS.com application isn't currently checking to see if the map you are opening is actually the same as the map you currently have open on the Map tab. An easier way to get back to your map is to simply click the Map tab at the top of the application. The reason why you are getting this message is because any small change to make to a map, even panning and zooming the map, will flag it as "changed". Thus, when you go to open one of your other maps, the system will tell you that the map you currently have open has changed, giving you the chance to save it before you open the new map. You can always just click "yes" to open a new map if you don't really care to save any changes to the currently open map. Hope this helps, Mike ... View more