gis-l: ArcMap What's new in 9.4

[North, Joe]

Greetings,

 

I've finally carved out a bit of free time to jot down a few notes from the
ESRI conference back in July.  Just when you had become comfortable with
ArcMap 9.3.1, in true ESRI fashion, the what's-next in 9.4 word is out.  I
imagine ESRI will schedule a free workshop here in Tallahassee soon to
demonstrate the following but here's a sneak peek at the content...

 

*         ArcMap will have a new graphics engine and an improved ArcGIS
Server which is touted to translate into significant redraw and processing
speed improvements.  

*         ESRI will host free imagery (Bing)

*         Advent of layer packages that highly mobilize desktop products,
usable in ArcGIS explorer.  Think of them as a powerpoint presentation with
GIS running inside.

*         Many new templates being built for different industries (Defense
and Security, Business Analyst, ArcLogistics)

*         MapIT (simple database mapping application  co-developed with
Microsoft that makes use of a SQLserver spatial extension and allows easy
mapping and "promotes mapping literacy among IT managers)

*         9.4 and 9.3.1 (or other previous versions?) can be concurrently
installed on the same computer

*         ArcMap will consist of dockable windows that instantly hide when
not in use, the map does not need to redraw when reopening windows, these can
be "pinned" open

*         ArcCatalog can be docked or hidden within ArcMap, doesn't need to
be opened separately.

*         Attribute tables can exist in a docked window

*         New search capability- the search tool will have subsecond response
times and can be used to find geoprocessing tools, data and attributes (think
of the search capability of DataCatalog)

*         Can enable background processing, if you have a process running on
some very large dataset with background processing enabled you can continue
to work on other tasks in ArcMap

*         Symbol selector search option, for example, in the symbol selector
you can type in the word "tree" and everything that meets the tree search
criteria is presented to you for selection.

*         Fast Basemaps - One can create a new type of grouped layer that is
optimized for redraw speed, right click on table of contents in ArcCatalog
and select "New Basemap Layer".  Redraw speed is so quick that seamless
panning and continuous redraw (when you reset the map extents through panning
or resizing the image redraw is instant ) are allowed.

*         Improving the editing experience, if you'd like to create a new
point, line or polygon feature in ArcMap, currently you'll have to navigate
to the saved location and then Open that layer for editing and select the
create new feature tool. In 9.4 you'll simply select the new feature tool and
click on a symbol in the Table of Contents and drag it on to the Map.

*         Improving the editing experience - when selecting anything on the
map, right clicking presents the user with a "chip", this is a context
specific set of menu items, (if I remember correctly, for example if you were
editing a polygon feature class and selected a polygon and then right clicked
on it you could then select what you wanted to do with this polygon (cut it,
reshape it , delete it etc.)

*         Time data - easier to make temporal maps, animations - layer
properties dialog has a "time" tab that controls temporal variables.

*         Spatial Analysis - 9.4 fully integrates python inside ArcGIS
allowing statistical and other scientific programming within ArcMap (fuzzy
overlay modeling, time aware analysis, Ecological sampling and network
modeling were specifically mentioned.)

*         9.4 makes ArcGIS a complete 3D tool, ArcEngine improvements support
3D - huge increase in performance

*         Open API - the Geodatabase becomes an open programming interface!

*         9.4 Release date?

 

I've done my best to accurately describe 9.4's key features from my
conference notes and hope that nothing has been misrepresented. If you do
have any questions, just reply to sender and I'll do my best to further
explain...

 

Joe North

Environmental Manager

Geographic Information Systems

Watershed Data Services Section

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

2600 Blair Stone Road, Mail Station 3526

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400

 

http://www.protectingourwater.org/ <http://www.protectingourwater.org/> 

phone: (850)245-8537

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