Explorer Online vs ArcGis.com

[KenLucas]

I'm trying to advise a non-gis user about which application offers more options. I've done some studies of both apps and think that Explorer offers more menu options, like querying. However, ArcGIS.com is newer. Is ArcGis.com meant to replace Explorer online?  I'd really appreciate any comments or opinions about which app offers more options.
Ken

[TimWitt]

ArcGIS.com is the way to go. Since starting ArcGIS Online organizational accounts they have added a lot of features to the ArcGIS.com maps. I just see ArcGIS Explorer Online as an app, just like when you share your map in ArcGIS.com with an app.

[KenLucas]

Tim,
  I'm still confused. Your feeling that ArcGIS.com offers us more options makes me think I've not accessed something you know about. The ArcGis.com map viewer does not, appear to, offer us as many tools on the top toolbar, like the ability to query our data. Do you mean that ArcGIS.com offers more of a selection of maps in its gallery?
Ken

[TimWitt · Accepted solution]

Ken,

Do you have a basic ArcGIS Online Account or an Organizational Account?
If you have an organization account you can do the following with ArcGIS.com


- You can host feature services. If you have ArcGIS Desktop, you can upload feature services that have more than 1000 features. Once uploaded you can make edits in ArcGIS Online and if you want to you can download it again as a shapefile.

- You can upload tiled services. Before you upload it, via ArcGIS Desktop, you can label features. This also will draw the features quicker since it will be cached.

- You can use the desktop operational dashboard http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/...ions-dashboard
This is great in conjunction with hosted feature services, since this dashboard will update in real time whenever edits are made in ArcGIS Online.

- Recently ESRI has released tools in ArcGIS Online that let you analyze features (i.e. buffer tool) and you can export the results. ESRI keeps adding things to that.

- You can use maps in Microsoft Office products. http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/...aps-for-office

- You can download APP's for your smart devices and do editing to feature services on the GO! http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/...apps/collector This in conjunction with the desktop dashboard's realtime updates is great. - You can setup your own ArcGIS Online webpage where you can host map galleries.

I'm sure I missed a bunch more but that is why I personally like it.
For more information look at the Tabs here http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgisonline

Again this is what you get with a paid subscription but also a free subscription offers some things that ArcGIS Explorer doesn't offer.

For example when you finished making your map, you can click on share and "make a web application" out of your map.

I think it really depends on what you would like to do with your map.

Don't forget you can always make a map in either ArcGIS.com or ArcGIS Explorer Online and open the same map in the other program. Meaning you can make a map in ArcGIS Online and open it up in the Explorer Online.

I hope this helps 🙂

Tim

[KenLucas]

Tim,
  Your last comment was really interesting; I read thru the tabs on the ArcGIS description link, you provided, and just took another look at the ArcGis.com map viewer. It sounds like you have access to a paid subscription of arcgis.com; I hope you won't mind if I ask you a follow up question, since I can only access the free subscription.  You've helped me define my original question better.  I'm interested in just the map viewer capabilities of the two, Explorer & arcgis.com, free subsription. My understanding is that both allow uploading a shp file with 1,000+ features.  Is the buffer tool, you mentioned, and the geocoding service, mentioned in the description link you provided, available with only the paid subscription, since I can't find either of those features in the map viewer of my free subscription? I watched the ESRI webinar on arcgis.com and I'm still confused.
thanks for your patience helping me,
Ken

[TimWitt]

Ken,

Don't mind asking questions! Yes those tools are only available with the paid subscription. With the paid subscription you can upload 1000+ feature services, make edits on them and also download them. That's another part of the paid subscription I like. Again you can do editing in both Explorer and ArcGIS.com.

Tim

[KenLucas]

Tim,
  You've been really helpful to me. Very interesting about those tools being avail only w/ the  paid subscription. To sum up our discussion: Explorer does offer more map viewer tools than a FREE subscription of arcgis.com, but a paid subscription offers way more capabilities. I've noted the list of things you like in the paid subscription. I just did a quick comparison of map galleries and both products seem to offer the same selection maps of the topic, "LIDAR". Your point about being able to edit maps created in both gives one the ability to create a map in explorer and then bring it into a paid subscription to arcgis.com later.
I'm very grateful for your help,
Ken

[TimWitt]

Ken,

I'm always happy to help and I agree that Explorer has great capabilities for free. As you mentioned there is a lot of free data you can use and having a paid account doesn't give you much advantage when it comes to this.

What I forgot to mention is that you can sign up for a free developer account here: https://developers.arcgis.com/en/sign-up/

With this account you can explore what an organizational account can offer. This account goes beyond the 30 trial account that ESRI offers to test the organizational account.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Tim

[KenLucas]

Tim,
  Wonderful tip about signing up for a developer account!  I'll do that and then I check out the what the paid arcgis offers, inc trying to publish a service
Ken

[AllenRisley]

ArcGIS Online lacks the Presentation mode that ArcGIS Explorer Online has.  I have had students create a map presentation that tells a story, similar to what you can do with the story map template, but much easier to learn.

Allen Risley
Academic Technology Support
California State University San Marcos