Import Lat/Lon data into Arcgis.com

[EricGakstatter]

Hi,

This is my first venture with ArcGis.com. It's a simple project so I thought it would be good to try it on.

I'm helping a non-profit. They have a large Excel spreadsheet of Lat/Lon data they want to be able to view in a map and add to over time. I thought ArcGis.com might be perfect for them.

Can they add this layer directly (via import or ??) into Arcgis.com?

They could convert to ASCII or other format if needed.

They don't have other Esri GIS products.

Thx,
Eric

[NelsonDe_Miranda]

Hey Eric,

Unfortunately, there is no direct way to add layers, csv files etc. to ArcGIS.com; however, esri has noted on a couple of occasions that they are exploring the possibility of this functionality.

For more information see:
http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisonline/help/index.html#/Creating_maps/010q0000001n000000/ADDING_LAYE...

Note:
Only ArcGIS Server map, image, and feature services can be added to the map. Other layer types, such as layer packages, are not supported at this time.

Cheers,

Nelson

[EricGakstatter]

Hi Nelson,

Thanks for this. Don't tell me I've got to steer them to Google Earth!

Any other suggestions for an online map database? Their needs are very simple. Just to plot a bunch of locations they have in a spreadsheet. I guess I could suggest ArcGIS Explorer, but I was trying to stay away from asking them to install and manage software locally.

Thx,
Eric

[NelsonDe_Miranda]

ArcExplorer is definately the route you should take.

There are a number of advantages to it:

1) The points can be imported very easily using the GUI.
2) If they ever do decide to shift to a GIS, the layers in ArcExplorer can be shared using Layer Packages or KML files.
3) The google earth interface is not as user friendly as ArcExplorer & you also have the ability to change to a number of Basemaps on the fly - ArcGIS Online (Imagery, Topographic, Streets) Bing and OpenStreetMap with 2D/3D rendering.

Lastly, if you yourself are an ArcGIS user, it will probably make your life a little bit easier to work with a format that is well organized and familiar to you.

Cheers,

P.S. At the Federal User Conference, esri announced there is going to be tons more functionality built in to ArcExplorer over the course of the year.

[EricGakstatter]

Yes, I'm with you on that. I'll run through the exercise with ArcGIS Explorer. I agree on Google Earth. I was a Pro subscriber for a year and declined to renew.

Yes, I use ArcGIS 10, but want them to be self-sufficient.

Thanks Nelson.