Central Appraisal Distirct GIS data zip file

[RossWesterman]

Hello,
I am a real estate agent who has been trying to use ArcGIS Explorer Desktop to view the GIS data files from several County Central Appraisal Districts with no luck.  Will these files load and be usable in the latest build of ArcGIS Explorer Desktop?  My only experience with GIS has been in the last few months and only with the free version of the software.  Many Thanks
Rossman
[.]               DDN.prj           MUD.sbn           RUD.shp
[..]              DDN.sbn           MUD.sbx           RUD.shp.xml
Abstract.dbf      DDN.sbx           MUD.shp           RUD.shx
Abstract.prj      DDN.shp           MUD.shp.xml       School.dbf
Abstract.sbn      DDN.shp.xml       MUD.shx           School.prj
Abstract.sbx      DDN.shx           Parcel.dbf        School.sbn
Abstract.shp      ESD.dbf           Parcel.prj        School.sbx
Abstract.shx      ESD.prj           Parcel.sbn        School.shp
City.dbf          ESD.sbn           Parcel.sbx        School.shx
City.prj          ESD.sbx           Parcel.shp        Subs.dbf
City.sbn          ESD.shp           Parcel.shp.xml    Subs.prj
City.sbx          ESD.shp.xml       Parcel.shx        Subs.sbn
City.shp          ESD.shx           RUD.dbf           Subs.sbx
City.shp.xml      MCAD_Data.accdb   RUD.prj           Subs.shp
City.shx          MUD.dbf           RUD.sbn           Subs.shx
DDN.dbf           MUD.prj           RUD.sbx

[JohnFell]

It appears that the data you are downloading is projected so it should not be related to missing a projection. What error message do you receive when you try to add the shapefiles to ArcGIS Explorer?

[RossWesterman]

John,
Thanks for the reply.
I do not get any error messages.  When I add content>shapefile from the Menu it does load the .shp file but all I get on the map is the County boundry filled with a solid color (yellow). Max zoom in reveals nothing but solid color.
Is ArcGIS Explorer Desktop (the free viewer, latest build) capable of loadiing and viewing the above files?
Rossman

[JohnFell]

Rossman,

I don't know but it sounds like you only have one shapefile added to ArcGIS Explorer. If not, only the county shapefile extent is viewable. You may try to zoom in to a larger scale to see if the other shapefile features display. Also, I would try just adding one shapefile at a time and attempting to display it to pinpoint what the problem might be.

[RossWesterman]

Many thanks John,

It's only simple if you know the answer.  When I said I had played around with this software for 2 months what that really means is I have had it loaded on my machine for 2 months and not used it many times.  So, I was under the impression I could not change anything about the .shp file but I can.  All the polygons were 'filled with no border' is what the problem was besides me not knowing the software.  Changing the symbol to 'outline fill' was all that was needed to make use of the .shp files.

All the best,
Rossman