What's New in ArcXML 1.1

What's New in ArcXML 1.1

ArcXML 1.1 has several new elements and attributes. The new or changed features are described below. Please pay close attention to anything marked with an alert - . These items are specially marked due to fundamental changes between ArcXML 1.0 (used with ArcIMS 3.0) and ArcXML 1.1.

New Documents and Examples

ArcXML 1.1 documentation includes an introductory section with comprehensive explanations and additional examples on the following topics:

New Elements

The following elements are new in ArcXML 1.1.

ArcIMS Application Server Elements. These elements are used to communicate with the ArcIMS Application Server rather than the ArcIMS Spatial Server.

Information on the following two elements is provided from the ArcIMS Application Server but reported by the ArcIMS Spatial Server in the SERVICEINFO response.

The following elements are included in map and viewer configuration files. They provide support for internationalization.

The following elements are included as child elements to ENVIRONMENT, but are used in configuration files, requests, and responses.

SCREEN
SEPARATORS. SEPARATORS identifies the characters used between x- and y-coordinates and coordinate pairs. ArcXML 1.0 used commas (x1,y1,x2,y2,...xn,yn). By default, ArcXML 1.1 uses a space between x- and y-coordinates and a semicolon between coordinate pairs (x1 y1;x2 y2;...xn yn). SEPARATORS can be used in a map configuration file or request to override the defaults. To be compatible with an ArcIMS 3.0 map configuration file or request, use the following:

    <ENVIRONMENT>:
      <SEPARATORS cs="," ts="," />
    </ENVIRONMENT>

The following element is used in LEGEND support and in IMAGE:

LAYERS

The following chart symbols have been added. Although chart symbols draw on the map, no information about the chart symbols is displayed in the legend. ArcIMS 3.1 does not support displaying chart values in the legend.

The following elements are used with the extract EXTENSION in map configuration files.

Elements with New Attributes

The following elements have new attributes. Only the new attributes are listed here:

COORDSYS
- datumtransformid
- datumtransformstring
FEATURECOORDSYS
- datumtransformid
- datumtransformstring
FILTERCOORDSYS
- datumtransformid
- datumtransformstring
GET_FEATURES
- globalenvelope
- skipfeatures
GET_IMAGE
- autoresize
- show
GET_SERVICE_INFO
- dpi
IMAGESIZE
- printheight
- printwidth
- dpi
- scalesymbols
LAYER
- featurecount
LAYERLIST
- dynamicfirst
LEGEND
- anitaliasing
OTHER
- label
OUTPUT
- height
- width
- legendbaseurl
- legendname
- legendpath
- legendurl
SCALEBAR
- distance
- mode
SHAPEWORKSPACE
- shared
SPATIALQUERY
- searchorder
TRUETYPEMARKERSYMBOL
- anglefield
- rotatemethod

Elements with Changed Attributes

The following elements have had attributes modified in some way.

DATASET
- Attribute id is used rather than name when fromlayer is included.
LAYER
- Attribute id is required in a map configuration file. Each layer must have a unique ID.
LAYERDEF
- References to a layer must use the attribute id.
NORTHARROW
- Attribute coord is now coords in ArcXML 1.1. Also doublecheck the separators used with coords.
- The default angle is 0. In ArcIMS 3.0, the default was 90. If you find the NORTHARROW pointing east in ArcIMS 3.1, reset the angle to 0.
<NORTHARROW type="4" coords="20 30" angle="0"/>
POINT in an acetate layer
- Attribute coord is now coords in ArcXML 1.1. Also doublecheck the separators used with coords.
<POINT coords="250 300">
SCALEBAR in an acetate layer
- Attribute coord is now coords in ArcXML 1.1. Also doublecheck the separators used with coords.
<SCALEBAR coords="250 20" screenlength="300" mode="geodesic" >
TEXT
- Attribute coord is now coords in ArcXML 1.1. Also doublecheck the separators used with coords.
<TEXT coords="100 100" label="Acetate layer" >

Removed Elements and Attributes

The following elements and attributes are no longer used in ArcXML 1.1.

Attribute smoothedges has been removed from BUFFER.
Attribute type has been removed from LAYERDEF.
Attribute name has been removed from TARGETLAYER.
MAPUNITS is no longer needed in GET_IMAGE or GET_EXTRACT requests.
FILTERDENSIFY is no longer used. Calculations are done internally by the Spatial Server. The internal tolerance is width / 10.

Other Changes of Interest

Acetate and image layers can be projected. Use COORDSYS.
MAPUNITS is automatically calculated by the ArcIMS Spatial Server when FEATURECOORDSYS is present in the request or map configuration file.
Layers will not project unless the layer includes a *.prj file for shapefiles, a spatial references table for ArcSDE, or COORDSYS.
Acetate layer information is returned in SERVICEINFO.
Dates can be used with SPATIALQUERY and QUERY.
When using an ArcIMS HTML Viewer, ArcIMS Java Viewer, ArcExplorer 3, or any other browser using the ArcIMS Servlet Connector, the following elements are restricted.
- In IMAGE and EXTRACT responses, the attribute file is not returned in OUTPUT or LEGEND elements.
- In GET_IMAGE and GET_EXTRACT requests, OUTPUT is ignored.
- In map configuration files, OUTPUT is ignored and is not included in a SERVICEINFO response.
- In a SERVICEINFO response, the attribute image is not returned for RASTERFILLSYMBOL, RASTERMARKERSYMBOL, and RASTERSHIELDSYMBOL.
These restrictions can be lifted by setting the properties spatialServer.AllowRequestOutput and spatialServer.AllowResponsePath to true in esrimap_prop. This property file is found in the servlet engine directory. For more information on the location of esrimap_prop and its properties, see the topic "Administering the ArcIMS Servlet Connector" in the System Administration chapter of the Using ArcIMS Help Contents.

These restrictions apply only when the ArcIMS Servlet Connector is used. They do not apply to the ActiveX or ColdFusion Connectors or to other connectors using the ArcIMS Application Server Link.