Getting Started, How Easy It Is To Install ESRI MapIt? A Visual Walkthrough Of The Process

ESRI MapIt was released earlier this year at the Microsoft Worldwide Business Partner Conference 2009. This latest product offering from ESRI is a combination of software and online services that enables you to create simple maps from your enterprise data.

Since the release of MapIt, I have been working heavily with our Business Partners and Developers in New Zealand to promote MapIt. We have a number initiatives underway to raise the awareness of MapIt in New Zealand and I will write up a post about these as soon as I can.

For those users that haven’t yet been able to try it, I thought I would drop a few screenshots and walk you through the process of getting started, showing just how easy it is to go about installing MapIt!

So let’s start with the system requirements. We need to gather up the following bits.

Once we have these, it’s onto configuring IIS. With IIS 7.0 there are a few components we are required to install.

For those running IIS 6.0, this process is much simpler with only a slight configuration of IIS 6.0 required.

Once we have IIS configured. It’s onto getting a copy of MapIt. Head over to http://resources.esri.com/mapit to download an evaluation copy of MapIt. MapIt is available in 32-bit or 64-bit versions. Choose the version to download dependent on what version of Microsoft Windows and IIS you are running.

If you are wanting to purchase MapIt, you can find instructions on how to do so here: http://www.esri.com/mapit

Running through the MapIt installation is really straight forward and we can mostly accept all the defaults.

 

We have the ability to select the features we want to install. MapIt comes with four parts.

• A Spatial Data Assistant application that helps you load geographic data into SQL Server or geographically-enable your existing data

   

• A Spatial Data Service that exposes your SQL Server datasets to Internet applications using REST technology

   

• A Silverlight / WPF API that allows you to build rich interactive mapping applications for the Web. Template applications, help, and samples are available to get you started with creating these applications.

   

• A Silverlight-based mapping Web Part that can be integrated into Microsoft SharePoint sites.

Once we have selected the features we want to install, we need to select the name of a virtual directory that will be configured within IIS. This is the virtual directory that will be used for the Spatial Data Service.

The Spatial Data Service needs to talk to a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 instance. We can set the configuration for this here. These credentials will be saved and encrypted. They are used when users access the Spatial Data Service.

 
 
 
 

When the installation of MapIt is complete, the MapIt License Configuration Utility will automatically start. This utility allows you to set the licensing of MapIt.

What are the limitations of using Mapit?

• Upon the first use of the Spatial Data Assistant or the Spatial Data Service, both are activated for a 60-day trial period. After 60 days, neither the Spatial Data Assistant or the Spatial Data Service will function.

   

• The Spatial Data Assistant only imports 100 records from a shapefile into SQL Server or only geocodes 100 records in a SQL Server table.

   

• The Spatial Data Service only returns 100 records for a single query.

My post on this can be found here: http://geo.geek.nz/esri/… These limitations are removed when MapIt is fully licensed. Information purchasing a fully licensed copy can be found here: http://www.esri.com/software/..

Starting the Spatial Data Assistant we are presented with a login screen. Entering the credentials of your Microsoft SQL Server 2008 instance will allow you to authenticate and connect.

 

Once authenticated, we are connected and we have two main options available.

• Create points from address
  Given a table or view that has some location information, such as addresses, you can create points for display on a map. The Spatial Data Assistant can read the addresses and associate them with real world locations, or coordinates. The Spatial Data Assistant places the coordinates for each record in a newly created geometry field.

  The coordinates for the addresses are identified using either of the ESRI ArcGIS Online or Microsoft Bing™ Maps locator Web services.

   

• Load spatial data
  You can use the Spatial Data Assistant to load your own ESRI shapefiles (.shp) into SQL Server. The shapefile is an open format commonly used for sharing spatial datasets.

  You can also import datasets from the Internet into SQL Server. These datasets are made available by ESRI and include common geographies such as boundaries, cities, and road networks.

 

The Spatial Data Service can be tested by browsing to the virtual directory that was setup during the installation. This is normally http://server/SDS.

When you browse to MapIt using the Windows Start menu, you’ll see a shortcut for the Spatial Data Service. This opens the Spatial Data Services Directory, a simple browser-based application that allows you to verify the databases and tables available through your service.

Notice how the URL in your browser’s address bar changes as you click the links in the Services Directory. When developing a client application, if you need the specific REST endpoint of a resource such as a table, you can navigate to it in the Services Directory and copy its URL out of the address bar. You can also test queries, access the REST API Help, and make your services searchable using this application.

The next step is onto working with the ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/WPF to develop a nice front end.

ESRI does have a resonably comprehensive walk-through of MapIt which covers the installation right through to the features that MapIt provides. This is provided a recorded seminar. This 60 minute seminar can be found here: http/geo.geek.nz/esri/…

Over the next few weeks, I will be adding more posts on MapIt and how to go about doing certain things so stay tuned.