Online Resource Offers Three Simple Ways to Make Maps for Free
Redlands, California—October 20, 2009—ESRI has launched a Web site that allows users to create maps for free with simple geographic information system (GIS) tools. Called Mapping for Everyone, the Web site includes tools that cover a range of mapping needs, such as embedding an interactive demographic map into a Web site, creating custom applications using Web Mapping APIs, and using a 2D/3D globe viewer on the desktop.
Mapping for Everyone contains the following mapping resources:
• Make a Map—The Make a Map feature includes a simple interactive Web map showing seven different U.S. demographic layers. Visitors can zoom in to an area of interest, select a demographic layer, then embed the map into their own Web pages simply by copying and pasting the automatically generated HTML.
• Web Mapping APIs—Visitors can access or download ArcGIS Web Mapping APIs to make their maps. Web Mapping APIs allow users to develop rich, interactive applications using JavaScript, Flex, and/or Silverlight. The page includes step-by-step instructions for installing the APIs, samples to help visitors get started, free map layers, and a gallery of live user sites where visitors can get ideas from applications other people have built. Web Mapping APIs are free for noncommercial use.
• Virtual Globe Viewer—A third mapping option is ArcGIS Explorer, ESRI’s free virtual globe viewer. Using ArcGIS Explorer, users can explore the world in 2D and 3D using both their own data and free available data from the ESRI Web site. In addition to the ArcGIS Explorer download, the virtual globe page gives visitors easy access to map layers that they can add to ArcGIS Explorer, such as topographic maps, shaded relief, and world transportation. Once visitors become familiar with ArcGIS Explorer, they can also visit this page to find free add-ins that extend the software’s capabilities.
Mapping for Everyone also includes a Community section where visitors can ask questions and collaborate with others. This section also provides access to ESRI’s ArcGIS Explorer and Web Mapping API blogs.
Visit www.esri.com/mapping to get started making your free maps.
About ESRI
Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.