Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) address issues that commonly occur when using ArcWeb Services and toolkits. While a number of FAQs are provided here, an up-to-date listing is available from the ESRI Support Center.
Find answers related to
What is included with ArcWeb
Services?
What type of redundancy has ESRI built into ArcWeb Services?
Do I need an ESRI Global Account to use ArcWeb Services?
What is a credit?
How do I know how many credits I've used?
If my account expires, what happens to my POI data?
When I'm viewing the usage reports or managing POI from User Account Administration,
why do I sometimes have to log in again?
What should I do if I notice an error in the data?
Why is my list of results different or in a different order than it used
to be?
Which languages are supported in ArcWeb Services?
What is included with
ArcWeb Services?
ArcWeb Services allows you to include geographic functionality in your Web applications without hosting the data or developing the necessary GIS applications yourself. ArcWeb Services gives developers the ability to perform real-time processing on the computers where the Web services are located and return the results to a local application—all over the Internet.
ArcWeb Services are deployed through standard Web protocols including HTTP, WSDL, UDDI, and XML. The services use XML-based Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to communicate, making ArcWeb Services compatible with the majority of Web service toolkits. Some services come with a Web-interface, making it easy to interact with the service.
ArcWeb Services allows you to perform such tasks as generating street maps and driving directions, locating addresses, providing "find a place" and "find closest place" functionality within Internet applications, querying data, and uploading and maintaining points of interest.
A subscription to ArcWeb Services gives you access to the following Web services:
In addition, ArcWeb Services comes with the following developer tools and resources:
Code examples for each object and method
What type of redundancy has ESRI built into
ArcWeb Services?
All ArcWeb Services have the same reliability and quality our users have come to expect from ESRI. ArcWeb Services are hosted by ESRI. The ESRI servers are powered by a variety of leading-edge technologies for Internet mapping and have a very high capacity for mapping and location services. The servers are supported by ESRI staff and consist of two complete and separate configurations maintained at two geographically separate locations in the United States to provide full system redundancy.
Do I need an ESRI Global Account to use
ArcWeb Services?
Yes, you need an ESRI Global Account to evaluate and use ArcWeb Services. If you do not have an ESRI Global Account, you can create one instantly by clicking "Create a New Account" on the top right of the ArcWeb site log in page and completing a basic form. Once ESRI has validated your e-mail, you can begin using your ESRI Global Account and ArcWeb Services.
As you make ArcWeb Service requests, for example by creating maps or finding addresses, the appropriate number of credits are deducted from your account. Most requests deduct one credit from your account, but some requests (such as for generating print-quality reports) deduct more and some are free. You purchase credits for your account in blocks of 100,000. When you need more credits, you can purchase more. See Data sources and credits for specific information about credit costs.
How do I know how many credits I've used?
Usage Reports are provided for each ArcWeb Services account and include information about how many credits have been used. An overview page includes information about your credits, such as total balance, average daily usage, and estimated completion date based on your current usage. The reports also tell you about your usage and history of ArcWeb services and data sources. To view Usage reports via SOAP, access Account Info Web Service or, to view reports via a Web-interface, log in to the ArcWeb site and view My Account.
ESRI sends you e-mails when your credit count is low or your account is close to expiring (based on a one-year time limit to use your credits). You receive an e-mail when you have 20% of your original credit purchase left or 60 days left on your account. You receive an additional e-mail when you have 10% of the original credits left or 30 days, and another one when you run out of credits or your account expires. At any time, you can add credits and thus restart your expiration date.
If my account expires, what happens to my POI
data?
Your POI data is preserved on ESRI servers for 30 days after your account expires. After that time, you will need to upload your data when you reactivate your account.
When I'm viewing the usage reports or managing
POI from User Account Administration, why do I sometimes have to log in
again?
Your access to the usage reports and POI Manager Service expires after 8 hours or after 1 hour of inactivity, at which point you are asked to log in again. This is done to keep your account secure.
What should I do if I notice an error in the
data?
If you suspect there is an error in the data for ArcWeb Services, use the Feedback form to let us know. Choose "Data Accuracy" from the category choices and make sure that you mention which data source has the error. Be as specific as you can in describing the problem. We can then pass this information to our data providers for corrections.
Why is my list of results different or in a different
order than it used to be?
ESRI makes frequent updates to its data to keep it current.
Which languages are
supported in ArcWeb Services?
Address Finder & Address Manager: The native language of the geocoding country.
Map Image: English for overview data and the native language of the country for detailed data.
Place Finder: English and limited support for European languages.
POI Manager: Any language that supports Extended ASCII characters. Geocoding works in the country's native language.
Proximity with User.Defined.POI data source: Same language as User.Defined.POI data source.
Route Finder: Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portugese, Spanish, and Swedish.
Note: All documentation and Web page interfaces are in English.
What Web protocols
do ArcWeb Services use?
How is my user name and password sent over the Web?
Are SOAP tags case-sensitive?
Why can't I view the complete WSDL?
Some error messages contain text in parentheses. What does this text tell
me?
What does the error message "java.lang.NoSuchMethodException"
mean?
What Web protocols do ArcWeb Services use?
ArcWeb Services are deployed through Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), a set of Internet standards utilizing hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and Extensible Markup Language (XML). SOAP is used because it can communicate with any application that can connect to the Web and understands XML. ArcWeb Services use SOAP to communicate so they are compatible with many Web service toolkits. For more information on how ArcWeb Services use SOAP and other Web protocols, see Understanding ArcWeb Services: An Overview for Developers (PDF).
How is my user name and password sent over the
Web?
You send your user name and password to the Authentication Web Service using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). The Authentication Web Service returns an encrypted authentication token which you use to access ArcWeb Services. In other words, you send an encrypted token, and not your user name and password, to ArcWeb Services. For added security, you can access ArcWeb Services using HTTPS.
Yes, SOAP tags are case-sensitive, which is important to realize if you are accessing ArcWeb Services through HTTP POST. If you are working with a Web services toolkit, you probably do not need to worry about this. For examples of SOAP requests and responses, see SOAP sample requests and responses.
Why can't I view the complete WSDL?
Some Netscape browsers do not support direct viewing of XML files. If the full WSDL XML does not appear in your browser window, click View and click Page Source (or the equivalent). You should then be able to view the WSDL.
Some error messages contain text in parentheses.
What does this text tell me?
Error messages are designed to help you fix invalid requests to ArcWeb Services. If you include a value that a service doesn't recognize, it will return a message that includes valid values in parentheses. Go back to your request and ask for one of the options from the list in parentheses.
An example of this type of message is
Invalid map image format 'JPG2'. MapImageOptions.mapImageFormat not (png, png8, gif, jpg).
For mapImageFormat, your requested value should be "png", "png8", "gif", or "jpg"
What does the error message "java.lang.NoSuchMethodException"
mean?
Some errors do not have specific messages associated with them. The error message "java.lang.NoSuchMethodException" means you have either pointed to the wrong ArcWeb Service or forgotten or mistyped a required part of the method (e.g. placeName in the findPlace method). Go back to your request and make sure the ArcWeb Service name and method names are correct.
Account Info Web Service notes
Address Finder Web Service notes
Address Manager Web Service notes
Authentication Web Service notes
Place Finder Web Service notes
Place Finder Sample Web Service notes
Route Finder Web Service notes
How should I organize common ArcWeb Service objects
if I am using Glue?
Why am I getting an error when I use more than two .map files?
How should I organize common ArcWeb Service objects
if I am using Glue?
Place all the Glue stubs that you are using in your application into the same package, so they all share the common objects. For example, you could have a directory called "arcwebservices" where you have all your packages for ArcWeb Services. Glue displays an error message if more than one Web service share the same object, even if that object is placed separately into every Web service package. For Glue quick-start tutorials, see Glue with Place Finder Sample, Glue with ArcWeb Services, JSP with Place Finder Sample, and JSP with ArcWeb Service.
Why am I getting an error when I use more than
two .map files?
In Glue versions 3 and 3.1, more than two .map files cannot be used in the same package. When accessing multiple ArcWeb Services within the sample application, you must clear out previous .map files before adding new ones. This problem does not exist in Glue 3.2 and higher.
How should I organize common ArcWeb Service objects
if I am using .NET?
Are there any known issues with ASP.NET and ISS Web Server?
How should I organize common ArcWeb Service
objects if I am using .NET?
If you are using the same objects in different ArcWeb Services, you need to include the common classes definitions under a common namespace. Keeping common objects under a common namespace will help prevent the Ambiguous reference error. It is recommended that you do this in a new file, but you can also use an existing reference file. Make sure you include the attribute associated with each class when moving classes, and keep in mind you have to delete the common classes from the reference classes every time you update your Web references. If you have defined them in a new file, include a reference to this common namespace in the reference classes. For .NET quick-start tutorials, see C#.NET With Place Finder Sample, C#.NET With ArcWeb Services, VB.NET With Place Finder Sample, VB.NET With ArcWeb Services, ASP.NET With Place Finder Sample, and ASP.NET With ArcWeb Services.
Are there any known issues with ASP.NET and ISS?
Yes. Internet Information Server (IIS) does not have the necessary mappings to recognize ASP.NET file extensions and settings unless it is properly configured to work with .NET. To check whether IIS is properly configured to interoperate with the .NET run time
Click Start, click Settings, click Control Panel, and double-click Administrative Tools.
Double-click Internet Services Manager.
On the left sidebar, expand your Web server and click to highlight Default Web Site.
Click the Properties button in the toolbar and click the Home Directory tab.
Click Configuration.
Scroll through the list to find the .aspx extension. If it is listed, then your system is set up properly.
For more information on how to associate the .NET file extensions and settings with IIS, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base.