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Adding and Deploying Custom Tasks

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How To: Add a custom task using the Manage Tasks dialog box

ArcGIS Explorer stores custom tasks on a machine in a specific location, on a per-user basis. The All Available Tasks list in the Manage Tasks dialog box lists all of the tasks which are currently installed at this location. If you have used a task before, or have built a custom task from the templates or a sample project on the current machine, that task should already be set up and available in the Manage Tasks dialog. This topic describes how you use the Manage Tasks dialog box to add such a custom task to the existing map.

If you have not used a task before but have a correctly defined NMF file describing the task and it's location, this topic also covers how ArcGIS Exploprer will automatically download the task to the current machine by using the NMF file.

Adding a custom task using Manage Tasks

The steps required for adding a custom task to the exisiting map using the Manage Tasks dialog box are described below. An alternative, using the Add Content dialog box, is described in the section below.

  1. Open ArcGIS Explorer.
  2. From the Tools menu choose Manage Tasks.
  3. In the 'All available tasks' list on the left-hand side of the dialog, find the My Tasks heading and uncollapse it.
  4. Find the task you wish to add.
    • If you can already see the task listed under My Tasks, then the task has already been downloaded or has been set up automatically on a developer machine.
    • If you cannot see the task listed under My Tasks, then you will need to download the task. For this step you will need to have a valid task NMF file available.
      1. In the Manage Tasks dialog box, click Get Tasks.
      2. In the Select A Task dialog box, click Task Files in the left-hand list, and then browse to the location of the NMF file which you edited and saved previously.
      3. Select the NMF file and click Open to dismiss the Select A Task dialog box.
      4. ArcGIS Explorer will now download the task. In the Manage Tasks dialog, you should now see the task listed under My Tasks.
  5. You can add the task to the map by selecting it and clicking the arrow in the center of the dialog box.
  6. Click OK to dismiss the Manage Tasks dialog box.
  7. You should now see the task in the task console. If you do not see the task, try scrolling down the task console or collapsing the Results or Contents windows. If you still do not see the task, it is possible that the NMF file contains invalid or out of date information. Check the Task Elements in NMF Files and Deployment Troubleshooting topics for more information.

Adding a custom task using Add Content

Another way that you can add a custom task into the existing map is to use the 'ArcGIS Explorer Files' tab in the Open Content dialog box. You will need to have an NMF file available which includes the task in question. This may be an existing map with the task included in it, or may be a valid task NMF file.

It is generally expected that the Manage Tasks dialog will be used by developers testing tasks, however end users may more often use the Open Content dialog to add custom tasks if distributed outwith a map.

  1. In ArcGIS Explorer, from the File menu choose Open.
  2. In the left-hand pane of the dialog, choose the 'ArcGIS Explorer Files' option.
  3. Browse to find the NMF file that contains the task details and select it.
  4. Click Open.
  5. The contents of the NMF will be added to the existing map; this should include any tasks specified in the NMF file. Note that if the NMF contains any layers or results, these will also be added to the map.
  6. You should now see the task in the task console. If you do not see the task, try scrolling down the task console or collapsing the Results or Contents windows. If you still do not see the task, it is possible that the NMF file contains invalid or out of date information, in which case you should have seen a message dialog box informing you of a problem. Check the Task Elements in NMF Files and Deployment Troubleshooting topics for more information.