Introduction to creating Web applications with Manager

ArcGIS Server Manager and ArcIMS Web Manager allow you to create and edit Web mapping applications that showcase the geographic information running on your server. Manager's application-building interface is intended for people with little or no Web development experience.

Through Manager, you build your Web application and tailor it to the needs of the people who will use it. Manager lets you choose the data you want to show, select map elements such as North arrows and scale bars, select tools for working with your application, and configure the map layout.

The Web application that you create in Manager can be opened and edited in Visual Studio for further customization. By default, applications are created in C#. If you want to use VB, you can change the language using the Settings link in the Applications tab.

The main steps in creating your Web applications are as follows:

• Choosing layers to be displayed in the map
• Configuring tasks
• Choosing an account for local connections (if necessary)
• Defining the look and feel
• Deploying the application

The above links explain each stage of creating a Web application in Manager. If you want to briefly step through the process of building a simple application, see Tutorial: Creating a Web application. Otherwise, read on for more detailed instructions.

How to start creating a Web application

To start creating your Web application, you need to be logged in to Manager. The credentials required for creating a Web application depend on which software you are using:

• ArcGIS Server for the Microsoft .NET Framework: The login requires an account from the agsadmin group on the server object manager (SOM) machine and the Administrator group on the Web server machine. This is so Manager has write privileges for creating new Web applications. If you use an account that is not an Administrator on the Web server, you'll be able to log in to Manager, but you won't be able to manage Web applications.
• ArcIMS Web Manager for the Microsoft .NET Framework: The login requires an account in the system Administrator group on the Web server machine.

Once you've logged in to Manager, follow these steps to start creating an application:

1. Click the Applications tab and click Web Applications (ArcGIS Server only).
2. Choose one of the following:
   • If you want to copy an existing Web application, find the application in the list and click the plus sign (+) to expand it. You'll see a Copy button that will allow you to copy the application.
   • If you want to create a new Web application, click Create Web Application.

3. Type a name for your application. The Applications tab in Manager lists all the Web applications you have deployed on your server. The name that you enter here will be used in that list.

   If you don't want your application at the root level of the Web server, you can specify a folder along with the name, for example: "someFolder/myApplication".

4. Type a more detailed description of the Web application. This description will also be visible from the Applications tab.

5. Optionally, click Advanced Options to change the default Web server, port number, and host URL for the application. These options can be useful if you want to create a Web application on a different machine or if you want an outward-facing URL that doesn't expose a machine name.

   If you're creating a web application that will use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, use the Advanced Options to change the URL so that it uses "https" instead of "http". Note that this does not automatically require users of your web application to use HTTPS (SSL). It just ensures that Manager will display "https" in the URL. To learn how to enable SSL, see the ArcGIS Server Help topic "Setting up SSL".

   Also, if you'll be using HTTPS for your application, and your Web server uses a port number for HTTPS that is not the default (443), use the Advanced Options to change the port number to the one your Web server uses.

6. Click Next to continue to the layer selection panel.

Next topic: Selecting layers to display