Understanding ESRI's Free "Explorer" Applications

ESRI offers two freely downloadable applications that you can use to discover geographic information and view it on a map.

• ArcGIS Explorer is a lightweight desktop client for ArcGIS Server. It lets you connect via the Web to 2D and 3D data published by ESRI as well as by others, and fuse it with your own local data. Users of ArcGIS Explorer can perform a wide variety of queries on their maps, customize their map displays, and easily e-mail their projects directly from the application.
• ArcExplorer is a lightweight GIS data viewer written in Java that is used to perform basic GIS functions (e.g., view, navigate, and query). It is a downloadable application that operates in a stand-alone environment and does not need to connect to a server.