Managing Layers

You can control the drawing order and presence of layers in the map by using the Manage Layers dialog box. The dialog box shows a list of those layers and group layers that are visible in the ArcGIS Explorer map as well as layers that provide height information to other layers. The former set of layers are referred to as Draped layers; these layers are placed on top of the latter set of layers, the map's Elevation layers, obtaining their z-values (height values) from them. Note that the dialog box cannot be used to reorder result layers.

Here is an example of the dialog box showing the application's default map:

To move the display position of a layer

Select the layer in the treeview and click one of the arrow keys to move the layer up or down. This action moves the layer at its current level—that is, if it's at the top level it moves within the map as a whole. If the layer is a child layer of a group, it moves within the group—but it will not move the layer out of the group.

To move a layer into the group nearest to it

Select the layer and click the right arrow button. If there is a group below the layer, the application will move the layer into the group. If there are no groups below the layer, the application will move the layer to the group above.

To move a layer out of a group

Select the layer and move it to the bottom of its group. When the left arrow is enabled, clicking it will move the layer out of the group to a position directly below.

To remove a layer from the current map

Select the layer and click the Remove Layer button at the right of the dialog box.

To remove a layer's cache

	Select the layer and click the Clear Layer Cache button at the right of the dialog box. This has the effect of fetching the most recent data of the service related to the layer.
	Learn more about managing cache

To create a new, empty group layer

Click the New Group Layer button.

Once you've performed any of the above actions and want your changes to appear in the map, click OK. To restore changes to a state before the dialog box was displayed, click Cancel. Note that when you change the drawing order of layers, the map will redraw and you may see a wireframe globe briefly.