Pima County Geographic Information Systems

Installing the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer

Overview

If you are having problems seeing the maps or if you aren't using Internet Explorer on Windows, this page provides additional help and options.

Autodesk MapGuide works best using Internet Explorer on Windows. The vast majority of users usually install or upgrade the MapGuide Viewer ActiveX control (plug-in) simply by following the prompts when accessing one of our MapGuide maps like this one. If you see the map, you already have the required software.

• If you have unusual problems installing (problems are rare) or if the MapGuide map does not display or doesn't work right, you should check MapGuide Viewer Compatibility Issues and review Instructions for Specific Web Browsers and Operating Systems below.

• While rarely necessary, you may also want to try uninstalling an old or partial installation and do a fresh installation.

Instructions for Specific Web Browsers and Operating Systems

• Internet Explorer on Windows is the best choice for using our maps.

  You must have ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS on your computer to complete the installation. The term ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS refers to your computer's settings that allow you to install software and do other system things on your PC. If you have problems installing or if you don't have ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS rights on your PC, contact your system administrator or support person. If you are using your home PC or a PC that you maintain, then you probably have the needed ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS.

  Installing the MapGuide Viewer from other web sites or other files may cause you to install the wrong version of the MapGuide Viewer.

  • Automatic Installation

    Our MapGuide maps prompt you to automatically download and install the ActiveX control version of the MapGuide Viewer, if necessary. While you can use any of our MapGuide maps to install the ActiveX control, we recommend using the Main MapGuide Map on our main Pima County MapGuide Maps page. Follow prompts and watch for a thin yellow or gold bar across the width of your browser window near the top with instructions for confirming the installation.

    If the download takes longer than a "coffee break" (especially with a fast network connection), then you may want to close your web browser and try again. It's possible to have a bad or slow network connection to the download site. Please give it plenty of time to work on its own. We have seen a few problems made worse by users interrupting a good download and installation. Be patient.

  • Manual Installation

    If you prefer to manually download and install the MapGuide Viewer software (Most users don't need to do this...), use anonymous FTP to download the MapGuide Viewer from our FTP server at ftp://ftpgis.pima.gov/pub/software/mapguide/. If prompted for a username and password, enter "anonymous" as the username (without quotes) and your e-mail address as the password. Internet Explorer users should download the MGControl65.EXE file. Be careful. Do not use the MGControl6.5SP1-DO_NOT_USE.exe file which is not suitable for most users.

    Once you have downloaded the MapGuide Viewer, manually install it for your web browser by double-clicking the .EXE file you downloaded. You can also run the downloaded file by selecting "Run..." under the "Start" menu, and then use "Browse..." to locate installation file you downloaded. After installation, close all browser windows and re-start your browser.

• Macintosh and UNIX users see special instructions.

• The iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, tablets and phones are not supported and do not display MapGuide maps. These devices generally don't support Java as required by the Java Edition of the MapGuide Viewer.

• Users of other web browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, and most other up-and-coming web browsers are are not supported although they may automatically default to the Java Edition of the MapGuide Viewer. See the other web browsers entry in our Autodesk MapGuide Viewer Compatibility Issues page for more.

• Netscape 4.x users (Are there any left out there?) should go to the Autodesk's MapGuide Viewer page to download the Netscape plug-in. You must have ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS on your computer to complete the installation.

Remember that there is a Tips and Help link at the top of most of our maps. It has answers to common problems and questions as well as tips to make using MapGuide easier. We also offer free public MapGuide Classes about every three months.