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One of my favorite ArcGIS extensions (N_SPECT) is no longer going to be supportd under ArcGIS 10. It will be totally rewritten as a MapWindow plug-in, so I need to get up-to-speed with that in case a project comes along where I need to use the tool.

I have a 64 bit Windows 7 machine, but the MapWindow website lists the 64 bit version as Experimental. Has anyone here used the 64 bit version? Have you found it to be less stable than the 32 bit version?

To clarify - I'm looking at the desktop application and use of associated plug-ins. I'm an end-user, and will not be working on or developing anything with the MapWindow Active X Control. The N-SPECT tool was process intensive as an ArcGIS extension, and I assume it will be in MapWindow, too. That's why I'm looking at the 64 bit version. I suppose all of this may be moot depending on how NOAA develops their new N-SPECT tool?

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Hopefully MapWindow is more stable on a mere 32-bit machine than it was the last time I tried it. – Roger D. Aug 9 '10 at 12:20
Don, I'm not sure if you saw but a 64-bit installer is now available. I got a e-mail about but can't seem to find it (or a link) :-/ – Bill Dollins Nov 9 '10 at 10:54
Thanks Bill. A quick search revealed nothing to me either, but I'll keep an eye out for it. – Don Meltz Nov 9 '10 at 12:50
this has nothing to do with GIS, it's a question about software support – mdsumner Nov 25 '10 at 13:28
Must disagree with mdsumner's comment and down vote. Software is absolutely an integral part of any GIS system. No? My question was not about software support, but about how well the 64 bit version of the software runs on a 64 bit machine. – Don Meltz Nov 26 '10 at 21:09

4 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Don,

I installed the 64-bit version on my 64-bit Win 7 box and have had no issues yet but it's still early.

Bill

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up vote 4 down vote

Every month new installers will be available for MapWindow 32-bit and 64-bit. Release candidate 2 (due around x-mas 2010) will be the first official 64-Bit version since v4.7.

The source-code of MapWindow and the installers have been improved and both versions should be stable.

You can download the latest beta versions from here:

http://tinyurl.com/mwMonthly (32-Bit)

http://tinyurl.com/mwMonthlyx64 (64-Bit)

I hope it helps,

Paul

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informed and useful – mdsumner Nov 25 '10 at 13:30
Hi Paul, thanks for your response! Great to have another group of GIS developers contributing to GIS.SE. I have a small request: Could you remove the signature from your post? As mentioned in the FAQ it turns out to be redundant with the information present in your user card, which is more appropriate spot for your related roles. Thanks! – scw Nov 26 '10 at 9:31
up vote 2 down vote

The MapWindow bug tracker lists numerous open bugs that are tied to the 64-bit version, including these comments:

The 64Bit version is so buggy I have not created an installer for v4.8RC1 (bug 1540)

Supporting 64Bit is very difficult because we're having trouble generating 64Bit Interop >files. VS2008 keeps generating them for 32Bit. If you have any suggestion how to fix this, please contact me or post it on the forum. For v4.8RC1 a 64Bit installer will not be available. (bug 1603)

Judging from these and other comments on their forums, you'd be best off sticking to the 32-bit version of the software, which should work fine on a 64-bit OS.

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Thanks for the links. It appears (to me) that these problems are related to the MapWindow Active X control, and its use by developers. (please correct me if I'm wrong) Since I'm an end user, I would only be using the desktop application and associated plug-ins. I know from experience that the N-SPECT tool is process intensive, and I'd like to make full use of my 64 bit Win 7 machine. I'll clarify this in my question. – Don Meltz Aug 10 '10 at 1:01
Yeah, the particular bugs I chose are related to OCX, but there are a few others which are more core operations: tinyurl.com/28lzthr, tinyurl.com/24blqbf and tinyurl.com/23mx3za. It sounds like they're actively working on the issues for 4.8. – scw Aug 11 '10 at 5:43
open bugs are a fact of life, this answer would be useful if there were some insight about the bugs referred to in the context of the software – mdsumner Nov 25 '10 at 13:30
up vote 2 down vote

I've been using it for a few months in XP 64. No problem at all. Fast and stable.

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