To work with time in ArcGIS AllSource, you first configure a layer or stand-alone table with temporal properties that indicate where the data exists in time. This configuration can be either based on attribute fields in the data, such as the date and time of earthquakes, or setting a fixed extent for the entire layer, such as an aerial image with an effective lifespan of three months. Layers and tables that have temporal properties are often referred to as time-aware.
A map that contains one or more time-aware layers includes an interactive time slider control that allows you to explore the data through time. In the same way that a map has a geographical extent, the map's temporal extent is applied as a filter to all the time-aware content in the map. This means that moving the time slider through time is similar to panning the map in geographical space, in that only a subset of content is shown. You can also choose to disable time for the map and see all the data with no time filtering applied.
When working with data from different time zones, the time zone for each layer is specified individually. The map also has a time zone, which can match one, or none, of the time-aware layers. Conversions between time zones are applied from the map's time slider to each layer when filtering content through time.
Define temporal properties
Temporal properties for layers and stand-alone tables are defined on the Time tab of the Layer Properties dialog box. You can choose if the layer's temporal extent is defined by attribute data values or by a manually fixed extent. You can also specify additional properties such as the time zone and details on the data capture rate, if applicable.
Temporal properties for the map—such as the current time extent, step-value, and time zone—are defined on the contextual Time tab on the ribbon, which is displayed when the map contains one or more time-aware layers. Any table views opened from the map will also honor the map's temporal extent.
Import an ArcGIS Desktop time-enabled map, globe, or scene document
If you have an existing map, globe, or scene document that was created in ArcGIS Desktop, you can import it into the project. This adds a new map to the project. If the document contains time-enabled layers, the new map will also contain layers with temporal properties defined. Any map that is opened has the time slider control, and the temporal layers display data based on the time set by the slider.