1.10 Share Your Map Online

In the last section, you printed the map and exported map images that could be shared with others. Thus, if you completed Section 1.9, you accomplished the chapter goal (“create and share a basic GIS map”). The last two sections of this chapter each take the sharing component of that goal a step further. This penultimate section focuses on turning your map into an online interactive map, while the final section covers exporting your entire project for easy transfer between storage locations.

Print and static maps are still very useful, but interactive web maps are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Web maps enable anyone to explore GIS datasets without having to use GIS software. ArcGIS Pro gives you the power to instantly publish your map to ArcGIS Online, Esri’s web platform, thus sharing the information it conveys with the entire world. Only a little more setup than you have already done is required to convert your map to a web-enabled form.

Duplicate the map again

Just as you copied your intended-for-print map to create a new version for your screen layout, you need to do so again to create a version that you can redesign as an interactive web map.

Action Sequence

1. Repeat the process in Section 1.9, Steps 17-19 to create a copy of your Screen Map.

2. Rename the new map “Web Map” and open it in the Center View.

Perception and Interpretation: The project now contains three maps: Print Map, Screen Map, and Web Map.

Reset the map projection and basemap

All maps published to ArcGIS Online must include a tiled basemap, and must use the same map projection as the basemap. All basemaps that come packaged with the software use the Web Mercator projection, so your map must also use this projection. You will not be able to upload your map unless you include a basemap and set its projection to Web Mercator first.

Action Sequence

3. With the Web Map view active, in the Map ribbon tab, select a basemap that works well with your map symbols. If the basemap you choose has a reference layer, turn the reference layer off to avoid it interfering with the map labels.

4. In the Contents pane, right-click on “Web Map”, then click “Properties”.

5. In the Coordinate Systems tab of the Map Properties window, under “XY Coordinate Systems Available”, expand “Layers”.

6. Under “Layers”, click on “WGS 1984 Web Mercator (auxiliary sphere)”, then click the “OK” button (Figure 1.51).

7. Save the project.

Perception and Interpretation: The map is reprojected into a Web Mercator projection.

Upload the map to ArcGIS Online

With the basemap and Web Mercator projection in place, your map is now configured for web use. All that remains is to upload it. ArcGIS Online requires you to add a description of the map and keywords to enable users to search for it, and to specify who has access to it—just you, your organization’s members, or everyone.

Action Sequence

8. Click on the Share ribbon tab.

9. In the Share As group of the Share ribbon tab, click the “Web Map” button.

10. In the Share As Web Map pane, under “Name”, give your map a name that is similar to the title you used for your printed map (Figure 1.52).

11. Under “Summary”, write a brief description of the information your map depicts.

12. Under “Tags”, add one or more words or very short phrases that describe your map. After typing each word or phrase, hit the Enter or Tab key on your keyboard to add it as a tag.

13. Under “Select a Configuration”, leave the dropdown set to “Copy all data: Exploratory”. This will create a clickable web map but will not allow others to edit it.

14. Under “Location”, change the dropdown to your root folder (your ArcGIS Online account email address) or create a new folder to house your web map.

15. Under “Share with”, check the checkboxes for all entities you wish to have access to your map. If you want your map to be public, make sure the checkbox for  “Everyone” is checked.

16. Under “Finish Sharing”, click the “Analyze” button.

Perception and Interpretation: A pop-up window appears with a progress bar indicating analysis is in progress. When analysis is complete, a Messages tab appears in the Share As Web Map pane with any errors or warnings that were noted during the analysis. If there are no errors, sharing may proceed. If there are errors, they must be fixed before the map can be shared online. Warnings may also be fixed, but will not prevent the map from being uploaded.

17. Under “Finish Sharing”, click the “Share” button.

Perception and Interpretation: The map is once again analyzed, then a progress bar appears at the bottom of the pane with a statement of the current action that is in progress. The operation may run for several minutes. When the operation is complete, a green checkmark will appear with a link to manage the web map.

View and link to the map online

Once your web map has been uploaded to ArcGIS Online, you can access it anytime by pointing a browser to arcgis.com, signing in, and viewing the Content page for your ArcGIS Online account. The link that appears at the bottom of the Save As Web Map pane after uploading the map provides a shortcut. Through ArcGIS Online, you can view the web map, use it in other web pages and apps, and share it with anyone who has internet access.

Action Sequence

18. At the bottom of the Share As Web Map pane, click “Manage the web map”.

Perception and Interpretation: A browser window opens showing the ArcGIS Online item page for the web map. This page displays information about the web map, which can be edited if you are signed in, as well as links to each of the map layers’ item pages. Near the upper-right corner of the page are buttons allowing the web map to be used in several ways—in the online Map Viewer Classic, in desktop software, in a presentation, in Field Maps, or in a web app—as well as a Share button that allows you to change its sharing settings (Figure 1.53).

19. If your ArcGIS Online username does not appear in the upper-right corner of the item page, click the “Sign In” button in that corner and sign in using your ArcGIS Online username and password.

20. Above the blue title bar at the top of the page, click the “Content” tab.

Perception and Interpretation: The Content page for your ArcGIS Online account opens, displaying all of the items stored on your account in one table. An item for the web map appears at the top of the table.

21. In the content table, under “Title”, click the name of your web map to reopen its item page.

22. On the right side of the web map’s item page, click the blue “Open in Map Viewer Classic” button.

Perception and Interpretation: The Map Viewer web app opens and loads the web map.

23. Zoom and pan the map and click on features to see the pop-ups attached to them.

24. In the Details Pane on the left side of the page, switch between the “About”, “Content”, and “Legend” tabs and note what each tab contains (Figure 1.54). Also experiment with the buttons along the toolbar above the pane and map.

25. On the toolbar above the map, click the “Share” button.

Perception and Interpretation: A Share window opens that allows you to change the map’s sharing settings and provides a web link and social media buttons for sharing the map with others. There are also buttons that allow you to embed the web map in a page or use it to create a web app.

26. Click the “Done” button to close the Share window.

What’s a web app?

A web app (short for web application) is a website that provides users with a variety of interactive tools. Your basic web map allows users to zoom, pan, and retrieve information about features on it. Adding the map to an app can greatly increase its functionality by enabling more user interactions—such as editing, search, and filter—and dynamic widgets like charts and tables. ArcGIS Online apps also give you greater control over the design of the web page surrounding your map.

ArcGIS Online continues to build out its suite of app development options. As of late 2021, these options include (Figure 1.55):

• Instant Apps: a library of lightly configurable templates oriented toward specific map-sharing goals
• Web AppBuilder: an app-building app that allows you to build your own highly customized app by selecting design styles and adding widgets from a large library of available tools
• StoryMaps: creates sequenced web pages designed for telling stories that include web maps, great for multimedia journalism or essays
• Dashboards: apps with data visualizations (charts, graphs, etc.) that can provide further insights using the information on the map
• Experience Builder: a highly configurable set of templates for designing map-based web pages with page and map navigation widgets
• Configurable Apps: a larger library of templates including newer Instant Apps, older Story Maps configurations, and others

While all of these graphic app builders are powerful tools, more advanced GIS analysts may opt to build an app from scratch using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript (API stands for Application Programming Interface). This toolset allows web GIS developers the most freedom to customize their apps. Using the API requires coding in the computer languages of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and is beyond the scope of this workbook.

Web maps and apps are just some of the myriad features included in ArcGIS Online, which is both a digital ecosystem and a powerful software platform in its own right. For further resources on ArcGIS Online, check out Esri’s extensive documentation and the Esri Press workbook Getting to Know Web GIS by Pinde Fu.