Share a web map

One way to share your ArcGIS Pro work is to share a package, such as a layer, map, or project package. A package is a compressed file of ArcGIS Pro items, resources, and data. When you start this tutorial, you will download and open a project package.

Another way to share your work is to share maps and layers to your ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise portal. You can view and work with web maps in Map Viewer, ArcGIS Pro, and other ArcGIS apps, such as ArcGIS Explorer.

Overview

Share a web map overview video

• Video length: 3:05.
• This video was created with ArcGIS Pro 2.3.

In this tutorial, you'll share an ArcGIS Pro map to your active portal.

• Estimated time: 30 minutes (including optional section)
• Software requirements:
  • ArcGIS Pro
  • ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise account with sharing privileges

Note:

The tutorial steps in the online help reflect the look and capabilities of the current software release. If you have an earlier software version, use the offline help system to open the tutorial. To switch from the online to the offline help system, see Set the help source in the About ArcGIS Pro help topic. If you don't have ArcGIS Pro, you can sign up for an ArcGIS Pro free trial.

Open the project

A mangrove is a type of ecosystem that contains valuable natural resources and diverse animal species. The mangrove is a unique environment and interesting to ecotourists, so the conservation of this land cover is important.

You'll share a map of mangrove locations and walking trails on the North Island of New Zealand.

If you completed the Author a map tutorial, you can use the project you created (New Zealand Mangroves) for this tutorial. Open the project from your list of recent projects on the ArcGIS Pro start page or browse to it by clicking Open another project. If you use your own project, skip the first section of this tutorial and begin with Prepare the map for sharing. You may notice minor differences in images and names, but the steps will work.

1. Start ArcGIS Pro and sign in if necessary.
2. On the start page, under your recent projects, click Open another project.

   Note:

   If you already have a project open, click the Project tab on the ribbon. In the list of menu items on the left, click Open. On the Open page, click Portal and click Open another project at the bottom of the page.

3. On the Open Project dialog box, under Portal , click ArcGIS Online .

   Note:

   If you see ArcGIS Enterprise listed instead, you must add a portal connection or set your active portal to ArcGIS Online. Alternatively, you can download the tutorial data from a browser.

4. At the top of the dialog box, in the Search box, type Share a web map tutorial and press Enter.
5. In the list of search results, click Share a web map to select the project package.

   Note:

   If there is more than one project package with this name, look at the Owner column. Select the item with the owner name ArcGISProTutorials. If you don't get any results, see No search results are returned.

6. Click OK.

   The project opens with a map zoomed in on the North Island of New Zealand.

   

   Note:

   By default, project packages are unpacked to your <User Documents>\ArcGIS\Packages folder. You can change the default location in the Share and download options.

7. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Reset Panes and click Reset Panes for Mapping (Default).

   This ensures that the Contents and Catalog panes are open and that other panes are closed.

8. On the ribbon, click the Map tab. In the Navigate group, click Bookmarks . Go to each of the three bookmarks to see different views of the mangroves.
9. When you're finished, go to the Okura Scenic Reserve bookmark.

   This will be the default view for your web map.

10. On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Save button to save the project.

Prepare the map for sharing

When you share a web map, several items are created in your portal: a web map, a web layer, and a service definition file. Typically, the web layer is a single item that includes all the layers from your ArcGIS Pro map (excluding basemap and reference layers, which are web services already). If your map contains both feature and raster layers, two web layers are created: a web feature layer from the feature layers and a web tile layer from the raster layers.

Tip:

To share a single layer from your map as a web layer, right-click the layer in the Contents pane and click Sharing > Share As Web Layer .

1. On the ribbon, click the Share tab. In the Share As group, click Web Map .

   The Share As Web Map pane appears. At the top of the pane, the Map tab is selected.

2. In the Name box, replace the default name with New_Zealand_Mangrove followed by an underscore and your name or initials.

   Note:

   When you share a web map, a web layer is created with the same name as the map. Web layers in your ArcGIS organization must have unique names; therefore, giving your map a unique name prevents potential layer name conflicts. (Web maps don't need unique names unless they are stored in the same folder.)

3. In the Summary box, type Mangrove accessibility from walking trails.
4. In the Tags box, type the following keywords: trails, mangrove, New Zealand. Make sure the keywords are separated by commas. Press Enter.
5. Under Select a Configuration, click the drop-down arrow, if necessary, and click Copy all data: Exploratory.

   If your active portal is ArcGIS Online, this is the default configuration. If your active portal is ArcGIS Enterprise, you must select this configuration. To learn more about configuration options, see Share a web map.

   The Use symbol types compatible with all clients check box is checked by default. This converts ArcGIS Pro symbols to web symbols that can be rendered by any application that opens the map.

6. Under Location, click the drop-down arrow and click yourname (root). Optionally, choose a different folder or create a folder in your portal.
7. Under Share with, check the box next to the name of your organization.

   

   When the map is shared, everyone in your organization will be able to open it in Map Viewer, ArcGIS Pro, and other ArcGIS apps.

   Note:

   If spell-checking is enabled, unrecognized words—such as the name of your map—are marked with wavy underlines. See Proofing options for more information.

8. At the top of the Share As Web Map pane, click the Configuration tab. Under it, click the Input Layers tab if necessary.

   

   You see the items that will be shared to your portal: a web map and a single web feature layer . The web feature layer has three sublayers corresponding to the feature layers in the map.

   Tip:

   Click the web feature layer or its sublayers to configure the web map layers. For example, you can change the layer name or split the sublayers into separate layers.

9. At the bottom of the Share As Web Map pane, under Finish Sharing, click Analyze.

   Analyzer errors and warnings, if any, appear on the Messages tab. Errors prevent sharing and must be fixed. Warnings may affect web map performance or display but don't prevent sharing. In this case, no errors or warnings are found.

   Tip:

   You can right-click a warning or error to open a help topic, and sometimes to fix a problem directly.

Share the map

You are ready to share the map to the web.

Note:

Sharing the map to your portal does not use service credits. After the map is shared, minimal service credits are used to maintain it in storage.

1. In the Share As Web Map pane, under Finish Sharing, click Share.

   Progress is displayed at the bottom of the Share As Web Map pane. The process may take some time depending on network traffic, connection stability, and other factors. Occasionally, a job may fail and need to be shared again.

   When the map is shared, a success message appears at the bottom of the pane.

   

   Tip:

   To monitor the sharing process more closely, click Jobs under Finish Sharing to open the Job Status pane.

2. On the success message, click Manage the web map to open a web browser window or tab. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization if prompted.

   The map's item page appears with the Overview tab selected at the top of the page.

   

   Your page may look slightly different.

   Before opening the web map, you'll add some metadata.

3. To the right of Description, click Edit.
4. In the Edit Description text box, type or copy and paste the following: Map of mangroves and walking trails on the North Island of New Zealand. Trail segments within 150 meters of mangrove are indicated.
5. Under the text box, click Save.
6. Scroll down to the Terms of Use heading. To the right of the heading, click Edit.
7. In the Edit Terms of Use text box, type or copy and paste the following: The data in this map is made available by the New Zealand Department of Conservation and is covered by the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand license. It may be freely redistributed. See map layer metadata for more details.
8. Under the text box, click Save.

Explore and modify the web map

You'll open, explore, and modify the web map in Map Viewer. You'll also look at the items created in My Content in your portal.

1. At the top of the item page, click Open in Map Viewer.

   The web map opens.

   Note:

   If your active portal is ArcGIS Online, you may see a prompt asking if you want to open the web map in Map Viewer Beta. For this tutorial, you should use the classic Map Viewer, but you are encouraged to try Map Viewer Beta at another time on your own. Map Viewer Beta can be accessed from the Open in Map Viewer drop-down menu for any web map.

2. At the top of the Contents pane, click Legend to see the map legend.

   

   The layers have the same names and symbols as your ArcGIS Pro map.

   Tip:

   Widen the Contents pane if you don't see the text labels for the buttons at the top of the pane.

3. Pan and zoom to explore the map.
4. In the row of tools above the web map, click Bookmarks . Click each bookmark to zoom to it.

   You'll add one more bookmark to the map.

5. In the search box above the map, type Thames, Waikato, NZL, and press Enter.

   The map zooms to the old goldmining town of Thames on the east side of the Firth of Thames.

6. Close the search result pop-up on the map. Pan to the west and zoom out to show the mangroves and trails on the southern shore of the Firth of Thames.

   

7. Click Bookmarks and click Add Bookmark at the bottom of the drop-down list. In the text box, type Firth of Thames and press Enter.

   

8. Close the list of bookmarked places.
9. Zoom out so that all of the North Island of New Zealand is visible.
10. Click the Save button and click Save on the drop-down list.

    Note:

    As the web map owner, changes you make to the map or to layer properties are saved with the map. Other users in your organization can also open the map and make changes, but their changes must be saved to a new map. On the web map's item page, on the Settings tab, you can choose whether to allow others to save a copy of the map. The default setting allows it.

11. At the top of the page, click the Home button and click Content.

    On the Content page, on the My Content tab, you see the new items: the web map, the web layer, and a service definition file.

    

12. Click the New_Zealand_Mangrove_yourname_WFL1 feature layer to open its item page.

    On the Overview tab, at the side of the page, are options for working with the web feature layer. Under the Layers heading are options for working with its sublayers. See Manage hosted feature layers in the ArcGIS Online help for more information about working with feature layers in your portal.

13. Close the browser tab or window that is open to the item page.

Open the web map in ArcGIS Pro

Web maps and web layers can be added from your portal to ArcGIS Pro. You'll add the web map to your project and zoom to the bookmark you created in Map Viewer.

1. In your open ArcGIS Pro project, in the Catalog pane, click the Portal tab. Under Portal, make sure the My Content tab is selected.

   

   Your web map and web feature layer appear at the top of the content list. If you don't see them, click the Menu button and click Refresh . (If your content includes folders, the folders appear first.)

   Tip:

   By default, items are sorted by their last modified date. Click the Sort button to change the sort method.

2. In the Catalog pane, right-click the New_Zealand_Mangrove_yourname web map and click Add And Open .

   The web map is added to the project. Notice that it opens to the extent that you saved in Map Viewer. You're finished with the original map, so you'll close it.

3. Click the view tab of the map view named Map to make it active. Click Close .

   New_Zealand_Mangrove_yourname is now the only open map. You'll confirm that the map and its layers are hosted online.

4. In the Catalog pane, click the Project tab. Expand Maps .

   

   Your project contains two maps. The link icon indicates a web map.

5. In the Contents pane, click List by Data Source .

   

   The data sources of the map layers are online services and the web feature layer in your portal.

6. In the Contents pane, click List by Drawing Order .

   You'll go to the bookmark you added in Map Viewer.

7. On the ribbon, click the Map tab. In the Navigate group, click Bookmarks.

   

   Bookmarks are displayed from both maps in the project.

8. In the list of bookmarks, under New_Zealand_Mangrove_yourname Bookmarks, click Firth of Thames.

   The map zooms to the bookmarked location.

9. On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Save button .

Modify the web map in ArcGIS Pro

Anyone in your organization can add the web map to ArcGIS Pro. As the map owner, you can change the web map in ArcGIS Pro and save your changes to the web. When you do so, other users of the web map receive a notification that a newer version of the map is available. They can choose whether and when to update the version they are currently using.

Caution:

If you open a web map owned and shared by someone else, you can make changes to the map and save those changes in your project. If the web map owner subsequently saves changes to the map, any changes you made to the version in your project are overwritten when you accept the update. If you need to preserve those changes, do not accept the update. Alternatively, before accepting the update, make a copy of the web map in your project or save it as a map file.

1. In the Contents pane, right-click the symbol for the Trails layer. On the color palette, click a different color, such as a light red.

   The Trails symbol is updated on the map.

2. On the ribbon, click the Share tab. In the Manage group, click Save Web Map .

   The Save Web Map window appears. A message alerts you that the web map was updated in a different application and that properties that are not supported in ArcGIS Pro may have been applied. In this case, the only update was the bookmark you added in Map Viewer, so this is fine.

3. On the Save Web Map window, click Save Web Map.

   The Save Web Map pane appears. In the Save Web Map pane, some parameters are disabled, either because they can't be changed or because they aren't used. Notice that an archive copy of the web map presently stored in your portal is saved by default.

4. At the bottom of the pane, under Share with, confirm that the map is still shared with your organization.
5. Under Finish Saving, click Analyze.

   There are no errors or warnings.

6. Click Save.
7. When the map is successfully saved, click Manage the web map at the bottom of the pane.

   A browser tab or window opens to the map's item page. You previously signed in to your portal, so you are not prompted to sign in again.

8. On the web map's item page, click Open in Map Viewer.

   

   The web map reflects the layer symbology and map extent that you saved in ArcGIS Pro.

   Note:

   The Trails layer symbol has changed only in the web map. The New_Zealand_Mangrove_yourname_WFL1 feature layer itself is not changed. If you or a colleague adds the web layer to a new map, either in Map Viewer or in ArcGIS Pro, it will have the same light green symbol it had when you shared it. To change the web feature layer, you can overwrite it.

9. At the top of the page, click the Home button and click Content.

   In the list of content, you see the archived web map in addition to the web map. Optionally, you can delete the archived web map.

View the map in a mobile app (optional)

Your web map can be opened in various apps on different devices. You can open it in ArcGIS Pro, in ArcGIS web or mobile apps, or in your own app.

This section of the tutorial is optional. Explorer for ArcGIS is a free app, but it uses space on your mobile device. The images and steps in this section describe an Android phone; you'll need to make minor adjustments if you have a different operating system or mobile device.

1. Install Explorer for ArcGIS from your device's app store.

   

2. Start the app.
3. Sign in with your ArcGIS Online account.
4. In the Maps list, find your web map. (It should be at the top of the list.)

   The map card shows the map's title and a thumbnail image. You can use Overflow to see map details or add a map to your favorites.

5. Click the map's thumbnail image to open it.

   

6. On your own, see what you can do with the map in ArcGIS Explorer.

   For example, you can mark up the map with sketches, and add labels and notes to your sketches. Tap Overflow to access more tools.

   

Web maps can be used to share geographic information within an organization, raise awareness of important topics for the general public, or publish map data for use in other projects. For a more advanced tutorial on sharing a 3D scene, try Author and share a local scene. (This tutorial requires the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension.)