As you work on a portal project, your work is done in the local copy of the project stored in the download location on your computer. When you save the project, three things happen in sequence:
- The local copy of the project is saved.
- Changes made to the local copy since your last save are uploaded to the portal.
- Changes made on the portal by other users since your last save are downloaded to your local copy.
Some of your changes may conflict with changes made by other users. For example, you and a collaborator may both make changes to the same map. Your portal project save cannot be completed until you resolve conflicts. You resolve conflicts by pushing your changes to the portal or by pulling your collaborator’s changes from the portal to your local copy of the project. You may need to resolve conflicts with more than one user.
When the portal project save is complete, the portal project and your local copy are in the same state.
Changes that are uploaded and downloaded
As soon as the local copy of the project is saved, your changes are uploaded to the portal. These include the following:
- Project items, such as maps and layouts, that you changed without conflict. For example, if you made changes to a map and no one else did, the map is uploaded with your changes.
- Project items for which you resolved a conflict by pushing your change.
- Project items, such as new maps or layouts, that you added to the project.
- Project items that you deleted without conflict. For example, if you delete a map that no one else changed, the map is deleted from the project.
- Catalog items, such as folder connections, databases, and toolboxes that you added to the project or removed from the project.
- Project metadata that you added, deleted, or edited.
Similarly, after your changes are uploaded to the portal, changes made by other users are downloaded from the portal to your local project. These include the following:
- Project items that another user changed without conflict.
- Project items for which you resolved a conflict by pulling another user's changes.
- Project items, such as new maps or layouts, that another user added to the project.
- Project items that another user deleted without conflict.
- Catalog items, such as folder connections, databases, and toolboxes that another user added to the project or removed trom the project.
- Project metadata that another user added, deleted, or edited.
Deleting a project item may or may not cause a conflict. Suppose that User 1 deletes a map from their local copy of the project and saves the project. The map is removed from the portal. Subsequently, User 2 makes a change to that map, which still exists in their local copy of the project. When User 2 saves the project, there is a conflict. User 2 can reinstate the map on the portal by pushing their changes.
Suppose instead that User 2 makes other changes to the project but does not change that particular map. Now when User 2 saves the project, there is no conflict and the map is deleted from the project. (The map can still be reinstated if another user has it in their local copy of the project, or if it exists in any user's saved copies of the project.)
When a change is made to a project item such as a map, layout, report, or presentation, the item is uploaded or downloaded in its entirety when you save the project. A change to a map may involve setting a map or layer property, adding or removing a layer, symbolizing a layer, changing a basemap, or something else. However, these changes are not individually merged or interleaved into an existing project item; instead, the item is replaced.
This means that changes made by you and a collaborator to the same item result in a conflict, even if the changes are compatible. For example, if your collaborator changes the name of a map, and you change the basemap in the same map, this is a conflict. If you push your changes, the map with your basemap is uploaded to the portal, and the map with your collaborator’s name change is discarded. Conversely, if you pull changes, your collaborator's map is downloaded from the portal to your local project, and your map is discarded.
It is not possible to see in advance the changes made by other users. If a conflict occurs, all you know is that you and a collaborator (who is identified) both made changes to the same item. You do not know what changes they made.
Note:
Changing the extent of a map by panning or zooming does not conflict with changes to the map by other users. Neither does expanding or collapsing items in the Contents pane of a map or layout.
When new project items, such as maps and layouts, are downloaded to your local copy of the project, they appear in their respective item containers in the Catalog pane but are not opened automatically. New catalog items—such as folder connections, databases, and toolboxes—appear automatically when you save the project.
Application settings are not updated
ArcGIS Pro application states and settings are not updated when you save a portal project and can be different for each collaborator. These settings include the following:
- The size of the ArcGIS Pro window
- The view that is active in the project
- The panes and views that are open in the project and their placement
- Settings in the Application section of the Options dialog box
- The list of portal connections
- Python packages and add-ins that are installed
Save the project
Optionally, before saving, you can confirm on the Info page of the ArcGIS Pro settings that the project is in a ready-to-save state. The project is locked for the duration of the save operation, which includes the time you spend resolving conflicts. While the project is locked, other users can only save changes to their local copy of the project.
To save a portal projet, complete the following steps:
- In an open project, click the Project tab on the ribbon.
- In the list of side tabs, click Save Project.
The local copy of the project is saved. If no conflicts are detected, changes made to the local copy since your previous save are uploaded to the portal, and changes uploaded to the portal by other users are downloaded to your local copy of the project. When the save operation is complete, you can continue working.
You can also save a portal project in the following ways:
- Click Save
on the Quick Access Toolbar. - Press Ctrl+S on the keyboard.
- Click Save
Resolve conflicts
If conflicts are detected, you must resolve them before any content can be uploaded or downloaded. When a conflict is detected, the Project Conflicts dialog box appears.
You resolve conflicts by pushing your changes to the portal or by pulling changes previously uploaded to the portal by others. The Push changes to portal option replaces items in the portal project with the corresponding items from your local project. The Pull changes from portal option replaces items in your local project with the corresponding items from the portal.
You can resolve conflicts by pushing your changes, by pulling changes made by others, or by a combination of the two. After you resolve conflicts, both conflict items and other items are uploaded and downloaded as appropriate and the save is complete.
To resolve conflicts, complete the following steps:
- In an open project, click Save on the Quick Access Toolbar to save the project.
In this example, changes made to a layout and a map by the current user are in conflict with changes previously uploaded to the portal by User_2. The Project Conflicts dialog box appears. By default, the Push changes to portal option is selected for conflicts.
- Choose how to resolve conflicts:
- Keep the default setting to resolve conflicts by pushing all your changes to the portal.
- Click Pull changes from portal
to resolve conflicts by pulling all changes from the portal.
- Click an option next to a conflict to push or pull changes on a case-by-case basis.
- Click the Details tab.
The Details tab shows all items that will be pushed or pulled, including conflict items and other items.
In this example, four changes by other users will be pulled from the portal and two will be pushed to the portal by you. Element Description 
Another user changed a layout named Mount Taranaki. You did not change this item, so the change is pulled without a conflict.
User_2 changed a map named World Volcanoes. You also changed this map. On the Conflicts tab, you chose to pull the change, which means that your change is lost.
Another user deleted a map named New Zealand Volcanoes. You did not change this map, so the change is pulled without a conflict. This means the map will be deleted from the project.
Another user added a map named Hawaii Volcanoes. Because it is a new item, it is pulled without a conflict.
You changed a layout named Hawaii Lava Flow Hazard Zones. User_2 also changed this layout. On the Conflicts tab, you chose to push your change, which means that the change made by User_2 is lost.
You changed a map named Hawaii. No one else changed this item, so your change is pushed without a conflict.
Explanation of items on the Details tab The project is locked while the Conflict Resolution dialog box is open. If the dialog box is left open for five minutes, a Continue Working prompt appears.
You can click OK on the Continue Working prompt to keep the Conflict Resolution dialog box open for another five minutes. You can repeat this process as often as necessary; however, the project remains locked for others during this time. If you do not click OK, the prompt disappears after one minute and the Project Conflicts dialog box closes. A message indicates that the project was not saved.
If you click Cancel on the Conflict Resolution dialog box, a save cancellation message appears.
Note:
The duration of the Conflict Resolution dialog box and Continue Working prompt can be set by the organization administrator in the application settings for portal projects.
- Click Accept.
The Project Conflicts dialog box closes. The portal project and your local copy are updated.
Failure to upload or download changes
In some circumstances, changes are saved to your local copy of the project but not uploaded to the portal or downloaded from the portal. This can happen for various reasons.
The most common reason is that the portal project is locked because another user is currently opening the project, saving it, or resolving conflicts. In this case, you can usually save your changes to the portal after a short wait.
Another reason is that either your user type or the project’s sharing properties do not allow you to save changes to the portal. A collaborative project must be shared to a shared update group and can only be updated by the group members. If the project is also shared to the organization, or to other groups of which you are a member, you can open it without being able to save changes to the portal.
If you don't have permission to save project changes to the portal, you can still save changes to your local copy of the project.
Other possible reasons why changes may fail to be uploaded to the portal include the following:
- The active portal is not the portal on which the project is stored.
- You are not signed in to the active portal.
- A network connection is not available.
- The portal project was deleted.
- You added an item to your local copy of the project that is too large to upload to the portal.
- You added a number of items to your local copy of the project that exceeds the portal file limit.
In these cases, error messages appear to explain and help you resolve the problem. If a more general failure to save the portal project occurs, you may need to get updates or overwrite the project.
Save a portal project as a local project
To save a portal project as a local project, complete the steps below. The local project has no further connection to the portal project and cannot be merged or integrated with it later.
- In an open portal project, click the Project tab on the ribbon. In the list of side tabs, click Save Project As.
The Save Project As dialog box appears.
- Browse to a folder on your computer or a network drive.
- Optionally, on the Save Project As dialog box, click the New Item drop-down arrow and click Folder. Provide a name for the folder and press the Enter key. Double-click the new folder to open it.
- On the browse dialog box, in the Name box, provide a name for the project.
- Click Save.
The project is saved as a local project. The information on the project name drop-down arrow and on the Info page in the ArcGIS Pro settings is updated accordingly.
The home folder, default geodatabase, and default toolbox do not change. Optionally, you can change the current project settings.
Tip:
You can also save an existing portal project as a new portal project.