A step by step tutorial
ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based mapping and analytic solution which allows us to create maps, analyze data, and share it.
A step-by-step tutorial to getting started using ArcGIS online is provided below.
Step 1 Signing In
Sign in to your ArcGIS Online account or create one if you don’t have one. If you are logging in using your personal email account, you may not have access to the Analysis features available in ArcGIS Online. Based on your user type like an organization or education your privilege may differ. Also, the role assigned to the user determines the access to the inbuilt apps and features.
Know about the roles and their privileges here.
Once you sign in, click the map tab, this would take you to the classic Map viewer.
On the top left corner, you can see the four tabs, Details, Add, Base map and Analysis (Note: if you are a public user, you won’t be having the Analysis Tab)
Step 2 Add a Base Map
By clicking the base map tab, you can select your preferred base map.
Step 3 Adding a Layer
If we click the add tab, we have options to add layers from ArcGIS online, from the web, from files or ArcGIS Living Atlas. If you have an URL, we can add a map from the web.
Suppose, if we are searching for the Administrative boundaries of Canada from ArcGIS online, we can click the add button next to the available layer, and it gets added to the map.
Once you add a layer, it will be in the contents pane as below.
Now we have successfully added a layer from ArcGIS online. Now let’s see how to add a layer from a file. To add an already created file, it has to be either in zip format or GeoJSON or CSV or GPX format. When we create a shape file in ArcGIS Desktop, it would be created as a bunch of files with extensions. When we open an ESRI shape file in Arc Catalogue, we can view these files with .DBF, .PRJ, .SBX, .SHP, SHX,.SBN, an AutoCAD shape source, etc.,
To open a shape file in ArcGIS Online, you must compress all of the separate files into a zip archive and save it as a single .zip file.
Once our zip file is ready, we can add that map to ArcGIS Online. After that, you can see your layer in the contents pane. If we click on the layer, we will get options to change the legend, show the table, i.e. attributes, styling and more options. Using style options, we can change the layer symbology. We can see how to change the symbology and other menu options in a separate article. Now let’s learn how to save and share the web map online.
Step 4 Saving the Web Map
To save the map, click the save button at the top. Title your map and add relevant tags to your map, so that when people search for this tag, your Map is listed out. Once you save the map, it will be in your My content. Click the ArcGIS icon at the top left corner and navigate to my content. Once you click the My content, you can see your saved web map. If we click on the file, it will open the overview window, where you have the option to edit the description, create a web app or create a presentation. We can open the map from here in Map viewer classic.
Step 5 Sharing the Map Online.
Once you are happy with your work, click the share button at the top, and you have options to share your map on your social pages like Facebook and Twitter. If you want to share it in public, click the available checkbox. You can also embed your map in an existing website. In ArcGIS online, the viewers can view your data and change the symbology, but they can’t edit your data. They can add it as a layer.
