If you see the Join this group button on the Overview tab of a group page, you can click it to join the group. Depending on how the owner configured the group, you will either become a group member right away or a request will be sent to the group owner for review and potential approval.
As a member of a group, you can use the group page to view details about the group, access the items shared with the group—which may include some items not shared with the organization or the public—and view and find group members. In addition, you may be able to share your maps, apps, and other items with the group if the group owner allows member contributions. Review the Details section on the Overview tab to find out.
Join a group
Follow these steps to join a group:
- Verify that you are signed in.
- Click Groups at the top of the site, and use the tabs, filters, sort options, and search as needed to find the group.
- Click View details to open the page for the group you want to join.
- On the Overview tab of the group page, click Join this group. If necessary, click Submit Request.
Depending on the group's membership settings, you will see a message indicating that you are now a member of the group or that your request has been sent to the group owner. If a request is sent, the owner of the group accepts or denies your request for membership. If the owner accepts your request, you are added as a member, and the group appears on your Groups page.
Note:
If you don't see the Join this group button, the group doesn't accept membership requests, you don't have the appropriate privileges, or you don't have the same account type as the group owner. If you have a public account, you can only join groups owned by public accounts. If you have an organizational account, you can only join groups owned by organizational accounts. The group owner can invite you to the group (if you both have the same type of account), but you can't initiate a request through the website.
Notifications
You receive messages in the Notifications pop-up when you request to join a group, when your
request has been accepted or declined, and when you've been invited
to join a group. The number of notifications you have appears next to your name at the top of the site. Click the Notifications button 
at the top of the site to view your group request messages.
View group details
The Overview tab of the group page provides details about a group you've joined. For example, you can see a description of the group, your role in the group, the date it was created, and who owns it. The Overview tab also includes an option to leave the group, as well as a Share button (if you have sharing privileges) to share the group.
Use content
To access items shared with a group you've joined, go to the Content tab of the group page. Some groups also have a gallery of featured content that you can explore on the Overview tab. To find items shared with the group, do any of the following on the group's Content tab:
- Use the view option button (table, list, or grid) to change the way the items are displayed.
- Type keywords in the search field.
- Preview details about an item by clicking the Preview button. The preview pane appears and includes Thumbnail, Overview, Description, Details, and Layers (if it is a feature layer). You can expand the individual sublayers or tables to see the fields they contain.
- Use the search filters to narrow the list of items. For example, you can filter by item type, location, date modified, tags, how the item was shared, and whether it is from a collaborating organization.
Tip:
When searching for apps, you can use the Developer credentials filter to narrow your search to registered apps only.
Tip:
To find specific members in your organization who belong to the group, turn on the My organization view toggle button to see additional filter options—for example, member categories, user type, and login type. The options you see depend on your privileges in the organization.
Active filters are shown at the top of the results page. Click the x next to a filter to clear it. To clear all active filters at once, click Clear.
Note:
Group content may already be filtered by item type if the group owner or manager specified an item type to display by default on the Content and Overview tabs. Clear the filter to see all items in the group.
- Sort the list of items by title, owner, view count, date modified, or date added. You can also sort in alphabetical or reverse alphabetical order.
Once you find an item you want, you can do any of the following:
- Click the name of the item to open its item page and view details for the item.
- To open an item in an app, click the Options button
and choose an app. - Mark an item as a favorite by clicking the Add to Favorites button
. This adds the item to your list of favorites, which you access from the My favorites tab of the content page. - If the group owner allows member contributions and you have the privilege to share content, you may also be able to share your own items with the group.
View and find members
The Members tab of the group page includes a list of group members. To find specific members of the group, do any of the following:
- In the search field, type the full name of the group member—for example, Jeff Smith.
- Use the Group role, Affiliation, and Joined filters to narrow the list of group members.
Tip:
To find specific members in your organization who belong to the group, turn on the My organization view toggle button to see additional filter options—for example, member categories, user type, and login type. The options you see depend on your privileges in the organization.
Active filters are shown at the top of the results page. Click the x next to a filter to clear it. To clear all active filters at once, click Clear.
- Sort the list of members by name, group role, or the date the member joined the group. You can also click the arrow to reverse the alphabetical sort order.
Note:
The Members tab does not appear for groups whose membership is controlled by a SAML-based group.