Create, edit, and publish your first briefing

You can use ArcGIS StoryMaps to create a presentation-style briefing. Briefings offer a slide-based output with a tool to securely integrate live maps and data from your organization.

Create and publish a briefing

Use the following steps to create and publish a briefing:

1. Browse to the Briefings page in ArcGIS StoryMaps.
2. Click New briefing.

   The briefing builder opens a new untitled briefing. The briefing builder is where you can add text and content to slides consisting of titles and columns.

3. Add a title, an optional subtitle, and a cover image or video to the first slide.

   This slide displays when you present the briefing. The title and subtitle must be plain text and fit the character limits found in the Frequently asked questions.

4. Add slides to the briefing. Choose a slide layout to change how content is displayed.
   1. Adjust the order of the slides in the slide panel by dragging a slide to a new location.
   2. Optionally, on the options menu in the slide panel, duplicate, hide, or delete a slide.

      From this menu, you can also change a slide’s display title in Options. The display title is shown in the table of contents when viewing the briefing.

5. Add content to the briefing slides:
   • Add narrative text, maps, media, swipe blocks, code blocks, and tables to your briefing. You can add content to your briefing directly by entering text, uploading media from your computer (for example, photos or videos), and linking to it from the web (for example, web pages or image links). Web maps and web scenes can be added from ArcGIS, and you can author express maps.
   • On slides with two content panels, use the controls between the panels to adjust the panel size or swap the positions of content you have already added.

   Once published, you and your readers can interact directly with the slide content during your presentation.

6. Explore the theme options in the Design panel.

   These options allow you to change the appearance of the briefing and its included elements. For more information about themes, see Set a theme.

7. Click Preview in the briefing builder header to open the story preview and preview the briefing as your audience will see it.
8. Return to the briefing builder to make any revisions and publish by clicking the Close preview button in the corner to close the preview.
9. Click Publish in the briefing builder header to start the publishing process.

   In the publishing process, you select the audience for the briefing. The publisher then runs a check to ensure that the ArcGIS items in the briefing will be accessible to that audience. If any issues are detected, you are prompted to address them before the publisher finishes running. For more information about the publishing process, see Publish a story.

The briefing is published and can be shared or presented.

When viewing the published slides, use the arrows in the upper left to navigate from one slide to another. Open the table of contents by clicking the list button next to the briefing title. Click a heading in the table of contents side panel to browse directly to that slide. Close the table of contents by clicking the list button.

When printing, content that is not visible when viewing the briefing will not be visible in the printed briefing. This applies to text that overflows off the edge of a slide and may apply to code or table blocks that require scrolling.

Format text in briefings

In ArcGIS StoryMaps briefings, you can format text in paragraphs and lists and adjust the text sizing. You can also align text blocks and convert text blocks from one style to another. You can also indent list items.

Use the following steps to format text:

1. Highlight the text you want to format.

   The text formatting toolbar appears.

2. From the toolbar, select the formatting you want.
You can format the text as Subscript, Superscript, or Strikethrough from More options on the toolbar.

The selected text changes to the selected format.

Add attachments to text in briefings

You can add attachment links to text in your slide. Attachments can be content from the ArcGIS ecosystem, an image or video you upload, or a web page. Attachment links are clearly marked with an icon that represents what type of content they link to, and they open within the briefing so you don’t need to open additional tabs to interact with supporting material while presenting your briefing.

You can also add links directly to another slide within your briefing, allowing you to quickly navigate to other places in a briefing.

Use the following steps to add and configure an attachment:

1. Highlight the text you want to add an attachment link to.

   The text formatting toolbar appears.

2. From the toolbar, select the attachment icon and choose the type of content you want to attach: ArcGIS content, uploaded media, a linked web page, or another briefings slide.

   Once configured, the selected text will appear with a hyperlink format.

When viewing a published briefing, clicking an attachment link will open the configured attachment in a full-page viewing window. If a slide has been selected, clicking the hyperlink will display the linked slide within the briefing. If the link points to a web page, the page will open in a new browser tab.

Preparing briefings for offline

The offline capability of the ArcGIS StoryMaps Briefings app allows you or your stakeholders to download and access briefings even in situations in which network connectivity is unreliable or not available. Briefing authors should proactively consider offline use during the creation process and take necessary steps to ensure optimal display and functionality when a briefing is viewed offline. This ensures that briefings are seamlessly presented and maintain their intended impact even in environments with limited or no connectivity.

• Image or video—Images or videos directly uploaded to the briefing will be available for viewing offline. Images or videos added from a link will not display. No additional action is required to ensure these content items are available offline.
• Maps and scenes:
  • As an author of a briefing, you can upload an image or video as an alternate media that will display in place of your map or scene when your briefing is taken offline.
  • To view and interact with web maps and scenes in your briefing offline, authors must create and add a mobile map package (.mmpk) or scene package (.mspk) as an alternative version of this media for offline viewing. Express maps created within ArcGIS StoryMaps can be taken offline; however, the basemap may not display if not configured for offline viewing in your organization.
• Embeds—ArcGIS content items and content added using the embed block will not display in a situation in which there is no internet connectivity, as its source is a linked iframe or URL, which requires connectivity to be viewed. Authors should consider adding an alternative version of this media for offline viewing.

Note:

Current limitations—At this time, ArcGIS content and web pages configured as attachment links cannot be configured with offline media.

Refer to the Share a mobile map package and Share a mobile scene package topics in the ArcGIS Pro help documentation for more information on creating and sharing map and scene packages.