Create your first collection

An ArcGIS StoryMaps collection is a group of stories that you can share or present as a cohesive, navigable set of items. Collections can include your own stories as well as stories that you have added to your favorites list, that have been shared with you through your organization, or that are available on ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. Other items such as ArcGIS apps, media, and files can also be added to a collection as supporting content.

You can use one of the six standard themes or apply a custom theme to a collection. Collections follow the same creating, publishing, and sharing patterns as stories created with ArcGIS StoryMaps.

You can use collections in a variety of ways, such as telling a story in installments or chapters; gathering stories, apps, and items that share a common theme; or creating a portfolio of your work.

Create a collection

Use the following steps to author and publish a collection:

1. Create a collection.
   1. Browse to the Collections page in ArcGIS StoryMaps by clicking Collections at the top of the page.
   2. Click + New collection.

      The collection builder launches and opens a new untitled collection. The collection builder is where you assemble stories and apps into a collection.

2. Add a title, summary, and description to the new collection.

   The title and summary must be plain text and have character limits. The description can contain formatted text and be long.

3. Add items to the collection.
   1. Click Add to collection and select one of the options: ArcGIS content, Image, Video, Embed, or PDF.

      • ArcGIS content—The item browser opens, and the option to add stories, apps, and files from My Content, My Favorites, My Groups, My Organization, and Living Atlas is available.

        Note:

        Items, other than stories, will not be available to add to a collection unless they are shared to a group, organization, or to everyone. To add a private item, use the Embed option, and be aware that others will not be able to view this item in the collection.

      • Image—You can add an image from a local file or a web link.
      • Video—You can add a video from a local file or a web link.
      • Embed—You can add a story, app, or a web page to a collection by providing its URL.
      • PDF—You can add a PDF item from a local file.

   2. Select stories, apps, and files to add to the collection.

      Collections support the following ArcGIS app types: ArcGIS StoryMaps, web mapping applications, Dashboards, web experiences, Hub site applications, Insights pages, and Survey123 forms. Image and PDF document items are also supported.

   3. Click Done to add the selected items to the collection.

      Collections can have a maximum of 60 items.

4. Optionally, customize item details.
   1. Hover over the item and click the settings button.
   2. Edit the item's Title or Thumbnail image.

      Edit the Summary for items in a collection using the Journal layout.

   3. Check Hide story cover to hide the story cover when viewing in this collection.
5. Optionally, change the display order of the items in the collection by dragging the item cards to the collection overview page.
6. Select the layout style you want to use for the collection.
   1. Click Design in the collection builder header.
   2. Select a layout style: Grid, Magazine, or Journal.
   3. Click Show map (beta) to present your collection items as locations on a map.
   4. Click outside of the design panel, or click the close button to close the design panel.
   5. Hover over collection item cards and click Add location to place the collection items on the map.
7. Select the navigation style you want to use for the collection.
   1. Click Design in the collection builder header.
   2. Select a navigation style: Compact, Tabbed, or Bulleted.
   3. Click outside of the design panel, or click the close button to close the design panel.
8. Configure the collection theme.
   1. Click Design in the collection builder header.
   2. Select the theme you want to apply to the collection by choosing one of the six standard themes, or click Browse themes to apply a custom theme.

      You can click Manage my themes to edit a theme or create one. For more information on themes, see Set a theme.

   3. Click outside of the design panel, or click the close button to close the design panel.
9. Upload a logo for your collection.
   1. Click Design in the collection builder header.
   2. Click Upload logo to upload an image.
   3. Click outside of the design panel, or click the close button to close the design panel.
10. Preview the collection.
    1. Click Preview in the collection builder header to open the collection preview.
    2. Preview the collection as your audience will see it.

       The multiple-device preview includes options to see how the story will be displayed on three screen sizes and ratios: phones, tablets, and desktop browsers.

    3. Return to the collection builder to make any revisions, and publish by clicking Edit collection in the header.
11. Publish the collection.
    1. Click Publish in the collection builder header to start the publishing process.
    2. In the publishing process, select the audience for your collection and click Publish collection. For more information about the publishing process, see Publish a collection.

Your collection is now published and ready to be shared or presented.

Present a collection

After you have created and published a collection, you can share and present it. Use the following steps to present a collection:

1. From the Collections main page, click the card of a published collection.

   The collection overview page appears, and the collection's items are displayed.

2. Click the Get started button.

   The collection viewer appears and displays the first item in the collection.

3. Browse between the collection items with the arrow buttons in the header.

   Alternatively, you can open the collection overview by clicking the overview button in the header and browse directly to any of the items from there.

Make updates and revisions

If you need to update or revise your collection, you can find all of your collections on the Collections page. From here, you can edit, update the thumbnail image, view full details, or delete your collections. Any edits made to a published collection are saved as unpublished changes until the collection is republished. For more information about making changes to a published story, see Modify a published collection.