Create a story

Note:

ArcGIS Community Analyst is being retired. See Deprecation notice for ArcGIS Community Analyst: Transition to ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App for more information.

ArcGIS StoryMaps is a web-based application for storytelling. Using the ArcGIS StoryMaps workflow in ArcGIS Community Analyst, you can create a story to share your Community Analyst sites, maps, and infographics alongside narrative text and other multimedia content. Create your story in ArcGIS Community Analyst, and edit and publish it in ArcGIS StoryMaps.

Create an ArcGIS StoryMaps story

You can start the ArcGIS StoryMaps workflow with sites already on the map or add them within the workflow. To create a story, do the following:

1. On the Maps tab, click Share results and select ArcGIS StoryMaps.

   The ArcGIS StoryMaps workflow pane appears.

2. Click Get started. Optionally, check the Skip this in the future check box to bypass the Get started pane the next time you perform the workflow.
3. Click Add sites.
4. In the Add sites window, select up to 100 sites you want to use in your story. Use the Recent, Currently on map, and From projects tabs to browse sites.
5. Once you have selected your sites, click Next.
6. In the Configure items window, choose the items you want to include in your story: Map, Site photos, Attributes, Notes, Infographic, and Reports.
   • If you select Site photos, you can choose to include the most recent photo or all photos.
   • If you select Attributes, you can click Edit to modify the list of attributes included for each site in your story.
   • If you select Infographic, use the drop-down menu to choose an infographic template. You can choose an infographic display mode: auto, full page, stack mode, slide mode, or side-by-side.
   • If you select Reports, you can choose to include the most recent report or all reports.
7. Once you have selected your story items, click Apply.
8. Modify your story contents by adding and rearranging sites and layers, adding more items for the sites, and modifying and rearranging items for each site.
   • Add a site or layer—Click Add sites and layers. On the drop-down menu, choose Sites or Content from ArcGIS. Choose more sites and click Apply. Alternatively, select content in the Select web map window by clicking Add on web maps.
   • Modify a site or layer—To modify a site or layer, hover over its name to view options. You can move a site or layer by clicking the up arrow or down arrow , or by dragging it to the desired location. You can remove a site or layer by clicking Remove . You can replace a layer by clicking Change web map . You can duplicate a layer by clicking Duplicate this element .
   • Add items to sites—To add an item to all the sites, click Add item for all sites. To add an item to a single site, click Add item in that site's content list. Then, on the drop-down menu, choose an item to add.
   • Modify items—To modify items within a site, hover over the item to view options.
9. When you are finished modifying your story contents, click Next.
10. Type a title for your story and, optionally, a subtitle. Using the drop-down menu, select a basemap for displaying your sites. Optionally, share content such as maps and infographics that are included in your story. Check the check box for Entire organization or for individual groups within your organization.
11. Click Create.
12. Once your story is created, click Edit and publish your story to open it in ArcGIS StoryMaps.

    You can also close the window to return to workflow options: Open your story, Create another story, and I'm done.

Note:

To complete your story, you must publish and share it in the ArcGIS StoryMaps story builder. To display all the content in a publicly shared story, you must share any web maps and infographics publicly. See the Share a story section below to learn more.

Share a story

When you have completed the ArcGIS StoryMaps workflow in ArcGIS Community Analyst, the Ready to publish window appears. Click Edit and publish your story to open your story in the ArcGIS StoryMaps story builder.

1. Click Publish in the story builder header.
2. Choose the audience for your story: Private, My organization, or Everyone (public).

   You can also share the story to groups in which you have sharing permissions.

3. Click Publish story.
4. If you select Everyone (public) as your audience, update the sharing settings for the story items in ArcGIS Online. See Share items with everyone and follow the instructions to publicly share the story and any infographics and web maps contained within it.

   Note:

   ArcGIS Community Analyst content appears in the CA - My Maps folder under My Content. Your story may consist of three item types:

   • Your story
   • Web mapping application (infographics contained in the story)
   • Web map (maps contained in the story)
5. When you have updated the sharing settings for each story item, open the story builder and publish the story again.

Set preferences

You can set preferences for ArcGIS Community Analyst in the application preferences. For the ArcGIS StoryMaps workflow, you can turn off the workflow overview page. Administrators can set preferences for the entire organization.

To set the workflow preferences, do the following:

1. On the app header, click My preferences .

   The Preferences window appears.

2. Expand the Maps section, expand the Share results section, and click Story map.
3. Optionally, set the following preferences:
   • Use the Show story map intro page check box to skip the workflow overview page when you create a story.
   • Under Select default infographic display, choose the default infographic display mode for stories.
     • Auto—Responsive display mode based on screen size and layout.
     • Show full page—View the entire infographic in a single-page display.
     • View in stack mode—View individual panels in a vertical stacked position.
     • View in slide mode—View individual panels as presentation slides.
     • Compare all areas side by side—View a comparison of all analysis areas in a side-by-side display.

   You can restore the default settings by clicking Restore defaults.

4. To save your changes, click Save or, optionally, click Save and close to close the Preferences window. To view your changes, refresh the app.

Workflow video

Note:

This video was created using ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App, where the user experience and workflows are identical to ArcGIS Community Analyst.