Sharing items
If you've added an item to the website or created a map, you can share it with others. By default, your item is private, which means it does not appear in search results and isn't part of any group you belong to. You have several options for sharing your items:
- Everyone—Sharing with everyone makes your item public; anybody who has access to the website can find and use it and group owners can include it in their group content.
- Your organization—Sharing with your organization means only members of your organization have access to your item.
- Groups you belong to—If you are a member of a group, you can share your item with that group. Sharing with specific groups restricts access to a smaller, more focused set of people.
- Everyone, your organization, and groups you belong to—You can share your item with a larger audience (for example, everyone and your organization) then also share it with a specific group. This allows you to categorize your item as especially relevant to a particular group while still making it available to others in your organization.
Your organization may restrict members from sharing items outside the organization. If this is the case, users and publishers won't see options to share content or groups with everybody (public). Administrators, however, can choose to share any item in the organization publicly.
Sharing your item with everyone
Sharing an item with everyone makes it public. This means anybody, including anonymous users to the website can access and see your item. Public items can also be added to any group by that group's owner. If you want to link or embed your map in a website, be sure it's shared with everyone. For more information, see Sharing web maps.
- Be sure that you are logged in to ArcGIS Online.
- Open My Content.
- Check the check box next to the title of the item you want to share.
You can share multiple items simultaneously by checking multiple titles, or you can share all the items in a folder simultaneously by checking the box next to Title.
- Click the Share button.
- On the Share window that appears, check Everyone (public) and click OK.
Sharing your item with your organization
To share an item with your organization, follow these steps:
- Be sure that you are logged in.
- Open My Content.
- Click the check box next to the title of the item you want to share.
You can share multiple items simultaneously by checking multiple titles, or you can share all the items in a folder simultaneously by checking the box next to Title.
- Click the Share button.
- On the Share window that appears, check the box next to your organization name.
Sharing your item with a group
You can keep your item semiprivate by sharing it only with a group or groups you belong to.
To share an item with a group, follow these steps:
- Be sure that you are logged in to ArcGIS Online.
- Open My Content.
- Click the check box next to the title of the item you want to share.
You can share multiple items simultaneously by checking multiple titles, or you can share all the items in a folder simultaneously by checking the box next to Title.
- Click the Share button.
- On the Share window that appears, check the box or boxes next to the group or groups you want to share the item with.
Sharing your item with everybody and a group
Consider sharing an item with everybody and a group when you want everybody to have access to your item but you also want to highlight the content within a group setting. This is especially appropriate for focused group work where all members benefit from seeing a list of specific content they can use for collaboration and exchange. For example, as a fire agency that produces burn maps, you want the general public to find and view the maps but you also want members in the fire agency group to use the maps as templates for creating their own local versions.
Sharing outside the website
Once you've shared your item in the website, you can provide the URL to the item through e-mail, blogs, websites, and social media. For more information, see Linking to content. You can also use the Share button on the ArcGIS.com map viewer to share web maps. For more information, see Sharing web maps.
Sharing public items you don't own
You can share other people's public items you've discovered on the website. For example, you can share a public web map by posting it on a social networking site, e-mailing a link, or embedding it in a website or blog. For more information, see About using web maps. If you are the owner of a group, you can share public basemaps, applications, and other items to your group. For more information, see Owning groups.