How to create a map package

Complexity: Beginner Data Requirement: ArcGIS Tutorial Data for Desktop

Before packaging a map, be sure to enter descriptive information about it in the Map Document Properties dialog box. This information is built into the package and is accessible to others when you upload your map package into ArcGIS Online. You can access this dialog box by clicking File > Map Document Properties on the main menu.

1. Click Customize > ArcMap Options on the main menu. The ArcMap Options dialog box appears.
2. Click the Sharing tab.
3. Under the Packaging section, check Enable ArcGIS Runtime Tools.
4. Click OK to close the dialog box.
5. Click File > Share As > Map Package on the main menu. The Map Package dialog box appears as shown in the following screen shot:
   
6. Specify where to save your map package, either in your ArcGIS Online account or as a file on disk:
   • Check Upload package to my ArcGIS Online account to save the map package into your ArcGIS Online account and share with other ArcGIS users.
   • Check Save package to file to save the map package file in a folder. Enter the path and name of the map package or click the Browse button and navigate to the folder where you want to save the map package.
7. Check Make ArcGIS Runtime Compatible to ensure the map package is suitable for ArcGIS Runtime.
8. Check Reference all data if you want to create a map package that points to the data needed rather than copying the data. This is valuable when trying to package large datasets that are available from a central location within an organization.
9. Click the Item Description tab and fill in all the required fields.
10. Click the Additional Files tab and specify files that you want to include in the map package. This option allows you to include other content such as detailed documentation, reports, graphs, and so on. The following types of files are not allowed in the package: .js, .vbs, .py, .pyc, .pyo, .bat, and .ocx. Only signed .dlls and .exes are allowed.

    Learn more about signing .dlls and .exes

11. Click Analyze to validate your map for any errors or issues. You must validate and resolve all errors before you can save it to disk or share it to ArcGIS Online. If any issues are discovered, a Prepare window will appear with a list of issues. Right-click on each Prepare message to get more information, read help for the error, and to click on suggested fixes.

    When you run Analyze on a layer to create a layer package, your layer will be validated for any errors and warnings. If any are found, they will appear in this dialog box.

12. Once validated, click Share to create your map package.