Groups are a great way to share and organize your web GIS content, and the July 2015 update to ArcGIS Online just gave groups an exciting and useful new capability:*you can now use groups to give members permission*to update*your items.
This means you can designate members of your organization who can also modify your maps, apps, layers, and files (as well as their item details). There are many situations where this can be helpful; for example:
To take advantage of this workflow just ask an administrator to:
While not required, it’s usually best if the administrator makes this type of group*Private*and adds members using either the group assignment tool*in the organization’s settings or the option to*Add members of the organization immediately, without requiring confirmation.
Once the group is created you can share items to the group from*My Content*using the steps below:
Then and now
Before the July 2015 update, only administrators or members in a custom role with the Content: Update administrative privilege could update other members’ items. Granting members this privilege also allows them to update any item in the organization.
Now, through the use of this new group setting, any member of your organization can easily authorize any other member to update a specific set of items. This opens up many additional ways for you to collaborate with your colleagues.
For more information
For more on this new capability, see the ArcGIS Online help topics on creating groups and sharing items.
This means you can designate members of your organization who can also modify your maps, apps, layers, and files (as well as their item details). There are many situations where this can be helpful; for example:
- A team of shift workers can easily share responsibility for updating a critical web map. Any shift worker can add or remove layers, change symbols and pop-ups, or update the map’s title or description.
- Content reviewers can make simple changes to story maps themselves (like correcting a typo in the text or pop-up)*rather than providing a list of corrections and waiting for the author to address them.
- A publicly visible hosted feature layer can be maintained by a team of editors without enabling editing on the layer for everyone.
- You can designate someone to incorporate your boss’s feedback and finalize your map and app while you are on vacation so you don’t have to bring your laptop with you to the beach.
To take advantage of this workflow just ask an administrator to:
- Create a group
- Check the box next to Members can update all items in this group
- Add you and the colleagues with whom you wish to collaborate to the group
While not required, it’s usually best if the administrator makes this type of group*Private*and adds members using either the group assignment tool*in the organization’s settings or the option to*Add members of the organization immediately, without requiring confirmation.
Once the group is created you can share items to the group from*My Content*using the steps below:
- Check the item(s) you want to share
- Click*Share > Access and update capabilities
- Select the collaboration group(s)
Then and now
Before the July 2015 update, only administrators or members in a custom role with the Content: Update administrative privilege could update other members’ items. Granting members this privilege also allows them to update any item in the organization.
Now, through the use of this new group setting, any member of your organization can easily authorize any other member to update a specific set of items. This opens up many additional ways for you to collaborate with your colleagues.
For more information
For more on this new capability, see the ArcGIS Online help topics on creating groups and sharing items.