ArcGIS StoryMaps

The following is a brief introduction to the more commonly used features in StoryMaps and will help you get your feet wet before you start creating your own.  If you want more detailed instruction, please contact us at TLRS@oxy.edu or take a look at the Tutorials tab in this guide!

• Once you've logged into ArcGIS Online, cilck on the "waffle" menu displayed on the top right of the page.  When it opens, select ArcGIS StoryMaps.  A new tab will open and you are now in the StoryMaps app of ArcGIS.  The word "Stories" should be displayed across the top of the page.
• Click on the "New Story" button on the top right of the page.  You will see options to start from scratch or to select some quick start styles.
• Note: On the lower left side of the page, there are some helpful quick links to tutorials, project galleries, and more!

For practice, choose the "start from scratch" option.

• Once the story builder finishes launching, the first thing you will see is "Story Title."  This is the cover of your StoryMap.  You can edit the text by clicking in each field.  You can also add a cover image or video (click on the box in the upper right hand corner of the cover page).
• StoryMaps autosaves frequently.  There are also undo/redo buttons in the upper left of the page.
• At the bottom of your cover page, you will see a plus (+) sign with the words "Tell your story" next to it.  Click the plus sign to see the menu options.
• In this menu, you will see three main categories:  Basic, Media, Immersive. You can use some of all of these to build your story, step by step.
  • Explore this menu!  Hover over each item in the menu to see an explanation of what it does.  Then add a few things to your StoryMap and then delete them.  It is easy to add and then delete content if you change your mind!  For text, just place your cursor in the text and delete/backspace.  For media, hover over the top of the media content block and click the trash can.

Text is the most common way to begin a StoryMap.  Text can be added anywhere throughout your StoryMap.

• Click on the plus sign to view the menu and select Text (under Basic at the top of the menu).  Enter the text you want.  Formatting options appear when you highlight any portion of the text.

• Click on the plus sign that is under the text you've just entered.  Select Image from the content menu.  The box that pops up will guide you through either uploading an image or inserting a link to an image.
• Hover over the image that you've just inserted and you will see a panel at the top of the image that has many options.  On the far left is a pencil that you can use to crop, markup or modify the image.  The options in the middle of this panel allow you to choose the size of the image within the story and to float it in relation to text.  Use the gear symbol to add alt text for the image to ensure accessibility.  You can also add a link to the image or make the image fit to the size of the screen (helpful for long images).  The three dots on the far right of the panel let you replace or delete the image.
• You have the option of adding a caption for the image.  If you don't want one, the "add a caption" text will be invisible in your published StoryMap.

• Click on the next plus sign in your story and choose Map from the content menu.
• You will now be on the "Add a map" page and you will see several options such as My Maps, My Favorites, etc.  If you are new to ArcGIS, you may have nothing in these categories.  Go to My Organization or Living Atlas to use maps that others have created.
• If you want to create your own map, then at the top right of the "Add a map" page click on the button that says "New express map."  This allows you to make a simple map to show a single location, series of locations, or routes.  There are multiple drawing tools as well.  Once you click "done" the map will be added to your story.  You can always delete it later if you no longer want it.

Click on the next plus sign in your story to view the menu.  Under Media, you'll see Swipe and Timeline.  Under Immersive, you'll see Sidecar and Map Tour.  These all provide multimedia formats.  They can be useful for making a presentation within your story or providing a guided tour for the viewers.

• Choose Sidecar. There are three layout options: docked, floating, and slideshow.
  • Docked: split screen layout with a scrolling narrative panel and a stationary media panel.
  • Floating: best for media that only has short captions or descriptions.
  • Slideshow: the viewer scrolls through the content laterally
• Explore each of the layout options.  The Coastal Landing StoryMap uses swipe, docked and floating panels.
• Now, go back to the menu and choose Swipe (under Media).  Swipe is great for comparing related images such as before and after images.
• Explore the other Immersive "Map Tour."

In the upper right corner of the story building page, there are three useful features (picture below):

• Design allows you to change the look and feel of your whole story.  You can choose from many different themes, create your own theme, decide on the layout of the cover page of your story, and choose to include content navigation headers.
• Preview allows you to view how your StoryMap will look to readers on a desktop/laptop computer, tablet, or mobile phone.
• Publish allows you to make choices about sharing your StoryMap.  When you click Publish, you will be given options to keep it private, to share with your organization (Oxy), or to share with everyone.  If you are part of a group in ArcGIS, then you can choose to share with them as well.  If you elect to share with everyone, then you have options for sharing on social media or via embed code/link.