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Frequently asked questions

General

Sharing

Community organization

Discussions

Site activity tracking

Followers

Who has access to ArcGIS Hub?

ArcGIS Hub is available with all ArcGIS Online subscriptions. If you have an ArcGIS Online account through your organization (or institution, company, university, and so on), you can use ArcGIS Hub. To use ArcGIS Hub Premium, your organization must upgrade to an additional license of ArcGIS Hub.

How will upgrading to ArcGIS Hub Premium affect my existing content (sites, pages, data, and so on)?

When an organization upgrades to an ArcGIS Hub Premium license, existing content is not impacted. You will have access to additional features, such as the ability to create initiatives, projects, events, and discussion boards.

What is the difference between ArcGIS Hub and ArcGIS Enterprise Sites?

ArcGIS Enterprise Sites, in ArcGIS Enterprise, provides a subset of the features that are available in ArcGIS Hub. This includes most of the site and page creation, layout design, and content management functionality. ArcGIS Enterprise Sites is recommended for organizations unable to use ArcGIS Online or for customers who want to have more control over when updates run. With ArcGIS Enterprise, you can manage your data, mapping and visualization, and location analytics on-premises with infrastructure that you control. With ArcGIS Hub, you can use ArcGIS Online infrastructure and the latest features in a tool optimized for the web. ArcGIS Enterprise Sites is suitable if your policies prohibit use of ArcGIS Online or you want to create sites for internal audiences. ArcGIS Enterprise Sites does not include the ability to upgrade to ArcGIS Hub Premium.

How do sites and pages appear in search results when using Google?

Google search results display the site name and text from the site that includes relevant keywords based on the search query. If a page is returned in the search result, the page name will be displayed along with the site name.

Does ArcGIS Hub provide support for data federation?

Yes. After you create a site, you can, optionally, federate its data with external data catalogs such as CKAN or Data.gov using the DCAT Configuration editor. For more information, see Federate data and manage feeds.

Do I need an account to download data?

No, you do not need an account to download open (publicly shared) data.

How is an item's source metadata populated?

If an organization name is set in the formal metadata editor, ArcGIS Hub uses that value. If not, the organization name in ArcGIS Online is used.

Can I share open data with ArcGIS Hub?

Yes. You can use ArcGIS Hub to share open data as well as other types of content.

Learn more about data download settings and recommendations

Note:

The Enable Open Data setting is only necessary for a group if you want to make your content discoverable in searches on hub.arcgis.com. For more information, see Make public content more visible.

Can I share data privately?

Yes. You can share private data by sharing items internally. Any item shared internally with a member or the organization is only accessible through the site's search results when the member is signed in.

Can you share a URL to a private item?

Yes. However, private items, including items shared only to a group or with their respective organization, require authentication when opening the item in a browser. Only those with whom the item has been shared can sign in to view the item, ensuring that the item remains inaccessible to anyone other than its intended audience.

Can you configure a site to share private content?

Yes. Users who have access to view a group's private content can sign in as usual on a public site. Once signed in, they can view internal items that have been shared on the site using private rows, pages, and menu links. For example, members of site edit groups can set the visibility of a site's row to group members only. Any items shared with the group that are displayed in the row are visible to signed-in group members. A group member can also add pages to a public site and display internal items on the page layout. Site editors can use menu links to provide navigation from the site's header to the page. Menu links that link to private items—including pages, apps, and surveys—are not visible to the public and can only be used by those with whom the item is shared. If all site content is shared internally, the site owner must use email to add the new group members and share relevant web addresses with them.

Can I change the short name I set for my community organization?

No. The short name for an organization is used in the organization's URL. Once you set the short name, it cannot be changed.

Are community accounts free to the public?

Yes. Community accounts are free on behalf of the organization providing them. When an organization licenses ArcGIS Hub Premium, they determine how many community accounts and credits to purchase. Community administrators can track the number of community accounts created over time by signing in to the community organization in ArcGIS Online. Refer to Manage the community organization for more information.

Is my organization required to make community accounts available to the public?

No. An organization is not required to make community accounts available to the public. Instead, you can offer community accounts to partners, students, volunteers, and other stakeholders. Administrators can create community accounts individually or upload a .csv file of all member details to add or invite multiple new members at one time.

Can staff share content with community members?

Yes. Community members with the privilege to join external groups can join groups hosted in the primary organization and collaborate outside the community organization. Staff can share any supported item type that belongs to the primary organization with community members by using groups or making the content publicly accessible. To learn more about groups in Hub, refer to Use groups.

Can community members view private content that has been shared with them?

Yes. Community members can view any content, groups, or members (public or private) to which they have access. Groups are the recommended way to share private content with community members. Community members cannot view staff member profiles, aside from the staff profiles of their other group members.

Can community administrators configure the visibility of community member profiles and content?

Yes. As a community administrator, you can ensure your community members' profiles are private, including whether they are only accessible to each other or just administrators.

Learn more about managing member profiles

Can community members share their own content with the public?

Yes. Depending on the privileges assigned to their account, community members can share the content they create with the public.

Can community members view other community members' content?

Yes. Community members can view content created by other community members if it has been shared with them through a group, the community organization, or with the public.

Can community members create events?

Yes. If the community member has the ability to create, edit, and delete items they've created, they can also create events.

Do I need a community account to respond to a survey?

No. You can participate in a public survey anonymously. However, surveys shared privately through groups require the respondent to authenticate their account before the survey is visible.

What are ArcGIS Hub discussions?

Discussions are an ArcGIS Hub Premium feature that allows channel members to have secure and focused conversations about items of content and on discussion boards.

What is a channel?

Channels define roles and permissions for users of discussions. Users can only view and contribute to discussions within their member channels. Any channel member can be part of a discussion, including members of the employee organization and the community organization. Channel roles determine how managers and members can contribute to a discussion. Channels are not ArcGIS Online groups but can contain them.

Note:

Anonymous users can also be given permission to view a discussion.

What types of content are supported for discussions?

You can start a discussion on any type of item in your site content catalog. This includes images, spreadsheets, documents, PDFs, survey forms, datasets, feature services, web maps, stories, and more.

In a discussion about a map, can I include a location as part of a post or reply?

Yes. For geospatial content items (map based), users can connect a post or reply to an existing geographic feature or to a feature they draw on the map. For map-based content, you can only select items from a dataset. You can connect multiple geographic features to a post or reply.

Can I get updates on discussion activity?

Yes. You can receive weekly updates on discussions by opening a discussion board and clicking the Subscribe button . You can subscribe to all channels on a discussion board or select channels individually.

How do I keep track of a conversation outside of Hub?

The discussions feature includes the ability to @mention other channel members and notify them by email. The message provides a direct link to a specific post or reply.

Can a discussion have guidelines or ground rules attached to it?

Esri has its own Terms and Conditions, and a code of conduct document is being evaluated specifically for Hub discussions.

Can a discussion be closed?

Site editors can close discussions at the site level, which disables discussions on all content views accessed under that site. Content and discussion board editors can close discussions on an item, which disables discussions on the content on every site.

Can a discussion be translated?

No. Automatic translation is not yet supported.

What type of tracking does ArcGIS Hub use?

ArcGIS Hub uses a tracking service provided by Esri that anonymously monitors general application usage during a user's session. The default tracking service does not store any identifiable information about the user and does not include marketing functionality.

How can I add and use my own Google Analytics account on my site?

It is recommended that you disable all marketing functionality and anonymize gathered and stored data. See the Google Analytics documentation for instructions.

How does a supported account impact the cookie used to store my authentication?

When you sign in to a site with a supported account, you receive a first-party cookie that is strictly necessary to facilitate basic functionality expected by an authenticated user. To continue, you must agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy that your organization provides on its community account sign-up prompt.

Where can I learn more about the European Union (EU) privacy regulation requirements?

Start with the EU Privacy page that is part of the ArcGIS Trust Center.

Can staff members follow a site?

Yes. Members of your ArcGIS Online organization can follow sites using the ArcGIS Online account provided by the primary organization. They should not use your organization's community accounts. They can follow public sites, as well as sites that have been shared privately with the organization or a specific group.

Can users follow a site with an ArcGIS Online account from another organization?

Yes. An administrator must enable the Allow ArcGIS Online users from other organizations to sign in option in ArcGIS Online for external ArcGIS Online organization members to follow a site with their ArcGIS Online accounts.

Learn more about security policies in ArcGIS Online

What privileges are required to follow a site?

When someone follows a site, they are added to the site's followers group. This group belongs to the ArcGIS Online organization where the site is managed (usually in the primary organization). If the followers group is in the same organization as the viewing user, they only need the privilege to join groups. If this group is in another organization, they (usually users with community accounts) need the privilege to join external groups. This privilege is included with the default and recommended Publisher role for community members.

Can followers contact each other?

No. Followers cannot send emails to other members of the followers group.

Can community members follow a private site?

Yes. Community members can follow a private site when you add or invite them to the followers group.

Note:

To invite someone who doesn't have a community account yet, a community administrator can set up an account for them using their email address. For more information, refer to Add community members.

How is private content shared with followers?

Managers of the followers group can share private content with the followers group, which automatically provides access to all followers. You can display multiple items—including events, web maps, and galleries—on a site or page. First, share these items with the followers group.

Tip:

You can also add a menu link to a private item (site, page, app, and so on) on the public site. Only followers signed in with their community account can see and open the menu link or other content shared with them.