Transfer StoryMap to another account

TimScott357

This is a topic discussed before but didn't have lasting success for me.

Last year, I created a StoryMap via a school account. Before the end of the semester, I used the transfer tool from that account to my personal (paid) account. It worked perfectly for probably a year until I graduated and my school account was wiped. I have all (or at least most) of the elements in my personal account but the StoryMap file doesn't exist and so the elements mean nothing now.

Presumably I made a mistake in the transfer and now, horrendously, I am paying the price. I now have a similar situation where I created a StoryMap on an account I have with an employer that I eventually will leave, again through a university so it will be wiped at some point in the future. I was more tidy in the transfer this time but the StoryMap file is grayed out.

Is there a way to permanently take ownership of a StoryMap? At some point down the line if I don't pay my annual fee to have a personal account with Esri, will every StoryMap I create on it disappear? If this is the case, how does this make sense? When I stop subscribing to Adobe Create Cloud, I lose the tools but not all the products I made with them.

Tim

oevans_storymaps

Hi @TimScott357! Thanks for sharing your concerns about transferring stories.

We don't recommend using an ArcGIS account provided through your employer or school to create personal stories. Those accounts should only be used for work-related activities and to create work-related content.

While every situation can be different, most employers do not automatically grant employees ownership to content created in any account or service provided and paid for by the employer. Just like you could be prohibited from taking any physical or digital files or other assets that belong to your employer when you leave, you may not have permission to bring a story (or any other ArcGIS app or item) outside the boundary of your employer's ArcGIS organization either. I'm not sure about how schools treat content created by students, but would recommend checking with your employer or school if there is a question.

If you do have a need—and, most importantly, permission—to copy a story from one ArcGIS account to another, there are several ways to go about this:

• @PeterKnoop created a popular cloning tool which copies not only a story, but all the content items within it (maps, layers etc.) to another account. You can find out more about that here: Cloning ArcGIS StoryMaps - Esri Community
• You may be able to use the ArcGIS Assistant tool to copy items from one account to another. For guidance about copying stories, be sure to read the user guide: Common Workflows | ArcGIS Assistant User Guide (esri-ps.com)
• You can enable duplication of a story using a new feature that was added in August 2023. For more see What’s new in ArcGIS StoryMaps (August 2023) (esri.com)

[EDIT: storymaps.com is retiring in May 2025, so the information below is no longer valid.]

Additionally, Esri has a personal storytelling product for creating stories about personal vacations, hobbies, neighborhood events, etc. You can learn more about it and sign up for a free account at StoryMaps.com. There are basic/free and premium/paid plans available, and you can decide which one you need depending on how much you'd like to use the system. And even if you stop your subscription, you retain access to the stories you've created since this is your own, personal account. 

ArcGIS StoryMaps and StoryMaps.com have many similar capabilities, but do have some differences. They are separate systems, with separate accounts/logins, and there isn't a way to transfer stories between them, but StoryMaps.com is where you can create and keep your personal stories.

I hope this information is helpful!