Passing credentials from Hub to StoryMap

Question

Hello Lovely ESRI Community!

We're having a challenge with user login experience in ArcGIS Online. Users are having to perform a lot of clicks to get to the content and even login twice in the case of leveraging StoryMaps inside Hub.

Here are the specifics:
Users visit a basic Hub site to discover a series of StoryMaps and other content. The first time they visit the Hub site the login process is arduous (5 clicks), confusing as well as different from ArcGIS Online itself.  Once they have made it through this and they proceed to the StoryMap content they are forced through another (2 or 3 clicks) to reauthenticate and view the StoryMap. See the attached pdf to see the steps.

We think the problem is related to the fact the the Hub and StoryMap URLs are not identified as within our organization. Ideally, the user shouldn't have to go through any of these clicks where SAML-based single sign on is configured and they are using a direct link to content. How can we make this happen?

Hub and StoryMap user experience.pdf

GISHelp1.png

HeatherM_JDI · Answer

@OwenGeo - thanks for reaching out, we've done some more testing this week and have new information to share. I'll also answer your questions.

* All the stories were created with ArcGIS StoryMaps, nothing built using classic
* the hub URL is ourname.hub.arcgis.com
* the hub page has been very well received outside the login experience so we'd like to keep it

Our further testing revealed that the Hub page is not passing credentials to anything ESRI outside of links with the same proceeding URL. For example, if I launch the hub page in a fresh browser I can see in the top right that I am logged in. If I then launch our AGO organization page on the next tab I am prompted to login (similar to the experience when you try to launch a StoryMap). However, if inside a Hub page and you launch an embedded app, (URL: ourname.hub.arcgis.com/apps/<code>/explore) the credentials are passed as you would expect.

I think this sheds light that the issue is with Hub and not the StoryMaps. Any thoughts?

oevans_storymaps · Answer

@HeatherM_JDI -- Thanks for posting about this issue. Can you provide a little more info to help us understand the situation better?

* Are these all stories created with ArcGIS StoryMaps or are some/all classic stories?
* Does the Hub use a custom domain?
* Do the stories also contain any privately shared embedded content (like a Survey123 form or configurable app)?
* Is there a hard requirement to embed the stories in the Hub page or can you simply create cards or links that allow the visitors to open the stories in a new browser tab?