topic New map viewer not user friendly for non GIS professionals in ArcGIS Online Questions

New map viewer not user friendly for non GIS professionals

DavidFerguson1 — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 03:18:04 GMT

All I want to do is extract a shapefile for a few lines and polys so I can send the file to a client. This used to take seconds in map view classic. Its a complete mystery in the new map viewer and all I get are error messages. What is the benefit of making this "new improved" version so unusable?

Re: New map viewer not user friendly for non GIS professionals

ChristopherCounsell — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:29:01 GMT

If you are using the analysis tools to extract data it's a largely similar experience:

Select analysis on the right-side panel
Select the layer(s), input extents and output formats
1. Success

I believe any issues you will get exporting data in the new Map Viewer will most likely have occurred in the previous map viewer, as the tools themselves should be the same?

If you want a better experience I would recommend:

Use ArcGIS Pro
Use the Item Details page of the layer (if exporting in full)
For non-GIS users frequently looking to export data, create an instant app or experience builder with a dedicated export widget. You can make a more purposeful app. Generally I would never recommend sharing the map viewer as is; always create an app if you can.

I switched from classic 1-2 years ago. Don't miss it at all. Extremely limited in functionality. Loads of cool new stuff in the new map viewer. The upgrade also allows for ongoing improvements - something we didn't see for map viewer classic for a long time.

Hope that helps. Cheers, Chris

Re: New map viewer not user friendly for non GIS professionals

DavidFerguson1 — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:40:10 GMT

Hi Chris,
I’m a supremely unsophisticated arcGIS user. I found the menus you are referring to but what is an “extent layer”? I used to be able to just select the viewed map to select what I wanted.
Thanks,
Dave

Re: New map viewer not user friendly for non GIS professionals

AmandaRing — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:32:04 GMT

Hi @DavidFerguson1 ,

1. You said "all I get are error messages". Can you share the error messages you are seeing here, so we can help diagnose them? Additionally, if you can share the runID of the tool run, which is available in the History messages where you are seeing the errors, that would be really useful for helping us troubleshoot your issues.

2. You asked about what the "extent layer" is. It's an optional parameter that can be used to limit the bounds of your features.

Here's an example - let's say you have a county boundary layer and a roads layer, and want to just analyze roads that fall within your county boundary.

You can use the County boundary as the Extent layer to only have your output include road features that intersect with the County boundary layer. When you specify an Extent layer, you also get the option to clip your input features. If you turn this on, only the sections of roads that fall within the county boundary will be returned. If you leave it off, the result will include the entire road, as long as part of it falls within the county boundary.

If you just want to use the current map extent or certain coordinates to limit the features extracted, you can do so by scrolling down and expanding the Environments section, and choosing your desired option for the processing extent:

Hopefully this helps! Let me know if you continue to see errors or have any other questions.