Enable Editors/Contributors to make content changes to existing StoryMaps

Geoeki — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 13:28:09 GMT

We would like to propose an enhancement that allows users with the Editor/Contributor user type to contribute to existing StoryMaps—specifically, to edit content within StoryMaps that have been shared with them via portal groups.

Currently, only users with the Creator user type (or higher) can edit StoryMaps. However, with the recent expansion of the Creator license to include ArcGIS Pro Basic, the cost has increased significantly. This makes it financially unsustainable for organizations that have a large number of users who only need to collaborate on StoryMaps, not use ArcGIS Pro or other advanced tools.

💡 Proposed Enhancement:

Introduce a privilege or role-based permission that allows Editors/Contributors to:

Edit text, images, and sections within a shared StoryMap.
Add new content blocks (e.g., maps, media, narrative).
Save changes collaboratively without needing a Creator license.

This could be implemented as:

A group-level setting that enables collaborative editing.
A StoryMap-specific permission that overrides default user-type restrictions (like the sadly in 2023 retired ArcGIS Storyteller User Type).

🎯 Why This Matters:

Cost Efficiency: Many users only need StoryMap editing capabilities. Requiring a Creator license for this is not cost-effective.
Collaboration: StoryMaps are often built by teams. Limiting editing to Creators hinders collaborative workflows.
Accessibility: Expanding editing capabilities to Editors would democratize storytelling and spatial communication across organizations.

🙌 Our Use Case:

We introduced ArcGIS StoryMaps as a resident information system for construction sites.
Site managers use StoryMaps to quickly update residents online about current progress of construction work, road closures, other relevant updates.
We (one of the largest AEC firms in Europe) estimate a potential need for approximately 400 licenses for this use case alone, assuming pricing is suitable for distributed teams. Otherwise the use case is limited to just a few selected larger construction sites without big scaling potential.
Without affordable editing access, site managers must report updates to central roles. This introduces: Slower communication, additional process steps, reduced responsiveness to residents and thus, overall reduced acceptance.

(As a non-native speaker, I used generative AI to help draft and refine this text.)

idea Enable Editors/Contributors to make content changes to existing StoryMaps in ArcGIS StoryMaps Ideas

Enable Editors/Contributors to make content changes to existing StoryMaps

💡 Proposed Enhancement:

🎯 Why This Matters:

🙌 Our Use Case: