can't navigate map in storymaps (sidecaror set custom zoom level/map tour) or set custom zoom level

RyanHunter1 — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:39:00 GMT

I am working on a story map, and am not getting the option to set custom zoom levels, and even when I select a metro zoom level, no matter what when i go into preview or refresh my page, the map always starts out at the continent level.

Re: can't navigate map in storymaps (sidecaror set custom zoom level/map tour) or set custom zoom level

OwenGeo — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 15:39:57 GMT

@RyanHunter1 - Thanks for posting your question about map tour zoom levels.

The initial extent of a map tour always shows all the tour locations. This is not currently configurable, but if you would like to see this added in a future release, I would recommend voting for this idea: Custom Initial Zoom in Map Tour - Esri Community

If you configure a custom zoom level in the map options, that zoom level will be used to show individual tour locations when you or your readers begin to interact with the tour (scrolling through a guided tour or clicking on a location for an explorer or categorized tour).

I should mention that we are not happy with the labels for the map tour zoom level setting and understand they are not very clear. We are looking to revise them in a future release to be more helpful.

topic can't navigate map in storymaps (sidecaror set custom zoom level/map tour) or set custom zoom level in ArcGIS StoryMaps Questions

can't navigate map in storymaps (sidecaror set custom zoom level/map tour) or set custom zoom level

Re: can't navigate map in storymaps (sidecaror set custom zoom level/map tour) or set custom zoom level