ArcGIS Hub Blog

If you are a data editor or manager in ArcGIS Hub, a new capability allows you to display a layer's customized style so that viewers can more easily understand the data they're exploring.

Valuable time and resources go towards collecting, maintaining, and sharing data. Now you can share your authoritative data in a way that gives you more control over which data are displayed, which features or attributes are highlighted, and whether symbology is accessible to all. Custom styling is particularly relevant to larger or complex datasets, as another tool to fine tune what your data communicates.

Previously, layers in explore view were styled with Hub's default blue. With this enhancement, feature service editors can now choose between the default style or set the style of the layer from the item settings in ArcGIS Online.

Ready to try out this new option? Follow the steps below:

1. From your dataset’s explore page, select the Manage content button to navigate to workspace.
   Manage content button on dataset explore page.

    

2. From here, select Settings > General.
   Workspace general settings.

    

3. You’ll now see a Map display settings section that allows you to toggle between the Hub default style and the Saved layer style.
   Map display settings.

    

4. Want to go ahead and update the layer style? Select the link to Edit layer styles in ArcGIS Online. This takes you to the item’s Visualization page in a new tab where you can update and save the symbology.
   Map display settings option to edit style in ArcGIS Online.

    

   Visualization tab in ArcGIS Online.

    

5. Now, back in the workspace (General pane), when you select Saved layer map style, select Save, and return to the layer’s explore view in Hub, you’ll see the updated style.
   Saved layer style option in map settings.

   
   Updated layer style in explore page.

    

And there you are – users now see your data the way you intended, giving them the ability to better understand the data they're exploring.

Dig into the Hub web help for details on editing and managing content items.

We are underway with designing enhancements to layout editing. 

We have a quick (and hopefully) fun survey that will help us with naming something.

Take the survey - 

https://arcg.is/0nT8Wq1

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Thank you for helping! If you join the Hub User Lab, you can expect more research and feedback opportunities in the near future around layout editing. ⬇️

https://hubuserlab.esri.com/

Join us on September 25, 10:00am-11:00am (PT), for our What’s New in ArcGIS Hub webinar. Esri product experts will be discussing the latest release of ArcGIS Hub, which introduces workspaces as well as enhanced events and configurable catalogs. 

• Learn about workspaces, the latest default management experience of Hub, which allows for a more approachable, well-organized navigation and management experience. Explore the blog.  

• Explore how enhanced events introduces more user-friendly and streamlined event setup and management. Explore the blog.  

• Discover how configurable catalogs enable users to organize and share content datasets based on themes, areas, groups, and tags, enhancing curation. Explore the blog. 

Register now: https://www.esri.com/en-us/webinars/product/whats-new-in-arcgis-hub-september-2025. 

We can’t wait to see you there.  

The 2025 Esri User Conference is right around the corner, and we are excited to connect with you. UC is filled with many presentations and events, with hundreds of topics covered. To help you get the most out of your experience, we’ve created a custom agenda for ArcGIS Hub. We hope these sessions will be enjoyable and informative as you continue your geospatial journey.

View our Hub custom agenda that you can add directly to your UC account.

We also have SIGs (Special Interest Groups) available for you to attend this year. Two great SIGs that you might find particularly interesting are the:

Geospatial Ecosystems SIG: Improving ROI for Modern SDI

Community Engagement SIG: Using Hubs for Deeper Collaboration

SIGs are a great way to hear from and network with like-minded professionals. This year advanced sign-ups for SIGs will be required, ensuring everyone who signs up will have a seat, and that there is ample room. It’s easy to reserve, just register for UC and add sessions to your schedule. You can also join a waitlist if your SIG is full, as seats will open as others update their plans. Reservations will be held until 5 minutes before the start time.  If you forget to sign up, or find yourself available at the last minute, any extra spots will be made available at the door on a first-come, first served basis.

The ArcGIS Hub kiosk will be in the ArcGIS Geospatial Platform area. If you would like a like a pdf of the Hub schedule to print and take with you, it is attached below.

We hope you have a wonderful UC experience this year!

ArcGIS Hub is set to receive two significant updates in the upcoming weeks: workspaces and enhanced events.

A practical workaround for achieving better contrast and accessibility 

Exploring and downloading data is a key function of ArcGIS Hub sites. Many people do this through the standard user interface by discovering a site, searching for data, or finding a dataset on the ArcGIS Hub homepage. In Hub, you can explore spatial data by filtering, styling, and downloading datasets in a variety of formats. Learn more about recommendations, settings, and file formats available for data downloads.

Downloads API v1 versus Legacy Downloads API

Many Hub site visitors and customers also use the Downloads API to dig into data. Hub supports the Downloads API v1, which is the newer version. The Downloads API v1 allows you to programmatically filter and download public data from service-backed items in a public catalog. You can download a single layer or download multiple layers from the same service-backed item.

If you have enabled workspaces (beta) of ArcGIS Hub, then you have a new experience for managing your site’s pages.

As an organization administrator or site editor, you can specify the basemap used across your ArcGIS Hub sites. Basemaps are a big part of how we create, share, and understand geographic information. A basemap is a background map for other data layers, all anchored by location to the surface of the earth. Consult the newly republished Esri GIS dictionary for a full definition.

Mid-century map

As a basis for geographic analysis and visualization, basemaps provide spatial context, place names, a lot of style, and so much more. ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and other applications offer basemaps featuring satellite imagery, streets, topography, and oceans, just to name a few.

With the ArcGIS Online February 2025 update, all existing Creator user type community accounts in Hub community organizations have been automatically updated to the Hub Community Member user type.