Add "Everyone with link" can view, sharing option (Portals & ArcGis Online)

[NickJones8]

Add: "Everyone with link" option for sharing - Content would not be searchable, or indexed for *everyone* to find like normal "everyone" permissons, but if a visitor has the link provided by the content owner, they could view in the same fashion as the current "everyone" settings. This could go for files, maps, apps, data, etc. This is a feature currently standard within Youtube, and Google docs, where the users of the internet can not search for, or resolve the desired content, but can get to it if they have the direct link generated by content owner. 

[JohnMDye]

I agree it would be valuable to have some kind of semi-public sharing option where the content item in question was not indexed for search results. This is especially true so long as the draconian Named User Licensing model is in play.

[ThomasEdghill]

Thank you for posting this idea, I've gone ahead and marked it as "Reviewed."

I'd like to understand some more about this request from an ArcGIS Enterprise context. With ArcGIS Enterprise, sharing with "Everyone" is dependent on the network which ArcGIS Enterprise is connected to - if it's an internal network with no external connections allowed, sharing with "Everyone" will still be restricted by the network architecture and no external connections can view the content.

So with that in mind, would ArcGIS Enterprise users still be interested in using functionality such as a Shared Link? If so, how would it be used which differs from Sharing with "Everyone" and using the URL for the item? 

[NickJones8]

Thanks for your response. From the enterprise standpoint, speaking of an internal company network at a company that is not all GIS folks, there is probably not the structured permissions, groups, and user levels applied to everyone as there may be in a company that dels with GIS mainly. So you will have a lot of folks that might just be random adhoc viewers, need access to directed contend on a case by case basis to review, present, etc. In these cases there may also be times when the content being shared is not for everyone's consumption even though on the same network, but would be advantageous to be shared at the "anyone with link can view" level. 

[ThomasEdghill]

Thank you for the reply, Nick. This context is helpful and makes sense to me.

If any other Enterprise users want to share their insight on how this functionality would be beneficial for them, please continue to post here in the comments! 

[JohnMDye]

Nick pretty much nailed it. There needs to be a way to make content accessible by anyone without necessarily having to let everyone know its out there.

[JMitchell]

This option would be tremendously helpful for organizations utilizing ArcGIS Online as their sharing platform (one not connected to an Enterprise).

The problem I have as a municipal GIS Coordinator is that there are many instances where setting up a map that just needs to be viewable for reference purposes, but only by a group of select individuals (like a contractor and our engineers) is impossible to provide due to the need for the data to be "private" (at least in the sense that it cannot be easily stumbled upon or searched out) and many of the individuals or groups that would need access either shouldn't be given an ArcGIS Online account within our organization or cannot be given one due to lack of named user slots.  Many of these use cases would be to provide access to temporary maps/data; for example:

We manage an inventory of our city's pavement markings within ArcGIS Online.  The engineering department could use a map of this inventory as part of their yearly bid contract for painting.  Due to the scope and layout of the pavement markings, a printed map is cumbersome if not impossible to produce as it would be very difficult to fit all of the markings on several, let alone a single printed map with enough clarity to make out individual markings.  An interactive online map would be much easier to provide and utilize. However, since I cannot make such a map accessible just to the unknown amount of individuals who may need access to the map on the contractor side (and since the contractor(s) could change year to year), I cannot spare any named user accounts to let them into our organization.  If a map could be shared out "privately" to only those that had a link to the map, then that would provide a great service that could be utilized throughout many areas of the City's operations.

The need is privacy, though not necessarily secured privacy.