Workflows to Edit TEXT of StoryMap outside of ESRI?

[KatieGaut]

Has anyone found a good way to efficiently edit and track changes on the text within a story map for multiple editors OUTSIDE of the story map? We often have clients with multiple text editors who have NO experience with Story Maps/GIS - nor do we want to give them access to the back end of the story map editing.

NOTE:  The internal collaboration workflow doesn't work for us as we don't want non-GIS users the ability to accidentally edit the non-text content!!

We've personally tried the following:

• Google Sheets: Cut/Paste text into Google Sheets from StoryMap, allowing us to track changes from each separate editor. We found this option horribly time-consuming to cut/paste the text and make note of what chapter/element the text was referring to.  The editors still had difficulty going back/forth to see elements associated with the text. Additionally, copying the text back into the SM was also frustrating and time-intensive.
• Printed PDF of SM, then converted to Word Doc: This was better....but formatting often became offset, making it still difficult to discern how the text and elements related.  It was also a bit troublesome to cut/paste final text back into the SM.

Any thoughts on other options would be greatly appreciated!!

[OwenGeo]

@KatieGaut -- Correct, no external code can be executed inside ArcGIS StoryMaps due to the security best practices. Those tools are meant for developers collecting user feedback on their own websites so the site owner takes on the risk of using those tools, builds them directly into their site, and performs specific design and testing with the integration of those services.

Also note that it's not possible to self-host ArcGIS StoryMaps at this time.

I'm sorry this idea didn't pan out. We do have an action on our side to look at ways to improve collaboration and review of stories by teams in the future. However, it is a significant project and is more of a long-term goal at this time.

[KatieGaut]

Hi @OwenGeo ,

Thanks for your explanation on this, and it's great to hear that StoryMap collaboration is being discussed.  In the meantime, we did some extensive research on dozens of bug tracking and feedback type tools that could work for StoryMap creators, and I thought I'd share what we came up with here for anyone else having the same issues.

We've settled on Zipboard, which though not perfect in every way, seems to be the best option for functionality within the scrolling format of a StoryMap and for pricing options for a small business such as ourselves.  The owner has also been very helpful and responsive in improving the tool to make sure that it works for the specifics of StoryMaps. She has also mentioned that she would be willing to talk with ESRI developers to help tailor and fine-tune the tool to the StoryMap platform, so I'm happy to connect you @OwenGeo if you thought this could be a useful supplementary tool for those looking for an efficient way to gather feedback (we certainly do!)

Thanks!

Mark

[OwenGeo]

@KatieGaut -- Thanks for sharing this. I took a quick look and ZipBoard seems like a useful tool!

I used it for a few minutes and it appeared to work well with a StoryMap. If there are issues that are brought to their attention that they have trouble with they can reach out to me here and I can follow up with them.

[gamatya]

Never mind me, you guys seem to have found the right tool. Glad it's worked out.

[Bhavya]

Hi @KatieGaut & @OwenGeo 

I signed up here, thanks to you Katie. I am the founder of zipBoard . I am glad that you found it useful for your workflow for reviewing and commenting Storymaps. 

Happy to help troubleshoot, if anyone else faces issues with using storymaps with zipBoard.

Owen, I would be really interested in understanding and seeing if we can create a more native integration with the product, if possible without compromising on the security and also understand the overall market. 

Let me know, if we can connect.

[OwenGeo]

@Bhavya -- Our product manager will be reaching out to you so our teams can connect.

[Bhavya]

Thanks Owen. Look forward to connecting. 

[KatieGaut]

Hi all!  Any updates on this potential collaboration?  We're just finding more and more need of this type of editing availability for StoryMaps.  Thanks!