Can I edit features in a Web Map used to build a Story Map Shortlist and update the features in the Story Map?

[RoelStruick]

Hi community,

I currently have a project where I need to build a Story Map Shortlist for the monuments in a specific municipality. There are two types of monuments, which I combined in a Web Map using two layers. In My Content, I select the Web Map and click on Create Web App to create the Story Map Shortlist. This results in a Story Map with two tabs for the two types of monuments.

However, the layers used need to be edited in the future (add feature, change attributes, delete feature). What I would like to do is to edit the layers in the Web Map, so the Story Map automatically updates the features. This does not seem to be working. When editing the Web App, the Story Map does not update the features. Does anybody if this is possible and how this would work?

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards,

Jordy

[deleted-user-qpvAI3Fo0MKR]

The workflow you're describing is exactly how it's meant to be done. You create the Web Map and then reference the Web Map in your Story Map. Any updates made to the data in the Web Map should be reflected in the Story Map. Have you tried refreshing your Story Map's browser window after making the updates to the Web Map?

[Jordyde_Jong]

Hi Josh,

Thank you for your response.

I have refreshed the Story Map's browser window multiple times with, sadly, no effect.

Kind regards,

Jordy

[deleted-user-qpvAI3Fo0MKR]

Sorry, Jordy - I don't have any other ideas for you. Esri may be able to help...

[RupertEssinger]

There are actually three ways to make a Shortlist.

- You can start from scratch and add places in the Shortlist Builder. The places you add get automatically stored in a web map that the Shortlist creates for you. You should not edit this web map directly yourself. Only make your edits via the Builder.  OK you could edit that web map to add extra supporting layers into your Shortlist, like a county boundary layer, but that's it, and if you do that, do it carefully. Don't edit the layer that contains the places. And avoid even opening that web map in ArcGIS Online at the same time as you are editing your Shortlist in the Builder. 

- You can create a Shortlist from a web map that already contains a point layer containing the places you want to use, and when the Shortlist Builder launches you choose the option to import these places into your Shortlist. Your points don't need to use the Shortlist data schema. The places you import are automatically stored in a new web map that the Shortlist creates for you.You should not edit this web map directly yourself. Only make your edits via the Shortlist Builder. OK you could edit that web map to add extra supporting layers into your Shortlist, like a county boundary layer, but that's it. After you create your Shortlist by importing data from a web map, the original web map you created the Shortlist from is no longer read by the Shortlist, so there's no longer connection between the data in the map you shared and the Shortlist. It's not a live link.

- You can create a Shortlist from a web map that already contains a point layer containing the places you want to use, and when the Shortlist Builder launches you choose the option to use these places 'as is'  (aka live link) so the Shortlist will be driven from your original data instead of being imported into the Shortlist and stored in a new web map in its own format. Your points do need to use the Shortlist data schema to use this workflow. With this workflow you can edit the data directly in your web map to update your Shortlist. In fact in this workflow it is the only way to update your Shortlist. With an 'as-is' Shortlist, you'll notice that the Shortlist Builder doesn't even let you edit your places. This is because it is being driven from the web map. Edits you make to the places in the web map, or other changes like adding supporting layers, are reflected in the Shortlist when it is next viewed.

For more info, or to see the Shortlist data schema, please see: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/en/faq/#question49 

Rupert

[Jordyde_Jong]

Hi Rupert,

Thank you for your response.

If I would use the 'as is' option, I would have to combine the two types of monuments into one single layer. This is unfortunately not an option. Also, the attributes of the existing layers have to remain this way and cannot be changed into the format needed for said option (or is it possible to add the attributes needed alongside the ones the layers have right now?).

Kind regards,

Jordy

[RupertEssinger · Accepted solution]

Hi Jordy

The aim of the 'as-is' option is to let you drive a Shortlist from the data in a single layer, but you do need to be able to assemble your data into that layer and add the attributes that the Shortlist requires. So it may not be possible to use the authoritative, official datasets managed by an organization directly. You may need to do some pre-processing of existing GIS data to get it into that format, either manually, or by, for example using geoprocessing tools or Python scripting in ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro to generate a single layer with the required attributes. 

Rupert