How do shapefiles behave in ArcGIS Online?

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03-19-2013 01:58 PM
TimothieBiggs
New Contributor II
I am trying to work out how shapefiles behave in ArcGIS Online....

Scenario 1
If I add a zipped shapefile to My Contents, i.e. push it to the cloud, I am not able to add this to a map. Only once it has been published as a hosted service it is accessible to me in an ArcGIS Online web map. Correct?


Scenario 2
If I am in the default web map and bring in a zipped shapefile stored locally on my computer using "add layer from file" - I can save this map with the shapefile in it. As far as I can tell this shapefile is now in the cloud because if I delete the source file on my computer, I can still see it in the map. Does this mean the shapefile is now a hosted service? I do not see a shapefile or published feature service in 'my contents'?

Can anyone shed any light on this for me?
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3 Replies
StevenMoore1
Esri Contributor
Hi ,

For question #1, you are correct. You will need an ArcGIS Online for Organizations subscription to publish the shapefile as a hosted service, which you can then add to a webmap. If you have a subscription, the option to publish a hosted service from the shapefile will be present (and enabled by default) when you add the .zip file.

For question #2, the shapefile is just stored with the saved webmap. A hosted service will not be created if you add a shapefile this way.

Hope this helps.
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TimothieBiggs
New Contributor II
OK that's clear, thanks.

And just to be clear for scenario 2 where my shapefile is saved in the web map, in the cloud.....seeing as it does not appear in my contents as either a shapefile or a hosted feature service, am I am paying any credits for it's storage and data transfer when I view it?

Just curious!
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MikeMinami
Esri Notable Contributor
Yes, a small amount of credits get consumed for file storage and file bandwidth.

thanks,

Mike
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