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Skills Lab

If the idea of telling a story seems intimidating to you, or you’re not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place.By the end of this article, you’ll know the basics of good storytelling, and (hopefully) demystifying this process will make getting started not so scary after all. Let’s dive right in.

Unlock your inner storyteller

Meet your new favorite way to tell stories. With StoryMaps, the future of digital storytelling is here to bring together media, maps, and text in ways you never thought possible.

StoryMaps

About the author

Add a button readers can use to change the appearance of the map in the media panel (you must add an express map first)

Let readers easily compare two images or express maps with an interactive slider

To avoid losing work, exit the builder until the other person has finished.

You are already editing this item in a different browser tab. To avoid losing work, exit this builder and resume work in the other tab.

Making changes may cause lost work

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You won’t see the story’s cover when viewing it in this collection. This can be helpful if you’re using the collection as a presentation.

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This theme will be available to organization members as an approved theme. Its current sharing level is {sharing_level}.

It will be shared to your organization’s approved theme group:

Add to approved themes?

You can now use themes shared through groups or the organization

Sharing themes is easy

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Your organization can offer a set of approved themes to make it easy to use the latest on-brand designs. Talk to your ArcGIS administrator about enabling this feature.

Did you know your organization can provide approved themes?

Maps created by you will appear here

Use drawing and annotation tools to create a simple map

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Browse Living Atlas

Browse the full ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, Esri’s curated collection of maps, scenes, apps, and datasets from around the globe. If you find a map you’d like to include in your story, add it to your favorites and it will appear under the "My Favorites" tab above.

Looking for more authoritative maps for your story?

Your favorite layers will appear here

Your favorite maps will appear here

Your favorite views will appear here

Apps shared with groups you belong to will appear here

Collections shared with groups you belong to will appear here

Files shared with groups you belong to will appear here

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Maps shared with groups you belong to will appear here

Stories shared with groups you belong to will appear here

Themes shared with groups you belong to will appear here

Views shared with groups you belong to will appear here

Layers created by you will appear here

Create your first map

Apps shared with your organization will appear here

Collections shared with your organization will appear here

Files shared with your organization will appear here

Layers shared with your organization will appear here

Maps shared with your organization will appear here

Stories shared with your organization will appear here

Themes shared with your organization will appear here

Views shared with your organization will appear here

Maps shared with you will appear here

Views created by you will appear here

This theme will no longer be available to organization members as an approved theme.

It will be removed from your organization’s approved theme group:

Remove from approved themes?

Title

The view you selected cannot be used in map tour. Please choose a different feature view.

The view you selected must be of point geometry. Please choose a different view.

Unsupported feature view

This map must have at least one point layer. Please choose a different web map.

Unsupported web map

The data source for this tour no longer exists or you do not have the permission to use it

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Untitled map action

Configure what people see when your collection appears on StoryMaps, social media sites, and search engines

Configure what people see when your story appears on StoryMaps, social media sites, and search engines

Text formatting

Text block conversion

At the beginning of a text block, type the characters below to convert the block to a different type. You can use these shortcuts for empty text blocks and text blocks that already have text.

Lists

Place cursor at beginning of list item and then type the characters below.

Use this immersive block to create a sequence of presentation-like slides that your readers navigate laterally.

With slideshow, images, videos, or express maps fill the entire slide background. You can add concise bits of text to each slide to provide context, and reposition the narrative panel to ensure the key parts of your media remain visible.

Who can see your collection after it is published

People in your organization can view this item

Anyone can view this collection. It can also be shared with anyone on StoryMaps

Anyone can view this story. It can also be shared with anyone on StoryMaps

Submit a story about conserving Earth’s lands and waters by October 27

Enter the 2023 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition

Reposition any maps in the preview before printing to ensure all desired content is visible

Check out the latest features and enhancements

We’ve updated ArcGIS StoryMaps!

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Untitled story

Need to edit your collection?

The edit option is now in this menu for a cleaner viewing experience

Need to edit your story?

Use your Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics account to collect anonymous data about how readers interact with your stories.

Add a message to inform readers and ask for their consent. If you do not provide a consent message, Google Analytics will automatically collect anonymous data for this story.

Upgrade to unlock analytics

Track engagement

Add a custom consent message

Consent message

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Delete collection?

Delete frame?

Delete story?

Delete theme?

This will create a copy of this collection in your account as a private draft, including any unpublished changes present at the time of duplication.

This will not create copies of every story in the collection; instead, the duplicated collection will reference the original stories.

Duplicate this collection?

You are now editing a copy of the original collection

There was a problem duplicating this collection

Unfortunately, this collection cannot be duplicated at this time

This will create a copy of this frame. The copy will be a private draft that includes any unpublished changes present at the time of duplication.

Duplicate this frame?

You are now editing a copy of the original frame

There was a problem duplicating this frame

Unfortunately, this frame cannot be duplicated at this time

You are about to create a copy of this collection in your ArcGIS account as a private draft.

You are about to create a copy of this story in your ArcGIS account as a private draft.

You are about to create a copy of this theme in your ArcGIS account as a private draft.

This will create a copy of this story in your account as a draft. The copy will include any unpublished changes and retain all settings from the original story, including analytics configuration details.

Express maps and uploaded media will be copied into the new draft. The new story will reference the original ArcGIS items for web maps, scenes, and layers.

Duplicate this story?

You are now editing a copy of the original story

There was a problem duplicating this story

Unfortunately, this story cannot be duplicated at this time

This will create a copy of this theme in your account as a private draft, including any unpublished changes present at the time of duplication

Duplicate this theme?

You are now editing a copy of the original theme

There was a problem duplicating this theme

Unfortunately, this theme cannot be duplicated at this time

(Copy)

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Language settings

Create your first collection

Your bookmarked collections will appear here

Your bookmarked frames will appear here

Create your first frame

Your bookmarked stories will appear here

Stories shared with you will appear here

Create your first story

Save yourself time with these simple starting points. You can always add more blocks later if you want.

Readers explore a curated set of places in whatever order they choose

Explorer map tour

Walk your audience through a list of locations sequentially

Guided map tour

An immersive block with stationary media panel and scrolling narrative panel

Sidecar

Quick start

Learning and resources

StoryMap (Untitled)

Your approved themes will appear here

We moved preview options here for a cleaner viewing experience

Untitled theme

You can customize the color of this header

Use this sample collection to preview your custom theme. As you modify colors, typography, and more, those changes will be reflected here.

This is your collection’s title

Item title

Use this sample story to preview your custom theme. As you modify colors, typography, and more, those changes will be reflected here.

This is your story’s title

This story includes several of the pieces you might use in your own story–like paragraphs, buttons, separators, and more. To get started, select a section of the styling panel and make some adjustments. As you adjust different elements, you’ll see this story adjust to demonstrate how they look. Try changing the paragraph font, and see what happens to this text.

This is the title for the story credits. It uses the title font.

This is where the credit description goes; it uses the paragraph font.

Next, try adjusting the button style and see how your selection affects the button below. You’ll also notice that it uses the paragraph font for its text.

You can style your paragraph text to use bold, italics, and bold italics, so you can emphasize important text accordingly. These come pre-packaged with the fonts you’ve chosen, so there’s nothing extra you need to configure.

Quotes use the theme’s title font, but you can also choose one of several different styling options.

Your theme’s accent color is used in both quotes (see above) and separators (below). If you add an express map to your story, your drawn features will use the accent color too.

You have a few different options for separator styles; toggle between them and see how the separator above changes.

Wondering what embed cards look like? Check out the one below!

Choose an existing theme as a starting point, then customize it however you like

Create new theme

Your bookmarked themes will appear here

Create your first theme

Theme (Untitled)

This theme has unpublished changes. They won’t affect content using this theme unless you re-publish it.

Cool, you’ve made it to the knowledge base. Consider this the place to be if you’re wondering how a specific feature works, which file types you can use, what different menus do, that kind of thing. Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? <feedback>Let us know</feedback>.

The collection you are trying to access does not exist or you do not have permission to view it

The item in the collection you are trying to access does not exist or you do not have access to it

Your organization settings can’t be loaded right now. Please try again later or confirm with your organization’s administrator that you have permission to view them.

The story you are trying to access does not exist, or you do not have permission to view it

The theme you are trying to access does not exist, or you do not have permission to view it

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Welcome to a new era of digital storytelling

We’ll be back soon!

The settings below will affect all stories, collections, and themes within your organization

Enter a Google Fonts Developer API key to enable Google Fonts for your organization.

StoryMaps - Collections

StoryMaps - Community

StoryMaps - Contact

StoryMaps - Explore

StoryMaps - Feed

StoryMaps - Feedback

StoryMaps - Frames

StoryMaps - Learn

StoryMaps - Settings

StoryMaps - Stories

StoryMaps - Themes

We found an ArcGIS account already associated with that email. Unfortunately, your StoryMaps account can’t share the same email as an ArcGIS one.

There was an issue looking up your account plan. Publishing and some other features may be temporarily impacted.

Unable to retrieve subscription information

Features

Tell your story in minutes with frames. Drop your pictures into easy-to-use templates, then share these experiences with friends and social channels from anywhere. Frames creation is available now on the StoryMaps mobile app!

Create frames on the StoryMaps mobile app

You have reached the collection limit

Create all of the stories and collections you want

Unlimited creation

Open access to all layouts and build your own themes

Endless customization

Thematic maps, 3D map tours, data importing

Advanced mapping

You have reached the story limit

Every story has a place

Add context to your content easily with beautiful layouts and immersive experiences made in minutes. You can choose what to use from videos, images, audio clips and even embeds. StoryMaps comes equipped with everything you need to ensure your story looks great.

Interactive digital experiences

Transport your readers to any place at any time. With StoryMaps, you get access to the world’s leading mapping technology to guide your readers to your favorite places, illustrate trends or even take them on an interactive tour.

Whether you’re on the couch or at the beach, you can connect with other authors and explore new destinations through the StoryMaps mobile app

Great storytelling wherever you are

Add another dimension to your map tours for an extra storytelling punch

What it is, why you need it, and how to do it well

Get the latest updates from the StoryMaps team

Simple tips, tricks, and hacks to get the most out of the builder

Three different approaches to bundling related stories

What’s in a collection?

Connect with other storytellers

Make sure everyone can enjoy your content through smart design choices

Build a connection with your audience by making the personal universal

Maps are great, but interactive charts and tables can propel your story to new heights

Finding happiness with charts

Elevate your story with guidance from the experts

A designers guide to pairing Google Fonts for your next custom theme

Learn to create a cohesive visual narrative using StoryMaps’ built-in filters

Interviewing story subjects can help add authority to a story. These tips will help you prep to get all the info you need.

Technical support, documentation, how-to’s, and more

Let’s go over copyright 101, public domain, Creative Commons, and more

Develop your storytelling skills with tips and advice from experts

Sharpen your storytelling skills with tips and tricks from the StoryMaps team

Telling a compelling story often starts with great writing, but it doesn’t stop there.

The StoryMaps builder has everything you need to help stage an event, large or small

Find answers to questions like "what’s a story?" and "how do you tell one?"

Still learning about StoryMaps? Dig deeper with these resources.

More essential info

Maps add depth and context to multimedia storytelling

Suggested actions and other resources are always in this menu

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Easily create stories just like this with StoryMaps

Join a community of authors using cutting edge technology to bring narratives to life

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Easily create interactive content featuring maps, media, and more

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{defaultTheme} is now being used instead. Edit this item to apply a new theme.