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Express Maps, Sidecars, and Guided Tours (run time: 8 min)
From the block palette, choose Map, and you'll see this:
The web map browser serves up cards representing all the maps you've saved to your ArcGIS Online account. You can opt, via the tabs just below the title, to see the maps you've favorited, the maps shared within your ArcGIS organization or to groups you are a part of, maps that are publicly published by anyone, and you can access scores of cool maps on Esri's Living Atlas of the World . You can search for maps within any of those tabs to help you quickly find what you're looking for. (Note that you can't edit web maps directly in ArcGIS StoryMaps beyond toggling layer visibility and a few other options that determine how the map can be viewed and interacted with by readers.)
Express maps are there so that you can easily make simple and clear maps without requiring any GIS expertise or needing to do any work at all outside of the ArcGIS StoryMaps builder. An express map might show a single location, a series of locations (with customizable pop-ups), or even routes and areas. You can also add labels and arrows to express maps.
Play around by drawing a bunch of features on the map. A tip on lines and areas: double-click to finish the drawing. To delete a feature, highlight it and drag it to the trash can that appears near the bottom of the map.
You'll notice that when you draw a point, line, or area, it gets added to the drawn features panel. Click on an item in the drawn features panel to add pop-up content. You can add an image, a title, and a description, and adjust its visual style; then click Done. You can also create feature groups in the map designer to help organize your drawn features; your customized groupings will be reflected in the map's legend.
Just above your map is a selection of simple drawing tools. Here's what they do:
The color of the drawn features in your express map starts out matching the accent color dictated by the design theme of your story by default. You can change the accent color of a custom theme but you can also change the color of any individual drawn feature or a whole group of features at once. Choose from a couple of additional, preset theme-based colors or use the color picker to come up with your own particular shade. For non-numbered points, you can also select from three different sizing options and even opt to bring in your own symbol.
The gear icon in the layers panel gives access to the map settings there are three recommended basemaps and a catalog of standard basemaps. You also have the option to use a web map, including those offered by the Living Atlas.
Also in the settings panel you can opt to do without a map legend (the default setting). This is recommend for simple maps. Another option, disabling map navigation (the ability to pan and zoom) can keep the focus on the map content you've chosen.
If you're looking for more information:
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