What Are Groups?
Groups are a collection of items, often related to a specific region, subject, or project, that are created and managed by the group owner. If you have privileges to create groups, you decide who can find your groups, whether others can request to join, whether members can update items shared with the group, who can contribute content, and the type of items (for example, maps or layers) displayed by default in the group. You also have control over items shared with the group and can invite others to join, even if your group doesn’t accept membership requests. Default administrators can also restrict who can see the list of group members and restrict members from leaving the group.
Please note that unless a group is a shared update group (more below), groups members can share maps and items with each other but cannot collaboratively edit these maps and items.
What Are Shared Update Groups?
Organization administrators can create groups that allow members to update items that are shared with the group. These shared update groups are useful in collaborative situations in which multiple people need to update the same item—for example, shift workers in operations centers who need to update the maps underlying their apps and dashboards.
To request the creation of a shared update group at Grinnell, simply speak with a DLAC staff member (dlac@grinnell.edu) or put in a Help Desk ticket (via email at ITservices@Grinnell.edu or online at Help.Grinnell.edu) with ITS.
When members share an item with a shared update group, they remain the owner of the item. Other group members can update the item. Updates to an item include changes to the item details and updates to the content. For example, they can add layers to a map and save the map with the updated content.
Caution: At this time, shared update groups are intended for updating item details and the contents of maps, apps, and scenes. Some updates are reserved for the item owner or administrator (such as moving, sharing, or deleting an item and changing ownership). However, members of this group also have elevated privileges, such as the ability to edit the contents of hosted feature layers, alter editor tracking settings, enable or disable attachments, and alter the layer’s schema.
Creating a Group
Please note that you cannot create a shared update group on your own: an ArcGIS administrator must do this for you. Groups Users create on their own will share content with group members, but will not allow for collaborative editing, and this setting cannot be turned on retroactively. Talk to a DLAC staff member if you would like to to request the creation of a shared update group for collaborative editing.
To create a group, complete the following steps:
- Verify that you are signed in and have privileges to create groups.
- Click Groups at the top of the site and click Create group on the My Groups tab.
- Add a thumbnail image to represent the group (optional).
- Provide a group name and tags. You can also add a short summary.
- For Who can be in this group?, select one of the following:
- Organization members only—Only members of your organization can be added to the group.
- Any organization’s members—Any organization member can join the group without being invited or approved. Members of other organizations can join the group as long as they have privileges to join external groups.
- For How can people join this group?, select one of the following:
- By invitation—Only members who are invited by the group owner or a group manager can join the group.
- By request—Only members who request to join the group and are approved by the group owner or a group manager can join the group.
- By adding themselves—Any organization member can join the group without being invited or approved. Members of other organizations can join the group as long as they have privileges to join external groups. Members who click Join this group on the group page are instantly granted membership in the group.
- For Who can view this group?, select one of the following:
- Only group members—Only members of the group can find and view the group. Members must be invited to join the group.
- All organization members—Only members of the organization or a partnered organization can find and view the group. Members can be invited to the group or apply to join.
- Everyone (public)—Anyone can find and view the group, even if they are not a member of the organization. This is the default.
- For Who can contribute content?, select one of the following:
- All group members—All group members can contribute content to the group.
- Group owner and managers—Only you (the group owner) and group managers can contribute content to the group. If you choose this option, members can view and access your items, but they can’t share their own items with the group. This type of group is a good way to share your authoritative maps and data to a targeted audience. You control what items appear in the group and who can view them.
- For Who can see the full list of members on the group’s Members tab?, choose one of the following:
- Anyone who can view the group—Anyone who can view the group can see the list of group members.
- Group owners and managers—Only the group owner and managers, and those with administrative privileges to view all members and groups, can see the full list of group members. Other members of the group will only see the group owner and group managers listed on the Members tab. Choose this option for public groups, such as community and crowdsourced groups, for which you want to protect the privacy of group members.
- Click the Save button to create the group.
- Once the group has been created, you can invite users to it, add items to it for group sharing, and edit group settings from the group’s page in ArcGIS Online (see more below, in the Editing group properties and settings section).
Editing Group Properties and Settings
After creating a group, you, any group managers you designate, and administrators with group privileges can edit its properties and settings. For example, you can modify the group title or description, as well as change settings such as who can contribute content. For more information on working with groups you own, including managing group content and members, see Own groups.
- Verify that you are signed in as the owner, group manager, or administrator of the group you want to edit.
- Click Groups at the top of the site, and use the tabs, filters, sort options, and search as needed to find the group you want to edit.
- Click the name of the group to open its group page and do any of the following:
- On the Overview tab, click Edit next to the property you want to edit (for example, the description or tags), make your changes, and click Save to save your changes. You can edit the group name, summary, description, thumbnail, and tags.
- On the Settings tab, modify the group settings (for example, how group content is sorted, who can view the group, who can join the group, or who can contribute content). You can also specify the type of items (for example, maps or layers) you want to display by default on the group’s Content and Overview tabs. When you’re finished, click Save on the Settings tab.
Note: Your ability to edit some settings depends on your privileges and group role. With existing groups, you cannot change the Shared update designation and the Administrative designation that restricts members from leaving the group. These settings are only available for new groups. If you want to change any of these settings, you must delete the group and create a new one with the option you want.
Material in this section was adapted from “ArcGIS Online: Create Groups” (ArcGIS.com)
