Introduction

Use the portal service to search for different types of public or private content.

What are items?

An , also known as a content item, refers to a fundamental unit of in the . It can represent a wide range of spatial information, such as , , , , , , , or . Each item in the is associated with metadata, which includes information like the item's title, description, tags, and thumbnail. Items are important components that enable users to organize, share, and collaborate on spatial data.

Items in portal are created when content is added to the portal by users or shared with them by others. Items can contain various types of data, such as spatial datasets, imagery, web maps, and . Once uploaded or created, items can be used in , and apps, allowing users to visualize and analyze information. Users can search for specific items using keywords, tags, or categories, making it easier to discover relevant content in the portal.

Certain items can be created during the content creation process:

  • Running an analysis tool can produce a item containing results.
  • Creating , in other apps, or saving or results in items saved in the .
  • Adding files to also creates items.

If the content already exists elsewhere, you can add this content to your organization making it accessible as an item. Existing content can be a file on a server, a service on the internet or an organization's intranet, or an app or file accessible via a URL.

Why use items?

You can use an item to:

  • Securely store different types of in the portal.
  • Manage all properties and capabilities of the content.
  • Share content with different users and groups.
  • Access data and services.

Supported item types

Many different types of can be stored in the , including maps, layers, styles, tools, applications, files, data services, or notebooks. Each item has a set of properties that describe and reference the content. For items that reference content that can be stored as text, such as a , the JSON data is stored in a child data source. For items that reference , properties such as the URL are stored, and depending upon the type of service, child data may also be stored with the item such as a or configuration.

Below is a list of some of the more common content item types, the label used in and , and the data type.

TypeLabelData TypeDescription
Web MapWeb mapText/JSONA map with its configuration stored as a JSON structure.
Web SceneWeb sceneText/JSONA scene with its configuration stored as a JSON structure.
Feature ServiceFeature Layer (hosted)Text/JSONA hosted layer that references a feature layer in a feature service.
Vector Tile ServiceTile Layer (hosted)Text/JSONA hosted layer that references tile data and styles for a vector tile service.
Map ServiceTile Layer (hosted)Text/JSONA hosted layer that references static tile data in a Map service.
CSVCSVFileA reference to a file that contains comma separated values.
ShapefileShapefileFileA reference to a zipped file that contains a shapefile.

Another supported item type is . Developer credentials are an item created in your portal that contain parameters used in authentication. Below are the two supported developer credential types you can create.

TypeDescription
API key credentialsType of developer credentials used to implement .
OAuth credentialsType of developer credentials used to implement and .

Item properties

All items contain a common set of properties such as the owner, title, type, tags, thumbnail, and description. These properties are common to all types of items and are set when the item is created. The properties are also used to search for the item.

When an item is created, it is assigned a unique identifier, also known as an . You can use an item ID to find and directly access an item and its content in the portal.

Items that reference services can be used to manage the properties and capabilities of that service. For example, you can use a item to store the pop-up and styling information for a hosted feature layer. It can also be used to set the editing capabilities for the feature layer in the feature service.

An item's sharing permissions can also be set with its access property, so that it can be accessed by only its owner (private), the members of an (org), or everyone (public).

These properties are typically set using an . See Manage an item for more details.

Tutorials

Use tools to create different types of and build content-driven applications.

Web maps

Style layers in a web map

Use Map Viewer to style layers in a web map.


Map Viewer

Web scenes

Style layers in a web scene

Use Scene Viewer to style layers in a web scene.


Scene Viewer

Display a web scene

Feature layers

Import data to create a feature layer

Use data management tools to import files and create a feature layer in a feature service.


Manage a feature layer

Use a hosted feature layer item to set the properties and settings of a feature layer in a feature service.


Vector tile layers

Create a vector tile service

Use data management tools to create a new vector tile service from a feature service.


Add a vector tile layer

Access and display a vector tile layer in a map.


Basemap layers

Create a custom basemap style

Use the Vector Tile Style Editor to style a vector tile basemap layer.


Display a custom basemap style

Add and display a styled vector tile basemap layer.


Services

API support

SearchItemsUsersGroupsSettingsSecurity
ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript1111
ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET1111
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Kotlin1111
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Swift1111
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Flutter1111
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Java1111
ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt1111
ArcGIS API for Python
ArcGIS REST JS
Esri Leaflet222222
MapLibre GL JS222222
OpenLayers222222
Full supportPartial supportNo support
  • 1. Limited operations, use HTTP requests.
  • 2. Access via ArcGIS REST JS.

Tools

Use tools to access the portal and create and manage content for applications.

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You can no longer sign into this site. Go to your ArcGIS portal or the ArcGIS Location Platform dashboard to perform management tasks.

Your ArcGIS portal

Create, manage, and access API keys and OAuth 2.0 developer credentials, hosted layers, and data services.

Your ArcGIS Location Platform dashboard

Manage billing, monitor service usage, and access additional resources.

Learn more about these changes in the What's new in Esri Developers June 2024 blog post.

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