Configure a Web Map for Draw Maps

Updated, March 29, 2021

Below, both short and long forms accomplish the same thing. Long form, however, is more detailed for when this might be your first time.

Short form:

  1. As the web map owner, create the Draw Maps feature service (giving it a unique name) from the following URL:
    https://services9.arcgis.com/WI1hP80H5gmD3iAC/arcgis/rest/services/Draw_Maps_Layers_v4/FeatureServer
  2. In the Map Viewer, add the feature service’s layers (points, marks, highlights, collaborations, strokes, and layers) to the web map you are configuring.
  3. Rename and reorder the layers in the map. They should appear at the top of the contents list looking like this:
    • Draw Points
    • Draw Marks
    • Draw Highlights
    • Draw Collaborations
  4. Rename the tables in the map. They should appear at the bottom of the contents list looking like this:
    • Draw Strokes
    • Draw Layers
  5. Set the filter for the first three layers, Draw Points, Draw Marks and Draw Highlights to
    IsErased is false
  6. Make sure editing is enabled for Draw Points, Draw Marks, Draw Highlights, Draw Collaborations, Draw Strokes, and Draw Layers.
  7. Save the map.
  8. The Web Map is now ready to host collaborations. Draw the first collaboration boundary from within ArcGIS Online. Name it. Leave Type as "Normal" and Status as "Open". Leave the other attributes alone.
  9. Save the map again. Don’t forget to share the feature service and web map appropriately.

Done. The web map will automatically appear in Draw Maps for you (the web map’s owner) and for anyone who has marked it as a Favorite. Other Draw Maps users will have to use the Search function in Draw Maps to use it the first time. Either way, after it has been selected in Draw Maps, it will appear in Recent Items for easy access next time.

Long form:

Follow these steps to configure your web map so Draw Maps users can use it to collaborate.

  1. Sign in as the Owner of the web map you want to configure.
  2. Create the Draw Maps Layers feature service:
    1. Browse to the Content tab.
    2. Click Create -> Feature Layer -> From URL and paste the following link into the URL field:
      https://services9.arcgis.com/WI1hP80H5gmD3iAC/arcgis/rest/services/Draw_Maps_Layers_v4/FeatureServer
    3. Click Next.
    4. With the four layers selected, click Next.
    5. Set the map extent for the layers and then click Next.
    6. Title and tag the feature service any way you like. We recommend you set the title to something that indicates it has the Draw Maps layers for the specific web map you are configuring (e.g. StormDamage_DrawMaps). We also recommend at least adding the Draw Maps tag. Assign any categories you want. Save in any folder you want. When ready, click Done.
    7. Once presented with the new feature service, click Share and be sure it is shared appropriately for your purposes.
  3. Add the four layers and two tables from your new feature service to the web map you are configuring:
    1. Open the web map in the Map Viewer.
      1. Browse to the Content tab.
      2. Under Item Type on the left, click Maps -> Web Maps.
      3. Click the web map in the list on the right.
      4. When the web map details are shown, click Open in Map Viewer.
    2. In the Map Viewer, click Add -> Search for Layers.
    3. Your Content list is replaced with Search for layers. Use this tool and find your new feature service and add it by clicking the circled plus (+) to its bottom right.
    4. Click ⬅︎ (the back arrow) to get back to the Content list for the map.
    5. Four layers and two tables from your new feature service were added to your web map using default names. Draw Maps expects to find these layers and tables in your map with specific names. One at a time, rename them to the correct names (hover over the layer or table name, click [···] (the More Options button), which appears beneath the name, and then click Rename).
      1. Rename the points layer to ‘Draw Points’.
      2. Rename the marks layer to ‘Draw Marks’.
      3. Rename the highlights layer to ‘Draw Highlights’.
      4. Rename the collaborations layer to ‘Draw Collaborations’
      5. Rename the strokes table to ‘Draw Strokes’.
      6. Rename the layers table to ‘Draw Layers’.
    6. Reorder the layers. When you hover over the layer name, three dots appear as a handle to the left for dragging. Drag the layers so they appear at the top of the contents in the following order:
      1. Draw Points
      2. Draw Marks
      3. Draw Highlights
      4. Draw Collaborations
    7. The tables at the bottom do not need to be reordered.
    8. Set the filter for each of the drawing layers so they don’t display erased points, erased marks, and erased highlights. Do the following on the Draw Points layer, the Draw Marks layer, and then on the Draw Highlights layer:
      1. Hover over the layer name. In the row of tools that appears below the name, find the Filter tool (it looks like a funnel) and click it.
      2. When the window pops open, because this is still a new layer, you are creating the filter by building an expression for the first time. Build the expression, IsErased is false.
    9. Make sure editing is enabled for each of the new layers and tables. To do so, hover over the layer or table name, click [···] (the More Options button), which appears beneath the name. If the Enable Editing option appears in the list of options, click it (if Disable Editing appears instead, editing is already enabled). Do this for each of the new layers and tables, ‘Draw Points’, ‘Draw Marks’, ‘Draw Highlights’, ‘Draw Collaborations’, ‘Draw Strokes’, and ‘Draw Layers’.
  4. Save your changes by clicking Save -> Save at the top in the Map Viewer.
  5. The Web Map is now ready to host collaborations. A Draw Maps collaboration is nothing more than a working boundary in which Draw Maps data is associated. You can draw your first collaboration boundary now by following these steps in ArcGIS Online:
    1. Enter edit mode by clicking Edit. Templates should appear.
    2. Find the Draw Collaborations layer and click the Open template.
    3. Draw the boundary in the map. A new vertex for the boundary is added for every click in the map. Double-click your last vertex to complete the drawing. A Draw Collaborations attribute window appears.
    4. Only enter a name for the collaboration. Make sure to leave Type as "Normal" and Status as "Open". Leave the other attributes alone.
    5. Don’t worry if your collaboration boundary is not exactly where the edges of your work area should be. A collaboration boundary is only a guideline to get users started. The users are allowed to take notes outside the boundary.
  6. Save your changes again by clicking Save -> Save at the top in the Map Viewer.
  7. From within the Content tab in ArcGIS Online, share the feature service and web map according to your organization’s rules and your project goals.

Done. The web map will automatically appear in Draw Maps for you (the web map’s owner) and for anyone who has marked it as a Favorite. Other Draw Maps users will have to use the Search function in Draw Maps to use it the first time. Either way, after it has been selected in Draw Maps, it will appear in Recent Items for easy access next time.