Establish context with locator maps in ArcGIS StoryMaps

This tutorial will be retired April 2024. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. You may view an archived version of this tutorial here.

The Dene Kʼéh Kusān story by the Dena Kayeh Institute is the second-place winner in the 2020 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition for the Sustainable Development Goals. It is striking for its use of locator maps and map choreography, which help create a broader understanding of place throughout the narrative. In this tutorial, you'll re-create a portion of the story to learn how to use these techniques effectively.

This tutorial was last tested on June 8, 2023.

View final result

Requirements

• Storyteller, Publisher, or Administrator role in an ArcGIS organization (see options for software access)

Establish context with locator maps in ArcGIS StoryMaps

Study an example

One of the most effective ways to learn is to copy good examples. First, you'll study the Dene Kʼéh Kusān story, which is a rich narrative that weaves together history, culture, environment, and social justice issues. It showcases how GIS can be used to better understand modern land management, environmental issues, and the important role indigenous people can play in land conservation.

1. Open the Dene Kʼéh Kusān story and review it.

   

   Take time to read the story and notice how maps are used throughout it. Pay attention to how their scale changes and how they are enriched with photographs and text. Also note where the maps are positioned.

   You'll re-create a portion of this story and learn how to use a web map as a locator map that zooms in and reveals additional data overlays. A locator map is a simple map that shows where a story occurs to help orient the readers.

2. Open the shorter, simplified story Dene Kʼéh Kusān [locator map exercise] and review it.

   

   This is the story you'll learn to build in this tutorial.

Create a story

In this section, you'll get set up, create a new story, add a title page, and insert the first text and image blocks.

Note:

If this is your first time authoring in ArcGIS StoryMaps, consider first completing the tutorial Get started with ArcGIS StoryMaps.

To create the story, you need a photo and text. You'll download a .zip file that contains these materials.

1. Download the Story_Materials .zip file.
2. Unzip the downloaded file to a location you can easily access.

   The main web map you'll use in your story has already been prepared for you. You'll mark that map as a favorite so you can access it easily later in the workflow.

3. Go to the item page for the Dene Kʼéh Kusān map.
4. On the item page, click Sign In.

   

5. Sign in using the credentials for your ArcGIS organizational account.

   Note:

   If you don't have an organizational account, see options for software access.

6. Under the thumbnail, click Add to Favorites.

   

   Next, you'll open ArcGIS StoryMaps and create a story.

7. Click the app launcher button and click ArcGIS StoryMaps.

   

   ArcGIS StoryMaps opens.

8. Click the New story button and choose Start from scratch.

   

   A blank story template appears.

9. For Title your story, type Locator map exercise: Dene Kʼéh Kusān. For Start with a short introduction or subtitle, type or copy and paste the following text:

   Indigenous knowledge and science-based justification for the protection of Dene Kʼéh Kusān as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area

   

   Next, you'll add a text block and image that will serve as an introduction to your story.

10. Below the story's title and subtitle, next to Tell your story, click the Add content block button. Choose Text.

    

11. In your computer's file explorer, browse to the folder that you downloaded and unzipped earlier. Double-click the Story_Text.docx document to open it.

    

12. In the opened document, under [Introduction], copy the paragraph that starts with the words In our language and paste it into your story's first text block.

    

    Next, you'll add an image.

13. Under the text, click the Add content block button and choose Image.

    

14. In the Add an image window, click Browse your files.
15. Browse to your unzipped folder, click the BC_landscape.jpeg file, and click Open.
16. Click Add.

    

    The image is added to the story.

    Note:

    Any time you edit your story, the new content is autosaved.

Add an immersive sidecar

Next, you'll add a floating panel sidecar displaying the Dene Kʼéh Kusān map. This content block type enables you to display a map, photo, or video in an immersive style (meaning it fills up the entirety of the screen). It also provides a floating panel where you can insert additional information, such as text.

1. Below the image you just added, click Add content block and choose Sidecar.

   

2. In the Choose a layout window, choose Floating.

   

3. Click Done.

   An empty sidecar template appears. It is composed of two elements:

   • A media panel (with the swirl wallpaper)
   • A narrative panel (with the text Continue your story)

   

   You'll add the map to the media panel.

4. Click Add and choose Map.

   

5. In the Add a map pane, click the My Favorites tab. Click Dene Kʼéh Kusān Map.

   

   Note:

   ArcGIS StoryMaps allows you to insert any web maps in your story, whether you authored them yourself, or whether they were created and published by another user.

   If you don't see the map in your list of favorites, go to the map's details page and mark it as a favorite.

   The Adjust map appearance window appears. This is where you'll customize how the map will appear in your story. The changes you make here will only be active in the context of your story and will not affect the original map.

6. Review the map and its content.

   In the side panel, several layers are listed, most of which are currently turned off and not visible on the map. Only the Kaska Ancestral Territory layer, showing a simple outline of the Dene territory, and the World Boundaries and Places layer, which provides basic context for the map, are turned on.

   

   Having these two layers turned on will work well to create a locator map that gives an overview of the area. However, you want to adjust the zoom level to better show the area of interest.

7. On the map, zoom in and pan the map to show Canada.

   

   Next, you'll insert the map in your story's sidecar.

8. Click Place map.

   

   The map appears in the sidecar's media panel. Next, you'll add text in the narrative panel.

9. In the narrative panel, click Continue your story.

   By default, the content block type is Text.

   

10. In the opened Story_Text.docx document, under [Slide 1], copy the title Dena Kēyeh and the two following paragraphs. Paste them in the story's narrative panel.

    You'll also format the title.

11. Highlight the Dena Kēyeh title. In the contextual ribbon, click Paragraph and choose Heading 2.

    

    The title updates to a larger font, make it to more visible and prominent than the rest of the text.

Create a map choreography

The map and the text you just added constitute the first slide of the sidecar. A sidecar can contain several slides, and you'll now add a second one to display a more zoomed-in version of the locator map.

1. In the slide panel, click New slide.

   

   A new slide appears.

   Note:

   ArcGIS StoryMaps will manage the dynamic transitions between the slides automatically, when users scroll down the story.

   You'll add the same map to the media panel, but you'll make changes to the way it displays.

2. Click Add and choose Map. Click the My Favorites tab and click the Dene Kʼéh Kusān Map.

   You'll make several new layers visible, which contain pop-ups with photos illustrating specific locations.

3. In the Adjust map appearance window, in the side panel, click the visibility button for the layers Plains and Plateaux, Wetlands, Rivers and Streams, Barren Mountain Summits, Forests and Glaciers, and Lakes to turn them on.

   

   Next, you'll change the map scale to focus on the Kasha Ancestral Territory boundaries.

4. On the map, zoom and pan to center the map around the Kaska Ancestral Territory boundaries.

   

5. Click Place map.

   Note:

   It may take a bit of trial and error to find the correct zoom level or centering. You can experiment by going back and forth between the story and the map configuration window. Click the Edit button in the media panel to reopen the map configuration window. Also, when centering the map, you may want to position it slightly to the right side to make sure the features of interest will not overlap with the narrative panel.

   You'll test the map's pop-ups.

6. Click one of the pine tree symbols to open its pop-up.

   

   The pop-up appears, displaying a photo.

7. Similarly, open the pop-ups for some of the other pine tree symbols.

   These photos give a sense of place to the landscape.

8. If necessary, close any open pop-up.

   You'll add text to the second slide.

9. In the Story_Text.docx document, copy the text under [Slide 2]. Paste it in the story's narrative panel.
10. Highlight the title, Kaska Dena of British Columbia, and format it as Heading 2.

    You'll add a final slide to the sidecar using the same steps as before. You'll add the same map again, but this time you'll make the additional layer Ecoregions of the Dene Kʼéh Kusān visible. You'll also zoom in one more level to better show the ecoregion areas.

11. In the slide panel, click New slide.
12. Click Add and choose Map. Click the My Favorites tab and choose Dene Kʼéh Kusān Map.
13. In the Adjust map appearance window, in the side pane, turn on all the layers, including Ecoregions of the Dene Kʼéh Kusān.

    

14. On the map, zoom in and pan until the ecoregions symbolized in green are fully visible and centered.

    

    On this third slide, you want to turn on the map legend so your readers can understand what the colors mean.

15. Click the Options tab and turn on Legend.

    

    A legend button appears on the map.

    

16. Click the legend button and review the legend content.

    

17. Click Place map.

    You'll now add the text.

18. In the Story_Text.docx document, copy the text under [Slide 3] and paste it in the story's narrative panel. Highlight the title and format it as Heading 2.

    At the bottom of the slide panel, a bar displays the three slides. You can drag the slides to reorder them, or click the options button for more possible actions.

    

    Your three locator map slides are now ready. You'll preview your story.

19. On the top toolbar, click Preview.

    

20. If a message appears telling you that undo history will reset if you preview the story, click Yes, continue.
21. In the story preview, scroll down and observe the story's content.

    As the story progresses, the locator map changes seamlessly and adds more content dynamically. This is the power of map choreography in ArcGIS StoryMaps.

22. Click Close preview to go back to edit mode.

    

    Note:

    This story is meant to be an exercise only. It should not be published, to avoid confusion with the original Dene Kʼéh Kusān story.

In this tutorial, you created a story and displayed locator maps in three slides of an immersive sidecar. You used map choreography to customize how the maps load, behave, and flow throughout your story. Whether they are maps you authored yourself or maps created by other users, you can control the way they appear in your stories.

You can find more tutorials like this in the Building a winning story with ArcGIS StoryMaps path.

Acknowledgements

• The text, images, and spatial data in the story are owned by the Dena Kayeh Institute and used with permission.
• World Imagery sources: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community