Publish data from ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS Online
Download the project
First, you'll download a project package containing the layer you want to publish.
- Download the Homelessness_in_the_United_States project package.
A file named Homelessness_in_the_United_States.ppkx is downloaded to your computer.
Note:
A .ppkx file is an ArcGIS Pro project package and may contain maps, data, and other files that you can open in ArcGIS Pro. Learn more about managing .ppkx files in this guide.
- Locate the downloaded file on your computer and double-click Homelessness_in_the_United_States.ppkx to open it in ArcGIS Pro. If prompted, sign in with your ArcGIS account credentials.
Note:
If you don't have access to ArcGIS Pro or an ArcGIS organizational account, see options for software access.
The project contains a map that shows homelessness by state in the United States.
This layer was created by joining a table of Point-in-Time Count data about people experiencing homelessness with United States Census Bureau data about population in the United States. Then, a new attribute field was calculated to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness per 10,000 people in each state. Lastly, the layer was symbolized with graduated symbols.
Note:
This tutorial will not cover the steps necessary to create this layer. To learn how to join a table to a layer, try Join tabular data to a spatial layer. To learn how to calculate a field, try Convert text data to numeric data. To learn how to symbolize a layer with graduated symbols, try Design symbology for a thematic map in ArcGIS Pro.
Before you continue, you'll explore the layer and familiarize yourself with what it shows.
- In the Contents pane, right-click United States Homelessness and choose Attribute Table.
The layer's table appears. It contains the name of each state, its total population, and the number of people experiencing homelessness for both 2023 and 2020. The 2023 Homeless Population per 10,000 field was used to symbolize the layer.
- Close the table.
The layer has also had pop-ups configured with additional information.
- On the map, click any state.
The state's pop-up shows the number of people experiencing homelessness per 10,000 people, which is based on the field you saw previously. The pop-up also contains the percent change in the number of people experiencing homelessness between 2020 and 2023. There was no field in the attribute table with this information; the pop-up calculates it using a custom ArcGIS Arcade expression.
Note:
To learn more about Arcade, try Get started with ArcGIS Arcade.
- Close the pop-up.
Overall, this layer has already been configured using a variety of tools and features in ArcGIS Pro to be meaningful to a general audience. It's ready to be published to ArcGIS Online, where it can be more easily shared and distributed.
Publish a web layer
Next, you'll publish the layer to your ArcGIS account as a web layer.
- In the Contents pane, right-click United States Homelessness. Point to Sharing and choose Share As Web Layer.
The Share As Web Layer pane appears. Before you publish the layer, you'll give it basic metadata. You'll also make the layer name unique within your organization.
Note:
You cannot create two layers in an ArcGIS organization with the same name. Adding your name or initials ensures that other people in your organization can also complete this tutorial. Once a layer has been created, you can rename it in the map to remove your initials, which will not affect the name of the underlying data layer.
- In the Share As Web Layer pane, for Name, add your name or initials to the end of the name.
- For Summary, type This layer shows the number of people experiencing homelessness per 10,000 people for each state.
- For Tags, type Point-in-Time Counts, Unhoused, and United States of America, pressing Enter after each tag.
You can also choose the type of layer to publish the data as. Your layer is a feature layer, meaning it has distinct features with unique geography (each state is a feature). You'll publish the data as a feature layer as well, rather than a tile layer, which is more appropriate for raster data.
- Confirm that Layer Type is set to Feature.
The next option, Location, allows you to choose or create a folder in your ArcGIS account where the published layer will be located. If you don't choose a location, the layer will be published to your account's default folder. For this tutorial, the default folder is fine.
You can also determine how the published layer will be shared. By default, it will be shared so only its owner (you) can see it. You can also share it so members of your organization can see it, or so everyone can see it as long as they have a URL to it.
For this tutorial, the layer has been configured to be meaningful even by people without GIS experience. The layer also doesn't contain any sensitive or confidential information. You want to share the layer with everyone.
- For Sharing Level, choose Everyone (public).
You're almost ready to publish the layer. Before you do, you'll analyze it to make sure there aren't any errors that might interfere with publishing.
- Under Finish Sharing, click Analyze.
The layer is analyzed. A single error appears: 00374 Unique numeric IDs are not assigned. You'll learn more about what this error means.
- Point to the error and click the Options button.
- In the menu, click Help.
The error's help page appears. The page explains the error and provides solutions for resolving it.
Unique numeric IDs ensure that IDs remain static if a web layer is overwritten. Otherwise, web maps using the layer may break. You don't plan to overwrite the layer after you publish it, but it's possible in the future you would want to if you make changes to the original data. (For instance, if you updated the data to a more recent year than 2023.) You'll resolve the error by assigning unique numeric IDs.
- Close the help page. Return to ArcGIS Pro.
- In the Share As Web Layer pane, double-click 00374 Unique numeric IDs are not assigned.
The Map Properties window appears. This window contains the option to assign unique numeric IDs.
- Check the box for Allow assignment of unique numeric IDs for sharing web layers.
- At the bottom of the window, click OK.
The IDs are assigned. In the Share As Web Layer pane, the error is marked with a check to indicate that it has been resolved.
There are no other errors. You're ready to publish.
- At the bottom of the Share As Web Layer pane, click the Publish button.
After a few moments, the web layer is published.
- On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Save Project button.
Explore the web layer
Now that you've published a web layer, you'll explore it in ArcGIS Online to confirm that it published correctly.
- Under Finish Sharing, click Manage the web layer.
The published web layer's item page appears. Because you shared the published layer with everyone, you are able to view it even if you aren't signed in.
The item page contains metadata about the layer. It includes the summary and tags you set when you published the layer, but it can also have an in-depth description, a terms of use, and credits.
Tip:
Though adding metadata won't be covered in this tutorial, it's recommended that you include detailed metadata for all items published on ArcGIS Online. To edit any part of the details page, make sure you are signed in to your ArcGIS account. Then, click the Edit button next to the section header. The Item Information section walks you through which parts of the details page still need to be added or improved.
To share this page, you only need to copy the page URL and send it to whoever you want to see the layer. Before you do that, you'll explore the published layer in a web map.
- Click Open in Map Viewer.
The layer is added to a web map. The symbology matches the symbology the layer had in ArcGIS Pro.
When you publish a layer from ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS Online, the web layer will attempt to maintain all symbology changes you made to the layer. There are some differences between the symbology options in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, so not all symbology changes can be maintained. Most symbology is compatible, however.
Note:
If you want, you can still edit the layer's symbology in ArcGIS Online. To learn more about styling data in ArcGIS Online, try Design symbology for a thematic map in ArcGIS Online.
- In the Layers pane, next to your United States Homelessness layer, click the Options button and choose Show table.
The layer's table appears.
- Scroll through the table.
The table contains the same information as the attribute table of the layer in ArcGIS Pro. All information associated with the layer was published correctly.
- Close the table.
- On the map, click any state.
The state's pop-up appears. It contains the same information as the pop-up in ArcGIS Pro, including the information about percent change, which was calculated using a custom Arcade expression.
Pop-up information, even when customized, is also maintained after publishing a layer.
- Close the pop-up.
You've confirmed the layer was published correctly. You can access the layer's item page again through your account's Content page.
- If necessary, on the ribbon, click Sign In. Sign in using the same ArcGIS account credentials you used when accessing ArcGIS Pro.
- On the ribbon, next to Untitled map, click the options button.
- In the menu, click Content. If asked to confirm that you want to leave the page, click Leave.
Your ArcGIS account's content page appears. The layer you published is the most recent layer displayed. There is also a service definition file with the same name.
A service definition is a file that contains all the information needed to publish a web layer. When you publish data from ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS Online, one is automatically created. You can use service definitions for publishing the same service in different environments, but for this tutorial, you don't need to use it.
Note:
To learn more about service definitions, see the help topic Introduction to saving service definitions.
- Click the name of your United States Homelessness feature layer.
You return to the item page.
In this tutorial, you published a layer from ArcGIS Pro to ArcGIS Online. The layer you published can now be used in web maps and other online ArcGIS apps. To learn more about how to make a web map using a web layer, try Get started with ArcGIS Online.
You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.
