Group sharing

When working with the portal, sharing items with specific users and groups is an important process for collaboration and content security. By sharing items, such as maps, layers, and apps, you can control who has access to your content and help with collaboration.

Content

Available groups displayed in Groups section in an organization in ArcGIS portal

The portal service provides options for sharing including sharing with:

  • Specific groups.
  • An organization.
  • Everyone.

Why use groups

You create groups to:

  • Provide a centralized and organized platform to share items with specific sets of users.
  • Control access and permissions for shared items within groups.
  • Manage membership and control item sharing settings to safeguard sensitive data.
  • Promote collaboration by providing a collaborative environment for members to interact, share feedback, and work together on projects.
  • Enable effective organization and management of shared resources, including categorization of items and administration of group membership and content.

User sharing operations

The following are sharing options available to a user when sharing an item:

Sharing option
Description
Sharing within the organization- Users can share items privately within their organization, allowing only members of the organization to access them.
- They can also share items with specific groups within the organization.
Sharing publicly- Users have the option to share items publicly, making them accessible to anyone with the item's URL.
- Publicly shared items can be discovered and accessed by users outside the organization.
Sharing with specific users- Users can share items with specific individuals by entering their usernames or email addresses, granting them access to the shared items.
- This method allows for selective sharing of sensitive data with trusted stakeholders.

Group sharing operations

Users can use groups to organize and share items with specific sets of users. The following are options users can use to share items using groups:

Options
Descriptions
Creating groups- Users can create new groups based on common interests, projects, or workflows within ArcGIS Online.
- They can specify whether the group is public (open to anyone) or private (invitation-only) based on their collaboration needs and data sensitivity.
Adding items to groups- Once a group is created, users can add items to it by sharing existing items with the group or uploading new items directly to the group's content.
- Users can add various types of items, including maps, layers, apps, and data, to the group's shared resources.
Sharing items with groups- Users can share items with specific groups.
- Shared items become accessible to all group members.
Collaborating within groups- Group members can interact with shared items, view, analyze, and contribute to them as needed.
- They can also participate in discussions, share feedback, and collaborate on projects within the group's collaborative environment.
Managing group membership and content- Group owners have control over group membership, content, and settings, including adding or removing members, managing item permissions, and configuring group properties.
- They can also promote group members to managers, granting them additional privileges to assist in managing group resources and activities.

Code examples

Add items to a group

Add an item to group to be shared with a set of users.

APIs

ArcGIS API for PythonArcGIS API for PythonArcGIS REST JS
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from arcgis.gis import GIS
gis = GIS(username="USERNAME", password="PASSWORD")
item = gis.content.get("ITEM_ID")
results = item.share(groups="GROUP_ID")
print(results)

REST API

cURLcURLHTTP
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curl  https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/users/<USERNAME>/items/<ITEM_ID>/share \
-d 'f=json' \
-d 'groups=<GROUP_ID>' \
-d 'token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>'

Invite users to a group

Invite users by their user names.

APIs

ArcGIS API for PythonArcGIS API for PythonArcGIS REST JS
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from arcgis.gis import GIS
gis = GIS(username="USERNAME", password="PASSWORD")
group = gis.groups.get("GROUP_ID")
results = group.invite_users(usernames=["USER_TO_INVITE"])
print(results)

REST API

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curl  https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/community/groups/<GROUP_ID>/invite \
-d 'users=<USER_TO_INVITE>' \
-d 'role=group member' \
-d 'expiration=20160' \
-d 'f=pjson' \
-d 'token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>'

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 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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