10/29/09–In a post last week, we answered some of the functionality questions we didn't get to during our live training seminar. Today, we'll address the audience's questions about ArcGIS Online groups.
Can groups be private?
Yes. When you create a group, you decide to make it public or private. You can change the type of group later on if you want. See ArcGIS Online Help for information on creating and editing groups.
Can anyone create a public group?
Anybody who is registered for ArcGIS Online can create a public group.
Can anyone join a group or do you have to be invited?
It depends on how the owner has set up the groups. There are three types of groups:
- Public and open to membership requests. This means you can search and find the group, and you can request to join it, for example, Board Games.
- Public but not open to membership. This means you can search and find the group, but you can't join it, for example, ESRI Maps and Data.
- Private. You need to be invited to these groups, and you won't find them in searches (unless you are already a member).
Can you change a private group to a public group?
Yes.
Can you suspend access for a group member?
You can remove members from your group. If you want to add members back in, you'll need to re-invite them (or re-accept their request to join).
Can there be more than one group admin?
No, not at this time.
How does a group owner know when I have submitted a request to join his/her group?
The group owner will see a New Membership Requests link in the group you've requested to join.
See ArcGIS Online Help for more information on new membership requests.
If we search for groups, do we see both public and private? Or can we only access private groups by being sent an invitation?
No. When you search for groups, you only find public ones. You can only discover private groups by being sent an invitation from the group owner.
If I want to add an organization to one of my groups, can I do so or does it have to be by individual name?
Currently, you have to invite users individually. See ArcGIS Online Help for details on inviting users to join your group.
Can group content be shared through a URL?
Yes. You can create URLs to share all the content that's shared with the group or a specific set of group items. See ArcGIS Online Help for information on creating URLs. Be aware that only members of your group will be able to see the content (unless the items are also shared with everybody).
Can you cancel a membership to your group?
Yes. As the owner of a group, you can remove members. See ArcGIS Online Help for information on removing people from your group.
If you decline to join a group, can you join at a later time?Yes, but the group owner will have to resend you an invitation.
Do you have to be a member of a group to access a group's online maps?
Yes, unless the online maps are also shared with everyone. Shared with everyone means that anybody who visits ArcGIS Online, including people who are not signed in, can find and use the maps. See ArcGIS Online Help for information on sharing content.
When using a public group to encourage members to add content, how do you review completeness of new content?
Currently, there is not a way for group owners to review content before it is added by members. If you are concerned about the completeness or quality of group content, you may want to be conservative in accepting members. Alternatively, you can set up an invitation-only group.
If you create a map that you want to share to a group, I know you can send the URL by email to a member. Would you be able to secure it so that the receiving user cannot change it? Can you make it 'read only'?
Other users cannot overwrite your Web map but they can create their own map based on changes to yours. When somebody opens your map, they have access to the same set of options you did when you created the map—add layers, change transparency, zoom in, and so on. However, if they want to save the changes, they save as a new Web map (entering a new title and tags) and your Web map is preserved as is.
Is there a registry which records which changes were done to the layers from the group?
No, not at this time.
What type of security is available so only your group members can access the data?
You can set your group to private which means only people you've invited to join your group (and who have accepted) will find your group and have access to the data and maps. If you are looking for this level of security, you should only share your content with the group and not everybody.
Is there any way I can see the list of groups available?
Currently, you have to search for groups by entering at least one keyword. Searching with the term group is a pretty good way to see what's available. In a future update, you will be able to see all available groups by using an empty search string. (You can do this now to see a list of all content.)
Can you track user hits on groups?
No, not at this time.
