Since the release of ModelBuilder (Beta) in Map Viewer last November, many of you joined the Early Adopter Program and provided valuable feedback. We are excited to share that the ArcGIS Online February 2025 release brings significant updates to ModelBuilder (Beta). Here are a few highlights:
Enhanced Tool Organization
Following feedback from our beta testers, ModelBuilder’s “Add tools” interface now organizes tools into the same categories as in ArcGIS Online feature analysis tools, making it easier to locate and implement the tools you need.
Save As
In addition to saving a model, the new “Save As” option allows you to create a copy and generate a new analysis model item in your content. This is a crucial step when working with models shared by others, as it enables you to run or edit the shared model while preserving the original version.
You do not need to be connected to an analysis session in order to create a copy of an existing model.
Share Models
Models are a great way to streamline, document, and visualize analysis workflows. With the latest update to ArcGIS Online, you can easily share the models you have created with other users within your ArcGIS Online organization or make them publicly accessible. Sharing models allows others to reuse and apply them without the need to recreate complex workflows, saving time and effort. Additionally, shared models promote a deeper understanding of workflows among team members, empowering users to build on existing models and leverage proven workflows.
Models can be shared without the need to connect to an analysis session, and only the model’s author has the ability to run or edit the original model item. To open shared models, recipients must have the necessary licensing to use ModelBuilder. To run or edit a shared model, recipients need to create a copy of the model in their organization using the “Save as” option, and work with their own version of the model.
Click here for more details on sharing models.
More Tools
With this update, ModelBuilder now supports two additional tools: Enrich Layer and Generate Travel Areas. These tools are popular workflows that leverage premium content and require additional privilages. Before incorporating these tools into your models, please ensure you have the necessary privileges, such as GeoEnrichment or Network Analysis.
As a reminder, to build a model, users must connect to an analysis session, which provides cloud-based compute resources to power ModelBuilder operations. Credits are consumed based on the duration of your connection to the analysis session, similar to session-based credit consumption in ArcGIS Data Pipelines and ArcGIS Notebooks. In addition to the model session cost, Enrich Layer and Generate Travel Areas also consume credits at the same rate in standalone mode outside of a model. For information on credit consumption rates for Enrich Layer and Generate Travel Areas, see Understand credits for spatial analysis.
With the newly added tools, ModelBuilder now supports 23 out of 29 feature analysis tools.
ModelBuilder in Action: A Demo
Video Credit: Suzanne Foss Chaffey
We want your feedback!
The Esri Web Analysis team is very excited to announce the latest updates to ModelBuilder (beta) in ArcGIS Online, along with numerous improvements and fixes from the previous beta release. Join the Early Adopter Community to post your questions, share your experiences, and provide feedback in our forums. We are eager to hear your thoughts about the new ModelBuilder capability and your analysis experience in ArcGIS Online.
Happy analysis!
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