The R-ArcGIS Bridge (a.k.a. the R bridge) is the R integration project that enables a seamless connection between ArcGIS Pro, and the R ecosystem. The R-ArcGIS Bridge opens up scientific data analysis workflows and pipelines that can leverage the analytical capabilities of the ArcGIS platform and niche data science packages of R language in tandem.
Since its inception, the R-ArcGIS Bridge user base has grown to a whopping 36,000 downloads, as of writing this blog. In the past year, we have been receiving recurring questions that can be summarized with:
– Does it work with Living Atlas?
– We have massive amounts data in our ArcGIS portal, can we use it without downloading?
We announce new capabilities of the bridge that enable working with remote data sources, feature and image services, in addition to portal authentication functionalities that allow you to work with data that resides in a private portal. This blog summarizes some key new features and out-of-the-box features of arcgisbinding, R-ArcGIS Bridge’s R package, pertinent to working with remote data.
Below is a workflow for the new and updated functions of arcgisbinding
to leverage remote data and in this blog we will explore ways in which you can utilize the R-ArcGIS Bridge to its full capacity to leverage new and improved functionality.

The Improved arc.open() Function
arc.open
is the most frequently used function of the arcgisbinding
package because it is the first function you need to retrieve any spatial data, vector or raster alike, whether it is in a local geodatabase or in a remote server. Inside R, this function creates an arc.dataset-class
object that defines the spatial information and attribute information contained in the dataset. All you need for arc.open
is the path to the spatial data that you would like to bring into R.
Assume you would like to bring in ACS population variables at the tract-level in as an R data frame.
All you need is to reference the URL for the feature service from arc.open
and the function will make a call to this feature service and bring in the data definition. Here the URL for this feature service is https://services.arcgis.com/P3ePLMYs2RVChkJx/arcgis/rest/
services/ACS_Total_Population_Boundaries/FeatureServer/2
.
You can bring this data in by simply calling arc.open
on the URL. The code snippet above makes a call to the REST API and creates a definition of this dataset. Next, you can bring this feature service into R as a spatial data frame by simply calling arc.select
on this data definition. This is the same function you would use for local data.
The new and improved arc.open
allows you to interact with remote data sources with ease and opens up your R analysis to the wealth of spatial and space-time data maintained and curated by the ArcGIS community.
The ACS feature service is publicly available and getting this data into an R dataframe is a direct call to the feature service from arc.open
. What if you have private, password-protected, feature and image services in a private portal? The next sections will elaborate how.
Accessing Protected Data in Private Portals
Not all data can be made publicly available due to the sensitivity of the data and/or privacy concerns pertaining to the data source. If you are working with such data and would like to have the seamless and effortless integration described above, this section is for you! Accessing data in your private portal is as easy as 1-2-3.
1. In ArcGIS Pro login to the portal that you need

2. Use arc.check_portal()
to make sure the R-ArcGIS Bridge recognizes the sign in to the portal
3. Use arc.open
on the feature service/image service URL to bring it into R
After these steps you can access your data that resides in your active portal. The process of reaching private remote data using the R-ArcGIS Bridge is summarized in the video below:
Private Data on Multiple Portals: Enter arc.portal_connect()
Lastly, you might be building an R script that consumes remote data from multiple portals. Note that only one portal can be active in ArcGIS Pro, at a time. We developed the new R-ArcGIS Bridge function arc.portal_connect()
to connect to multiple portals.
arc.portal_connect()
can connect to any inactive portal added to the ArcGIS Pro instance. In the example above, devext is a portal that is inactive but is in the list of portals in ArcGIS Pro. If you needed data from this portal in addition to data from the active portal, you can sign on to it in your R instance simply with:
arc.portal_connect('https://devext.arcgis.com/', username, password)
In the code snippet above, you would need to replace the username and password with your credentials, and you would be on your way to consuming remote data from multiple portals.
Conclusion
The R-ArcGIS Bridge now works seamlessly with remote data sources whether they are public or reside in private portals. This development opens up your R and ArcGIS analysis to an ocean of curated, community-driven data. We are excited to see what you will do with this new functionality and are always excited to hear your needs of the R-ArcGIS Bridge.
Learn more about the R-ArcGIS Bridge on our product page and let us know of any feedback you may have on our GeoNet page.
Hi Marianne, we have ArcGIS Enterprise, and I really like the new Map Viewer. I would like to extend our Map Viewer by adding some custom widgets while keep all the existing features. Is there a way for us to customise our Map Viewer? I understood it is possible to use ExperienceBuilder to build it from scratch. But that means we will miss all the goodies already built in Map Viewer, and we will spend a lot effort to reinvent the wheel. Also there’re a few features that EB are still behind Map Viewer. So is there a Map Viewer… Read more »
Hi Jack, thanks for the feedback; I’m glad to know you appreciate Map Viewer and its new capabilities! As for customization: we do not support extending Map Viewer functionality with custom widgets. However, I would be interested in learning more about what custom functionality you’re hoping to add and what problems that functionality will solve which can’t be done with the current ArcGIS Online product as a whole. You’re welcome to send me an email to connect directly, or you can add more comments to this thread; either works from my end. mfarretta@esri.com
Thanks again!
Will we ever be able to group tables?
And for sure I would love not to have tables in a different section. Most companies I have seen have more tables than feature classes. I want to be able to group layers and tables together by subject matter (even cooler would be to be able to group any content together – csv, pdf help manuals, etc would be sweet).
Also really need related support.
thanks
Hi Doug, thanks for the feedback–I find the pdf/csv/manuals idea intriguing and would love to see it expanded upon in ArcGIS Ideas; I don’t think I’ve heard/read it before. Grouping tables is also a good bit of feedback and we are tracking that possibility, but not sure it has received as much promotion from the mapping community as some of the other enhancements we’ve been prioritizing. I do hope to see some new capabilities with tables soon, so we do have that to look forward to. Thanks Doug!
This release was premature in my opinion (and many others I expect). Why was the support of a very important and VERY common occurrence for support of Relationships removed from the previous version of Web Map Builder? I cannot use the new map editor for about 75% of the the City’s GIS projects because of dropping functionality!
Hi Brett, Nothing has been removed; Map Viewer Classic works as it always has, and the next ArcGIS Online update is expected to bring support for viewing related records in popups, with additional related record support coming in future updates. The expectation is Map Viewer Classic should still allow you to do all the workflows you are accustomed to doing, and Map Viewer will continue to grow and when it meets your requirements, you’ll be able to use it to the degree that you’d like. There are so many features and functionalities which many end users were so excited to… Read more »