{"id":708532,"date":"2020-01-23T11:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T19:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=708532"},"modified":"2024-08-28T11:58:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T18:58:45","slug":"what-is-an-express-map-and-why-should-you-use-one","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/mapping\/what-is-an-express-map-and-why-should-you-use-one","title":{"rendered":"What is an express map and why should you use one?"},"author":6331,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[22941],"tags":[398132,26451,498022,545072,176452],"industry":[],"product":[36611,380802],"class_list":["post-708532","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mapping","tag-arcgis-storymaps","tag-cartography","tag-express-maps","tag-locator-map","tag-mapping","product-story-maps","product-arcgis-storymaps"],"acf":{"short_description":"All stories happen somewhere. Here's how to easily add slick-looking maps in ArcGIS StoryMaps.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Where stories happen matters. We take the \u201cmaps\u201d part of \u201cArcGIS StoryMaps\u201d very seriously. Geography isn\u2019t merely a passive stage upon which things happen. It shapes our stories. It often explains <\/em>those stories. Place matters and without it your readers may be missing the whole story. So, even if you\u2019ve never had any cartographic or GIS training, we want you to be able to include maps in your stories \u2014 that\u2019s why we created express maps within the ArcGIS StoryMaps<\/a> builder.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":708542,"id":708542,"title":"Juno_Beach","filename":"Juno_Beach.png","filesize":34650,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/mapping\/what-is-an-express-map-and-why-should-you-use-one\/juno_beach","alt":"","author":"6331","description":"","caption":"Showing the generalized movement of troops onto the five sectors of Normandy Beach are central to this story. The red pins show locations of important battles in WWII.","name":"juno_beach","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":708532,"date":"2020-01-22 00:30:07","modified":"2020-01-22 00:30:56","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":904,"height":577,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach.png","medium-width":409,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":490,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach.png","large-width":904,"large-height":577,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach.png","1536x1536-width":904,"1536x1536-height":577,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach.png","2048x2048-width":904,"2048x2048-height":577,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach-729x465.png","card_image-width":729,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Juno_Beach.png","wide_image-width":904,"wide_image-height":577}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/bac09fc654864904a056fc9e5c2ddf6a"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Express maps help you to quickly create and embed simple locator and distribution maps in your narratives. Most stories happen somewhere<\/em> and they usually need one or more simple maps to help readers orient themselves. If you\u2019re not sure your audience knows where a place is, use an express map. Need to show the location of new store openings, and their business hours, in your hometown? Or how things are moving around, whether across campus or around the globe? Or the boundaries of a study area or region? These are all great ways to use express maps. Our goal was to make cartography as simple as possible so anyone can add focused maps at the right time.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":708562,"id":708562,"title":"Nice_Pop-up","filename":"Nice_Pop-up.png","filesize":82034,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/mapping\/what-is-an-express-map-and-why-should-you-use-one\/nice_pop-up","alt":"","author":"6331","description":"","caption":"Add rich content to your pop-ups to help bring places to life. This story about giraffe species in Africa includes photos and descriptions in the pop-ups, but you can add links to them too.","name":"nice_pop-up","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":708532,"date":"2020-01-22 00:33:09","modified":"2020-01-22 00:33:29","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":914,"height":578,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up.png","medium-width":413,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":486,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up.png","large-width":914,"large-height":578,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up.png","1536x1536-width":914,"1536x1536-height":578,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up.png","2048x2048-width":914,"2048x2048-height":578,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up-735x465.png","card_image-width":735,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice_Pop-up.png","wide_image-width":914,"wide_image-height":578}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/358b83b5f776402fa726cfa316aa197c"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

<\/h2>\n

The anatomy of express maps<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are only four components to an express map:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The base <\/strong>or \u201ccanvas\u201d of the map, which is already crafted for you; this is a good time to call out a really great thing about express maps, which is that you can opt to upload an image<\/em> to serve as the base instead of a map.<\/li>\n
  2. The drawn<\/strong> features<\/strong> you add to the map yourself to represent geographic information (like points, lines, or areas);<\/li>\n
  3. The map pop-ups<\/strong> attached to those features, complete with any relevant details you supply; and<\/li>\n
  4. The annotations<\/strong> you add to provide more context (like text or arrows).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you\u2019re in a hurry, express maps can simply draw from the design theme of your story for their graphic look. Of course, you\u2019re not restricted to this and can customize most of the elements in an express map as you see fit: Change the basemap, the colors of the drawn features, the styles of the annotation, the size of the map symbols, even upload your own icons to use on the map. You can even organize your drawn features into groups and color-code them, such as different types of restaurants or hotel price ranges ($, $$, $$$). This is a big deal because it means you can either let us take care of the styling cues out of the gate or you can modify them if you want to go further, for instance, to have your express map complement a custom theme that you\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":708572,"id":708572,"title":"Allens_Hikes","filename":"Allens_Hikes.png","filesize":213088,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/mapping\/what-is-an-express-map-and-why-should-you-use-one\/allens_hikes","alt":"","author":"6331","description":"","caption":"The topographic basemap perfectly complements a story about hikes in Acadia National Park. These generalized routes are traced directly on top of the basemap sidestepping the need to find and import hiking trail data. Tip: Zoom in when tracing to make it easier as you go.","name":"allens_hikes","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":708532,"date":"2020-01-22 00:34:55","modified":"2020-01-22 00:35:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1324,"height":995,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes.png","medium-width":347,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":577,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes.png","large-width":1324,"large-height":995,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes.png","1536x1536-width":1324,"1536x1536-height":995,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes.png","2048x2048-width":1324,"2048x2048-height":995,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes-619x465.png","card_image-width":619,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Allens_Hikes.png","wide_image-width":1324,"wide_image-height":995}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/0836a92158e7486a86959cf87f971a3c"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Basemaps have the biggest impact on the look of the map and you have a number of good choices here. The default basemap is derived from the theme you\u2019re using for the story, and we also offer another 12 Esri basemaps in the map settings panel to quickly try out and see if those work better. It\u2019s worth nothing that different basemaps contain different kinds of content, and emphasize different kinds of things. Some might emphasize things like terrain while other focus on human boundaries and roads. Some are colorful, some are muted.<\/p>\n

    But beyond Esri\u2019s official basemaps, your express map can utilize any public web map<\/em> as the basemap, whether that is a map you found in the Living Atlas of the World<\/a>, your own collection, a federal agency, or live data service in ArcGIS. Why would you do this? Perhaps you want to place your content on top of a weather map, or one showing real-estate prices in your town, or a map of national voting patterns, or one showing seismic risk. And so on and on. Blending content together like this is the core strength of modern cartography and express maps make this a snap.<\/p>\n

    And, as mentioned above, an express map doesn’t actually need to be a map at all, if you choose to provide an image to serve as the base layer instead. Going this route opens up a plethora of possibilities for adding context and interactivity to images just as you can with maps, and allows you to apply a number of creative “map-oriented” ArcGIS StoryMaps techniques to the image, as well. If you’re curious about how the image layer in express maps can be employed, give this blog post<\/a> a look.<\/p>\n

    Express maps are all about the drawing tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    When creating an express map, you\u2019ll notice a variety of drawing tools available to you in the map designer\u2019s toolbar. This is the heart of the express map authoring process: Use it to add points, lines or areas to your map as needed. It also includes helpful drawing tools to save time like circles\/ovals and squares\/rectangles. Rounding out the list are the annotation tools for labeling the map directly, or including arrows that can be curved to fit your exact needs.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2461142,"id":2461142,"title":"Screenshot 2024-08-14 at 11.13.10\u202fPM","filename":"Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","filesize":13333,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/mapping\/what-is-an-express-map-and-why-should-you-use-one\/screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11-13-10-pm","alt":"A screenshot of the drawing toolbar for an express map in ArcGIS StoryMaps.","author":"32401","description":"","caption":"","name":"screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11-13-10-pm","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":708532,"date":"2024-08-15 03:13:45","modified":"2024-08-15 03:14:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1262,"height":126,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM-213x126.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":126,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":46,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":77,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","large-width":1262,"large-height":126,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","1536x1536-width":1262,"1536x1536-height":126,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","2048x2048-width":1262,"2048x2048-height":126,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM-826x82.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":82,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screenshot-2024-08-14-at-11.13.10\u202fPM.png","wide_image-width":1262,"wide_image-height":126}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    The things that you draw will automatically appear in the drawn features panel on the left side of the map. Your readers won\u2019t see this panel, but it’s there in the map editor so you can rename the features on the map, fill-out your pop-ups, change the color of points, lines or areas, or delete them. Note that annotations and arrows do not appear as line items in the map panel (or the map legend, which your readers can see if you enable it) since they are self-explanatory.<\/p>\n

    Pro Tip:<\/strong> You have the option to drag out leader lines from the annotation text by grabbing the handles at the top or bottom of the text box. Even if you reposition the text later, the lines will self-adjust and look great.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":708612,"id":708612,"title":"Nice Labels","filename":"Nice-Labels.png","filesize":39508,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/mapping\/what-is-an-express-map-and-why-should-you-use-one\/nice-labels","alt":"","author":"6331","description":"","caption":"","name":"nice-labels","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":708532,"date":"2020-01-22 00:38:57","modified":"2020-01-22 00:38:57","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1095,"height":781,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels.png","medium-width":366,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":548,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels.png","large-width":1095,"large-height":781,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels.png","1536x1536-width":1095,"1536x1536-height":781,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels.png","2048x2048-width":1095,"2048x2048-height":781,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels-652x465.png","card_image-width":652,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Nice-Labels.png","wide_image-width":1095,"wide_image-height":781}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/619d75ae8d0545f5a81824a67754af77"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Want to speed up adding points? Hold shift while clicking to add up to 50 to your express map. Not sure how to use a tool? Hover over the icon and see an animated tooltip demo.<\/p>\n

    There are also a number of toggle-able settings, such as the ability to prevent readers from panning and zooming around the map (if doing so would be a distraction from the map’s intended purpose), or turning on a search widget. You can learn more about those options here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    When can express maps be useful?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    There are a few different instances where my teammates and I find express maps really come in handy:<\/p>\n