How to Animate Map Symbols in ArcGIS Online Map Viewer

Introduction

The February 2025 update to ArcGIS Online introduced a game-changing feature for web cartographers and GIS storytellers: animated map symbols. Now, you can bring your maps to life by adding motion to points, lines, and polygons, grabbing attention and illustrating patterns like never before.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk through how to animate symbols in the new Map Viewer, including use cases, configuration tips, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Why Animate Symbols?

Animation isn’t just eye candy—it helps convey dynamic change, urgency, or direction. Examples include:

• Live bus locations with pulsing icons

• Emergency zones with glowing boundaries

• Flow lines for pipelines or migration routes

• Flashing warning points during disaster scenarios

With the February 2025 update, all of this is now native to Map Viewer, no custom JavaScript required.

Step-by-Step: Enabling Animation in Map Viewer

1. Open the New Map Viewer

   • Log in to your ArcGIS Online account.

   • Launch the Map Viewer (not Classic).

2. Add Your Data Layer

   • Add a hosted feature layer or a web layer that supports rendering in Map Viewer.

   • Supported geometry types: Point, Line, Polygon

3. Configure the Style

   • Click on your layer > "Style" > Choose an attribute to visualize (e.g., status, type, or intensity).

   • Scroll to Symbol Style Options.

4. Enable Animation

   • Toggle on "Animate symbols" under Symbol Options.

   • Choose your animation type:

     • Pulse (for points)

     • Glow (for lines/polygons)

     • Trail (for movement direction)

5. Adjust Parameters

   • Speed: Set how fast the animation loops.

   • Size variance: Optional, based on an attribute.

   • Color changes: Sync with time-enabled data if applicable.

6. Preview and Save

   • Click Done, then preview the animation live on your map.

   • Save your web map and share it with your organization or the public.

Pro Tips for Better Animations

• Use animation sparingly to avoid overwhelming your users.

• Combine with time sliders to show temporal patterns.

• For performance, avoid large datasets with complex animations.

• Test on both desktop and mobile—some effects may differ.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Don’t use animation for static layers; it creates visual noise.

• Make sure your browser supports WebGL acceleration.

• Avoid too many animated layers on one map; it can slow things down.

Final Thoughts

Animated symbols in ArcGIS Online’s Map Viewer are a powerful way to enhance user engagement and convey spatial stories with impact. Whether you’re showing traffic flow, highlighting alerts, or drawing focus to specific areas, this new tool opens up exciting creative possibilities without writing a single line of code.

Explore, experiment, and make your maps move!

Bonus Tip: Want to create animated dashboards too? Pair your map with ArcGIS Dashboards and use animated symbols to sync with real-time feeds.

Stay tuned for more ArcGIS tips right here. And if you found this helpful, don’t forget to bookmark or share it!