How to change the projection in ArcGIS Online in one easy step

January 20, 2014

Paul Heersink

Did you know that you can use a projection other than the standard Web Mercator Auxiliary projection in the ArcGIS Online viewer? You'll be surprised at how easy it is to do.

ArcGIS Online is a convenient online mapping tool that allows users to combine thematic data with a number of ready-made basemaps. For those living in the far north, however, all of this convenience is lost simply because the projection that's used (Web Mercator Auxiliary) really distorts their area of interest. Compare the map of Inuvik (latitude 68 north) in Web Mercator Auxiliary (Figure 1) to one that's in a more appropriate Lambert Conformal Conic projection (Figure 2). Both are roughly the same scale (around 1:145,000), but keep in mind that the orientation of the maps differ.

Inuvik, Northwest Territories at 68 degrees north in Web Mercator auxiliary projection

Inuvik, Northwest Territories in Lambert Conformal Conic projection. North is about 38 degrees clockwise from the top.

You may not know this but the ArcGIS Online viewer can also display maps in projections other than the standard Web Mercator Auxiliary. You might be surprised to learn that you can do this in one easy step.

When adding a data layer with the desired projection to your map in ArcGIS Online, select the option to use it as a basemap. This will cause the viewer to select the projection parameters associated with the layer and display the map in your chosen projection.

Setting the projection by using the projected layer as the basemap

You can then pan and zoom about your map as you normally would. Keep in mind that any additional layers added will be re-projected on the fly to match the projection you’ve chosen. To minimize your browser's workload, you should ensure that any additional layers are in the same projection. Keep in mind that re-projecting cache will result in a degradation of map quality and display speed and may cause your browser to crash.