Skip To Content

Manage apps in the app launcher

The app launcher is a convenient window from which organization members can open the web apps available to them. Members access the app launcher from the Apps button Apps in the website.

The app launcher automatically includes ArcGIS apps for organization members who have an appropriate license. You can add web apps to the app launcher to make them available to organization members. For web apps added to the app launcher, members will not see a Request for Permission prompt when they access the app.

Once added, you can edit the icon and label of the web apps, or remove web apps from the app launcher.

Licensed web apps

When you license apps in your organization, some of those apps automatically show up in the app launcher for users to whom you've assigned licenses. Business Analyst, Dashboards, Excalibur, Experience Builder, Field Maps, GeoPlanner, Insights, Mission, Manager, QuickCapture, Sites, ArcGIS StoryMaps, Workflow Manager, and Workforce appear in the app launcher for users who are licensed to access these apps.

Add web apps to the app launcher

To make web apps readily available to your organization members, add the web apps to the app launcher. You can add up to 50 web apps. The following steps describe how to add a web app that is already hosted in your organization. To include a web app that is not hosted in your organization, you must add it as an item to your organization before you can proceed with the steps to add it to the app launcher.

  1. Confirm that you are signed in as a default administrator or as a member of a custom role with the administrative privilege to manage security and infrastructure.
  2. At the top of the site, click Organization and click the Settings tab.
  3. Click Security on the side of the page and click Apps to jump to the Apps section of the page.
  4. Under Approved apps, click Add approved app.
  5. Search for a web app to add to the app launcher using one of the following methods:
    • Browse to the app in the list.
    • Search by name—When searching by app name, you can only find apps that are hosted in your organization.
    • Search by item URL—When searching by item URL, you can only find apps shared with the public. The item URL is found on the Overview tab (URL section) of the app's item page.
    • Search by app ID—If you own or have access to the app item, you can find the app ID on the Settings tab (Application Settings > Registered Info) of the app's item page. Another way to find the app ID is by opening the app in a private browser window, clicking the sign-in link for the app, and looking for the client_id value in the URL displayed in the browser's address bar.
      Note:

      If you search by app ID, the option to include it in the app launcher is only available if the associated item ID will be publicly accessible.

  6. Select a web app to add to the app launcher.
  7. Turn on the Show in app launcher toggle button.
  8. Type a label for the app.

    This is the name that is displayed in the app launcher.

  9. The app launcher displays an icon to represent each app. Under Icon, choose one of the following:
    • Default—If you choose this option, the text entered in Icon text displays in the app launcher. The icon text must be four or fewer alphanumeric characters.
    • Custom image—If you choose this option, upload a custom image to represent the app in the app launcher.
  10. Click Save to add the app to the app launcher.

    Newly added apps are marked with a green dot in the app launcher.

    Note:

    Once web apps are added to the app launcher, members only see those that they can access. If a web app item previously accessible to a member becomes unavailable because it no longer exists or is no longer shared with them, the change is reflected in the member's app launcher gallery within 10 minutes of it becoming unavailable. If an app you add to the app launcher later becomes inaccessible by your organization or has its app URL changed, the app launcher notifies you that some apps must be updated. To remove inaccessible apps or review URL changes, use the More options button More options for the app and click Remove or Edit.

Manage custom web apps

You can change the label or icon of web apps in the app launcher, or remove web apps from the app launcher. You may remove an app if it is no longer relevant to your organization, or if you want to make other web apps available that are more popular.

  1. Sign in to the organization as a default administrator.
  2. At the top of the site, click Organization and click the Settings tab.
  3. Click Security on the side of the page and click Apps to jump to the Apps section of the page.
  4. To edit the information for an existing app, click the More options button More options for the app you want to edit and click Edit.
    • To change the text that appears for the app in the app launcher, type a new label and click Save.
    • To change the icon that appears for the app in the app launcher, type an abbreviation or upload a simple graphic. Click Save when you finish editing.
  5. To remove an app from the app launcher, click the More options button More options for the app you want to remove and click Remove.
Note:
You can remove some Esri apps by updating the app launcher property in the ArcGIS Portal Directory (Sharing API). You can remove the following apps from the app launcher: ArcGIS Dashboards, ArcGIS Enterprise Sites, Track Viewer, Ortho Maker, ArcGIS Workforce, ArcGIS QuickCapture Web Designer, ArcGIS StoryMaps, ArcGIS Field Maps, and ArcGIS Experience Builder.