Symbol structure

The appearance and behavior of a symbol are dictated by the component symbol layers and symbol effects it contains. The order in which these components are placed in a symbol affects how the symbol appears. To build complex symbols, you must manage the symbol layers and symbol effects within it. You can add, delete, and reorder symbol layers in a symbol. You can import symbol layers from existing symbols (that are stored in a style) into the current symbol.

You adjust the appearance of symbol layers and effects from the Layers tab of the Symbology pane. But to adjust the structure of the symbol itself—what symbol layers and effects are included in the symbol and in what order—you use the Structure tab .

Caution:

The order in which the symbol layers and symbol effects appear in the Symbology pane is how they are layered when they are drawn. The symbol layers and symbol effects at the lowest position in the pane draw first, below all others. The layers and effects at the top of the pane draw last, above the others. You cannot reorder symbol effects; you must add them in the order in which they should be applied. The symbol preview can help you as you build and modify symbols.

Add a symbol layer

To add a symbol layer to a symbol, complete the following steps:

1. In the Format Symbol mode in the Symbology pane, click the Properties tab and click the Structure tab .
2. Under the Layers heading, click Add symbol layer.
3. Choose a layer type: Marker layer, Stroke layer, or Fill layer.
4. Click Apply to save the changes to the symbol.

Import symbol layers from a symbol in a style

Sometimes it is easier to reuse components from another symbol than to build a new symbol. This is also a good way to ensure graphical consistency between related symbols. To reuse existing symbol components, ensure that the source symbol is stored in a style. Save it in your Favorites style if you don't want to store it formally elsewhere. Then you can import any of the symbol layers in the source symbol into the current symbol. You can do this even from symbols of differing geometry types. For example, you can import stroke and marker symbol layers from a line symbol into a polygon symbol to have them draw along the polygon outlines.

From a polygon symbol with a solid fill symbol layer, you can import some symbol layers from an existing line symbol to create a polygon symbol with a dash-dot outline.

Caution:

The symbol layers are added according to the symbol geometry logic rules. You might have to adjust symbol effects or marker placements in the symbol layers to get the desired appearance.

Symbol effects that are in a symbol layer are included in the imported symbol layer. But if a global symbol effect is present on the source symbol, it is not transferred to the target symbol. The resulting symbol may have inconsistent geometry that must be addressed for proper display.

To import one or more symbol layers to a symbol from an existing symbol in a style, complete the following steps:

1. In the Format Symbol mode in the Symbology pane, click the Properties tab and click the Structure tab .
2. Under the Layers heading, click Add symbol layer to open the menu and click Import layers from a symbol.
3. On the Import layers from a symbol dialog box, choose a Symbol type: Point symbol, Line symbol, or Polygon symbol.

   The symbol gallery updates to show symbols from the available styles. Learn more about finding symbols in galleries.

4. Choose a symbol from the gallery.

   The symbol layers in this symbol are listed at the bottom of the dialog box.

5. Use the check boxes to choose one or more symbol layers to import to the current symbol.
6. Click Import.

   The dialog box closes and the symbol layers are imported to the current symbol.

Delete a symbol layer

To delete a symbol layer from a symbol, complete the following steps:

1. In the Format Symbol mode in the Symbology pane, click the Properties tab and click the Structure tab .
2. Under the Layers heading, click the delete button to remove the unwanted symbol layer.
3. Click Apply to save the changes to the symbol.

Reorder symbol layers

To rearrange the draw order of symbol layers in a symbol, complete the following steps:

1. In the Format Symbol mode in the Symbology pane, click the Properties tab and click the Structure tab .
2. Under the Layers heading, click the reorder button of a symbol layer and drag it to a new location in the stack.
3. Click Apply to save the changes to the symbol.

Duplicate symbol layers

Instead of adding a new symbol layer, you can duplicate an existing symbol layer in a symbol. This can save you time when building complex layers that have similar properties. Follow these steps to duplicate a symbol layer in the same symbol.

1. In the Format Symbol mode in the Symbology pane, click the Properties tab and click Duplicate layer .
2. Click Apply to save the changes to the symbol.