The Properties pane in Map Viewer provides information about the layers in your map as well as quick access to several layer configuration options, such as styling, blend modes, transparency, and visible range.
As a map author, the maps you create often include layers owned by other ArcGIS Online users in and outside your organization. These layers are typically prepared for immediate use with styling, pop-ups, and other properties configured by their owners.
You can customize the properties of layers in your map to suit your needs. By default, any changes you make to the properties of feature layers in your map are stored in the map when you save it. This means that if you customize the properties of a feature layer you don’t own, any changes the layer owner makes to the layer properties in the future will not be reflected in your map. If you want your map to inherit layer property changes made by the layer owner in the future, you can reset the properties of the feature layer in your map in the Information section of the Properties pane.
The sections below describe how to view and manage feature layer properties in your map.
Tip:
You can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly complete common workflows in Map Viewer. To view the full list of keyboard shortcuts in Map Viewer, press Alt+? on Microsoft Windows or Option+? on Mac.
View feature layer properties
The Information section of the Properties pane provides basic information about the selected feature layer in your map. This includes the name of the source layer and a link to the source layer’s item page. This section also indicates the status of layer properties such as styling, clustering, or pop-ups as either stored in the source layer or stored in the web map.
When you first add a feature layer to a map, all properties are stored in the source layer. Once you change a layer property in the map—for example, the style—the status of the associated property changes from Stored in source layer to Stored in web map.
Do the following to view layer property information, including the layer properties status:
- Confirm that you are signed in and, if you want to save your changes, that you have privileges to create content.
Note:
You can explore maps, add and configure layers, and more without signing in. To save your work, sign in before creating a map. - In Map Viewer, open a map containing a feature layer or add a feature layer to a new map.
- On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Layers
if the Layers pane is not open. - In the Properties pane, expand the Information section.
- Do any of the following:
- Under Source layer, click the layer name to view the layer’s item page.
- If the All properties are stored in this web map message is displayed, click Information
and expand the Data properties or Appearance properties sections as needed to see which properties are stored in the map (Stored in web map) and which are inherited from the source layer (Stored in source layer).Note:
If the All properties are stored in source layer message is displayed, clicking the Information button confirms that no properties for the layer were set in your map.
- When finished, close the Properties pane.
Manage feature layer properties
By default, any changes you make to the properties of feature layers in your map are stored in the map and remain disconnected from the source layer. This means that future changes to those properties in the source layer are not reflected in your map.
For example, suppose your map has a feature layer of census data from ArcGIS Living Atlas. The ArcGIS Living Atlas layer has a custom style and pop-ups configured, but you want to modify the style to use a different color ramp. If you save the map, the new color ramp is stored in the map and disconnected from the style property of the ArcGIS Living Atlas source layer. This means that your color ramp change doesn’t change the color ramp of the ArcGIS Living Atlas layer, and any changes to the color ramp in the ArcGIS Living Atlas layer will not appear in your map. Other properties in the ArcGIS Living Atlas layer, such as pop-ups, continue to be inherited from the source layer until they are otherwise configured and saved in your map.
However, if you want to keep the layer in your map connected to the configuration of the original source layer so that updates to the source layer properties always appear in your map, you can reset the layer to inherit the source layer properties. For example, you can do this if you want your map to reflect any future changes to the properties of a feature layer you added, regardless of any changes you or others make to the layer in your map. When you reset the layer to the source layer properties, the source layer properties override all the changes you or others made to the layer in the map. You can do this for individual properties, such as styling, or for all properties at once. If needed, you can disconnect the layer properties at any time to maintain your own changes in the map.
Tip:
If you want to maintain the original layer author's styling but you also want to present an alternative perspective on the same data, you can duplicate the feature layer and save its style settings in the map. You can also save a feature layer as a new layer item in My Content, which allows you to use your layer configurations in other maps.
Reset to source layer properties
After configuring any layer properties in your map, you can choose to reset the layer to source layer properties. Resetting discards the properties you configured on the layer in the web map and ensures that changes made to the source layer in the future are reflected in your map.
Note:
This behavior applies to the layer configuration only. Any updates made to the data in the layer—for example, new or edited features—are always reflected in the map (with the exception of changes to the data source, such as filters set at the service level, and other behaviors set on the source data).
- Confirm that you are signed in and, if you want to save your changes, that you have privileges to create content.
Note:
You can explore maps, add and configure layers, and more without signing in. To save your work, sign in before creating a map. - In Map Viewer, open a map containing a feature layer or add a feature layer to a new map.
- On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Layers if the Layers pane is not open.
- In the Layers pane, click a layer with one or more properties configured in the web map—for example, clustering enabled.
The Properties pane appears.
- In the Properties pane, expand the Information section.
The All properties are stored in this web map message is displayed.
- Click Manage layer properties.
- Click Reset to source layer properties.
The layer updates to show the source layer configuration, and layer properties set in the map are discarded.
- Close the Manage layer properties window.
- Save the map.
The layer properties are now configured directly from the source layer.
Disconnect layer properties
If you want all layer properties to remain exactly as they are in your map, including those you have and have not modified, you can choose to disconnect all layer properties from the source layer. This ensures that no changes to the source layer properties will be reflected in your map.
- Confirm that you are signed in and, if you want to save your changes, that you have privileges to create content.
Note:
You can explore maps, add and configure layers, and more without signing in. To save your work, sign in before creating a map. - In Map Viewer, open a map containing a feature layer or add a feature layer to a new map.
- On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Layers if the Layers pane is not open.
- In the Layers pane, click a layer whose properties have been reset to source layer properties (as described in the previous section).
The Properties pane appears.
- In the Properties pane, expand the Information section.
The All properties are stored in source layer message is displayed.
- Click Manage layer properties.
- Click Disconnect layer properties.
Source layer properties are disconnected from layer properties stored in the map.
- Close the Manage layer properties window.
- Save the map.
The map now stores all layer property changes you make from this point forward and will not reflect any future changes to the source layer properties.