Style location

ArcGIS for Excel allows you to explore data through a variety of smart mapping styles. When you style map layers, the type of data determines the default styling options. You can update color ramps, line weights, transparency, symbols, and other graphic elements, and see your choices reflected immediately on the map.

To see where the features are located and how they are distributed geographically, use the Location (Single symbol) style. If you are mapping point features, you can also use the Heat map style to see the location and distribution of features.

Style location data using a single symbol

Drawing the data using a single symbol gives you a sense of how features are distributed—whether they are clustered or dispersed—and may reveal hidden patterns. For example, when mapping city service requests in Miami, Florida, an obvious pattern that the majority of calls originate in the downtown business district is apparent. You can style points and lines using a single symbol.

To style location data using a single symbol, do the following:

1. At the top of the layer list, click Layer options .

   The layer options appear with the Styling pane open by default.

2. Select the layer to modify from the Active layer drop-down menu.
3. Optionally, choose a data attribute to style from either the Select a drawing column (size) or Select a drawing column (color) drop-down menus.

   Only the styling options that apply to the specified attribute appear. For example, if you only know the location of a feature, you can style by single symbol or heat map. If you specify an attribute that contains numeric data, smart mapping presents additional styling options.

4. Select the Location (Single symbol) style card and click Style options .

   The layer updates to style location data using a default symbol, and options for the style appear.

5. Optionally, do any of the following:
   • Click Symbology and specify the symbol settings to change the symbol.
   • Click Transparency and specify the transparency settings. You can only use this option if you have numeric or date data associated with the locations. For example, if the layer contains income data, you can adjust each location's transparency proportional to its income.
   • Click Rotate symbols if you are mapping point symbols that have numeric information attached to the points—for example, the direction the wind is blowing—and specify the rotation settings.
6. Click Back to close the Styling pane and view the layer list.

Use heat maps

You can use heat maps when mapping the location of point features. Heat maps are useful when many of the points on the map are close together or overlapping, making it difficult to distinguish between features. They are effective for displaying layers that contain a large number of points. For example, you can use a heat map to clearly show clusters of white shark locations near New Zealand.

Heat maps use the points in the layer to calculate and display the relative density of points on the map as smoothly varying sets of colors ranging from cool (low density of points) to hot (many points). Avoid heat maps if you have only a few point features; instead, map the actual points.

Tip:

If the data contains numeric attribute data, the heat map can weight this data to calculate the optimal display. Choose an attribute field with numeric data to use weighted features. Strings and other nonnumeric data are not weighted. The attribute field name appears in the heat map options pane when it is being used for weighting.

To use a heat map to style point data, do the following:

1. At the top of the layer list, click Layer options .

   The layer options appear with the Styling pane open by default.

2. Select the layer to modify from the Active layer drop-down menu.
3. From the Select a drawing column (size) or Select a drawing column (color) drop-down menu, choose < None >.

   The applicable style cards appear.

4. Select the Heat map style card and click Style options .

   The layer updates to use heat map styling with a default color ramp, and options for the style appear.

5. Optionally, do the following:
   • Click Color ramps and choose a ramp. You can choose from several collections of color ramps, including ramps that are optimized for color vision deficiency and ramps that are best for dark backgrounds. You can also click Reverse ramp colors to change the direction of the color ramp.
   • Click Area of influence and adjust the position of the handles on the color ramp slider to change how the colors are applied to the density surface.
   • Click Area of influence and adjust the Blur radius slider to make the clusters larger and smoother or smaller and more distinct.
6. Click Back to close the Styling pane and view the layer list.