Change the style settings

Note:

Some workflows may require specific privileges. For more information about user types, roles, and privileges, see the Accounts topic.

Some of the options or features described in this workflow are available only to users with an ArcGIS organizational account.

You can change and customize the symbol, color, and other style settings for a map layer.

See Style map layers to learn about methods for styling data and Symbol types to learn about smart mapping and default applied styles.

The available style setting options depend on the type of layer selected, the symbol type in use (also known as smart mapping), the type of data attributes selected, and the features' geometric shape (point, line, or polygon).

Note:

You can change the style settings for layers added from ArcGIS. Style changes to these layers are local to your instance of ArcGIS for Microsoft 365 and are not saved with the original map layer to your ArcGIS organizational account.

To change a map's style settings, complete the following steps:

1. Follow the steps in the Apply a style workflow for your component:
   • Apply a style in ArcGIS for Excel
   • Apply a style in ArcGIS for Power BI
   • Apply a style in ArcGIS for SharePoint
2. Choose a symbol type.
3. Click the Style options tab to customize the look of the layer.

   Depending on the layer type, symbol type, feature geometry, and selected data attributes, different options are shown on the Style options tab.

4. Optionally, do any of the following:
   • Update the Symbol styling settings to change the shape, fill, outline, and related qualities of geometric features.
   • Update the Boundary styling settings to change the appearance of map layer boundaries.
   • Update the Heat map settings for layers styled with the heat map symbol type.
   • Update the Size or Color classification settings to refine the data classification and adjust the histogram.
   • Update the Clustering settings to change how point symbols are grouped on the map.

     Note:

     To learn more about grouping point symbols, see the Clustering topic.

   • Update the Unique values settings for layers styled with a types or types and size symbol type.
   • Update the Transparency and Rotation settings per attribute.
5. When you are satisfied with the style settings, click the Layer properties tab to update the layer settings or click Close to close the Layers pane.

Symbol styling

To update the geometric symbol styles in use—for example, for point, line, or polygon symbols—expand the Symbol styling section and do any of the following:

Note:

Not all options are available for all symbol styling types.

Style type	Instruction
Shape, size, and fill	Shapes are divided into three categories: Classic symbols, Vector symbols, and Added styles. To change the shape of symbols on your map, choose a Shape category from the drop-down menu. Choose a symbol from the category menu and click to select the icon. Optionally, enter a pixel value to increase or decrease the shape's size. Optionally, choose a shape fill color from the options table or enter a custom RGB or hexadecimal color value. Tip: To clear the fill value, click the Clear button . To add a custom symbol, in the Added styles section, click the Uploaded symbols arrow button to display the context menu and upload a PNG, SVG, or JPG image (size limit 80 KB). To remove the custom symbol, select a new symbol from one of the Shape categories or click the edit button in the Added styles section, select the uploaded symbol, and click the delete button .
Color ramp	To change a color range, expand the Color ramp section and choose a ramp from the collections. Click Reverse ramp colors to change the sequence of colors in the ramp. Tip: Hover over a color ramp to see its name.
Size range	Adjust the Size range slider to set a minimum and maximum symbol size value in pixels. You can either drag a handle or click the default value and type a new value. Check Adjust size automatically to optimize the symbols for the current map zoom level and automatically adjust them at other zoom levels.
Fill	Choose a Fill color from the options table or enter a custom RGB or hexadecimal color value. Optionally, enter a transparency percentage, from 0 (fully transparent) to 100 (completely opaque), to apply transparency to the fill. Tip: To clear the fill value, click the Clear button .
Outline color and width	Choose an Outline color from the options table or specify a custom RGB or hexadecimal color value. Optionally, enter a transparency percentage, from 0 (fully transparent) to 100 (completely opaque), to apply transparency to the outline. Note: To clear the outline value for point features, click the Clear button . Optionally, enter an outline pixel amount to increase or decrease the outline's width. Optionally, choose a line pattern from the pattern drop-down menu.

Boundary styling

To change the appearance of map layer boundaries, do any of the following:

Note:

This feature is only available in ArcGIS for Power BI.

Style type	Instructions
Show boundary	Turn on the Show boundary toggle button. Options for configuring map boundaries appear.
Fill	Choose a boundary Fill color from the options table or enter a custom RGB or hexadecimal color value. Optionally, enter a transparency percentage, from 0 (fully transparent) to 100 (completely opaque), to apply transparency to the fill. Tip: To clear the boundary fill value, click the Clear button .
Outline color and width	Choose a boundary Outline color from the options table or specify a custom RGB or hexadecimal color value. Optionally, enter a transparency percentage, from 0 (fully transparent) to 100 (completely opaque), to apply transparency to the outline. Note: To clear the outline value, click the Clear button . Optionally, enter an outline pixel amount to increase or decrease the outline's width. Optionally, choose a line pattern from the pattern drop-down menu.

Heat map

To change the appearance of layers styled using a heat map, do any of the following:

Style type	Instructions
Color ramp	Expand Color ramp and choose a ramp from the collections. Click Reverse ramp colors to change the sequence of colors in the ramp. Tip: Hover over a color ramp to see its name.
Area of influence	Expand Area of influence to see the available options. Use the slider to adjust the appearance of the heat map. Drag the top handle down to make the clusters smaller and more distinct; drag the bottom handle up to make the clusters larger and smoother.
Blur radius	Adjust the Blur radius slider to the right to increase the distortion field or to the left to decrease the radius or type a radius value in the text box. Note: ArcGIS for Power BI users can drag a numeric value into the Size field well to better define heat map properties.

Size or color classification

To update the data classification for layers styled by size, color, or color and size, do any of the following:

Style type	Instructions
Size or Color classification	Expand Size classification or Color classification to see the available settings.
Classify data	Turn on the Classify data toggle button to enable classification settings. Note: This setting is not enabled for all data types. Choose a classification Method option from the drop-down menu. Specify the number of Classes to further generalize the map, or, if you are using standard deviation, choose the interval. Tip: To use the Manual classification option, adjust or move the handles on the histogram.
Divided by	From the Divided by drop-down menu, choose a numeric attribute from the active layer by which to standardize or normalize the raw data into rates or percentages. Examples of normalized data include x per capita, y per square kilometer, or a ratio of x to y. Raw counts, by comparison, are better visualized with colors after they are standardized.
Histogram	Adjust the bounding handles along the histogram graphic to change how the classification is applied to your data. You can either drag the handle or click the number next to the handle and type a value. Experiment with the position of the handles to adjust how this changes the map visualization. Note: The standard deviation (or sigma) and the calculated average mean show the distribution of the highest, lowest, and mean (or average) data values. These update automatically as you move the histogram handles.
Out of range or no value data	Turn on the Show features with no value or out of range toggle button to draw or extrapolate locations with missing data on the map.

Clustering

Expand the Clustering section and do any of the following:

Style type	Instruction
Clustering	Turn on the Enable clustering toggle button to aggregate point symbols into default configuration options based on the symbol type.
Radius	To change the number of features grouped into each cluster, adjust the Radius slider. Move the slider to the left to specify a lower cluster radius, grouping fewer features in each cluster, or to the right to specify a higher radius, grouping more features in each cluster.
Text color	To change the Text color setting on the cluster symbols, choose a color from the options table or specify a custom RGB or hexadecimal color value.

Unique values

The Unique values menu provides a preview of the appearance of symbols on layers styled using types or types and size. To update the unique values settings, do any of the following:

Style type	Instruction
Unique value	Expand the Unique values section to see the categories from the selected data attributes shown on the map, including the color ramp in use and a count of each category. Click the remove button next to a category to remove it from the unique values list. Click Add to select and add a category from your data attributes to the unique values list. To change the color ramp, see Symbol styling in this topic.
Show other symbols	Turn on the Show other symbols toggle button to show any categories from your data attributes on the map that are not included in the unique values list.

Transparency and rotation

To change the transparency and rotation settings per attribute, do any of the following:

Style type	Instruction
Vary by attribute	Expand the Vary by attribute section to see the available transparency and rotation settings.
Transparency by attribute	Turn on the Transparency by attribute toggle button. Options for configuring attribute transparency appear.
Field (Transparency)	Select an attribute from the active layer to which you will apply transparency. Note: Transparency can only be applied to numeric or date attributes.
Divided by	From the Divided by drop-down menu, choose a numeric attribute from the active layer by which to standardize or normalize the data for transparency, such as population by area or costs by total population.
Transparency range in %	Adjust the data sliders or the handles in the histogram to change the range of the transparency gradient. Move the left slider to the left or the top histogram handle upward to increase attribute opacity. Zero percent transparency is fully opaque. Move the right slider to the right or the lower histogram handle downward to increase the range of the gradient transparency. The histogram graphic automatically updates to illustrate the current transparency settings as you move the slider or the histogram handles. The standard deviation (or sigma) and the calculated average mean show the distribution of the highest, lowest, and mean (or average) data values to which transparency is applied.
Rotate by attribute	Turn on the Rotate by attribute toggle button. Options for configuring attribute rotation appear. Tip: Rotate by attribute is only available in ArcGIS for Power BI for ArcGIS feature layers.
Field (Rotation)	Select an attribute to which you will apply rotation. Tip: Rotation is not informative if the attribute has been styled using round symbols.
Direction	Choose whether to use Clockwise or Counterclockwise rotation. Clockwise—Angles are measured clockwise from the 12 o'clock position. Counterclockwise—Angles are measured counterclockwise from the 3 o'clock position. With this rotation, the symbol—assumed to be pointing north—is first rotated 90 degrees clockwise to align with 0 degrees before the counterclockwise rotation is applied to the attribute.