What symbol should the analyst put at the end of the line of code to add a layer to the plot

1. Select a feature layer in the Contents pane. On the Feature Layer tab, in the Drawing group, click Symbology
   
   and click Unique Values to open the Symbology pane.
2. In the Symbology pane, on the Primary symbology tab
   
   , on the Field 1 menu, choose a field on which to symbolize.
3. Optionally, click the expression button
   
   to open the Expression Builder dialog box. Write an expression and click Verify
   
   to validate it.
4. Optionally, click Add Field to add symbol permutations.

   You can have up to three symbology fields. Only the first field can use an expression.

5. Optionally, on the Classes tab of the Symbology pane, click Add all values
   
   to add additional symbol classes.

   When choosing a field for unique values for the first time, no values are added.

6. Choose a color scheme from the Color scheme drop-down list.

   Depending on the number of unique values, the color schemes from project styles are filtered so that only relevant color schemes are presented to you. For example, if you have only five unique values, you see quantitative color schemes showing five colors. In addition, you can also choose from random color schemes. Check the Show all check box to see all available color schemes. Color schemes stored in your Favorites style or custom styles always appear in this list, regardless of their type or number of colors. Click Format color scheme to modify a scheme.

   The colors in the color scheme are applied to all symbol classes by default. To apply the color scheme to a subset of symbol classes only, select those classes by highlighting them in the table on the Classes tab inside the Symbology pane. (Press and hold Shift or Ctrl while clicking in the Value or Label columns to select symbol classes.) With symbol class rows selected, choose a color scheme from the Color scheme drop-down list at the top of the Symbology pane.

   Click the Clear Selection button

   
   to unselect symbol classes if necessary.

Set the color scheme target

If you are symbolizing polygons, click the Color scheme options button

When you change the color scheme target, the other symbol layers of the polygons symbolizing each symbol class are not updated. For example, when you set the color scheme target to Apply to outline, the fill symbol layers are not updated, and setting it to Apply to fill does not alter the outlines of the polygons. This is to ensure that customized symbology is not lost. Symbol layers that are color locked are not updated by changes to the color scheme, regardless of the color scheme target setting.

To update all symbol layers to match the color scheme target setting, click the More drop-down menu and click Regenerate all symbols.

Color scheme target	Result	Result after regenerating symbols
Apply to fill	The color scheme is applied to the fills (fill symbol layers) of the polygon symbols.	The color scheme is applied to the fills of the polygon symbols. Polygon outlines (stroke symbol layers) are solid gray lines.
Apply to outline	The color scheme is applied to the outlines (stroke symbol layers) of the polygon symbols.	The color scheme is applied to the outlines of the polygons. Polygon fills are fully transparent.
Apply to fill and outline	The color scheme is applied to the fills and outlines (fill symbol layers and stroke symbol layers) of the polygon symbols.	The color scheme is applied to the outlines of the polygons. The color scheme is applied to the fills of the polygons as hatches.

Modify unique value symbology

You make most changes to unique value symbology from the Primary symbology tab of the Symbology pane

• To edit symbols, click a symbol in the Symbol column of the table to open the Format Symbol pane to modify the symbol or choose a different symbol.
• For line and polygon features, click the drop-down arrow next to the symbol to set the symbol's legend patch. To change multiple patches at the same time, hold Shift or Ctrl while clicking the symbols, right-click the selection, and select Update legend patch to choose the patch shape.
• To edit the symbol class label, click the label in the Label column and type a new label. Click another column or press Enter to apply the label.
• To change the order of the symbol classes, drag a symbol class row to a new position in the table or click Move selected values up
  
  or Move selected values down
  
  .
• To sort values, right-click the Value or Label heading and click Sort Ascending
  
  or Sort Descending
  
  . The symbol class order is reflected in the Contents pane and also in legends on layouts.
• To remove a symbol class, right-click the symbol class and click Remove
  
  . No data is deleted, but the associated features do not draw. Note that they may still be symbolized by an All other values group at the bottom of the table that collectively draws all values that are not otherwise symbolized by a symbol class.
• To remove the All other values collective group so that only features participating in symbol classes are drawn, right-click the symbol class and click Remove
  
  , or click More and uncheck Show all other values.
• To add symbol classes, click Add unlisted values
  
  to open a table in the Select values to add subpane. This table lists all values not currently symbolized. Click Options and click Add new value
  
  to type a new value. When you add new values, they are added with the symbol of the <all other values> symbol class.

  Tip:

  If you are working with complex symbols, you can use this as a way to symbolize many symbol classes at once with a symbol and make changes to each class as necessary.

• To reset each symbol class to its default symbol based on current symbology parameters, click the More drop-down menu and click Regenerate all symbols. You may want to do this after you've changed the color scheme target, or to discard individual symbol edits and get back to a default state.
• To set masking per feature, click the Advanced symbology options tab
  
  and expand Feature level masking.

Vary unique value symbology by transparency, rotation, size, or color

In addition to specifying qualitative symbology with unique values, you can also symbolize additional attributes by varying the transparency, rotation, size, and color of the unique value symbols. While all of these treatments can be applied simultaneously, be aware that too many visual variations make the layer difficult to interpret. It is advisable to apply secondary symbology sparingly.

Learn more about symbolization concepts

1. In the Symbology pane, click the Vary symbology by attribute tab
   
   .
2. Expand Transparency, Rotation, Color, or Size.

   With polygon features, Outline width replaces Size, and Rotation is not available.

Related topics

• Symbolization
• Symbolize feature layers
• Single symbol
• Symbols
• Color schemes
• Use scale-based symbol classes
• Match Layer Symbology To A Style
• Draw layers with representations