Configuring Symbols

ArcGIS for SharePoint comes with a document library, ArcGIS Mapping Symbols, that is used to populate the Map Web Part symbol gallery. This library consists of XAML resource dictionaries, each of which defines a set of symbols. You have the ability to edit, add, and remove documents in this library.

ArcGIS Mapping Symbols content types

The ArcGIS Mapping Symbols library supports two content types:

• Symbols Document—This content type is for actual XAML resource dictionaries. When an XAML file is stored within the document library, this content type is used.
• Link to Symbols Document—This content type is for linking to XAML files that are hosted outside the document library. This type is convenient for sharing one symbols resource dictionary across multiple site collections.

Navigating to the ArcGIS Mapping Symbols document library

Like the other ArcGIS for SharePoint configuration lists and libraries, you can easily navigate to the ArcGIS Mapping Symbols library using the ArcGIS Mapping Administration links on the Site Settings page:

1. Navigate to the Site Settings page by opening the Site Actions menu and clicking Site Settings:
2. Under the ArcGIS Mapping Administration heading, click the desired link:

Adding a symbols resource dictionary

1. Using the text or XAML editor of your choice, create a resource dictionary.
2. In the ArcGIS Mapping Symbols document library, click Add new item. The Upload Document dialog box appears.
3. Click the browse button to locate and select the new resource dictionary and click OK.
4. On the properties dialog box, choose the content type, enter the display name, then choose the desired geometry type. Click Save when you have finished:
   The new document is added to the ArcGIS Mapping Symbols library. Now, when using ArcGIS Map Web Parts that are within the same site collection, the new symbol gallery is available to use for symbolizing layers:

Note:

For more information on using symbol galleries, refer to Symbol galleries.

Adding a link to a symbols resource dictionary

1. After navigating to the ArcGIS Mapping Symbols library, click the Documents tab.
2. Click the New Document button and choose Link To Symbols Document:
   The Document Link page appears.
3. Enter a name and the URL to the symbols resource dictionary and click OK:
   The Edit form dialog box appears.
4. Specify the display name, choose the correct geometry type, then click Save:
   The link is added to the ArcGIS Mapping Symbols library. Now, when using ArcGIS Map Web Parts that are within the same site collection, the linked resource dictionary is available to use for symbolizing layers:

Remove a Symbols Document or Link to Symbols Document

1. Once you have navigated to the ArcGIS Mapping Symbols library, choose the document to be removed by checking the check box next to its name.
2. Click Delete Document on the Documents tab of the ribbon. A confirmation message appears.
3. Click OK. The file or link is removed from the document library. This removes the resource dictionary from the symbol gallery in ArcGIS Map Web Parts that are within the same site collection.

Note:

When you have used symbols from the deleted symbol gallery for layers in saved Map Web Parts, the web parts will continue to use those symbols. Different symbols can be specified for these layers by editing the Map Web Part.

Creating a symbols resource dictionary

All the files used by the ArcGIS Map Web Part symbol gallery are simply Silverlight resource dictionaries containing sets of symbols. When you create a resource dictionary for use in the symbol gallery, it is important to keep in mind that each resource dictionary can only contain symbology for one geometry type—point, polyline, or polygon.

The simplest way to get started is to use one of the out-of-the-box resource dictionaries as a template. Then you can easily use the name spaces and types included in that resource dictionary in your custom dictionary.

Begin by creating your dictionary:

• Point symbols

  There are three types of point symbols used in the out-of-the-box point symbol galleries: ImageFillSymbol, PathMarkerSymbol, and MultiplePathMarkerSymbol. PathMarkerSymbol and MultiplePathMarkerSymbol are rather complex, so a full explanation of those types is outside the scope of this topic. However, you can easily create your own dictionary using ImageFillSymbols. To do so, declare each of your symbols using markup similar to that shown below. Make sure to include the x:Key, Size, OriginX, OriginY, and Source (location of the image file) attributes:

  <esriMapping:ImageFillSymbol x:Key="BoatsKeepOut" Size="20" OriginX="0.5" OriginY="0.5" 
  Source="http://myserver/sites/arcgis/myfolder/Images/MarkerSymbols/MyGalleryName/MyNewSymbol.png" />
  

• Polyline symbols

  Line symbols can be specified using the sample below as a guideline. Be sure to include the x:Key, SelectionColor, Color, and Width attributes:

  <esriMapping:SimpleLineSymbol x:Key="BasicLineSymbol_Black_1" 
  SelectionColor="Cyan" Color="Black" Width="1" />
  

• Polygon symbols

  Polygon symbols can be specified using the sample below as a guideline. Always be sure to include the x:Name, SelectionColor, Fill, BorderBrush, and BorderThickness attributes:

  <esriMapping:SimpleFillSymbol x:Name="BasicFillSymbol_White_Trans_3" 
  SelectionColor="Cyan" Fill="#99FFFFFF" BorderBrush="Black" BorderThickness="1" />