Style line layers

You can create custom visualizations in your scenes by applying smart mapping styles to your data. You can choose styles that use attributes to apply continuous colors or individual colors to lines, or choose styles that apply a single color to all the lines.

2D Line

You can apply the 2D Line style when you want to visualize lines with a single color. You can show a network of transportation lines across a city, for example.

1. Follow the steps in the Change layer style workflow.
2. For Color, click the color palette to choose a color and set the Transparency option.
3. For Width, choose the width of the lines in pixels.
4. For Elevation Mode, see Change elevation mode.

3D Path

Use the 3D Path style when you want to show lines with a single color in real-world measurements by attributes. For example, you can size water main lines across a city by the diameter of the pipes.

1. Follow the steps in the Change layer style workflow.
2. For Profile, choose how to display the line paths and adjust the real-world line size.
   • The Profile setting has the following line types:

     Tube	Displays lines as tubes, such as water pipes or utility lines; diameters are entered in the Diameter setting.
     Wall	Displays lines as walls, such as walls or fences; vertical heights are entered in the Height setting.
     Strip	Displays lines as strips, such as streets or railroad tracks; widths are entered in the Width setting.
     Square	Displays lines as squares, such as tunnels or canals; heights are entered in the Height setting.

   • As you change the profile, the measurement type changes accordingly to Diameter, Height, or Width below the Color setting.
3. For Color, click the color palette to choose a color and set the Transparency option.
4. For the Diameter, Height, and Width settings, adjust the line size by attribute or constant value.
   1. Choose an attribute from the drop-down menu to size the lines. Select <Fixed value> to manually enter a uniform size.
   2. Choose the measurement unit from the drop-down menu.
   3. As you zoom in and out, click the Fit to view button to adjust the lines to be appropriately sized in the current view.
5. For Elevation Mode, see Change elevation mode.

2D Counts and Amounts

You can apply the 2D Counts and Amounts style to line data when you want to color lines based on numeric attribute values. You can show a transportation network of lines with continuous color based on traffic volumes, for example.

1. Follow the steps in the Change layer style workflow.
2. Move the upper and lower slider handles to adjust the coloring based on the chosen attribute.

   See Counts and Amounts slider considerations for more information.

3. For Color, choose from a selection of color ramps.
   1. Click Invert color ramp to flip the colors.
   2. Click Solid color to select a single color for all the lines and adjust the Transparency setting.
4. For Width, choose the width of the lines in pixels.
5. For Elevation Mode, see Change elevation mode.

3D Counts and Amounts

Use the 3D Counts and Amounts style when you want to apply continuous colors to lines based on a numeric attribute and size them with another attribute. For example, you can size water main lines across a city based on a diameter attribute, while applying continuous colors to the pipes with a flow rate attribute.

1. Follow the steps in the Change layer style workflow.
2. Move the upper and lower slider handles to adjust the coloring based on the chosen attribute.

   See Counts and Amounts slider considerations for more information.

3. For Profile, choose how to display the line paths and adjust the real-world line size.
   • The Profile setting has the following line types:

     Tube	Displays lines as tubes, such as water pipes or utility lines; diameters are entered in the Diameter setting.
     Wall	Displays lines as walls, such as walls or fences; vertical heights are entered in the Height setting.
     Strip	Displays lines as strips, such as streets or railroad tracks; widths are entered in the Width setting.
     Square	Displays lines as squares, such as tunnels or canals; heights are entered in the Height setting.

   • As you change the profile, the measurement type changes accordingly to Diameter, Height, or Width below the Color setting.
4. For Color, choose from a selection of color ramps.
   1. Click Invert color ramp to flip the colors.
   2. Click Solid color to select a single color for all the lines.
5. For the Diameter, Height, and Width settings, adjust the line size by attribute or fixed value.
   1. Choose an attribute from the drop-down menu to size the lines. Select <Fixed value> to manually enter a uniform size.
   2. Choose the measurement unit from the drop-down menu.
   3. As you zoom in and out, click the Fit to view button to adjust the lines to be appropriately sized in the current view.
6. For Elevation Mode, see Change elevation mode.

2D Types

You can apply the 2D Types style to line data to color lines by type based on either text or numeric attributes. You can show a transportation network of lines across a city by type, such as road, rail, bus, or underground.

1. Follow the steps in the Change layer style workflow.
2. Modify the Attribute value list.

   The 2D Types style lists individual attribute values for the previously chosen attribute displayed next to Mapped Attribute. You can customize the symbology for each value. Across the top of the list are Attribute value, Counts, and Action headings.

   Attribute value	Lists the names of the most common attribute values for the Mapped Attribute. The remaining attribute values are automatically grouped into . Ideally, your layer should show fewer than 10 values; more than 10 are difficult for users to distinguish.
   Counts	Shows the number of features per attribute value. By default, the attribute values are listed in descending order by number of features. You can customize the order in the legend by dragging values up or down the Attribute value list.
   Action	Allows you to move values out of Other into the main Attribute value list by clicking Move value out or Move all values out .
   Other	Allows you to drag any values from the main Attribute value list to Other. Click show or hide to either display or hide the Other features in the scene and in the legend.

   Rename an attribute value by selecting it and clicking the name.

3. Click <select all> at the top of the Attribute value list to modify all values.

   To return to modifying an individual value, click a value or click <select one> at the top of the Attribute value list.

4. For Color, change the line colors.
   1. Click the color picker and select a color. With solid colors, you can also adjust the Transparency setting.
   2. To apply a color ramp to all the attribute values, click <select all>. The solid color becomes a color ramp.
      • Click Invert color ramp to flip the colors.
      • Click Solid color to return to selecting a single color.
5. For Width, choose the width of the lines in pixels.
6. For Elevation Mode, see Change elevation mode.

3D Types

Use the 3D Types style when you want to apply individual colors to lines based on a text or numeric attribute and size them with another attribute. For example, you can size water main lines across a city based on a diameter attribute, while applying individual colors to the pipes with a material type attribute.

1. Follow the steps in the Change layer style workflow.
2. Modify the Attribute value list.

   The 3D Types style lists individual attribute values for the previously chosen attribute displayed next to Mapped Attribute. You can customize the symbology for each value. Across the top of the list are Attribute value, Counts, and Action headings.

   Attribute value	Lists the names of the most common attribute values for the Mapped Attribute. The remaining attribute values are automatically grouped into . Ideally, your layer should show fewer than 10 values; more than 10 are difficult for users to distinguish.
   Counts	Shows the number of features per attribute value. By default, the attribute values are listed in descending order by number of features. You can customize the order in the legend by dragging values up or down the Attribute value list.
   Action	Allows you to move values out of Other into the main Attribute value list by clicking Move value out or Move all values out .
   Other	Allows you to drag any values from the main Attribute value list to Other. Click show or hide to either display or hide the Other features in the scene and in the legend.

   Rename an attribute value by selecting it and clicking the name.

3. Click <select all> at the top of the Attribute value list to modify all values.

   To return to modifying an individual value, click a value or click <select one> at the top of the Attribute value list.

4. For Color, change the line colors.
   1. Click the color picker and select a color. With solid colors, you can also adjust the Transparency setting.
   2. To apply a color ramp to all the attribute values, click <select all>. The solid color becomes a color ramp.
      • Click Invert color ramp to flip the colors.
      • Click Solid color to return to selecting a single color.
5. For the size of the line, you set the measurement values.
   • As you change the Profile setting under All lines, the measurement type changes accordingly to Diameter, Height, or Width.
   • When an attribute is selected in All lines, the option of individually sizing lines is unavailable. Set the attribute to <None> to set size individually.
   • Enter the size manually and choose the measurement unit from the drop-down menu. As you zoom in and out, you can click the Fit to view button to adjust the symbols to be appropriately sized in the current view.
6. Under All lines, choose how to display the line paths in the Profile setting and adjust the real-world line size.
   1. The Profile setting has the following line types:

      Tube	Displays lines as tubes, such as water pipes or utility lines; diameters are entered in the Diameter setting.
      Wall	Displays lines as walls, such as walls or fences; vertical heights are entered in the Height setting.
      Strip	Displays lines as strips, such as streets or railroad tracks; widths are entered in the Width setting.
      Square	Displays lines as squares, such as tunnels or canals; heights are entered in the Height setting.

   2. For the Diameter, Height, and Width settings, adjust the line size by attribute or constant value.
      • Choose an attribute from the drop-down menu to size the lines. Select <None> to manually enter a uniform size.
      • Choose the measurement unit from the drop-down menu.
7. For Elevation Mode, see Change elevation mode.

Change elevation mode

You can change the elevation mode to customize the positioning of your layers. Click the Elevation Mode drop-down arrow . Options that determine the vertical positioning of the layer and its data appear.

On the ground	Drapes the layer onto the ground.
Relative to ground	Positions the data aligned to the ground elevation. Z-values are added to the ground elevation when available.
Relative to scene	Positions the data aligned on top of 3D object scene layers and integrated mesh scene layers, depending on which has a higher elevation. If the graphic is not directly above a 3D object or any other feature, it is aligned to the terrain surface elevation. Note: If present, the geometry's z-value is added to the elevation.
Absolute height	Positions the data vertically based on the feature’s geometry z-value position. If the geometry doesn’t contain z-values, the default elevation is sea level.
<custom>	Positions the data vertically based on a custom elevation defined in the layer, such as from an attribute expression. The <custom> option is only visible when the layer has custom elevation.
Offset	Applies a positive or negative integer value in meters to vertically offset the elevation based on the chosen Elevation Mode. Relative to ground—The layer is aligned to the ground and is vertically offset from the ground based on a height value entered. Relative to scene—The layer is aligned to the top of the scene layer and is vertically offset from the scene layer based on a height value entered. Absolute height—The layer is aligned to the z-value position assigned or defaults to the sea level position, and is vertically offset based on a height value entered. Note: Offset is not available for On the ground elevation mode.