Color Management - Can be different for the project and the layout

Question

ArcGIS Pro 2.7.0

I have been knocking my head against the wall trying to figure out what was wrong with my map.  I have a polygon feature class that is symbolized by category with about 17 different values (evacuation areas for a city).  I could not figure out for the life of me why the colors were different in the map view vs the layout view.  It is important for there to be contrast between adjacent polygons. I would adjust the symbolization and think I had gotten it resolved only to switch to the layout and see areas that did not have an acceptable level of contrast.

I could not find a satisfactory answer by searching but I did find a clue.  Imagine my surprise to find out that the Color Management setting can be changed in two places and can indeed be different.  You can set it at the project level under options, and you can set it at the layout level under the layout page setup.  If they are not the same your map view will display differently than your layout view.

I hope this helps someone else!  Map on my GIS buddies!

Anonymous User · Answer

@TomBole Thanks.  I had read the first article but had not come across the other two.

The first article is what prompted me to enable color management.

I am not able to immerse myself in Pro on a daily basis so there was a disconnect between enabling and having a situation where my project was affected.

Very cool capabilities.  Just enough to make me dangerous!

Slowly learning to wield this powerful beast while figuring out what is user error/ignorance and what is a program feature/limitation.

TomBole · Answer

Hi Shawn,

Thanks for the helpful tip!

When color management is enabled, each project item (maps, scenes, layouts, reports, and styles) in ArcGIS Pro has a color model and two color profiles associated with it. You set the color model and the color profiles from the Properties dialog box for each item. The default color model and profiles are derived from the color management settings of the application.

I've added a couple links to appropriate help topics below.

Tom

Use color management

Color management application settings

Use color-managed project items