idea Contents — Apply all properties from one layer to a different layer in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

Contents — Apply all properties from one layer to a different layer

Bud — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 14:32:13 GMT

For scenarios where there is a problem with an existing feature layer in the Contents pane, such as:

Database View — Refresh columns/schema of existing layer after schema change
Join to table with definition query — column name should get prefixed with table name (SQL expression with subquery)

Here's how I'd fix the layer:

Add a new layer to the map (same underlying data).
Manually re-do the properties in the new layer.

Often, I've spent quite a lot of time setting up the properties of the old layer. So it would be ideal if I didn't have to manually set up the properties in the new layer. However, there doesn't seem to be a way to import ALL the properties from one layer to another.

Could that functionality be added?

Notes:

Of course, I'm hoping that the original problem doesn't migrate to the new layer when the properties get imported. But I suppose that might happen in some cases. Could that be solved by allowing the user to choose what kinds of properties to import to the new layer -- from a list of property types?
- Joins
- Definition queries
- Symbols
- Labels
- Any other properties
  That way I could exclude the problematic property.
I'm aware that there is a geoprocessing tool for importing the symbology from one layer to another. And I could also save individual definition queries to files, then re-add them to the new layer. That functionality is good. But it would be better if there were a way to import ALL properties in a single action.

Re: Contents — Apply all properties from one layer to a different layer - Status changed to: In Product Plan

KoryKramer — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 12:39:07 GMT

Re: Contents — Apply all properties from one layer to a different layer - Status changed to: Implemented

KoryKramer — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 15:08:58 GMT

This Idea has been implemented in ArcGIS Pro 3.2. Please see the What's New documentation for more new features in Pro 3.2.

The Your Ideas in ArcGIS Pro 3.2 blog and video have been posted to the Esri Community blog. You can take a look at these to see your idea and all others that were implemented in this release of ArcGIS Pro.

Re: Contents — Apply all properties from one layer to a different layer

Bud — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 17:41:04 GMT

Thanks for implementing the core concept of this idea. I posted a follow-up idea: Copy/paste layer properties — Choose individual properties

Re: Contents — Apply all properties from one layer to a different layer

Bud — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:56:06 GMT

YouTube: Paste Properties for effortless styling in ArcGIS Pro - Esri Canada

Documentation: Copy and paste properties between layers or tables