topic Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

ralphholmes — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 21:49:54 GMT

So....

I have a zoning maps for all the municipality over a tri-county area. I have taken the time to code into the attributes an RGB value and the corresponding HEX code for the appropriate color based off of the APA's Land based Classification scheme this way every R1 zone weather its in muni A or muni Z has the same color. I have around 200 unique features and i really would like to not have to copy and paste my HEX codes into the symbol color picker one at a time.

this is a topic that has come up before but is not resolved satisfactorily in this thread

Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table

it also is mostly for arc desktop.

In Pro I have the

Attribute-driven color in symbology—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop

which tells me that i must supply "Arcade expression that returns a string. "

all well and good and about as helpful as mud...

Does the string have to be formatted as just R,G,B

Concatenate( "$feature['Units_in_M$.R'] + ", " + $feature['Units_in_M$.G'] + ", " + $feature['Units_in_M$.B'])

(R,G,B)

Concatenate( "(" + "$feature['Units_in_M$.R'] + ", " + $feature['Units_in_M$.G'] + ", " + $feature['Units_in_M$.B'] + ")" )

rgba(r, g, b,a)

Concatenate( "rgba(" + $feature['Units_in_M$.R'] + "," + $feature['Units_in_M$.G'] + "," + $feature['Units_in_M$.B'] + ",0" +")" )

All of these verify as correct expressions yet none of them change the color of a symbol to the correct color that I am referencing in my attribute table.

I know it says that while the expression may be valid it may not symbolize correctly if the resulting text expression is not a real rgb color. I have also tried the above combinations with just hard coded (255,0,0) which should return red but it does not.

Also

As far as I can tell this may be just as time consuming as inputting the correct color by hand as there does not appear to be a way to apply this code to all 200 features.

Am I missing something?

Please help

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

GabrielMarcus1 — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 01:46:17 GMT

Hey ESRI, some real world examples for writing Arcade code would be ideal. I'm not sure many working professionals say "Hmm, I'm going to learn Arcade today instead of working on my deadlines...."

I spent several hours this weekend trying to find the answer for my problem in Arcade. Can discrete point colors not on a color scheme be displayed using Arcade?

If you have only one or a few different symbols, you can go into "format point symbol" (in my case), then click Properties, then layers. Expand Appearance. Click the "database +" icon to the right of color. Select the field that contains your color. Press OK. Click Apply. Repeat for your other symbols.

The implementation of "Vary Symbology by Attribute" is confusing unless it's done symbol by symbol.

I imagine even if I did create an Arcade script to return the color, the color scheme may over-ride the attribute values.

When I am in the format point symbol and have chosen a symbol, and then go to the 3 bars in the upper right and choose "Allow symbol property connections", it would have made more sense to go to "properties">"layers" where I can choose which fields have my color info, versus the "vary symbol by attribute" window, which doesn't have the ability to create discrete colors based on the attribute.

I have a mix of hex values (#FF0000") color names (Green) and RGB values (255,0,255) in my marker_color field. Thankfully, ArcGIS Pro read each color with no difficulties! I didn't have to translate my different formats into one. Thanks! I saw a lot of python and VBscript examples, which I'm glad I didn't have to use.

I recommend:

Creating a cookbook blog entry that contains commonly used Arcade scripts for Pro. Comment the crap out of it so we can learn.
Expressing the limitations on what can't be done in Arcade.
Consider adding the "database plus" icon to live in the "Vary symbology by attribute" screen as well. Having the color scheme override the values in the table isn't useful to me.

I'm hoping to be able to vary the symbol itself based on an attribute table. I don't think that's possible yet.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

SimonJackson — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 15:24:13 GMT

+1 with same issue.

I prebaked a rgb(R,G,B) value into a new string field.
All values look good to me
Enable symbol property connections
Can't pick field from drop down
Arcade does not seem to flow through.

Similar scenario - I have property zones that I need to colour by the RGB value field.

Running ArcGIS Pro 2.4 Beta 2

Would love to see some examples, sure we can't be far off?

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

deleted-user-g91W1rr8qw5g — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 16:51:27 GMT

"I'm hoping to be able to vary the symbol itself based on an attribute table. I don't think that's possible yet."

This is currently frustrating me in a pretty big way. I'm currently trying to set three different colors for three different ranges of values from an attribute table. Were you able to figure out if you can use Arcade to vary the symbol by attribute table values? It seems like I will just have to try to set the discrete colors in ArcGIS Online. I hope I can.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

XanderBakker — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 20:42:37 GMT

This really does not seem to be working as described in the documentation. Kory Kramer‌, if you have a moment could you clarify how to make this work?

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

CraigWilliams — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 20:19:44 GMT

The text out of the expression needs to match the examples in the above linked help topic. If you're specifying alpha, you need a value from 0 to 1 with 0 being fully transparent and 1 being opaque. You also don't need the concatenate function in this case

So, use:

"rgb(" + $feature['Units_in_M$.R'] + "," + $feature['Units_in_M$.G'] + "," + $feature['Units_in_M$.B']

-or-

"rgba(" + $feature['Units_in_M$.R'] + "," + $feature['Units_in_M$.G'] + "," + $feature['Units_in_M$.B'] + ",1)"

Depending on what you're fields are, you may need to use the Arcade Text() function to format numbers to correct format as a string.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

CraigWilliams — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 20:22:11 GMT

This is achievable as well using the attribute driven color approach. What issues are you having?

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

CraigWilliams — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 20:23:57 GMT

This case you're showing in the UI is Vary symbology by color—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop which is for linking data values to a color not color values to a color. See Attribute-driven color in symbology—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop for color to color.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

John_RMellor__GISP — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 18:22:18 GMT

I'm having the same issue. If field1 <= 2 or field2 <=2 or field3 <=2 show the point as red. If field1=3 or field2=3 or field3=3 show the point as yellow. If field1=4 or field2 =4 or field3 =4 show the point as orange. Show any other point as green. I can't seem to get the expression right in the symbology for the feature class.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

XanderBakker — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 22:53:18 GMT

Hi Mellor, John ,

Your case is actually different from the one the OP posted. Yours could be solved like this:

var field1 = 4; // point to your field1
var field2 = 3; // point to your field2
var field3 = 2; // point to your field3

var result = "green";
if (field1 <= 2 || field2 <= 2 || field3 <= 2) {
    result = "red";
} else if (field1 == 3 || field2 == 3 || field3 == 3) {
    result = "yellow";
} else if (field1 == 4 || field2 == 3 || field3 == 3) {
    result = "orange";
}

return result;‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

(shouldn't the yellow and orange assignments be switched, because now you will get red-yellow-orange-green and a more logical color range would be red-orange-yellow-green?)

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

Anonymous User — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 19:01:07 GMT

Hi Simon,

We've been doing some work with a council in your state and figured out the exact process of how this symbology can be defined in ArcGIS Pro. Not very straightforward, I admit. Also, as a few other clients were after the same process, I decided that it'd be best to share the process as a blog: https://community.esri.com/people/iermoshkinesriaustralia-com-au-esridist/blog/2020/02/27/setting-up-the-attribute-driven-color-in-symbology-in-arcgis-pro-25

Also, it seems that the process does actually work and the colors are read from the attribute field, there's a bug that prevents the legend from being created:

BUG-000104316: Attribute-driven symbology assigned to features is n..

Hope this helps.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

SimonJackson — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 13:37:03 GMT

Your a gun Ivan! Nice work.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

AdrianWelsh — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 14:13:04 GMT

@XanderBakkerand @KoryKramer was this ever resolved? I am using 2.7 and it still seems to not follow the procedures outlined in the help documentation.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

XanderBakker — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 14:22:54 GMT

Hi @AdrianWelsh ,

I wrote something explaining the procedure a while ago because it is possible to do this for a couple of versions now.

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-questions/color-green-for-type-a-scale-of-yellow-red-for-type-b-white-for/m-p/342527

Let me know if this helps.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

AdrianWelsh — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 14:52:59 GMT

Xander,

Thanks for writing that and responding. This method works on a manual basis where I have to go and assign each color. But not sure that is sustainable for a large dataset. Plus, my symbology in the TOC is not updating which makes me think it might not publish correctly in AGOL. In this screenshot:

The centerline line is blue as it should be ("rgb(0,0,255)"). But in the TOC the centerline is the default light blue assigned in the original random symbology. The same goes for the outer green lines - rgb(0,255,0). They show as a light green (box culverts) in the TOC.

Each line type I have has a red, green, and blue value. I was hoping to do an arcade expression to create the "rgb(red,green,blue)" value and apply to all my features at one time. Is that not possible (to where it will reflect in the TOC in order for me to publish correctly to AGOL)?

I have another layer I need to apply the same method to and it has 70 different symbol types (all indicated by r,g,b) that I need to apply. By hand this would take too long!

Thanks!

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

AdrianWelsh — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 15:37:42 GMT

Xander,

(removed screenshot since it would not let me post. It is attached as an image)

I have another layer I need to apply the same method to and it has 70 different symbol types (all indicated by r,g,b) that I need to apply. By hand this would take too long!

Thanks!

(upload didn't work, trying to copy and paste smaller screenshot:

)

Whoops! Sorry for the double post. I am not sure what happened there...

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

XanderBakker — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 16:06:27 GMT

Hi @AdrianWelsh ,

In the post I shared the case was a little more complex. Ignore the white and green points and focus on the orange points. The color is based on an attribute value and scaled over a color range. In your case, you will just use the rgb attribute and construct the correct string to return.

You can use the RGB values you have stored as attributes and assign them to the symbology. I have noticed that the Arcade based symbology does not get reflected correctly in the TOC (although I haven't checked this in 2.7) and I don't think AGOL will take that symbology once published.

There are some nice enhancements in the Map Viewer beta for symbology based on SVG (https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-online/mapping/do-more-with-symbols-in-map-viewer-beta/) but this is based on point geometry as far as I can see.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

AdrianWelsh — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 18:36:12 GMT

Xander,

Thanks for sharing that. I tried messing with the symbology in the map viewer beta but you're right, it is just for points at the moment.

I did use my rgb values and assigned them as symbology (using Arcade with the expression of:

"rgb(" + Text($feature.igds_color_red) + "," + Text($feature.igds_color_green) + "," + Text($feature.igds_color_blue) + ")"

But, like we have seen before, it just changes the symbology on the map itself and not in the TOC (this is 2.7). When I published that to AGOL, it did not take my new symbol colors.

ArcGIS Pro 2.7 view:

AGOL view:

I suppose that I will have to manually change the colors of all my line types!

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

XanderBakker — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 18:50:11 GMT

Hi @AdrianWelsh ,

The behavior is as I expected. Maybe @KoryKramer knows when we may expect that the symbology is correctly represented in the TOC...

Hopefully, there will be support soon in the Map Viewer Beta to support this type of symbology.

Re: Set symbol color from RGB values in attribute table with Arcade

AdrianWelsh — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 21:33:37 GMT

Xander,

I wonder if there is a way to use Python and arcpy to solve an issue like this when I have attributes of red, green, and blue in my table... But I do not know enough Python to make it through!

Looking at this information:

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/arcpy/mapping/symbol-class.htm

There is a snippet showing:

import arcpy, os, sys relpath = os.path.dirname(sys.argv[0]) p = arcpy.mp.ArcGISProject(os.path.join(relpath, "Symbol.aprx")) m = p.listMaps('Map')[0] lyr = m.listLayers("Study Areas")[0] sym = lyr.symbology sym.renderer.symbol.applySymbolFromGallery("Extent Transparent Wide Gray") sym.renderer.symbol.color = {'RGB' : [255, 0, 0, 60]} sym.renderer.symbol.outlineColor = {'CMYK' : [25, 50, 75, 25, 100]} sym.renderer.symbol.size = 3 lyr.symbology = sym p.saveACopy(os.path.join(relpath, "SavedOutput.aprx"))

Would someone know a way to change that line of "sym.renderer.symbol.color = {'RGB' : [255, 0, 0, 60]}" to something like "sym.renderer.symbol.color = {'RGB' : [$feature.red, $feature.green, $feature.blue, 60]}"? Or would that still present the same problems where the 'legend' in the TOC does not update?