topic Re: Legend is replicating layers in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Legend is replicating layers

ChristineParkerILSR — Thu, 23 May 2024 17:53:19 GMT

I'm using ArcGIS Pro 3.3.0 (updated) on Windows 11. I'm working on some layouts and thought I was going crazy, but for some reason the legend is adding random copies of layers displayed in the map frame. These extra copies don't exist in the map...so it feels like a bug. I've already tried deleting the legend and creating a new one and it's happening again. I've restarted computer/Arc. I have layer visibility turned off in the legend settings. Some of the layers can be toggled off, but some I have to right-click > remove, and then several items will disappear from the legend.

I've included screenshots of the legend panel, the map frame panel, and what the legend looks like. This is driving me nuts and I feel like this started after the recent update...

Re: Legend is replicating layers

TomBole — Thu, 23 May 2024 19:38:18 GMT

Hi @ChristineParkerILSR

Thanks for the screenshots. The duplicate items listed in the Contents pane under in the legend appear to be from the "Human Geography Map" basemap. The layers belonging to this basemap are "Vector Tile Service" layers. Fortunately it does not appear that the "extra" items under the Legend in the Contents pane is adversely affecting the legend drawn on the layout.

There is a known bug concerning this type of basemap layer and the items listed under the legend node in the Contents pane - see https://support.esri.com/en-us/bug/base-maps-are-listed-in-the-arcgis-pro-layout-legend-in-bug-000167164.

Thanks for the feedback. I hope this helped.

Tom

Re: Legend is replicating layers

HollyTorpey_LSA — Thu, 23 May 2024 20:20:13 GMT

We're having the same issue in Pro 3.3, and not only with vector tile services. One of our users just reported this today with a polygon feature class. He had exported his layout and then when he returned to his project, he noticed the item was duplicated in the legend even though the layer only appears once in his map. When he tried to turn off one of the layers, it wouldn't let him uncheck it. I let him know that I've experienced the same thing multiple times since updating to 3.3 and the only resolution seems to be to remove both copies from the legend and then drag the layer back up into the legend again.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

TomBole — Thu, 23 May 2024 20:23:14 GMT

Hi @HollyTorpey_LSA

The comment- "When he tried to to turn off one of the layers, it wouldn't let him uncheck it." - sounds like a known issue with resourcing an empty legend to map that has an ArcGIS Map service layer, or WMS layer. This will also duplicate the legend item. I have not seen this behavior with non service layer types.

Since the scenario you outline makes it seem that the issue does not occur until after exporting I would treat your issue as a separate bug. I ran a quick test with 3.3 and did not see any legend item duplication issues with non service layers.

Doesn't mean there is not a bug. Just means I need more information to reproduce.

Can you contact Esri Support? They are better equipped to handle troubleshooting steps and gather bug data. They can be contacted at https://support.esri.com/en/contact-tech-support.

Thanks,

Tom

Re: Legend is replicating layers

ChristineParkerILSR — Thu, 23 May 2024 20:40:59 GMT

It is adversely affecting the layout because other layers were also replicated and I couldn't turn them off without removing them entirely from the legend. I'll go ahead and reach out to tech support.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

HollyTorpey_LSA — Thu, 23 May 2024 22:50:29 GMT

Thanks. I'll contact support when I figure out how to reliably replicate it myself (to avoid wasting my time and theirs). Until then, we'll continue removing/readding layers when it happens.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

jmaxwell_braun — Fri, 24 May 2024 13:44:42 GMT

Same issue with me and everyone on my team that has upgraded to Pro 3.3. I don't want to contact support and spend hours doing a bunch of troubleshooting steps with them, but it may come down to that. It's a very annoying issue for sure.

This isn't limited to any specific type of layer and it wasn't an issue on Pro 3.2.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

ChristineParkerILSR — Fri, 24 May 2024 14:07:37 GMT

I met with tech support yesterday and they were able to confirm this is something they've observed on the backend and it's occurring intermittently on versions back to 3.0. So they're working to have a fix to this included in the 3.4 update. Unfortunately there is no ideal workaround since it's an unpredictable problem. My plan is just to make manual legends when it happens. 😣

Re: Legend is replicating layers

TomBole — Fri, 24 May 2024 14:17:47 GMT

@ChristineParkerILSR - Thanks for contacting support. Do you have an incident or bug number that I could follow up on?

Re: Legend is replicating layers

TomBole — Fri, 24 May 2024 14:34:41 GMT

All,

First, thanks for the feedback.

I understand and appreciate everyone's frustration with this issue. Obviously something was missed in testing and certifying the software release.

Currently we do not know what was missed. That this problem is intermittent makes it even more challenging. That is why it is important to gather as much information as possible. It increases our odds of reproducing the bug. We can't really fix a bug until we can reproduce it and then validate the fix. Otherwise, we are just guessing at the solution.

I'll alert the others on the Layout Team of this issue. Hopefully we can track this down and fix it.

Again, thanks to all for your help!

Tom

Re: Legend is replicating layers

ChristineParkerILSR — Wed, 29 May 2024 13:46:29 GMT

Esri Case #03635027

Re: Legend is replicating layers

TomBole — Wed, 29 May 2024 20:06:54 GMT

Thanks!

Re: Legend is replicating layers

HollyTorpey_LSA — Thu, 30 May 2024 00:51:39 GMT

FYI, I had this happen to me today in a layout after exporting it as a layout file. I had not yet exported it as a .pdf.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

jaredpberger — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 19:18:00 GMT

I'm having the same issue that other users have described here. I'm using ArcGIS Pro 3.3.0 on Windows 10. I am working with locally stored shapefiles. I set up my layout the way I want, then export. The exported .jpeg looks correct. When I return to the layout in ArcGIS Pro, many of the layers have been duplicated within the legend. If I try to uncheck these layers in the contents panel, the checkbox will not uncheck.

I see this issue has been under discussion for several years, but I saw that it is usually occurring with hosted or online layers. Is it a known issue with local shapefiles as well? Thanks,

Re: Legend is replicating layers

FourCornersMapping — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 11:48:08 GMT

Same issue here. A duplicate layer was added to the legend (after I made some edits to the layer) but there is only one of that layer in the map. See the parking layers below, the top "Parking Garage" and "Parking Lot" are the original layers, and the duplicate layers are at bottom, which also show the heading.

When I attempt to toggle off the duplicate layer in the legend, it stays checked in the legend items and also remains in the legend, but the original layer is turned off and removed from the legend.

Removing the duplicate legend item also removes the original item.

The only solution I've found is to remove the item from the legend and drag it back into it from the TOC.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

Eugene_Adkins — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 12:29:59 GMT

My intention isn’t for this comment to sound as snarky as it may, but stuff like this is why Pro updates (and the dependent functionality with server and services and field types, etc.) are so frustrating. Big fancy things are going to be talked about at the User Conference. The reliable functionality of necessary things to a map like a legend … not so much.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

HollyTorpey_LSA — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 22:12:36 GMT

Not that it's a real solution, but unchecking "New layer" and "Layer visibility" in the "Synchronize with map" section of the layout options seems to prevent the behavior.

Re: Legend is replicating layers

TomBole — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 22:24:31 GMT

All,

An update. There is a logged issue - "BUG-000167906 A legend item element gets duplicated when copying a shapefile from a map frame on one layout to another map frame on another layout." Though the title is specific to shapefiles I no longer believe the problem is specific to shapefiles. I've been able to reproduce with file GDB data.

The key to spotting this issue is that the duplication is done on the legend pointing to the map frame/map that you copied the layer from and not legend pointing to the map frame/map you pasted to.

Now that we have a reproducible case we can get our developers debugging the issue. Hopefully the fix is straight forward and one that can be included in a service pack. Of course we need to gather more info before making a call on the service pack.

I want to thank all of you for reporting this issue and providing as much information as you could. Special thanks to those I had the pleasure of meeting at this years UC and troubleshooting this issue in real-time.

Thanks You!!!!

Tom

Re: Legend is replicating layers

HollyTorpey_LSA — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 23:42:27 GMT

That's great news! Thanks for the update!

Re: Legend is replicating layers

TomBole — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 16:06:44 GMT

All,

We've been testing a fix to this issue and so far things are looking good. Hopefully we will be able to provide the fix in the next 3.3 service pack. We are still evaluating the risk of including this fix into the service pack and testing the fix in general. I'll post once I know for sure it is in the service pack.

Tom