Change symbol or label properties for multiple layers in the TOC

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11-15-2010 08:27 AM
Status: Under Consideration
Labels (1)
JeffWielki1
Occasional Contributor

Sometimes multiple layers in an mxd need to be symbolized or labeled in exactly the same way, but making multiple selections in the TOC doesn't allow the user to change these properties for all layers. You still need to go through each one individually.
This could be a big time saver in some instances, and would be easy to implement.

14 Comments
SarahForsyth
This could be a very simple to have as a built in tool to apply "source" symbology froma  layer to multiple input field for target layers and have the option of selecting and confirming the value field etc. if necessary. 
Michael_RMiller
Here is a potential workflow.
1. In Symbology tab of layer properties, create a symbol you like.
2. In Symbol Selector (double-click symbol) click Save As to save symbol in your Styles collection. This is saved in your profile by default but you can store it as a separate Style Set File (.style) in another location so you don't lose it. Providing it a useful name and tags can help you locate symbols within your style set.
3. Select the Categories Unique values or other symbol types and add values (all or ones you choose) to symbol set for the layer.
4. Right-click the symbol and select Propeties for All Symbols (or select the ones you want to change and choose Properties for Selected Symbols)
5. Select the newly saved symbol from your Style Set
6. Click OK.
The style should be applied to all the symbols you chose.
CharlesNorell
This is much needed!
wayfaringrob

In Pro, it would be really nice to modify the properties of multiple label classes (even just within the same layer) at once, so I hope that part of this idea gets implemented soon. You can modify some properties of symbology classes this way. I have DOT road layers that often require upwards of 10 label classes, and making changes after the initial classes are set up can be tedious. Thankfully the pane doesn't do a whole lot of 'switching' when going between classes like some other parts of the application like to do, so I can make the same change across them all reasonably quickly, but it is still very manual.