Problems Inserting Legend on Layout in ArcGIS Pro

[MeganYoung1]

I am trying to insert a simple legend onto one of my layouts in ArcGIS Pro and am running into an issue where the element will be inserted, but there will be nothing displayed within the element.  I have tried to change font size and other legend formatting but cannot get any items in the legend to display. I've attached a screenshot of what I am seeing on the layout page. The Table of Contents shows that all of my layers should be on the legend, but the element is blank.

[TomBole]

Hi Megan, 

There a couple of valid reasons why you may have a blank legend.

1. All the layers are toggled off.  Expand the Map Frame and the map nodes in the Contents pane and check that they layer are "on" (check box is checked).

2. All they layers are within the visible scale range (if applicable).  For more information on this see https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/help/mapping/layer-properties/display-layers-at-certain-scales.htm.

3. All the legend items are set to "Only show features visible in the map extent" and the current map extent displays no features. For more information on see https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/help/layouts/work-with-legend-items.htm.

Does the map current display features that you expect to see in the legend?  If you are seeing features in your map extent check the legend properties to make sure it is pointing to the correct map frame. 

It is possible that the legend has somehow become invalid. To test this add the World_Regions feature service from the Living Atlas.

1. Active the map view for your map (from the layout activate the map frame by selecting the map frame, right-click and choose Activate)

2. From the Map tab on the ribbon click Add Data and choose the "Data From Path" option

3. Paste the feature service URL into the text box - https://services.arcgis.com/P3ePLMYs2RVChkJx/arcgis/rest/services/World_Regions/FeatureServer.

4. Close the activated map frame

Has your legend updated to show this new layer and its classes?  If not, try adding a new legend.  If this doesn't work, then there might be something wrong with the layout or with the project. If so, it is time to contact technical support as 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.

Hope this helps, 

Tom