Layers reverting back to default color scheme

[BenjaminSimpson]

Hi all,

I have a several shapefiles, some are point based and some are polygon. I have created several maps of England where the data for these point or polygons are color coded on a gradient scale. For the polygon shapefiles I have produced maps with pie charts showing data. The issue I am having is that I need to send the file geodatabase I am working on to a client but every time I open up the shapefiles which I have created the maps from, they revert back to the original color scheme. Is there a way of saving the color scheme so that when they are added to a different mxd thay produce the same maps as are currently in my mxd?

Thanks for any help,

Ben.

[WesMiller]

Yes once you get the layer to appear the way you want right click the layer in the table of contents and select "Save as Layer file" pick a location to save the file, and that will hold the symbology properties you've set

[GabrielUpchurch1]

You might also consider a map package.  This will essentially create a compressed file of the map document and all the data.  You send the map package file (.mpk) to the client and they can simply double-click the file to unpack it.  The map document opens exactly the way you have set it up.

Here is a help resource on map packages:  Creating a map package—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

[BenGrod · Accepted solution]

Hey Ben,

Wes and Gabriel are spot on, either save each layer in the map as a layer file (.lyr) or save the whole map as a map package file (.mpk). I would personally go with Gabriel's suggestion for the map package, it wraps everything up including the data and symbology into one file for sending. Just ask you client what version of Esri they are in and ensure it can open the map package file first. Good luck!