Edit the map legend’s symbology label and layer title in ArcGIS Online Map Viewer Classic

Summary

When symbolizing features in a web map, symbology labels and layer titles are created automatically in the legend based on the selected attributes and layer names, respectively. However, the default symbology labels and layer titles may not indicate the intended information, and it is necessary to edit them to build an informative legend for the web map.

For example, the image below shows the legend of a web map titled ‘Test Legend’. The default symbology label and layer title in the legend do not represent the intended information. The tree symbol is labeled as ‘P001’ instead of ‘Park’, and its layer title is named as ‘Point_layer’ instead of ‘Parks and Playgrounds in State A’. There are other instances wherein the symbology title does not represent the numeric data in the legend such as ‘Shape_Area’, as shown in the image below, which must instead be renamed ‘Population Size’.

This article describes how to edit the map legend's symbology labels and layer titles in ArcGIS Online Map Viewer Classic.

Procedure

Rename the layer to update the layer title in the map legend

1. Log in to ArcGIS Online. Click Content > My Content.
2. On the My Content page, browse to the web map, click More Options , and select Open in Map Viewer Classic.
3. In Map Viewer Classic, in the Contents pane, browse to and rename the layer to update the layer title of the legend. In this example, ‘Point_layer’ is renamed ‘Parks and Playgrounds in State A’ in the Contents pane, and the result is reflected in the legend in the Legend pane.

4. Click Save > Save to save the map.

Configure the Change Style settings to update the symbology label in the map legend

1. Follow Steps 1 through 2 from the method above.
2. In Map Viewer Classic, in the Contents pane, browse to the layer, and click Change Style .
3. In the Change Style pane, under Select a drawing style, click OPTIONS. In this example, the attribute that must be symbolized is a name field, and the drawing style is Types (Unique symbols).

4. In the Change Style pane, under Click to edit symbol or label., in the LABEL column, click to edit the label name of the symbol, and click OK. In this example, the tree symbol’s label is renamed Park.

Note:
To hide the symbology label in the legend, remove the label name, and type space by pressing the spacebar on the keyboard once.

5. In the Change Style pane, click DONE.
6. Click Save > Save to save the map.

The image below shows the tree symbol label updated to Park in the map legend in Map Viewer Classic.

Rename the feature template to update the symbology label in the map legend

Note:
Renaming the feature template of the layer changes the attribute name displayed in the attribute table.

Note:
This workflow requires enabling editing of the hosted feature layer. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Manage editor settings for more information.

1. Follow Step 1 from the method above.
2. In Map Viewer Classic, on the top panel, click Edit.
3. In the Add Features pane, click MANAGE.
4. In the Manage New Features pane, select the layer from the Layer drop-down list.
5. Click the drop-down arrow next to the feature template, and select Properties.

6. In the Type Properties window, provide a new name in the Label field, and click DONE. In this example, the feature template is renamed Park.
7. In the Manage New Features pane, click SAVE CHANGES.
8. Click Save > Save to save the map.

The image below shows the tree symbol label updated to Park in the map legend in Map Viewer Classic.

Configure the attribute field alias to update the symbology title in the map legend

Note:
Renaming the attribute field alias of the layer changes the field name displayed in the attribute table.

1. Follow Step 1 from the method above.
2. In Map Viewer Classic, in the Contents pane, browse to the layer, click More Options , and select Configure Pop-up.
3. In the Configure Pop-up pane, under Pop-up Contents, click Configure Attributes.
4. In the Configure Attributes window, browse to and click to rename the attribute field alias in the Field Alias column. Click OK. In this example, the field alias is renamed Population.

5. In the Configure Pop-up window, click OK.
6. Click Save > Save to save the map.

The image below shows the symbology title renamed Population in the map legend in Map Viewer Classic.