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

Summary

A legend describes the meaning of the symbols, colors, and styles used to represent geographic data on the map. Map legends configured in Map Viewer or Map Viewer Classic are reflected in web apps, such as ArcGIS Experience Builder, created using ArcGIS Online web maps. 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 default symbology label, symbology title, and layer title populated in the map legend below do not represent the intended information. The tree symbol is labeled as ‘Z66581-23ed’ instead of ‘Park’, the symbology title is named ‘Point_feature_ABZ-edt12’ instead of ‘Public facilities’, and its layer title is named ‘Single Point feature 01’ instead of ‘Public facilities in State A’.

There are also instances where, by default, the legend symbology of numeric data symbolized using the Counts and Amounts or Dot Density style is labeled with numbers, and it is necessary to rename the symbology labels to the intended category names. The image below shows the numeric data category displayed in the legend of the ‘Neighborhoods with access to public facilities’ layer is labeled according to the shape area field attribute instead of the intended neighborhood names.

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

Procedure

Depending on the suitability, perform one or more of the following workflows to edit the legend’s symbology label or layer title.

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.
3. In Map Viewer, on the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Expand , browse to and rename the layer to update the layer title of the legend. In this example, ‘Single Point feature 01’ is renamed ‘Public facilities in State A’ in the Layers pane, and the result is reflected in the Legend pane.

4. On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Save and open > Save to save the map.

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

Note:
Renaming the attribute field name of the layer changes the field name displayed in the attribute table and pop-ups.

1. In Map Viewer, on the Contents (dark) toolbar, browse to and click the layer.
2. On the Settings (light) toolbar, change the field name to update the map legend’s symbology title.
3. On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Save and open > Save to save the map.

Note:
To hide the symbology title in the legend, remove the field name, and press the space bar once.

The image below shows the symbology title renamed ‘Public facilities’ in the map legend in Map Viewer.

Configure the layer’s symbology style options to update the symbology label in the map legend

1. In Map Viewer, on the Contents (dark) toolbar, browse to and click the layer.
2. On the Settings (light) toolbar, click Styles.
3. In the Styles pane, under Types (unique symbols), click Style options.
4. In the Styles options pane, under the <field name> section, click the symbology label next to the symbol and rename it. 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 press the space bar once.

5. Click Done > Done.
6. On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Save and open > Save to save the map.

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

Enable the Classify data option to rename the numeric data symbology label in the map legend

1. In Map Viewer, on the Contents (dark) toolbar, browse to and click the layer.
2. On the Settings (light) toolbar, click Styles.
3. In the Styles pane, under the selected symbology style, click Style options.
4. In the Styles options pane, enable the Classify data option, and click the symbology label to rename it. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Style numbers (Map Viewer) for more information. In this example, the Counts and Amounts (color) style is used to symbolize the numeric data, and the symbology labels are renamed to the respective neighborhood names.

5. On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Save and open > Save to save the map.

The image below shows the color category labels updated to the intended neighborhood names in the map legend in Map Viewer.