Disable fills when creating polygons in an edit session in ArcMap

Summary

Instructions provided describe how to disable fills when creating polygons in ArcMap during an edit session. In some situations it is advantageous to disable the default fill option, especially when digitizing polygons from imagery or tracing features. The shaded fill of the polygon can cause a loss of precision.

Procedure

1. On the Editor toolbar, click the Editor drop-down menu, and click Options.
   
   

   Note:
   If the Editor toolbar is not displayed, enable it by clicking Customize > Toolbars > Editor.

   
   
2. In the Editing Options dialog box, click the General tab.
   
3. Uncheck the ‘Use symbolized feature during editing’ check box, and click OK
4. Polygons can now be created without having a fill applied.
   

   Disable ‘Use symbolized feature during editing’ in the Editing Options properties.