Unable to select the field name in the Vary symbology by attribute tab in ArcGIS Pro

Description

When attempting to select a field in the 'Vary symbology by attribute tab' in the Symbology pane for ArcGIS Pro, the field is not available in the drop-down menu.

The image below shows the Field parameter drop-down menu without the Direction field selection.

Cause

This is expected behavior when the Direction field contains cardinal directions in text data type values, for example, North, North West, and others. The 'Vary symbology by attribute' function requires a numeric data type field to represent the angle used for rotation. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: Numbers for additional information regarding numeric data types.

Solution or Workaround

1. Create a new field and change the Data Type to numeric. Select either Short, Long, Float, or Double. Refer to Steps 1 through 4 of ArcGIS Pro: Create a field and apply a domain and default value to create a new field.
2. Save the edits. Refer to ArcGIS Pro: Save edits made in the Fields view for instructions to save edits.
3. Populate the new field with the angle representing the cardinal directions using an arcade script.
   1. In the header of the attribute table, click Calculate.
   2. In the Calculate Field tool, select the Input Table and Field Name (Existing or New) parameters accordingly.
   3. Change Expression Type to Arcade.
   4. In the Expression box, input the following arcade script:

if ( $feature["<Feature Name>"] == "North") {
return 0
}
else if ( $feature["<Feature Name>"] == "East") {
return 90
}
else if ( $feature["<Feature Name>"] == "West") {
return 270
}
else if ( $feature["<Feature Name>"] == "South") {
return 180
}
else if ( $feature["<Feature Name>"] == "North East") {
return 45
}
else if ( $feature["<Feature Name>"] == "South East") {
return 135
}
else if ( $feature["<Feature Name>"] == "South West") {
return 225
}

5. Click OK.

The image below shows the Field parameter drop-down menu with the Cardinal Directions field selection.