Create graduated or proportional symbol transparency

Summary

Note:
This article pertains to ArcGIS versions 8.x and 9.x. Later versions of ArcGIS may contain different functionality, as well as different names and locations for menus, commands and geoprocessing tools. 

Graduated or Proportional Symbols do not currently support transparency. Instructions provided convert symbols to features allowing for adjustment of the feature layer's transparency.

Procedure

1. Create the Graduated or Proportional Symbols.
2. Right-click the layer that must be symbolized and select Convert Features to Graphics. Using the default parameters, convert all features, and only draw the converted graphics.
3. Use the Convert Graphics to Features Developer Sample to convert the symbols into a new feature class.
4. Add the new feature class to ArcMap, right-click the layer and select properties. Click the display tab and adjust the layer's transparency.