Create a custom linetype with text characters in ArcGIS Pro

Summary

In CAD drawings, linetypes with embedded characters are created to denote a service or the attribute of a line. The image below shows a linetype with embedded characters, '---E---E---':

While it is not possible to import linetypes with text characters from AutoCAD into ArcGIS Pro, this article provides a workaround to create a style containing line and marker symbol layers, and add the created style to a feature class to generate custom linetypes with embedded characters in ArcGIS Pro.

Procedure

1. Create a new style for the line symbol.
   1. In ArcGIS Pro, in the Catalog view, right-click the Styles folder, and navigate to New > New Style.
   2. Type the text for Name, and click Save.
   3. Right-click the created style, and click Manage.
   4. On the Catalog tab, in the Create group, click New > Line Symbol.

5. Click Line symbol, and click Description.
6. Under Name, type a name for the line symbol. In this example, the line symbol name is Electricity line.

2. Add a marker symbol layer to the style to add text characters.
   1. In the same pane, click Properties.

2. Click the Structure icon . Under Layers, select Marker layer from the Add symbol layer drop-down list.

3. Click the Layers icon , and click Shape marker layer.
4. Under Appearance, click Font....

5. In the Choose a character window, select a character to embed in the linetype. Set Font, Font style, Subset, and Unicode as required, and click OK.
6. Edit the Solid stroke layer settings to create a dashed line.
   1. Select the Solid stroke layer under Layers .
   2. Click to expand Dash effect, and set Dash type and Dash template as required.
   3. Adjust other properties as required.
7. Click Apply to generate a style for the linetype with the embedded text characters.

5. In the Contents pane, double-click the line symbology under the feature class, and select the created style in the Format Line Symbol window to apply the custom linetypes with the embedded text characters.

Note:
Some of the display icons for creating new symbols are different if the ArcGIS Pro light application theme is applied to the background.