Color Coding

The Line Color and Fill Color Layer Settings can each be configured for either a uniform color for the entire layer or for different colors based on the field values of the individual features.  This color coding is called "Classifying". For example, you might want to classify your water lines layer according to their size, assigning different colors to different sizes. 

How To Setup Color Coding

1. Go to the Layer Settings screen for the layer that you want to classify.
2. Click the "Classify" link on either the Line Color or Fill Color row of the settings screen.
3. Choose a field name from your layer to base the color coding on
4. After the contents of your layer are scanned, choose a classification method.  Not all choices may be available to you depending on the types of values found in the selected field.
   1. Unique Values: Assign a different color to each unique value.
   2. Ranges Of Values: Assign a different color to each range of values.  This field type is only applicable for fields that contain either numeric values or dates.
   3. Age Ranges: This method calculates the elapsed number of years since the date recorded for each feature and colors the features based on ranges of elapsed years.  This method is only applicable for date field types.  The range values are expressed in decimal years so a value of "0.5 +"  means dates older than 6 months.  Age based color coding is dynamic, so one day a point on the map could be one color and the next day it could be a different color.
5. Click Apply and the map will assign random colors to each category.
6. To adjust the assigned colors click the "Based On" link that appears in the settings screen.
7. Don't forget to click "Save Display Settings" if you want these changes made permanent.

How To Color Code Symbols

1. Click on the Menu button, and click on the symbol layer you want to color code. 
2. Then, click on the Settings button. 
3. Click on the Symbols button. 
4. Note: Only vector symbols can be color coded. Raster symbols remain their assigned color. 
5. Click on the vector symbol you want to use. 
6. Then, click "Classify" next to the Fill Color and select the field you want to base your color coding on. 
7. Click "Apply," and click "Save Display Settings."
8. See the symbols are color coded based on their status in the field you selected.  

How To Modify Color Coding Rules

If a layer's color(s) are already classified, you will see a link on the Line Color or Fill color row of the Layer Settings screen that reads "Based On".  Click this link to change the color assigned to each category or to add additional rows to the color coding table.

How To Turn Off Color Coding

Click the "Based On" link next to the Line Color or Fill Color and then choose "Unclassify."

Additional Notes

• Be sure to choose the correct setting to classify.  For example, if your layer is made up of lines then you want to classify the line color and not the fill color. 
• When classifying the fill color or a layer, it is recommended that you choose a neutral color for the line color such as black, gray, or white.
•  If you are color coding a symbol layer you need to choose a vector type symbol. See Symbols for more about vector symbols.
• When you setup color coding on a layer that has a pick list setup for the selected field, then the color coding table will be automatically configured to match the values in your pick list.  But the color coding table and pick list do not automatically stay in-sync.  So if you add a new value to your pick list in the future you will need to also add that new value to your color coding table.

What Is Diamond Maps

This 5 minute video explains how and why municipalities use Diamond Maps.  I think you will find it very helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXLOGxi_4H8