Color-managed project items

Each color-managed project item (maps, scenes, layouts, reports, and styles) in ArcGIS Pro has a color space and two color profiles associated with it. You set the color space and the color profiles from the Properties dialog box for each item. The default color space and profiles are derived from the color management settings of the application.

Color space

The color space, either RGB or CMYK, is like the color language of the item and dictates the way colors are defined and stored within the project item. The default color space for new project items is dictated by the ArcGIS Pro color management application settings. You can change the color space for a project item as necessary.

Color profiles

Each project item has two color profiles, one for the RGB color model and one for the CMYK color model. The color profiles are like the translators used to make sure the color values in one item or device can be understood by the color values in another item or device. Color profiles are used when a color is drawn on a monitor, moved from one item to another (a symbol taken from a style and placed in a map, for example), or exported to a color-managed file such as PDF.

Change the color management settings on a map, scene, or layout

The default color space and color profiles of project items is set by the ArcGIS Pro application settings, but you change them as necessary. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. On the Properties dialog box for the project item, click the Color Management tab.
  2. Set the Color space to RGB or CMYK.
  3. Choose Color profiles for RGB and CMYK from the menus.

    The available color profiles include the following:

    • sRGB IEC61966-2-1 noBPC
    • U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
    • Any color profiles stored in the Windows operating system

    To add additional color profiles to Windows, open the Control Panel search for Color Management. On the Color Management dialog box, on the Color Profiles tab, click Add.

Change the color management settings on a style

The default color space and color profiles of styles is set by the ArcGIS Pro application settings, but you change them as necessary if the style is editable. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Make a catalog view active. If a catalog view is not open in your project, on the View tab, in the Windows group, click Catalog View Catalog View.
  2. In the Contents pane, click Styles.

    The catalog view lists tiles of all the project styles, and under the Manage tab, the Styles tab appears.

  3. Click a style Style file (*.stylx) in the catalog view.
  4. In the Details panel, click the Description tab.
  5. On the Properties dialog box for the project item, click the Color Management tab.
  6. Set the Color space to RGB or CMYK.
  7. Choose Color profiles for RGB and CMYK from the menus.

    The available color profiles include the following:

    • sRGB IEC61966-2-1 noBPC
    • U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
    • Any color profiles stored in the Windows operating system

    To add additional color profiles to Windows, open the Control Panel search for Color Management. On the Color Management dialog box, on the Color Profiles tab, click Add.

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