Draw layers with representations

Representations are an ArcMap symbology option to customize the appearance of features by storing symbol information with the feature geometry inside feature classes. They are commonly used to meet stringent cartographic specifications or to achieve advanced symbol effects. A feature class can have more than one representation associated with it, allowing the same data to be displayed uniquely on different map products.

Representation symbology

The symbol model of ArcGIS Pro supports representation rules and can be combined with attribute-driven symbology to achieve cartographic outcomes with field-based representation overrides. Since symbols and the attribute-driven symbology configuration are stored in the layer, this approach is more flexible than representations. Updates do not require a schema change to the feature class in the geodatabase, and the symbology can be applied to any feature layer data source, not just geodatabase feature classes.

Representations in ArcGIS Pro

Representations can be displayed in ArcGIS Pro, but the symbology cannot be modified. Representation symbology is listed in the Symbology menu for any layer whose source data includes representations. If the layer has multiple representations, there will be a symbology option for each one.

To make modifications to the layer's symbology, convert the representation symbology to unique values symbology. This converts all representation rules and field overrides associated with the representation to layer symbology. Before converting, you must analyze the layer to identify unsupported aspects such as overrides stored in the override blob field, shape overrides, free representations, and representation marker overrides. Analysis produces a log file that lists each feature with overrides. You can then use ArcMap to either manually move the overridden attributes and geometries into appropriate fields, or use the Update Override geoprocessing tool to do this.

Convert representation symbology to unique values symbology

To convert representation symbology to unique values symbology, follow these steps:

1. In the Contents pane, select a feature layer drawn with representations. On the Appearance tab, in the Drawing group, click Symbology to open the Symbology pane.
2. In the Symbology pane, click Analyze to perform analysis on the representation.
3. The results of the analysis are shown at the bottom of the pane. If issues are found, a log file is produced listing the representation rules that have overrides. Individual features with these overrides can be identified in ArcMap using the Select Feature By Override tool. Click View log to open the log file.
4. After analysis is complete, the Convert button is enabled. If analysis found issues, resolve them in ArcMap by moving overrides to field or removing overrides, or you can choose to ignore them in conversion.
5. Click Convert to convert the representations to unique values symbology with field overrides applied. The unique value field is the representation RuleID field.
6. Optionally click the expression button to migrate your symbology to an expression-based symbology using original data values on which the representation RuleID was based.