Format numbers in legend labels

You can customize the formatting of numeric labels in a layer's legend to better represent the symbology. Specify whether the numeric field data values represent percentages, directions, currency, rates, fractions, or angles. You can also format labels using scientific notation (standard format) or create a custom format string for the label.

Formatting legend labels gives context to the number displayed and makes it easier to understand and read. For example, if you define the labels as numeric, you can specify the number of decimal places or the number of significant digits that appear on the labels. You can also add a suffix to show the units of the values, such as kilometers (km), square miles (sqMi), or degrees-minutes-seconds (dms).

This topic covers formatting legend labels only. For details on formatting legend text symbol styles and fonts in layouts, see Format text in a legend.

  1. Select a feature layer in the Contents pane.
  2. On the Feature Layer tab, in the Drawing group, click the Symbology drop-down button Symbology and select one of the following symbology methods:
  3. In the Symbology pane, click the Advanced symbology options tab Advanced symbology options, and expand Format labels.
  4. Click the Category drop-down arrow and choose the number format.
  5. Specify the properties for formatting legend labels in the Contents pane and in layouts.

    Certain properties, such as currency symbols and thousands separators, take into account the language preferences set in the project options.

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