Styles and data visualization

ArcGIS Runtime provides a comprehensive API for visualizing geographic data in a (2D) or (3D). You can create a variety of types of symbols and use them to render your data in several ways.

Your ArcGIS Runtime app can:

  • Symbolize and .
  • Visualize data in 3D.
  • Display while controlling positioning, overlaps, and conflicts.
  • Render data according to values.
  • Display different data and symbols at different scales.
  • Use a to symbolize many unique combinations of attribute values.

Features and graphics

and are used to represent real-world objects on a map or scene. Every feature and graphic has a representing its shape and location and may have that further describe the object it represents. There are some fundamental differences, however, between them. The one you choose for your use case may depend on how they are persisted, how it handles different geometry types and attribute schemas, and how they are symbolized and displayed. In general, graphics are best suited for the temporary display of application-specific objects that are not persisted when the application closes.

See the Features and graphics topic for more information about when to use each of these . To learn about adding graphics to your , see Add graphics to a map view and Add graphics to a scene view.

3D display

To take full advantage of the 3D environment, and provide additional API for controlling display in a or . ArcGIS Runtime also provides a set of symbols designed exclusively for three-dimensional display.

The Render features and graphics in 3D topic describes considerations that are specific to displaying data in 3D.

Symbols

An ArcGIS Runtime app can load and created with or the Map or Scene Viewers. These tools allow you to style your map or scene as you want it to appear in your app without having to write code. ArcGIS Runtime supports the same advanced symbols, also known as , used by ArcGIS Pro and the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer. ArcGIS Runtime also provides API for creating your own symbols and for controlling the display of features and graphics in your app.

See the Symbols, renderers, and styles topic for information about symbolizing data.

Renderers

A is a collection of one or more symbols. When applied to a layer or , a renderer displays using the appropriate symbol. If it contains more than a single symbol, a uses logic to determine the to apply to each geoelement, based on one or several values. ArcGIS Runtime also contains a set of raster renderers for displaying data according to their cell values.

When symbolizing in your map, you may need to convey several pieces of information, from different attributes, with a single symbol. You can try to symbolize such data using a , but as the number of fields and values increases, that approach becomes impractical. With a , however, you can build each symbol on the fly based on one or several values and also handle a nearly infinite number of unique combinations.

See the Symbols, renderers, and styles topic for an overview of the available renderers. Display symbols with a dictionary renderer describes how to create and apply a dictionary renderer to a layer.

Labels

, , and sublayers in your ArcGIS Runtime app can be labeled using a combination of values, text strings, and values calculated with an expression. You can determine how labels are positioned and prioritized, and how conflicts between overlapping labels are automatically and dynamically resolved.

See Add labels for more information.

Tutorials

Samples

Add graphics with symbols

Add graphics renderer

Custom dictionary style

Show labels on layer

Raster rendering rule

Tools

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