To create a unique and eye-catching map in Map Viewer, you can apply effects to layers in the map. For example, you can apply a bloom effect to a layer showing volcanic eruptions, or make the labels on a map stand out by applying a drop shadow effect to the basemap reference layer. Experiment with the available effects to achieve the look and message you want. You can quickly apply one or more effects without changing the default settings, or you can customize the effects to suit your needs.
Tip:
You can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly complete common workflows in Map Viewer. To view the full list of keyboard shortcuts in Map Viewer, press Alt+? on Microsoft Windows or Option+? on Mac.
You can apply affects to the whole layer or to a subset of features in the layer. For example, on a layer with earthquake data, you can apply the Bloom + Transparency effect to emphasize earthquakes over a certain magnitude. Effects can be applied to points, lines, and areas, and can also be applied to raster and imagery layers.
When you apply an effect, there is no change to the data or to the original rendering of the layers. When you save the map, the effect is saved to the map.
Tip:
Try combining effects with blend modes and different styling options to fine-tune the appearance of the map.
Apply effects
Do the following to apply effects to a layer:
- Confirm that you are signed in and, if you want to save your changes, that you have privileges to create content.
- In Map Viewer, open the map to which you want to apply effects, or add layers to a new map.
- On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Layers if the Layers pane is not open.
- In the Layers pane, click a layer to select it.
- On the Settings (light) toolbar, click Effects .
- Do the following to apply an effect to the whole layer:
Note:
You can apply multiple effects to the same layer. See the table below to learn more about each effect and its settings.
- At the top of the Effects pane, ensure that Whole layer is selected.
- Turn on the toggle button for the effect—for example, Bloom.
- Optionally, adjust the effect settings—for example, Strength.
Tip:
You can click Reset to default at any time to return to the default settings.
- Repeat these steps to apply additional effects to the layer.
- Do the following to apply an effect to a subset of features in the layer:
- At the top of the Effects pane, ensure that Feature-specific is selected.
- Ensure that the Enabled toggle button is turned on.
- Click an effect to apply it to the features—for example, Bloom + Gray.
See the table below to learn more about each effect.
The map updates to show the effect with a default filter expression applied.
- In the effect window, optionally click Add expression and modify the filter expression. You can modify the expression by changing the conditional statement, using a different variable in the expression, or interacting with a histogram.
Tip:
You can also combine conditions to create complex expression sets. Learn more about creating filter expressions.
- To duplicate or delete an expression, click Options and select Duplicate or Delete expression.
- To delete the feature-specific effect from the layer, click Remove filter .
- Close the effect pane when you are finished.
- Optionally, choose another layer from the layer selector and repeat the previous step to apply effects to other layers in the map.
- Optionally, do any of the following to make changes to the applied whole layer effects:
- Click the name of the effect to update its settings.
- If multiple effects are applied to a layer, drag the effects in the list to change the order in which they are applied to the features. Effects that are higher in the list draw on top of effects that are lower in the list.
- On the Contents toolbar, click Save and open and click Save to save your changes.
Effects
The following tables provide information about whole layer effects and feature-specific effects available in Map Viewer.
Whole layer
Effect | Description | Settings |
---|---|---|
Bloom | The Bloom effect adds a colored neon-like glow. It produces fringes of light extending from the borders of bright areas in a layer. This effect is useful for mapping fires, volcanic eruptions, and so on. Tip:For recommendations on applying the Bloom effect to high-density datasets, see Best practices for visualizing high-density data. | Bloom has the following settings:
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Drop shadow | The Drop shadow effect makes objects look like they are floating. It applies a drop shadow that follows the outline of the feature. This effect is useful when you want some features to stand out from the rest of the features on a busy map. For example, you can apply this effect to elevate proportional symbols above the basemap and make them more legible. | Drop shadow has the following settings:
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Blur | The Blur effect defocuses or softens the edges of the features. It makes the layer look out of focus or blurry, as though it's being viewed through a translucent screen. This effect can be used to soften the edges of a polygon if the precise boundary is unknown or shifting, such as a map of species ranges. | Blur has the following setting:
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Brightness & Contrast | The Brightness & Contrast effect adjusts the lightness and darkness of features. This effect can make a map layer brighter or darker, or increase or decrease the contrast of the colors in the layer. Increasing contrast, for example, can accentuate subtle differences in washed-out map layers. | Brightness & Contrast has the following settings:
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Grayscale | The Grayscale effect decreases or removes color. This effect is useful for muting or decreasing the visual strength of a map layer—for example, to make a colorful basemap or road network look less prominent so that it doesn't compete with the other layers in the map. | Grayscale has the following setting:
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Hue rotate | The Hue rotate effect uses a color wheel to transform colors relative to one another. The colors in the layer are shifted to the colors at the specified angle. You can use this effect to quickly retint a map to suit your needs without having to reauthor it. | Hue rotate has the following setting:
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Saturate | The Saturate effect increases or decreases the intensity of the colors. For example, you can use this effect to make the green shades in forested areas stronger and more obvious. | Saturate has the following setting:
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Invert | The Invert effect transforms all colors to their opposite, similar to a film negative. This result of applying this effect is like flipping the color ramp when styling a layer. For example, this effect can be useful when you want to replace a light basemap with a dark one but don't want to restyle the other map layers. It allows you to invert the layers so they remain visible with the new basemap. | Invert has the following setting:
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Sepia | The Sepia effect converts colors to shades of brown to mimic old photographs. This effect gives the layer a warmer, more yellow and brown appearance. This effect can be used to add warmth to any of the Esri monochromatic basemaps, such as Light Gray Canvas or Human Geography. It is also useful for muting basemaps that have vibrant colors. | Sepia has the following setting:
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Feature-specific
Note:
Feature-specific effects are listed in the Effects pane according to whether they are recommended for dark or light backgrounds.
Effect | Description |
---|---|
Drop Shadow + Gray | The Drop Shadow + Gray effect is recommended for light basemaps. It applies a drop shadow to emphasize some features and grayscale to de-emphasize others. The drop shadow effect makes the emphasized features look like they are floating. |
Strong Drop Shadow | The Strong Drop Shadow effect is recommended for light basemaps. It applies a heavy drop shadow to emphasize some features, making them look like they are floating. |
Drop Shadow + Transparency | The Drop Shadow + Transparency effect is recommended for light basemaps. It applies a drop shadow to emphasize some features and semitransparency to de-emphasize others. The drop shadow effect makes the emphasized features look like they are floating. |
Drop Shadow + Blur | The Drop Shadow + Blur effect is recommended for light basemaps. It applies a drop shadow to emphasize some features and blurs other features to de-emphasize them. The drop shadow effect makes the emphasized features look like they are floating. The blur effect defocuses or softens the edges of the de-emphasized features, making them look out of focus or blurry. |
Muted Blur | The Muted Blur effect is recommended for light or dark basemaps. It applies a blur effect to de-emphasize some features. The blur effect defocuses or softens the edges of the de-emphasized features, making them look out of focus or blurry. |
Muted Grayscale | The Muted Grayscale effect is recommended for light or dark basemaps. It applies a grayscale effect to de-emphasize some features. The grayscale effect decreases or removes color. |
Bloom + Gray | The Bloom + Gray effect is recommended for dark basemaps. It applies a bloom effect to emphasize some features and grayscale to de-emphasize others. The bloom effect adds a colored neon-like glow and produces fringes of light extending from the borders of bright features. The grayscale effect decreases or removes color. |
Bloom + Blur | The Bloom + Blur effect is recommended for dark basemaps. It applies a bloom effect to emphasize some features and a blur effect to de-emphasize others. The bloom effect adds a colored neon-like glow and produces fringes of light extending from the borders of bright features. The blur effect defocuses or softens the edges of the features, making the features look out of focus or blurry. |
Bloom + Transparency | The Bloom + Transparency effect is recommended for dark basemaps. It applies a bloom effect to emphasize some features and semitransparency to de-emphasize others. The bloom effect adds a colored neon-like glow and produces fringes of light extending from the borders of bright features. |