Color Scale Bar - Vector, Color Relief, Surface, and Point Cloud Maps

A color scale bar is a legend that shows the fill assigned to vector symbols on a Vector (1-Grid) map or a Vector (2-Grid) map, or the colors used in a color relief map, 3D surface map, or point cloud map. Color scale bars can be added to 2D and 3D maps, but have slightly different options. Color scale bars for contour and wireframe map layers are similar, but have slightly different options.

Click on the color scale bar to open the color scale properties in the Properties window.

Color Scale Bar Visibility

The color scale bar display can be turned on or off in the Contents window by checking or clearing the box to the left of the color scale bar name.

Adding or Removing a Color Scale Bar

To add or remove a color scale bar on a contour or wireframe layer:

Select a contour or wireframe layer in the Contents window.
Choose one of the following methods:
1. Click Home | Add to Map | Color Scale Bar.
2. Click Map Tools | Add to Map | Color Scale Bar.
3. Right-click the layer and select Add to Map | Color Scale Bar.

When active, the Color Scale Bar command appears highlighted/depressed on the ribbon. Click the command again (or press the DELETE key with the scale bar selected) to remove the color scale bar.

Layer-Specific Requirements for Command Availability

The Color Scale Bar command is enabled only when the selected layer supports a color scale. Review the layer-specific prerequisites below:

Vector Layers (1-Grid and 2-Grid): On the Symbol tab, under the Color Scaling section, the Scaling method property determines command availability:
- Disabled → Disabled: The command cannot be selected.
- By magnitude → Enabled: A color scale bar can be added
- By grid file → Conditional: Enabled only when a valid grid file is specified in the Grid file field.
Point Cloud layers: On the General tab, in the Appearance section, the View by property determines command availability:
- Elevation → Enabled: A color scale bar can be added
- Intensity → Enabled: A color scale bar can be added
- Return Number → Enabled: A color scale bar can be added
- Classification → Disabled: The command cannot be selected

Removing a Color Scale Bar

A color scale bar can be removed by clicking on the color scale bar and pressing the DELETE key on the keyboard.

Using a Logarithmic Scale on a Color Scale Bar

The color scale bar reflects the scaling of the colormap. To set the colormap to use a logarithmic scale for a vector map:

Click on the vector map layer to select it.
In the Properties window, click on the Symbol tab.
Click the next to Color Scaling to open the Color Scaling section.
Set the Scaling method to By magnitude or By grid file.
Click the next to the Vector colors colormap.
Check the Logarithmic scaling option and click OK.
The color scale bar is automatically updated to show logarithmic scaling.

To set the colormap to use a logarithmic scale for a color relief, surface, or point cloud map:

Click on the color relief, surface, or point cloud layer to select it.
In the Properties window, click on the General tab.
Click the next to the Colors colormap for a color relief map layer. Click the next to the Upper colormap for a surface map layer. Click the next to Colormap for a point cloud layer.
Check the Logarithmic scaling option and click OK.
The color scale bar is automatically updated to show logarithmic scaling.

Editing a Color Scale Bar

To modify a color scale bar, click on the color scale bar to select it. The properties are listed in the Properties window.