Agent Guide: arcgis-visualization

Quick-reference decisions, checklists, and tables for renderers, symbols, and visual variables.

Renderer Type Decision Tree

1. Do all features look the same?

   • Yes --> SimpleRenderer

2. Do features differ by a categorical field (e.g., type, status)?

   • Yes --> UniqueValueRenderer
   • Need grouped headings in the legend? --> Use uniqueValueGroups property

3. Do features differ by a numeric field (e.g., population, temperature)?

   • Want discrete ranges (choropleth)? --> ClassBreaksRenderer
   • Want continuous variation? --> SimpleRenderer + color/size visualVariables

4. Do you want a density heatmap (points only)?

   • Yes --> HeatmapRenderer

5. Do you want dot density (polygons only)?

   • Yes --> DotDensityRenderer

6. Do you want pie charts per feature?

   • Yes --> PieChartRenderer

7. Do you need military symbology (MIL-STD-2525)?

   • Yes --> DictionaryRenderer

8. Want the SDK to generate a renderer from data automatically?

   • Yes --> See arcgis-smart-mapping skill

Symbol Type Table by Geometry

2D Marker Styles

circle, square, cross, x, diamond, triangle

3D Object Primitives

cylinder, cone, cube, sphere, diamond

Visual Variable Reference

All visual variables use stops to map data values to visual properties:

stops: [
  { value: <low>,  size/color/opacity: <min> },
  { value: <high>, size/color/opacity: <max> }
]

Rotation uses field directly (no stops needed) with rotationType: "geographic" or "arithmetic".

Renderer Construction Checklist

• Set type on the renderer (e.g., "simple", "unique-value", "class-breaks")
• Set type on every symbol (e.g., "simple-marker", "simple-fill")
• For UniqueValueRenderer: set field, uniqueValueInfos (or uniqueValueGroups), and defaultSymbol
• For ClassBreaksRenderer: set field, classBreakInfos with minValue/maxValue, and defaultSymbol
• For visual variables: add visualVariables array to any renderer
• For labels: set layer.labelingInfo array and layer.labelsVisible = true
• For TypeScript: use as const or satisfies __esri.*Properties on autocast objects

Color Formats

All of these are valid color values:

• Named: "red", "blue", "transparent"
• Hex: "#FF0000", "#f00"
• RGB array: [255, 0, 0]
• RGBA array: [255, 0, 0, 0.5] (0.5 = 50% opacity)

Labeling Quick Reference

Label expressions use Arcade syntax ($feature.fieldName), not JavaScript.