To define style rules

When you first import your data, you can assign a Rule Styles property, which determines the appearance of the features being imported.

If necessary, you can override the Rule Styles property with the Manual Styles property. When assigned, the Manual Styles property takes precedence.

1. Click .
2. In the Style Rules Panel, click the tab for the class of features to style.

   The tabs are on the left side of the Style Rules panel. For example, to create a rule for buildings, click the Buildings tab.

3. Click (Add a New Empty Rule of the Current Rule Type) to create a new style rule.

   When prompted, enter a name for this style rule, for example, "Red Brick Buildings." After clicking OK, the new style name appears in the Rule Editing window.

   
4. To create an expression for this rule, click : Edit Properties of the Currently Selected Rule, or double-click the Expression cell for this rule.
5. In the Rule Editor, do the following:
   • Optionally, enter a description for the style.
   • Under Expression, click .
6. In the Create Filter Expression dialog box, create the expression for this style.

   Features that meet the criteria of the expression will use the style you specify.

   When you imported your data, you mapped one property from your original data to a property called RULE_STYLE. You can now create a set of rules, each one specifying a style for one value of that property. For example, RULE_STYLE = 'brick' creates a style for buildings whose RULE_STYLE property value is "brick." Define one style rule for each value of the RULE_STYLE property.

   You can also create style rules that behave like feature class subsets. For example, if you enter the expression ROOF_HEIGHT > 24, all buildings whose ROOF_HEIGHT property is more than 24 will use this style.

   For information on defining expressions, see Overview of Creating Expressions.

   When you have finished defining the expression, click Validate to make sure it is valid. Then click OK to return to the Rule Editor.

7. In the Rule Editor, click (Add an Existing Style) to display the Select Style dialog box. Select the style for features that meet the expression's criteria.

   Select a style category from the dropdown list, and then click the preview for the style to use. Click OK.

8. When you are finished with this rule, click OK.

   If you are defining RULE_STYLE rules, continue adding style rules until you have defined one for each RULE_STYLE value.