Defining new types of UEI features

Use the procedure below when you want to create your own unit, equipment, or installation feature (UEI features) instead of using the military feature templates provided for you in Esri military feature layer packages. UEI features also include stability operations features and emergency managment features. You must still start with an Esri military feature layer package, because you need its schema, which includes a unique value field (symbolrule). For details on which military features Esri has created feature templates for and details on why not all military features, such as unit and equipment features, are included in Esri layer packages, see Military feature templates.

The procedure is the same for ArcMap and ArcGlobe; however, note the following special considerations for ArcGlobe:

• You create military operations features differently in ArcGlobe than in ArcMap. For military operations features, you must use simple symbology during editing.
• Labels can be draped or billboarded in ArcGlobe. For details, see Displaying feature labels in ArcGlobe.
• You can't edit draped features in ArcGlobe.

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap and open a map, or start ArcGlobe and open a globe.
2. Open one of the Esri military feature layer pacakges.
3. Determine which layer in the table of contents you want to add a feature template to. The link in step 2 opens a topic that provides a description of each layer available on ArcGIS.com. Because you are adding a UEI feature, the layer you choose must be a point layer. For details on why the layer type matters, see The relationship among maps, layers, and feature classes.
4. Right-click the layer in the table of contents, point to Edit Features, then click Define New Types Of Features.
5. Click Change Symbol on the first panel of the Define New Feature Type wizard to choose the symbol used for drawing the new type's features.
6. In the Symbol Selector dialog box, select your base symbol. You can find the symbol you want by typing its name into the text box near the top of the dialog box and pressing the Enter key. For example, enter airborne if you are creating an airborne infantry feature. You can type airborne f to filter the results to friendly airborne symbols (or airborne h for hostile, airborne n for neutral, and so on).

   If you want to view military symbols in the symbol display area of the Symbol Selector dialog box, click the Style References button and check all the the check boxes for styles listed in UEI Features. The styles do not have to be turned on for you to access them through the search text box. It is typically helpful to then sort the symbols by category (air track, combat, and so on) when searching. To do this, click the View Options drop-down arrow near the top of the dialog box, then click Group by Category.

7. In the search results area, click to highlight the base symbol you want.
8. In the Current Symbol area, click the Edit Symbol button so that you can add any graphic modifiers you want to your base symbol.
9. In the Symbol Property Editor, click the Import Layers button .
10. In the Symbol Selector dialog box, search for the modifier you want by typing its name in the text box near the top of the dialog box and pressing the Enter key. For example, if you are creating an airborne infantry division, enter division in the search text box. You may have to scroll down in the search results area to see the modifier you are searching for. Another option is to type division modifier in the search text box.
    Note:

    To see all modifiers, type modifier in the search text box. If you don't see the modifier you want after scrolling through the list, make sure the All Styles option under the search text box is selected.

11. Click to highlight the modifier you want in the search results area, then click OK.

    You'll see the modifier you just added in the preview area of the Symbol Property Editor dialog box.

12. If you want to add more modifiers or more picture markers to the symbol, repeat steps 8 through 11 for each modifier or picture marker you want to add. You can also use these same steps to change the frame, because frames are stored as picture markers. For example, search on Planned to add a dashed line as the frame. For tips, see Graphic modifiers for military features,
13. Click OK to close the Symbol Property Editor dialog box.
14. Click OK to close the Symbol Selector dialog box.
15. In the Define New Feature Type panel of the wizard, type a name and description for the new feature type. These will be used as the feature template's name and description. You can also enter tags, which are used when searching for feature templates in the Create Features window. Use a semicolon to separate the tags.
    Note:

    The Name field will be populated with the name of the base symbol you selected in the Symbol Selector in Step 6. If the symbol you selected in the Symbol Selector has tags associated with it, they appear in the Tags field.

16. Click Next.
17. The next step of the wizard assigns a domain value for the symbol you just created that will be used by the symbolrule field. You can take note of the value and click Next.
18. In the Set the default attribute values for the new feature panel, specify any default attributes that apply to the type of feature you are creating.

    The attribute values you specify in this step will be the default values for all features added to the map using this feature template.

19. When you are finished setting attributes for the new feature, click Finish to close the wizard.
    • Click Yes if you would like to define additional types of UEI features.
    • Click No if you do not want to add more types of UEI features at this time.

    ArcMap adds the new symbol to the Table Of Contents and the renderer list on the Symbology tab of the Layer Properties dialog box. The newly created feature template can be found in the Create Features window. If you want to set additional options for the new feature template, open its properties from the Create Features window. You are now ready to create features representing that new type.

    Tip:

    If you're having problems, check that you installed the military styles when you installed ArcGIS. If not, you can run the installation program again and choose to install military styles.

You are now ready to share your work using one of the many ways ArcGIS lets you publish and share your maps or individual layers. For example, you can now publish the map as a feature service. Or you can create (save) a layer package and send it to others or make it available on your organization's network or on ArcGIS.com. ArcGIS.com lets you create user groups and control who sees which maps you post there.

For information on creating new military operations line or area features, see Creating new military operations line or area features.