Overview of symbology

Choosing the correct symbology for ArcPad is important for effectively displaying your data in the field. You want to be certain that you specify symbology that has sufficient contrast for the expected field lighting conditions. The artificial light and large monitors used in an office environment enable the use of a wide range of colors and symbols; whereas, only a limited number of colors and symbols provide sufficient contrast when used in the field with small computer screens and strong sunlight.

The large range of supported symbols for ArcPad enables you to display layers in the field using the symbology standards of your organization. The use of familiar symbology makes it easier for field users of ArcPad to transition from using paper maps, or desktop PCs, to using mobile devices with small, quarter-VGA screens.

ArcPad supports simple and complex symbology. Complex symbology will result in slower draw performance on a Windows Mobile device. For example, a simple red line with a width of 1 will draw quicker than a freeway line symbol that has a red line drawn over a thicker black line. To improve performance, you can select a more simple symbol and/or set display scale ranges for your layers.