How to Change Your Map Colors and Labels

Change your map colors and labels fonts in the SparkMap Map Room. All SparkMap visitors can access the color, symbol, and label changing tools.

Add a Map Layer

Go to Customize Map Symbols Settings

Change Map Colors or Symbols

Change Map Labels

Step 1 – Add a Map Layer

To use this tool, you must have a layer added to your map (Figure 1).

For instructions on how to find and add map layers, see How to Make a Map.

A light yellow map in the SparkMap Map Room — *Figure 1 – Add a map layer*

Step 2 – Go to Customize Map Symbols Settings

In your map’s legend, select the paint bucket icon (Figure 2). You can also access this tool via the Tools button on the left side of the Map Room.

The Customize Map Symbols settings page will then appear (Figure 3).

*Figure 2 – Paint bucket icon in map legend*

Step 3 – Change Map Colors or Symbols

Scroll down to the “Change symbol colors” section. To change the entire color palette for your map, click the color palette dropdown (Figure 4, circled in red).

A list of color options will appear in a dropdown (Figure 5). Click a color palette to select it.

*Figure 4 – Selecting the color palette section*

*Figure 5 – Selecting a new color palette*

To edit an individual color from your palette, use the individual color squares beside each map field name (Figure 6, in red).

*Figure 6 – Changing an individual color in palette*

Click the “Update” button in the bottom left (Figure 7, in red) to implement your color changes.

Custom map colors — *Figure 7 – New map colors*

If the layer you added is a point layer, you will have the option to change the symbol.

Use the dropdown to choose between a static or customized shape (Figure 8, in red).

Once you have decided on the shape and color of your symbol, click the update button (Figure 9, in red).

Red square around the shape customization options in the map room — *Figure 8 – Symbol customization options*

New symbols with the update button circled in red — *Figure 9 – New symbols with update button highlighted*

Step 4 – Change Map Labels

To edit map labels, first return to your map legend and ensure labels for your map are turned on by clicking the “label” button (Figure 10, in red).

A “Label font” tab will now appear in the editing panel (Figure 11). Click this tab and explore options to change your label font, font color, and scale. Scale refers to the size your font will be depending on how zoomed in or out you are.

Click the “Update” button in the bottom left to implement your changes.

Turning labels on — *Figure 10 – Toggling map labels*