Customizing legends in Surfer

Surfer provides numerous tools for creating informative legends for your maps.  The customization options outlined in this article will allow you to tailor the appearance of your legend so that it provides the context and clarity your audience needs.

Common Legend Customizations

Add or remove a map layer from the legend

By default, a new map legend in Surfer contains entries for each supported layer in the map at the time the legend was added. Map layers that support legends are post, classed post, vector, drillhole and base with symbology.

If you have added layers since the legend was created or you have layers you do not want represented in the legend, you can add or remove them using the instructions below.

1. Click the Legend in the Plot window or Contents window to select it.
2. In the Properties window, select the Layers tab.
3. In the Layers in Legend section, click the Edit List button next to Edit layer list.
4. In the Layers for Legend dialog, 
   To remove a layer:
   1. Click the layer in the Selected Layers list.
   2. Click the << button to remove the layer from the legend.
   
   To add a layer:
   1. Click the layer in the Available Layers list.
   2. Click the >> button to add the layer to the legend.
5. Click OK.

Note: Layers can only be added to the legend once.  If the layer is listed in both sections, it can only be removed.

Layers for Legend dialog

Click the red/top button to add a layer, and click the blue/bottom button to remove a layer.

Add layer names to the legend

When you have a map with multiple layers, it may be helpful to provide some additional contents for the different types of legend entries.  You can do this by displaying the map layer name shown in the Contents window above each group of associated legend entries.

To add layer names to your legend:

1. Click the Legend in the Plot window or Contents window to select it.
2. In the Properties window, click the Layers tab.
3. In the General section, check the box next to Show layer name.

The legend on the left does has layer names OFF. 
The legend on the right has layers names ON providing vital context to the values displayed.

Edit individual layer properties 

When you have multiple map layers in a legend, you can change how the entries for each layer are displayed by following the steps below.  For example, you may want 5 entries illustrating the fill color symbology for your base layer but only 3 entries for another layer. 

1. Click the Legend in the Plot window or Contents window to select it.
2. In the Properties window, click the Layers tab.
3. In the Layers in Legend section,
   1. Click in the Layer to edit field and select the desired layer from the drop down.
   2. In the Layer section below, adjust the Number of samples, Template, Fill sample size, and Sample spacing as desired.

Change the layer display order 

When you have multiple map layers in a legend, you can the order in which the entries for each layer are displayed.  For example, you may your legend to display your post layer first and your base layer second.

To change the display order of your legend entries:

1. Click the Legend in the Plot window or Contents window to select it.
2. In the Properties window, click the Layers tab.
3. In the Layers in Legend section,
   1. Click in the Layer to edit field and select the desired layer from the drop down.
   2. Click Move up or Move down (Move Left or Move Right if the Layer Layout is Horizontal) in the Layer position field.
   3. Repeat steps 2a and 2b until you have acquired the desired order.

Customize how legend entries are displayed

By default, Surfer displays fill or symbol and associated value in the legend.  If there are no specific values the symbol or fill alone.  This can be changed using the Template field. The template is applied to each class or sample in the legend. Normal text and math text instructions can be included within the template, in addition to the following special legend template directives:

1. Click the Legend in the Plot window or Contents window to select it.
2. In the Properties window, click the Layers tab.
3. If your legend includes information for more than one layer.
   1. In the Layers in Legend section, click in the Layer to edit and select the desired layer from the drop down.
4. Go to the Layer section (below the Layers in Legend section, it includes the name of the map layer referenced) and click in the Template field.
   1. Normal text and math text instructions can be included within the template, in addition to all of the special legend template directives found listed in Surfer Help>Legend Layers Properties>
      Template Section
   2. For example, the template: Including \lower \symbol and up to \upper 
      produces a classed post map legend that looks like:

A sample classed post map legend shows classes, symbols, and text in the class lines.