Importing properties

Hi, I'm new to DIVA so please forgive any repetition or a dumb question. Is there any way to import and save polygon properties (symbology) so that the same properties can be applied to different maps? I'm using vegetation and geological layers for South Africa where each veg type / formation is represented by a standardized colour scheme which groups these into higher level categories (for example, all the grassland veg types are shades of green and related types are similar colours). The standard colour schemes for these layers are available as ArcView legend files (for geology the correct colours are seen as very meaningful - they are formally registered with the board of stratigrafy). I have also made similar schemes for mapping multiple species point occurrence data (using symbols and colours for different taxonomic groups, saved as legend files to be applied to different projects). These schemes are visually useful because each map uses the same scheme and major contrasts between groups are clear - but they are laborious to construct when there are many categories. If this facility doesn't exist it would be a useful addition.