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Working with Text and Layouts in ArcMap

Types of text used in ArcMap



Labels
Using ESRIs Default Label Engine
Using ESRIs Maplex Lable Engine
Annotation
Graphic Text

Creating a Layout


Labels and LayoutsTopics
Types of Text in ArcMap
In ArcView 3.X, there were 2 forms of text, Labels and Graphic Text. In ArcMap,
there are 3 forms of text that are utilized in ArcMap
Labels
are automatically generated by ArcMap after user sets labeling properties and rules.
are positioned in relation to the map feature (point, line, poly),
their text strings come directly from the data layers attribute table,
are the fastest and easiest to use.
However, labels in ArcMap differ from labels in ArcView 3.X in that:
Labels cant be selected and
you cant edit the display properties of individual labels.

In ArcMap, fine-tuning of text statements, appearance, and positioning are achieved using

Annotation
are text strings you can edit, either as a group or individually.
Annotation layers are typically created by converting labels to an annotation layer.
Display properties and position of the text are stored in terms of geographic space (X,Y).
Annotation can be stored as its own layer for use in subsequent projects.

Graphic Text
Exists in the page space of your document (in term of inches from the lower left corner).
Created by inserting a text box.
Labeling - The Labeling Toolbar
Adding the Labeling Toolbar
1. In the Tools menu,
select Customize.
2. In the Customize dialog box, select the
Toolbars tab, then check the box next to
Labeling to activate the Labeling toolbar.





3. This Labeling Toolbar should
materialize in the toolbar area of
your project.
The Labeling Toolbar is the interface that contains the tools the user uses to set rules that
manage labels placement, font, weights vs. other layers labels, and many other properties.
Labeling - The Labeling Toolbar Functions
Labeling Getting Started
Turning on Labeling
1. Add county.shp from the directory
S:\IGSB\ArcGIS Training\Labels_n_Layouts\Data.
2. Holding your mouse cursor over county.shp in
ArcMaps Table of Contents, single-right-click the
dataset and select Label Features

3. ArcMap will automatically label the dataset. In this case,
it used the field FIPS as the default Labeling field.
*The functionality of this command is for turning labels on
and off after labels have been created using the Label Manager.
4. In the directory S:\IGSB\ArcGIS Training\Labels_n_Layouts
save your project using your name in the project title.
Control in how labels are drawn is achieved through the Label Manager
Labeling The Label Manager
We will now take our first look at the Label Manager.
1. Select the Label Manager icon from the Labeling Toolbar
2. The Label Manager Menu will appear.
3. Change the Label Field to COUNTY. Change the font,
size, color, and text effects if you wish. Hit OK.
4. You map should now be much more
interpretable to most people.
Labeling Controlling Labeling with the Labeling Manager
5. Reopen the Label Manager from the Labeling Toolbar
6. Hit the Properties tab under Placement Properties.
7. Two tabs are visible in Placement Properties.
7a. The Placement tab will appear
differently depending on whether
you are working with a point, line,
or polygon feature class.

The options are fairly straight-
forward. For now, select Try
Horizontal first, then straight, then
switch to the Conflict Detection tab
7b. The Conflict Detection tab is
used if:
you will be labeling many
feature classes (Label Weight), or
when you do not want labels of
a feature class to appear over the
features of feature class (Feature
Weight).
if you do or do not want labels
to overlap (Checkbox at the
bottom of the box).
Hit OK.

Labeling Controlling Labeling with the Labeling Manager...continued
8. Note how changing one Placement Property (Try
horizontal first, then straight) alters your map:
9. Reopen the Label Manager,
Under Placement Properties, select Always Horizontal.
Hit OK.

10. Save your project.

Labeling Controlling Labeling with the Labeling Manager...continued
Suppose we want to create labels for Iowas counties in a manner where Polk Countys label
is red, and the remaining county labels are black. This can be done by adding another label
class and manipulating each label class properties separately.
1. Reopen the Label Manager from the Labeling Toolbar
2. Single left click on the Label Class County
3. Under Add label Class, Enter Class Name, type Polk,
4. Hit Add.
5. The new Polk Label Class will appear on the left hand
side. Highlight it, and change the font color to a red color.

We now need to build expressions that will make Polk
Countys label red, and the rest of the counties black. This
is done with the SQL Query buttonhit it!
Labeling Creating additional Label Classes with the Label Manager
6. Build the expression below.
Double-click COUNTY from
The upper portion of the dialog box,
hit the = sign,
hit the Get Unique Values button,
select POLK from the drop-down
list.
hit OK.
7. In the Label Manager, switch from
the Label Class Polk to Default.
Hit the SQL Query button,

8. Build the expression
COUNTY < > Polk
hit OK.
hit Apply, then OK in the
Label Manager

9. Save your project.

Labeling Creating additional Label Classes with the Label Managercontinued
With a data frame reference scale, you define the scale at which text and symbols will appear at their true size.
Setting a reference scale is like freezing the symbol and text sizes used in your data frame;
If you zoom in or out, the text and symbols will change scale along with the display.
Unless you explicitly set a reference scale, the current scale is your reference scale
1. Setting the reference scale
Select Data Frame Properties
from the View Menu
The Reference Scale is adjusted through
a dropdown list under the General tab
Labeling Considering Reference Scales
2. The differing effects of varying Reference Scales
keep in mind that we created the county labels
at the full extent of county.shp:
In the example below, the Reference Scale is set to <none>.
The labels font size stay the same size as you zoom in/out.
In the example below, the Reference Scale is set to
<Current visible extent> (= full extent of county.shp).
The labels font size changes as you zoom in/out.
Zoomed back out to the full extent of the View, experiment with setting the reference scale to
1:100,000, etc and zoom in and out of the Viewer.
Labeling Considering Reference Scalescontinued
There are 2 different labeling engines available in ArcMap that can be used to manage labels.
Up to this point, we have been utilizing ESRIs Default Label Engine. This is the basic labeling engine for
ArcMap.
Another, more robust label engine is available for those with an ArcINFO license. This is ESRIs Maplex
Label Engine (if you have 3-D/Spatial Analysts, you have the ArcINFO license.)
2. Change the label engine
Select Data Frame Properties in the View Menu.
In the General Tab, select ESRI Maplex Label Engine
1. Activate the Maplex Extension
Select Extensions from the Tools Menu.
Check the box next to Maplex
Labeling Changing the Labeling Engine
Labeling Utilizing the Maplex Labeling Engine
We will now create a map in which the counties and county seats boundaries are displayed and labeled without
overlapping each others text or polygon boundaries.

Add to your project incorporated_cities.shp from the directory S:\IGSB\ArcGIS Training\Labels_n_Layouts\Data. Make
sure you place it above county.shp in the Views Table of Contents.
1. Displaying only the county seats in the View.
single-right click incorporated_cities.shp in the
Table of Contentsselect Properties from the
drop-down list.
Select the tab Definition Query.
Hit the Query Builder button.
In the Query Builder dialog box, build the expression
CO_SEAT = Y
We now have only those cities displayed which are county seats. However, you will notice that the
county name labels overlap many of the municipal boundaries (Black Hawk for instance). We still
need to label the county seats as well.
Labeling Utilizing the Maplex Labeling Enginecontinued
Notice how the Label Manager interface has changed?
Highlight the Default label class for incorporated_cities
2. Reopen the Label Manager from the Labeling Toolbar
3. Hit the Properties button to change the labels placement
properties.
4. The Label Position tab

select the Position
Button.

since the boundaries
of the cities are so
small when zoomed
to the Views full
extent, we will want
their labels displayed
outside their polygon
boundariesselect
Offset Horizontal

Hit OK and switch to
the Fitting Strategy
tab.
Labeling Utilizing the Maplex Labeling Enginecontinued
5. The Fitting Strategy Tab

Stacking Labels can be for labels composed
of more than one word (like Orange City).
Stacking will cause the labels to draw in
two lines.
Hit the Stack Labels Options button
The Label Stacking Options
dialog box should give you an
idea as to how label stacking
works.
Hit OK in Label Stacking
Options.

Turn off the Overrun Feature
checkbox.
Switch to the Conflict
Resolution Tab.
Labeling Utilizing the Maplex Labeling Enginecontinued
5. The Conflict Resolution Tab

Perhaps the most useful operation in this dialog box
for our purposes is the Remove duplicates checkbox.

Check the Remove duplicates checkbox, then
hit the Limits button
This box will appear. Iowa 99 county seats all have unique
names. However, several county seats have multiple
disconnected (like a light industrial area outside of town).
To alleviate this:

remove Duplicate Labels within 100,000
Map Units (meters in this case) of each other.
Hit OK in both the Duplicate Labels and Placement
Properties dialog boxes.
Labeling Utilizing the Maplex Labeling Enginecontinued
6. Change the font for incorporated_cities Default label Class.
Font size of 6 should work nicely, and change the text color.

7. Under Placement Properties, change the Offset from 1 to 2.
This will increase the space in between the incorporated
cities/county seats linework and labels.

8. Hit OK and Save your project.

Labeling Utilizing the Maplex Labeling Enginecontinued
Labeling Utilizing the Maplex Labeling Enginecontinued
We now have all the labels we need to work with in their proper fonts. However, both sets
of labels overlap the other shapefiles boundaries. To remedy this, we need to review the
order in which the labels are drawn and more importantly in this case, set label weights
so that the labels will not overlap each others features.
Labeling Setting Label Priority
A combination of factors can lead to labels being overlapped over each other, or can keep some labels from
being drawn at all. To be safe, its worth the time to review the Label Priority Function.

The user can set which layers labels take precedent over others. This is done with the Label Priority
Ranking button located in the Labeling Toolbar.
This Ranking will work fine.
Labeling Weighting Labels over other Layers Features
To set label weights so that the labels will not overlap each others features,
use the Label Weight Ranking button in the Labeling Toolbar.
For the incorporated cities feature
layer, assign a a value of 100 for
both the Feature Weight and
Polygon Boundary Weight.

Hit Apply and look at the changes
in the map.
The county and incorporated labels no longer overlap the incorporated cities political boundaries.
However, the incorporated labels still overlap the county boundaries in some instances.
Labeling Weighting Labels over other Layers Featurescontinued
Labeling Weighting Labels over other Layers Featurescontinued
For both of the county feature layers, assign a a value of 50 for both the
Feature Weight and Polygon Boundary Weight.

Hit Apply and look at the changes
in the map.
Labeling Weighting Labels over other Layers Featurescontinued
You should now have a map in which the labels of both layers overlap neither shapefile boundaries or
each other. Save your project.
Converting Labels to Annotation
As mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial, the fine-tuning of labels appearance, and positions are
achieved using Annotation.
Unlike labels, annotation can be edited individually,
Annotation layers are typically created by converting labels to an annotation layer (it pays to fine tune your labels as
much as possible before you convert them to annotation).
Annotation can be stored as its own layer for use in subsequent projects IF its parent feature class is stored in a database.
1. Convert labels
to annotation by single-
right clicking on the
layer containing the
labels and selecting
Convert Labels to
Annotation from the
drop-down list.
For now, store the annotation
In the map
If you now open at the label manager, you will notice that
the label class for incorporated cities is turned offthis should
not be interpreted as the annotation layer we just created. It
remains to be the original label class.
Converting Labels to Annotationcontinued
If you need to turn off or turn on the annotation layer,
you must open Data Frame Properties from the
View Menu, then hit the Annotation tab.

Manipulating Annotation
Annotation behaves much like labels you would have generated in ArcView 3.3.
Zoom into the Sioux City Area. Using the Select Elements tool from the Tools Toolbar (the black arrow), select the
Sioux City annotation and move it from the west side of the Missouri River to the east side.
Manipulating Annotationcontinued
Changing the display properties of individual annotation.
1. Right-click on the Sioux City annotation
and select Properties from the drop-down list.
2. Changing font size,
style, and type is done
with the Change
Symbol button.
3. Further changes such
as rotation, halos, etc
can be done through
the Properties button.
Manipulating Annotationcontinued
4. Changing the angle
5. Adding a Mask around a label can set text off
from its background in many cases.

A helpful tipdont categorically trust the Preview
of text. It may give you a general idea of what the text
might look like in the map, but it is often incorrect.
Before we jump into Layouts, we need to verify that a few toolbars are available for our use.
In the Tools menu,
select Customize.
Turn on both the Draw and Layout toolbars.
Layouts The Toolbars
Layouts The Toolbarscontinued
Before we get started, it is important to recognize that the Zoom In/Zoom Out/Pan Buttons found in the layout
toolbar behave COMPLETELY differently than the Zoom In/Zoom Out/Pan buttons from the Tools Toolbar!!!

We will examine this shortly.
The Layout Toolbar vs. the Tools Toolbar
Layouts The Toolbars
The Draw Tool-bar
is used, amongst
other things to
add Graphic Text
to a View or
layout.
Layouts The Toolbarscontinued
Layouts Getting Started
Switch to the Layout View by hitting the Layout icon in the lower-left hand corner of the Data View.
Layouts Getting Startedcontinued
The Layout View will resemble:
Layouts Navigating the Layout Viewer
Using these navigation tools from the Layout Toolbar allows you to zoom in/out, pan,
Throughout the view WITHOUT changing the geographical display of your layout .
Conversely, utilizing these navigation tools from the Tools Toolbar in the
Layout view WILL CHANGE the geographical display of your layout. If you accidentally
Use one of these buttons in the layout view, use the zoom to last extent from the Tools
Toolbar to correct your layout.
Layouts Navigating the Layout Viewercontinued
The Layout Tools Zoom In tool was used to focus in on the finer details of the layout. Note that you cant
see the layouts margins.
The Tools Zoom In tool was used to focus in on the layout in this case. Note that you CAN
see the layouts margins. The geographic extent of the map has completely changed.
There may be cases where this will be desirable, but be careful and aware when zooming/panning
In a layout view.
Layouts Navigating the Layout Viewercontinued
By default, ArcMap Places a border around the periphery of the layout. This can be deleted or
altered by:
Selecting the map within the layout,
single-right clicking and selecting
Properties from the drop-down list.
Select the Frame tab. Click on the arrow
next to the Border Options and select none to
remove the border, or select an alternative
border pattern.
Backgrounds and Drop-shadows are customized
in the same manner.
Layouts Borders, Backgrounds, and Border Drop-Shadows
Layouts Resizing the Main Map Element
Resizing the main map element is done in the same manner it was done in ArcView 3.X. Single-left
Click on the map element and resize the element by dragging the corners or edges.
Layouts Centering Map Elements
With the map element desired to be centered, right-click on the element and select Align, Align to
Margins if no other options are active, then select Align Center. This will align the element horizontally.
This process can be repeated to Align Center Vertically, the element.
Layouts Inserting Graphic Text
Your usual Microsoft text buttons, located in ArcMaps Drawing Toolbar are used to insert text.
In this case it is used to add a title (County Seats of Iowa).
Layouts Inserting Legends, North Arrows, and Scales
Legends, north arrows, and scales are all added using the Insert Menu.
Layouts Inserting Legends, North Arrows, and Scalescontinued
Inserting a Legend takes more steps than in ArcView 3.X but is straightforward. Results are much better
and can be revised without rebuilding the entire legend. For now, dont worry about text sizes.
1. Layers in
Legend.

2. Use arrows to
Include/exclude
Layers

3. Number of
columns in the
legend is a nice
addition.

Hit Next
1
2
4. Legend Title,
this should need
little explanation

Hit Next
5. Again,
this should
need little
explanation

Hit Next
6. The graphics
representations
of lines and
polygons are
much more
appealing.


Hit Next
Hit the Finish button.
Layouts Inserting Legends, North Arrows, and Scalescontinued
Layouts Inserting Legends, North Arrows, and Scalescontinued
After all the steps, our legend still needs some work. We will change the text incorporated_cities
to County Seat.
Layouts Inserting Legends, North Arrows, and Scalescontinued
To make the change, right-click on incorporated_cities.shp in the Table of Contents and select Properties.
In the Layer Properties dialog box, select the General tab and change the Layer name to County Seat.
Layouts Inserting Legends, North Arrows, and Scalescontinued
Note the change in the legends text.
Layouts Inserting Legends, North Arrows, and Scalescontinued
When inserting north arrows or
scalebars, much of the customization
is conducted with the Properties
Buttons.

In particular, the Properties in the
scalebar selector are necessary if you
want to change its units.
Layouts Exporting the Map
To export a layout
to an image file,
select Export from
the File Menu
Many more image formats are
available for export.
ArcMap Tutorials and Help on Labels and Annotation

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