Labeling map features
Text on a map can serve many different purposes. One of the most important functions of map text is to describe, or label, features. The most common labels are names—for example, street names, place names, and names of landforms or water bodies. In ArcMap, label text comes from a field in a layer's attribute table.
The source of the labels in this
map is the CNTRYNAME field in the Countries attribute table.
Labels can
be added to a map in two different ways: dynamically or interactively.
· Dynamic labels are generated on the
fly for all the features in a layer at once. You can specify label properties
such as the font, size, color, and position in relation to the feature being
labeled (such as top left, bottom center, top right).
· Interactive labels are created by
clicking individual features in the map. Interactive labels may use the same
label properties specified for the layer, or you can set different ones.
What if
you want to label something on your map that isn't actually represented in a
layer? For example, maybe you have a layer of mountain peaks and you want to
label the whole mountain range. You can do this by manually adding the desired
text to the map.
When the text you want isn't available in an attribute or isn't associated with a feature, you can manually add it to the map.
In
technical terms, text added manually to a map is called annotation. Unlike
dynamic labels, which get their properties from a layer, each piece of annotation
has its own properties that are stored either in a map document or in a
database.
Annotation
and dynamic labels behave differently in ArcMap. Annotation always stays at the
position where you place it, but you can reposition it as desired. The placement
of dynamic labels, on the other hand, is determined by ArcMap and is based on
the current map extent and the number of features being displayed in that
extent. As the map is zoomed in and out, the position of dynamic labels will
change as ArcMap determines the best placement for them. Dynamic feature labels
may move, appear, or disappear as the available space on the map changes.
Both kinds
of map text have advantages. Dynamic labels are an easy way to label many
features at once. You can convert dynamic labels to annotation if you need to
edit the appearance or placement of individual labels.