Label Features

The Label Features tool creates labels based on attributes of selected features on Area, Line, or Point MAP layers. Features selected on multiple MAP layers can be labeled simultaneously. MAPublisher provides options to specify label preferences such as label position, alignment to lines of latitude, minimum font sizes, and horizontal scaling to best place labels within polygons and paths. These label settings are common to Label Features and the MAP Tagger Tool (including MAP Contour Tagger).

Requirements

Labels need to be added to a Text layer. Use Add MAP Layer in the MAP View panel to create a Text layer.

Using Label Features

Click the Label Features button on the MAPublisher Toolbar or from the menu Object > MAPublisher > Label Features.

Layer and Attribute

The Layer column shows the Area, Point, or Text layers that currently have selected features to label.

For each layer, the Attribute drop-down list is populated with the attributes of that layer. Click to choose the appropriate attribute to label with.

Target

In the Target column, choose a Text layer that the labels will output to. Labels can only be created on Text layers in the same MAP View as the MAP layer.

Style

In the Style column, choose a predefined character style or use the current settings. For best results, set up character styles for type font, size, justification, fill and stroke in the Character Style panel before labeling (Window > Type > Character Style). Alternatively, set the appropriate settings (fill, stroke, font, etc.) and then use the Label Features tool. Label Features will generate labels based on current settings.

Area Settings

MAPublisher places Area labels depending on the shape and size of the area polygon. Click the Area Settings tab to see all the area label settings.

The High Placement Accuracy option makes more advanced calculations for the label positions so as to force them to fall within the area boundaries (useful for areas with strange shapes, for example, some S shape islands). However, it does slow down the labeling process so a Low accuracy can be preferable depending on the expected results.

When the Labels curve with lines of latitude option is selected, MAPublisher creates a path that conforms to local lines of latitude and places the text along it. If this option is not selected, the labels are placed horizontally. This option is enabled only for MAP Views set with a projected coordinate system.

Labels can be modified if they exceed the size of the area in the current default font size. Check the Adjust label if larger than area option to activate the label reduction rules. These rules are executed in a hierarchical order and can be reordered with the Up and Down buttons. The Reduce font size to a minimum of option allows for font reduction to a specified minimum size in points. The Reduce horizontal scaling to a minimum of option allows text to be scaled horizontally by the fraction specified. The Wrap labels that are too long option adds a carriage return at the nearest space in the text.

 The Wrap Labels that are longer than area option is not available if the Labels curve with lines of latitude option is checked.

Label Features also provides an additional option which is not available with the MAP Tagger tool. If any of the labels have been adjusted in size due to the deployment of an area adjustment rule, all labels can be resized to the same size by checking the Set all labels to the same minimum font size option.

When a specified rule cannot be implemented successfully, MAPublisher will default to placing the label centered over the area. In situations with compound areas, MAPublisher labels the largest area in the compound.

Line Settings

MAPublisher places Line labels depending on the curvature and length of the line string. Click the Line Settings tab to see line label settings.

Choose a Label type to either Follow line and create text on a path, Follow line and create point text or Don't follow line and create point text. The first setting creates text that follows a path where its position can be adjusted along it. The second setting creates text that follows the angle of the path but uses a point of reference. The last setting places the text at the middle point of a line and uses a point of reference.

MAPublisher controls where the text is placed along lines by using the Distance from start option. Choosing Auto will place text at the midpoint for straight lines and, for curved lines, will find the smoothest portion of the curved line closest to the midpoint. When Fixed is chosen, the distance from the start is set as a percentage of the length of the line.

Reverse right-to-left paths (flip upside-down text) is enabled by default and will automatically orient labels uniformly if some lines are flipped. Disabling this feature will not flip labels.

When the Smooth lines with offset option is enabled, MAPublisher creates a smoothed version of the selected path for each text object in the layer and places the text along it at the specified offset value. The labels can be dragged and positioned at any position along a line. When Line Smoothing is not enabled, the labels follow the original path.

 For lines with a high number of vertices (e.g. contour lines), using the Line Smoothing option significantly speeds up the labeling process.

The Label position option allows for the selection of the vertical position of the labels relative to the line. Three options are available:

•Baseline: places labels above the generated text path.

•Descender: places the portion of a letter in a Latin-derived alphabet that normally extends below the baseline of a particular font above the generated text path.

•Center: places the label on the generated text path.

Labels can be modified if they exceed the length of the line in the current default font size. Check the Adjust label if larger than line option to activate the label reduction rules. These rules are executed in a hierarchical order and can be reordered with the Up and Down buttons. The Reduce font size option reduces the size of the font to a specified minimum size in points. The Reduce horizontal scaling option allows text to be scaled down horizontally by the percentage specified.

Label Features also provides an additional option (not applicable for the MAP Tagger Tool). If any of the labels have been adjusted in size due to the activation of a line adjustment rule, all labels can be resized to the same size by checking the Set all labels to the same minimum font size option.

When a specified rule cannot be implemented successfully, MAPublisher will default to placing the label centered over the line. Also note that text generated for Line labels will be automatically orientated above the lines, irrespective of the direction of the line.

Point Settings

Click the Point Settings tab to see point label settings.

The Label Position offers nine position options for the text anchor. Choose one of the placements in the drop-down list: Upper Left, Upper Middle, Upper Right, Left, Center, Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Middle, Bottom Right. A preview shows the label placement.

When the Labels curve with lines of latitude option is selected, MAPublisher creates a path that conforms to local lines of latitude and places the text along it. If this option is not selected, the labels are placed horizontally. This option is enabled only for MAP Views set with a projected coordinate system.

Special Point Labels: Sounding Style Labels

The Use sounding style labels option is specific for users wishing to label point symbols marking measured water depth positions. These types of labels are officially known as Charted Soundings and their representation on official navigational charts are ruled by international standards.

The aspect of the soundings is always according to the following rule: Numerals representing the decimeter part of a sounding should be visibly smaller than those representing whole metres and positioned slightly lower than the latter (subscript). Zero decimeter values must not be shown.

For example:

 Traditionally, slanted text (in italic) represents depth values in metre, straight text represents depths in feet.

 

On official nautical charts, the actual depth symbol is not plotted — the label itself indicates the depth position. Two options are possible for the soundings' placement relative to the depth point:

•Use standard label style: soundings are placed in such a way that the centre of gravity (geometric centre) of the set of numerals (integer and decimal parts) coincides with the position referred to. This option is the most commonly used.

•Center on whole number: soundings are placed in such a way that the center of gravity of the integer part of the number coincides with the position referred to.

 More information on these standards can be found on the International Hydrographic Office Website, www.iho.int, see publication S-4 (formerly M-4).

 See Helpful Styles & Symbols for more about S-57 Symbolization.

The relative size and position of the decimal (subscript) relative to the integer number (regular type) is controlled by the Adobe Illustrator document setup. Choose the menu File > Document Setup to change the subscript size and position under Type Options. These settings should be performed prior to running the labeling function because they affect the placement of the labels relative to the source symbols.

Label Features Results

When all the Layer Label Options have been set and the Label Settings have been specified click OK to label the selected features.

Labels applied using Label Features appear in the current default colour, font and font size (as set by the selected character style).

If the destination text layer and source layer have the same attribute schema, the attributes of the labeled features are copied as attributes to text features (to apply MAP Themes for example).