4. Labeling¶

Goal: Add clean, professional labels that don't overlap, follow line geometry, and look great at print scale.

Two label engines¶

Switch: Map ribbon → Label → More → Use Maplex Label Engine.

Turn on labels¶

1. Right-click layer → Label.
2. Or click the layer in Contents and toggle the Label button on the Feature Layer ribbon.
3. By default it labels on the layer's Name field.

Pick the field & format¶

Open the Labeling ribbon (appears when a layer with labels is selected):

• Field — pick the attribute to label
• Symbol — font, size, color, halo
• Position — placement strategy

Use a label expression¶

For multi-field or formatted labels, click Expression. Choose Python or Arcade (newer, recommended).

$feature.NAME + TextFormatting.NewLine + "Pop: " + Text($feature.POPULATION, "#,###")

Output:

Atlanta
Pop: 498,715

Maplex placement rules¶

Open the Labeling tab → Position → click ⚙ for full Maplex options.

Conflict resolution¶

When labels collide, Maplex resolves by weight:

• Feature weight — how important is the feature itself?
• Label weight — how important is this label vs others?
• Background weight — push labels off (e.g., off other layers)

Set high weights for crucial features (state capitals) so they win when crowded.

Halos and callouts¶

A halo is a soft outline around the text — improves legibility on busy basemaps.

• White halo, 1 pt, 50% transparency = clean, readable.
• Avoid black halos (looks heavy).

For polygon callouts, use a leader line that links the label to the polygon.

Avoid these mistakes¶

Annotation (frozen labels)¶

Once labels are perfect, convert to annotation (right-click layer → Convert Labels → Annotation). Annotations are real features — you can move each one manually. Good for print maps where placement must be precise.

Practice¶

→ Next: Attribute Tables.