Mapdiva, LLC | Mac OS X Software

To place labels on linear features, use the Linear Select tool to highlight the track where your label will be placed. Right-click the selected area and choose New Label. A highlighted label “bubble” shows where the label has been placed. Double-click the label bubble to edit the label text at any time.

The text will be placed in either the default style and positioned above the track, or its style and position will be based on the style that has been applied from the Symbols palette (see Direct Feature Labeling). Once placed, the label is fully editable. Similarly to the Text On Path tool, line labels follow the path of their associated linear features. If the path is moved, the label moves with it.

Linear feature labels have handles for just-right positioning similar to the concept of handles with Bezier curves. To control placement, the left handle (yellow dot) slides the label along the track. The right handle (orange dot) controls the spread, or overall width, of the label along the line. The handle on top (blue dot) controls the vertical alignment of the label with respect to the line, moving the label up or down for perfect positioning.

Occasionally, you may want a label to run in the opposite direction along a line. Right-click on the label and choose Flip Label to change the orientation of the label relative to the line.

As with other curved text, it is good practice to keep linear text labels as simple as possible. Usually this means selecting a relatively straight section of the line to place your label. To place smoothly curved labels on lines with complex, sinuous routes, right-click the label and choose Follow Trend Of Path to enable basic label simplification. Alternatively, you can detach the label from the feature (right-click and choose Detach From Feature) and adjust its curve handles.

Note that multiple labels can be placed along a line. Each one can have its own style and placement, as appropriate to your map.