About stacking labels

When a label does not fit in the available space, you can have Maplex for ArcGIS split it into two or more parts and stack them to reduce its horizontal length. When you check Stack label, Maplex for ArcGIS automatically stacks labels that are too long.

You can control how Maplex for ArcGIS stacks labels, including the following:

Stacked label alignment

You can choose how the text in stacked labels is aligned. There are several options:

Stacking characters

You can specify where the label is split when it is stacked by using stacking characters. Spaces and commas are frequently used to split words and are the default stacking characters, but you can use any character to split your labels. If you do not want your labels to be split at spaces and commas, you can remove them from the stacking character list. Choosing a special stacking character can be useful when you must split a label in a specific place. You can also control how and when the stacking character will split labels. When the Visible check box is checked, the stacking character will appear on the map. If it is left unchecked, the character will not appear on the map. If Stack After is checked, the split will happen after the stacking character; otherwise, it will occur before the character. If Forced Split is checked, a split will always happen at the character, and stacking will always occur.

The following is an example where all three parameters are checked:

Label expression

[Field1] & "&" & [Field2]

Field1 value = Jekyll

Field2 value = Hyde

Stacking character = &

Label string before being placed

Jekyll & Hyde

After placement

Jekyll & 
Hyde

Stacking limits

You can set limits on the number of lines and the number of characters per line to control the shape of a stacked label. These limits can be used to prevent short labels from being stacked while allowing longer labels to be stacked. If the stacking character limits cannot be satisfied for a given label, the label will be split as close to the limits as possible.

Related Topics


5/2/2011