1. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
The placement of feature name labels on maps has posed a significant challenge throughout cartographic history, consuming up to 50% or more of overall map production time. Different types of features-points, line and area- involve different labeling challenges. Point features have received specific attention because of the difficulty while still maintaining unambiguous visual association of labels with their features.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

2. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Features you may likely want to label which will compete for space on your map.
• Points
• Polling Places
• Landmarks
• Lines
• Roads
• Railroad Tracks
• Water Boundaries
• Non-visible Boundaries
• Polygons
• CDDs and other special taxing districts
• Municipalities
• Congressional, Senate, House, etc. Districts
• Precincts
This is by no means an exhaustive list of features you may want to label on your map. In any event you may want to adhere to using the same color, size, relative placement and font style for each feature class.
For example a 9 point, black Arial font with center right placement may be a standard you want to adhere to but in some instances have to rely upon a backup set of rules when your label conflicts with another feature or feature label.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

3. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Automatic Labels, Labels and Text are different and support different purposes when labeling objects in a map.
Automatic Labels (Labels) and Text are different. They support different purposes when labeling objects in a map. Because of their respective attributes they act differently.
Automatic Labels and Labels share the same attributes.
• Automatic Labels are MapInfo Pro generated labels created by way of the Automatic Label button contained in the Layer Control dialog box.
• Labels are applied using the Label Tool found on the Main tool bar
• Text remains a constant scale as zooming in and out.
Text.
• Text labels are objects. They appear similar to Labels. Text objects change scale zooming in and out.
• Text objects are contained within a discrete table. Their position in the stack of layers can be set through the Layer Control dialog box.
• There are two tools in Tool Manager that convert Labels to Text objects; Autolabeler and Labeler.
While this is a crowded slide, it contains the comparative differences between Automatic Labels and Text.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

4. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Removing the UNKNOWNX labels from the 2.tab.
1. Select all of the Names that contain UNKNOWNX
Within GeoAuthor you have the ability to create a road layer. This road layer will contain all of the roads, ramps, drives, etc. that are contained in the editable data. Some of these features will not have traditional names but rather are labeled as UNKNOWN1, 2, 3, etc. When using this layer you likely will not want labels with the word UNKNOWN to appear on your map. So let’s remove these names from our list of names. Keep in mind you will have to execute these steps following the creation of a new roads layer using the Build Layers function in GeoAuthor. This is particularly critical if you use the Authomatic Label functions within MapInfo Pro.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

5. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Removing the UNKNOWNX labels from the 2.tab
1. Optionally, you can use an SQL Select to make your selection.
One could have sorted the browser for the 2.tab by name and manually selected the names containing the UNKNOWN string as illustrated in the previous slide or use the SQL Select dialog box to make the selection as illustrated in this slide.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

6. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Removing the UNKNOWNX labels from the 2.tab
2. Use the Update Column function to blank out the
string in the Name field for your selection.
Regardless the method you choose to make your selection, you will next update the Name column in your selection with a blank. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use the MapInfo Pro>Update Column function as illustrated in this slide. The pair of double quotes represent a blank which in turn will be used to update the Name column in your selection with a blank.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

7. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
This slide illustrates the results you want. Segments in the road layer with any of the MapInfo Reference Numbers that appear in the resulting browser will not be labeled.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

8. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
A grid is a network of evenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines used to identify locations on a map. For example, you can place a grid that divides a map into a specified number of rows and columns. A grid has useful for purposes in the creation of a layer of labels for roads. Geographers find the use of grids useful for systematically analyzing large areas of geography one piece at a time while keeping track of what has been reviewed and what is yet to be reviewed. MapInfo Pro has a Grid Maker available accessible from the Tool Manager depicted in this slide.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

9. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Activating the Grid Maker application presents the user with a tool bar and the last icon is the Create Grid tool. Selecting the Create Grid icon presents a pointer the user can use to create a rectangle that will contain the grid. After which the user is presented with the Grid Maker dialog box as illustrated in this slide. The extents of our grid are displayed in longitude and latitude.
We have specified the Spacing between lines as 5280 feet which equals one mile. The Smoothness is set at 0 which will result in one node at each corner of a cell in our grid. Finally, we have specified the path and file name for the new table.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

10. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Once the grid has been created, make the grid editable and delete the cells that fall outside our geographic area of interest as illustrated in this slide. When creating the road labels one can go from cell to cell to inspect the status of the labels in any given cell. Some cells will not have roads, others one to three roads and yet others may be highly congested.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

11. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
We want to return to the MapInfo Pro Tool Manager to add two tools to our active Tools menu.
The first item is called “Labeler”. Fill in the check boxes for Loaded and Autoload.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

12. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
The next tool is Autolabeler. Again check both the Loaded and Autoload check boxes.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

13. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Places text objects into the permanent layer
You can see each of these tools will serve a different purpose. While Label Functions places text objects into the permanent layer which will appear in the layer control dialog box as editable, the AutoLabels places text objects into the cosmetic layer which can then subsequently be moved to the permanent layer. This layer is a table. One can create multiple tables. As a table, the user has the ability to move the layer above or below other layers in the Layer Control dialog box.
Places text objects into the cosmetic layer
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

14. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
Having selected either or both of the check boxes for Loaded and/or Autoload in the Tools Manager dialog box, from the Tools pull down menu one can access the About dialog boxes for both the Label and AutoLabels tools.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

15. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
• Find the Zoom width that
works best with your
equipment
• Choose a Font, size, and
color
• Create a folder in the
project called text
• Create a text layer such as
Street_Labels
• Use the Labeler and Auto
Label tools
• Edit the location of text
• Create a workspace,
street_labels.wor
Having built your grid follow the work flow outlined on this slide.
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

16. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
• Zoom mi
• Times New
Roman
• 6 Points
• Black
• Mixed Case
• Feature - Roads
The magenta lines represent the boundaries of a cell in our g
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

17. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
• Use Label
Functions
• Transfer Labels
to Cosmetic
Layer
• Map>Save Cosmetic
• Black
• Use Layer Control With Labels
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference

18. 18th Annual GeoElections Conference
Creating A Text Layer
The End
Any Questions?
2018 GeoElections
Annual Conference