Labeling (4 Intro Labeling)

Geography 4060/5960. Tutorial Lesson 4. Labeling

1999 MapInfo Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

Labeling Course of Action

In this lesson, we will learn how use MapInfos labeling features to create map labels. We will also learn how to put titles and other descriptive text on to our maps.

Features and Topics Covered

How do I create labels?

How do I edit labels?

How do I create titles?

How do I save the Cosmetic Layer?

Practical Usage

Many times, you may need to annotate a map. One reason would be to offer the map-reader a point of reference. Displaying the names of streets, cities, countries, or other geographic features on the map can do this. Another reason would be to display specific values. For example, you may wish to display the level of sales in each county. This would help the map-reader analyze information.

How do I create labels? We will start by placing labels on the map ourselves, interactively, using the Label button

from the Main Button Pad.

Interactive Labeling

Open the File menu choose Open Table.

Navigate to the "...\program files\mapinfo\data\4060_tut_data\tut_usa\ " folder.

click on STATECAP and STATES.

Press Open.

Change the view in the map window to resemble the view shown below:



When you use the Label Button and hover over a map object, a tool tip corresponding to that object displays on the map window.

Select the Label button.

Hover over a several map objects.

Tutorial Quiz 2, Q.1: Hover the cursor over the capital of California to reveal the name of this city .



When you click on a map object with the Label button, MapInfo will place a text label near that object.

Using the Label button, click on several map objects.

Automatic Labeling

MapInfo labels are obtained from the underlying data associated with the map objects, (the default is to use the first column in the table). The Label Options dialog box (accessed from the Layer Control dialog box) allows you to control various settings for the labels, including the font that is used.

Open the Map Menu.

Choose Layer Control.

You can also access the Layer Control dialog through a short-cut menu. Place your mouse pointer inside the map and right-click. Layer Control is the first item available on the menu.



Make sure that the STATECAP layer is selected.

Check the box for labels (underneath the label icon ).

Click the Label button.

The STATECAP Label Options dialog box displays.

This column of check boxes turns labels on and off for each layer.

The Label button allows you to control settings for the labels of each layer.



Choose a new font for your labels.

Press OK, OK.

Some state capitals on the map will now be labeled. Note that MapInfo is currently set not to allow overlapping text, so not all capitals are labeled. Next we will explore how to edit individual labels.

How do I edit labels? You may need to edit a label. You may wish to move a label or you might need to change the font, color, or size of the label. It is even possible to change the text of the label.

To move a label:

Choose the Select button from the Main ButtonPad

Press and hold on a label, and drag the mouse.

To edit an existing label: With the Select button, double click on a label.

Allows duplicate labels for different objects to display. Portland, OR and Portland, ME can show.

Can text overlap? Unless this is checked, MapInfo will not allow labels to overwrite each other.

The anchor point is the labels position relative to the map object, (or the map object's centroid).

What column/field of data should the label come from ?

Do you want to see the labels?

Or only at certain zoom levels?

What style lettering do you want for the text?

Label lines appear when you move the text from its original position. This is useful if you have a lot of labels that must fit into a small area.



The Label Style dialog will display. Experiment with changing some of the settings for the label.

Clicking on the Text Button , will let you change the text style.

In this dialog box, it is possible to make changes to an individual label. This includes being able to change the actual text of the label.



Removing Labels

Select a label(s) using the Select button .

Press the Delete key on the keyboard. Or

From the Edit menu choose Clear.

Saving Labels To save labels, save a workspace. The workspace will save your desktop configuration (your map and browser window layout) and labels.

Open the File menu.

Choose Save Workspace.

Make sure the path is "...\program files\mapinfo\data.

Type MY_LABEL.

Press OK.

How do I create titles? To create a title, use the Text Button from the Drawing Button Pad. Before you can add the text to your Map window, you must have an editable map layer. The editable layer accepts new map objects when they are drawn in the map. In addition, when a map layer is editable, you can modify existing map objects by deleting, reshaping, and changing the style of them. For this example, we will make the Cosmetic Layer editable. The cosmetic layer is placed in every map window and cannot be reordered from the top or removed. Think of it as a clear piece of transparency laid over top of your base maps. Use it for creating test map objects and placing additional annotation to the map that you cannot create through labeling, such as titles.

Click the Layer Control button.

Select the Cosmetic Layer.

Check the box underneath the Editable column .

The command File > Save Copy As will not save labels!! Remember, use the command Save Copy As to create a duplicate table and Save Workspace to save your desktop.



Press OK.

With the cosmetic layer editable, you can add, delete or modify its contents. Note that the Status Bar indicates which layer is editable:

Press the Text button on the Drawing Button Pad.

Click in the map window where you wish to position your title.

Type the phrase Introduction to MapInfo.

You can also make a layer editable by clicking on the Editing pop-up in the Status Bar. Simply choose the layer you wish to make editable.



Note that in the screen shot above, some labels have been moved, and some have had their fonts changed. Your screen may look different, depending on the actions that you took in the previous sections of this lesson. Tutorial Quiz 2, Q.2: The layer that is automatically the top layer in all maps is the layer.

How do I save the Cosmetic Layer? There are two ways you can save what you have created in the cosmetic layer: (1) When you save a workspace, objects in the cosmetic layer are saved. Or (2) It is possible to save the objects (text or otherwise) from the cosmetic layer into a new

permanent table. The advantage of this second method is that this table can be re-used with different maps.

Since we already understand how to save a workspace, we will save our labels and text to a new table.

Open the Map menu.

Choose Save Cosmetic Objects.

The Save Cosmetic Objects dialog displays.

If it is necessary to remove or edit a text object, use the same techniques as with labels. Since the cosmetic layer is editable, you can change the font, move or delete any text that you have placed there.



Choose from the Transfer Cosmetic Objects to Layer drop-down list (this is the default choice).

Press Save.

Next we must name the table that the labels will be stored in. (MapInfo will automatically create a new table for these labels.)

Type MY_TEXT in the Save Objects to Table dialog.

Press OK.

Look at the title bar of the map window. It now indicates that the new layer, MY_TEXT is in the map window in addition to the STATECAP and STATES layers.

You should never transfer Cosmetic Objects to a base table, (such as STATES), because they will become a permanent part of that table.

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Labeling (4 Intro Labeling)