Data labels

Data labels write text from your report beside the circles, images, lines and shapes on the map. Use them to name places, show a value without a tooltip, or build a small card with a title, picture and footer for each item.

Before you start

• Labels are set in the Labels card of the Format pane. The card appears when at least one layer that can carry labels is switched on: Circles, Images / Icons, Shapes (from data), Shapes (from files), Vector Tiles, Lines or Cells.
• The text of a label normally comes from a field or a measure, set with conditional formatting (fx). See Conditional formatting.

Add labels to a map

1. In the Format pane, open Labels > Content and set Display Label to Yes.
2. Next to Label Text, select fx, choose Field value, and pick the field or measure that holds the text for each row.
3. Open Labels > Style and choose a Label Style. Classic draws plain map text; the other styles draw each label as a card.
4. Open Labels > Placement and choose a Position (for circles and images) so the label does not cover its item.

A row draws a label only when it has text. Typing text straight into Label Text gives every item the same label, so use fx for per-row text.

Which layers can carry labels

Reference layers have their own label settings, separate from the Labels card. See Labels on reference layers.

Label styles

Format pane > Labels > Style > Label Style sets how every data label is drawn. Classic draws plain map text. The other five styles draw each label as a card, typeset with the font you choose, and unlock the card content described in Card content and layout.

Classic

Plain map text, with an optional box behind it (Display Container). This is the default. It uses the map's own fonts: Noto Sans, Open Sans, Roboto, PT Sans or Metropolis, with Bold and Italic switches.

To put a smaller second line under the first, type \n in the text where the line should break, for example Leeds\n1,240 orders.

Halo Text

Text with a colored halo around the letters and no box. It stays readable over busy basemaps and imagery. Set the Halo Color and its Transparency in the Halo group.

Glass

A light card that blurs the map behind it. Set a Tint Color, and choose between a Frosted and a Solid fill Background. Frost (%) sets how strongly the map is blurred.

Dark Glass

The dark version of Glass. If you leave Text Color at its default black, the text is drawn light so it can be read on the dark card.

Card

A solid card with its own Fill Color, Border Color and Border Width, and a stripe in the Accent Color.

Neon

A card with a glow in the Accent Color. It suits dark basemaps.

Card content and layout

With any style other than Classic, a label can hold more than one line of text. Each part is a setting in Labels > Content, and each takes fx so it can come from a field.

A label with a title and no body text still draws: the title is used as the text.

Body Layout sets where the body text sits when a label has an image: Text under image, Text above image, Text right of image or Text left of image. When the text sits beside the image, Vertical Alignment sets how the shorter of the two lines up against the taller. A card that is too narrow for text beside the image stacks them instead.

Max Width (px) in Size and Zoom sets how wide a card can grow before its text wraps onto another line.

Label Visibility

Labels > Content > Label Visibility decides when labels are on the map.

With a card style and On mouse over or When selected, the extra switch Always Show Title keeps the title of every label on the map and shows the rest of the card on demand.

Placement

• Position (circles & images) puts the label Above, Below, Left, Right or at the Center of its circle or image. It takes fx, so each row can have its own position.
• Pointer (card styles except Halo Text) joins a card to its location. Callout Tail draws a tail pointing back at the location, and Position then chooses which side the card sits on. Pin and Stem raises the card above the location on a line; Stem Height (px) sets how far.
• Orientation (card styles) matters when the map is tilted. Upright (faces the viewer) stands labels up like signs. Flat (lies on the map) lays them on the ground in perspective.
• Label Height (card styles) is for labels on 3D shapes, such as a room on an upper floor: the label can sit at the Top of Shape, the Base of Shape or on the Ground.
• Keep Labels Inside Shapes places each polygon's label at the point deepest inside the shape, so labels on irregular shapes stay inside them.
• Avoid Overlapping hides labels that would collide with another label.

Settings

All settings are in the Labels card of the Format pane. "Card styles" means every Label Style except Classic.

Content

Style

Container, Card or Halo

This group is named Container for Classic, Card for Glass, Dark Glass, Card and Neon, and Halo for Halo Text. The settings it offers depend on the style.

Placement

Size and Zoom

Between Font Min Zoom and Font Max Zoom the text size changes smoothly from one size to the other. Set the two sizes differently to make labels grow as readers zoom in.

Tips and limits

• Labels dim with their items when a selection is active. To keep labels at full strength, switch off Format pane > Interactivity > Item selection > Include Labels. See Selection, cross-filtering and highlighting.
• Avoid Overlapping also works with On mouse over and When selected: hidden labels take no room.
• A report saved with the earlier Pill style draws its labels as Glass.
• Label styles are drawn as designed in Windows high contrast mode; they do not switch to the high contrast colors.
• The Text, Alignment and Container layout of this card belongs to the Legacy engine. See the documentation for 1.1.0.9 and earlier.

Related

• Tooltips
• Labels on reference layers
• Map labels on top of your data
• Conditional formatting