Labels for graticules, measured grids, and MGRS grids are written and formatted using tags. Tags can be used individually, or combined to create complex labels. There are some tags that work for all grid types, and some tags that are specific to a certain type.
For a broader review of tags, see Dynamic text tags.
Format labels with tags
To format a label using tags, follow these steps:
- In the Contents pane, expand the map frame, right-click a grid, and choose Properties.
The Format Map Grid pane appears.
- In the Format Map Grid pane, click the Components tab
, and select a component to format. The following components use formatting tags:- Labels
- Corner Labels
- Interior Labels
- In the Format text box, modify the labels using tags.
Tags for graticules
The following tags can be used for graticule labels:
| Tag | Description | Example syntax | Example output |
|---|---|---|---|
units | Specify the degree format for the coordinate. For a complete list of accepted inputs, see Dynamic text tags. | <dyn type="grid" units="dd"/> | 11.1805°N |
showSymbol | Show the degree, minute, and second symbols. The default is True. | <dyn type="grid" units="dms" showDirections = "False" showSymbol = "False" /> | 0 1 21N |
decimalPlaces | Show the number of decimal places. | <dyn type="grid" units="dms" decimalPlaces="2"/> | 5°4'59.32"W |
padDecimal or zeroPad | Show decimalPlaces with the value of 0. The default is False. | <dyn type = "grid" units = "dd" decimalPlaces = "3" zeroPad = "True" showDirections = "None"/> | 50.100° |
showZeroMinutes | Show the minute value if it is equal to zero. The default is False. | <dyn type="grid" units="dms" showZeroMinutes = "True" showDirections = "True"/> | 10°0'N |
showZeroSeconds | Show the second value if it is equal to zero. The default is False. | <dyn type="grid" units="dms" showZeroMinutes="True" showZeroSeconds="True" showDirections = "True"/> | 10°0'0"N |
padDegrees | Show two digits in degree values for latitudes and three digits in degree values for longitudes. Pad the value with 0 if the value isn't long enough. The default is False. | <dyn type = "grid" units = "dms" padDegrees="True"/> | 001°3'2"E |
padMinutes | Show two digits for all minute values. The default is False. | <dyn type = "grid" units = "dms" padDegrees="True" padMinutes="True"/> | 001°03'2"E |
padSeconds | Show two digits for all second values. The default is False. | <dyn type = "grid" units = "dms" padDegrees="True" padMinutes="True" padSeconds="True"/> | 001°03'02"E |
showDirections | Show the cardinal point associated with the coordinate. True shows the cardinal point after the coordinate, False does not show the cardinal point but shows a negative sign if applicable, and None does not show the cardinal point or a negative sign. The default is True. | <dyn type="grid" units="dms" showDirections = "False" /> | -50°2'6" |
directionSeparator | Separate coordinate value and direction. This tag is ignored if showDirections="False" or showDirections="None". | <dyn type="grid" units="dms" showDirections = "True" directionSeparator = " – "/> | 50° – W |
showPlusSign | Show a plus sign or negative sign in front of the coordinates. Requires that showDirections is set to None or False. The default is False. | <dyn type="grid" units="dms" showDirections = "False" showPlusSign = "True" /> | +10° |
cardinalDir | Display the cardinal point as a separate label element that can be formatted independent of the coordinate. | <dyn type="grid" cardinalDir = "True"/> | N |
vAlign | Align the label component to the topmost or bottommost extent of the label as a whole. | <dyn type="grid" units="dd.deg.int"/><FNT size="4"><dyn type="grid" vAlign="top" units="dd.deg.dec" decimalPlaces="2"/></FNT> | 11²² |
Graticule label examples
The following are examples of how label tags can be combined to create complex labels.
Example 1: Decimal degrees with three decimal places and the cardinal point.
<dyn type="grid" units="dd" decimalPlaces="3" zeroPad="True" showDirections="True" directionSeparator=" "/>.
Example 2: Decimal degrees with three decimal places, a negative sign, and no degree symbol.
<dyn type="grid" units="dd" decimalPlaces="3" zeroPad="True" showDirections="False" showSymbol="False"/>.
Example 3: Degrees, minutes, and seconds with minutes and seconds italicized in blue. Minutes and seconds are set at a smaller font size and aligned to the top of the degree value.
<dyn type ="grid" units="dms.deg"/>°<CLR blue="200"><FNT name="Arial" size="5"><ITA><dyn type="grid" vAlign="top" units="dms.min" showZeroMinutes="True"/>'<dyn type="grid" units="dms.sec" showZeroSeconds="true" zeroPad="True" decimalPlaces="0" vAlign=top"/>"</ITA></FNT></CLR>
Example 4: Decimal degree minutes with two decimal places. The minutes value is set at a smaller font size and aligned to the bottom of the degree value. The degree, degree symbol, and minutes are all separate tags.
<dyn type="grid" units="ddm.deg.int"/><dyn type="grid" units="ddm.deg.sym"/><FNT size="4"><dyn type="grid" vAlign="bottom" units="ddm.min" showZeroMinutes="true" zeroPad="true" decimalPlaces="2"/></FNT>.
Measured and MGRS grids
The following tags can be used with measured or MGRS grids:
| Tags | Description | Example Syntax | Example Output |
|---|---|---|---|
units | Specify and show the unit. | <dyn type="grid" units="meters"/> | 6000000N m |
separator | Display the thousands separator. The default is False. | <dyn type="grid" showDirections="False" separator="True"/> | 6,000,000 |
decimalPlaces | Shows the number of decimal places. | <dyn type="grid" decimalPlaces="2" showDirections="False" separator="True" /> | 1,696,631.25 |
padDecimal or zeroPad | Show decimalPlaces with the value of 0. The default is False. | <dyn type="grid" padDecimal="True" decimalPlaces = "2"/> | 7,014,000.00W |
placeValue | Specify a place value of the grid label. For example, placeValue = "100" refers to the hundred's place. | <dyn type="grid" showDirections="none" placeValue = "10000" digits = "1"/> | 5 (Full coordinate is 1450000) |
digits | Designate how many digits to the left of the place value to display. This includes the place value. This tag is ignored when using placeValue.right. | <dyn type="grid" showDirections="False" placeValue = "1000" digits = "2" /> | 97 (Full coordinate is 1697000) |
.left or .right | Append to the place value to designate the digits displayed in the label. .left includes the place value. .right does not include the place value. | <dyn type="grid" showDirections="False" placeValue = "10000.right"/> | 7445 (Full coordinate is 1697445) |
showDirections | Show the cardinal point associated with the coordinate. True shows the cardinal point after the coordinate, False does not show the cardinal point but shows a negative sign if applicable, and None does not show the cardinal point or a negative sign. The default is True. | <dyn type="grid" units="meters" showDirections = "False"/> | -14000000 m |
directionSeparator | Separate coordinate value and direction. This tag is ignored if showDirections="False" or showDirections="None". | <dyn type="grid" showDirections = "True" directionSeparator = " – "/> | 1450000 – N |
showPlusSign | Show a plus sign in front of coordinates if applicable. Requires that showDirections is set to None or False. The default is False. | <dyn type="grid" showDirections = "False" showPlusSign = "True" /> | +7014000 |
cardinalDir | Display the cardinal point as a separate label element that can be formatted independent of the coordinate. | <dyn type="grid" cardinalDir = "True"/> | N |
vAlign | Align the label component to the topmost or bottommost extent of the label as a whole. | <dyn type="grid" showDirections="none" placeValue="10000.left"/><FNT size="4"><dyn type="grid" placeValue="10000.right" vAlign="top"/></FNT> | 825¹²²² |
Measured and MGRS label examples
The following are examples of how label tags can be combined to create complex labels.
Example 1: Only the million's, hundred thousand's, and ten thousand's values of the coordinate. The million's digit is set at a smaller font size and aligned to the top of the other values. The hundred thousand's and ten thousand's digits are in bold.
<dyn type="grid" showDirections="none" placeValue="1000000" digits="1"/><FNT size="10"><BOL><dyn type="grid" placeValue="10000" digits="2" vAlign="top"/><BOL></FNT>
Example 2: Coordinate with first digits in red, and the last digits set at a smaller font size and aligned to the top of the other values.
<FNT name='Arial' size='8'><BOL><CLR red='168' green='0' blue='0' alpha='255'><dyn type="grid" showDirections="False" separator="False" placeValue="10000" digits="3"/></CLR></BOL></FNT><FNT name='Arial' size='5'><CLR red='178' green='178' blue='178' alpha='255'><dyn type="grid" vAlign="top" placeValue="10000.right" decimalPlaces="0" /></CLR></FNT>
Example 3: Coordinate with some digits set at a smaller font size and aligned to the top of the other values. The unit and cardinal point displayed.
<dyn type="grid" showDirections="none" placeValue="1000000" digits="1"/><FNT size="12"><dyn type="grid" placeValue="10000" digits="2" vAlign="top"/></FNT><dyn type="grid" placeValue="10000.right" vAlign="top"/>m.<FNT size="10"><dyn type="grid" cardinalDir="True" vAlign="top"/></FNT>