Text symbols control how text looks. The text symbol consists of native properties that include options for changing the font, style, and formatting. You can access the symbol properties from the Symbol tab when working with text elements such as labels, annotation, dimensions, titles, dynamic text, legends, scale bars, and other textual information on a map.
General tab
Click the General tab to access the Appearance, Position, Rotation, Halo, Shadow, Callout, and Output property groups.
Appearance
Property name | Description | ||||||||
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Font name | The font family name—for example, Comic Sans. | ||||||||
Font style | The style name for the font family—for example, Regular, Bold, or Italic. Note:In addition to preset styles, variable fonts enable customization of their font variations such as width, weight, slant, and so on. Click the Font Variation button to access the variations.
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Size | The size of the text measured in points. Note:When labeling, text size can be overridden by scale-based label sizing. | ||||||||
Text fill symbol | The polygon symbol used to draw the glyphs of the text. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Underline | Whether the text is drawn with an underline. | ||||||||
Strikethrough | Whether the text is drawn with a strike through it. | ||||||||
Text case | The letter case used to draw the text.
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Position adjustment | Whether the text is drawn as subscript or superscript.
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Position
Property name | Description |
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Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. Caution:When labeling, changing X Offset and Y Offset for a text symbol is not recommended. The label engine first places the labels using the labeling parameters and symbol settings then applies the offset values, potentially resulting in overlapping labels. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. Caution:When labeling, changing X Offset and Y Offset for a text symbol is not recommended. The label engine first places the labels using the labeling parameters and symbol settings then applies the offset values, potentially resulting in overlapping labels. |
Offset Z (3D only) | The Z offset measured in points. It is applied in 3D. |
Rotation
Property name | Description |
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Angle/Angle Z | The amount of rotation applied to the text symbol, measured in degrees, around the geometry. When applied in 3D, the rotation is measured around the geometry's z-axis. |
Angle X (3D only) | The amount of rotation of the text symbol around the x-axis, measured in degrees, around the geometry. This type of rotation is also referred to as tilt. It is applied in 3D. |
Angle Y (3D only) | The amount of rotation of the text symbol around the y-axis, measured in degrees, around the geometry. This type of rotation is also referred to as roll. It is applied in 3D. |
Halo
Property name | Description | ||||||||
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Halo symbol | The polygon symbol used to draw the halo for a text symbol. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Halo size | The size of the halo, measured in points, that extends beyond the symbol shape. |
Shadow
Property name | Description |
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Color | The color of the shadow that is defined for the text symbol. The shadow is drawn as an offset copy of the text. |
X Offset | The shadow offset, measured in points, from the text symbol in the horizontal direction. If X and Y are zero, no shadow is drawn. |
Y Offset | The shadow offset, measured in points, from the text symbol in the vertical direction. If X and Y are zero, no shadow is drawn. |
Callout
Simple line callout
Property name | Description | ||||||
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Leader line symbol | The line symbol used to draw the leader line. Note:The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.
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Leader tolerance | The closest distance to the text, measured in points, that the anchor point can be for the callout to draw. | ||||||
Automatically snap the leader to the text | Whether the leader lines are automatically snapped to the text. |
Background callout
Property name | Description | ||||||||
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Background symbol | The symbol used to draw the background. If null, the background doesn't draw. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Accent bar symbol | The symbol used to draw the accent bar. If null, the accent bar doesn't draw. Note:The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.
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Leader line symbol | The line symbol used to draw the leader line. Note:The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.
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Leader style | The style of line to generate when a point leader is drawn. Leader lines are always drawn with their own geometry.
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Leader tolerance | The closest distance to the text, measured in points, that the anchor point can be for the callout to draw. | ||||||||
Gap | The gap, measured in points, between the text symbol and the beginning of the leader line. | ||||||||
Left margin | The left margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||
Right margin | The right margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||
Top margin | The top margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||
Bottom margin | The bottom margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. |
Point symbol callout
Property name | Description | ||||||||||
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Point symbol | The symbol that is drawn as the background behind the text. The most common use case for this type of symbol is a highway shield. When drawing a highway shield, this is the shield itself without numbers. Note:The properties listed below are the basic point symbol properties.
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Leader line symbol | The line symbol used to draw the leader line. Note:The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.
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Leader style | The style of line to generate when a point leader is drawn. Leader lines are always drawn with their own geometry.
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Leader tolerance | The closest distance to the text, measured in points, that the anchor point can be for the callout to draw. | ||||||||||
Gap | The gap, measured in points, between the point symbol and the beginning of the leader line. |
Balloon callout
Property name | Description | ||||||||
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Balloon style | The balloon style
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Balloon symbol | The polygon symbol used to draw the background. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Fixed dart width | Whether to use a fixed size when drawing the dart symbol. | ||||||||
Dart style | The dart style
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Dart symbol | The polygon symbol used to draw the dart. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Leader tolerance | The closest distance to the text, measured in points, that the anchor point can be for the callout to draw. | ||||||||
Left margin | The left margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||
Right margin | The right margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||
Top margin | The top margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||
Bottom margin | The bottom margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. |
Composite callout
Property name | Description | ||||||||||||
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Background symbol | The polygon symbol used to draw the background. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Shadow symbol | The polygon symbol used to draw the shadow. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Proportion of dart drawn as leader | The percentage of the leader line that is drawn as a line as opposed to a solid dart. | ||||||||||||
Leader line symbol | The line symbol used to draw the dart. Note:The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.
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Dart symbol | The polygon symbol used to draw the dart. Note:The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.
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Snap leaders to corners only | Whether the leader lines are automatically snapped to the corners. | ||||||||||||
Leader tolerance | The closest distance to the text, measured in points, that the anchor point can be for the callout to draw. | ||||||||||||
Left margin | The left margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||||||
Right margin | The right margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||||||
Top margin | The top margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. | ||||||||||||
Bottom margin | The bottom margin measured in points. Accepts negative values. |
Composite Callout Placement Properties
Middle
Property name | Description |
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Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Top Left
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Top
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Top Right
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Top Left
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Right
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Bottom Left
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Bottom
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Bottom Right
Property name | Description |
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Contain element within callout box | Whether the text part will be contained within the main callout. If checked, the main callout will expand to encompass this text part, and a line will be drawn separating the part from the rest of the callout. This line will have the same symbol as the callout outline and will only draw if the text part is above or below the top and bottom margins of the middle text. |
Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Floating
Property name | Description |
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Horizontal alignment | The alignment type used to horizontally align the text to its geometry. This affects which side of a point geometry the point text is drawn or which end of a line it is drawn near. Text of labels placed to the left of a feature are right aligned, and text of labels placed to the right of a feature are left aligned. It is commonly used to define how stacked text appears.
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Vertical alignment | The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.
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Offset X | The X offset measured in points. |
Offset Y | The Y offset measured in points. |
Split offset | The gap between the callout border and any part of the text part intersecting the border. If this is set wider than the callout width, none of the associated callout line will draw. |
Output
Property name | Description |
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Overprint | Whether the symbol should overprint in press printing. |
Formatting tab
Click the Formatting tab to access the Formatting, Paragraph, Internationalization, and 3D property groups.
Formatting
Property name | Description |
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Word spacing | The additional spacing added between the words of the text string; 100 percent indicates that regular spacing is used. |
Letter spacing | The additional spacing added to each glyph beyond what is defined by its character box in the font. Value indicates the percentage of a glyph's width. This is also known as tracking. |
Letter width | The width that is added to each glyph beyond what is defined by its character box in the font. This is a percentage of the original glyph. |
Line spacing | The spacing between lines of text. This is also known as leading. You can specify the type of line spacing applied:
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Flip angle | The angle, in degrees from vertical, at which point rotated text is flipped (mirrored) in place. |
Ligatures | Whether text is to be drawn with ligatures, which occur when two or more letters or portions of letters are joined to form a single glyph. |
Kerning | Whether the text is drawn with metric kerning, which adjusts the spacing between individual letter forms. |
Draw glyphs as geometry | Whether fonts that are drawn as rasters at some scales are drawn as vectors instead. |
Extrapolate baselines | Whether the baseline of the text geometry should be expanded in the same manner as the existing geometry if the text extends beyond the baseline. |
Glyph hinting | If hinting from the font is used for text rendering. Hinting is information included with most fonts to effectively fit the vector glyphs of the font into the raster grid onto which they are displayed.
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Compatibility mode | Whether to draw the text in a fashion compatible with ArcMap. |
Paragraph
Paragraph properties apply to single and multiline text.
Property name | Description |
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Soft hyphens | Whether soft hyphens should be drawn. Soft hyphens are invisible markers that indicate where a hyphenated break is allowed in the text. They are only drawn if there is word wrapping at the end of a line, such as in paragraph text. |
Indent first line | The distance, measured in points, to indent the text from the beginning of the baseline for the first line only. |
Indent before | The distance, measured in points, to indent the text from the beginning of the baseline. |
Indent after | The distance, measured in points, to indent the text from the end of the baseline. |
Internationalization
Property name | Description |
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Text direction | The base text direction to draw the text.
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Glyph orientation | The orientation for the nonvertical text in a vertical layout. For example, an English fragment in Japanese text.
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Block progression | The direction in which multiline text is stacked.
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Region and language | The ISO code for the base language of the text. |
Font encoding | The font encoding.
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3D
Available only in 3D view
Property name | Description |
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Billboard mode (3D only) | The billboard mode of the text symbol. It is applied in 3D.
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Rotation order 3D (3D only) | The rotation order 3D. It is applied in 3D.
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Dominant size axis (3D only) | The dominant size axis. It is applied in 3D.
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Scale Y (3D only) | The scale Y measured in points. It is applied in 3D. Note:Scale Y is not applied in labeling. |
Scale Z (3D only) | The scale Z measured in points. It is applied in 3D. Note:Scale Z is not applied in labeling. |