Text symbol properties

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 General to access the Appearance, Position, Rotation, Halo, Shadow, Callout, and Output property groups.

Appearance

Property nameDescription

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 Variable Font to access the variations.

SubpropertyDescription

Array of font variations

The value specified for the variation, for example, weight, width, slant, and so on.

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.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the polygon symbol used to draw the glyphs of the text.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the glyphs of the text.

Outline width

The width of the outline measured in points.

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.

  • Normal
  • Uppercase—All characters are converted to uppercase.
  • Lowercase—All characters are converted to lowercase.
  • Small caps—Lowercase text is converted to small caps, and uppercase text is left as uppercase.

Position adjustment

Whether the text is drawn as subscript or superscript.

  • Normal
  • Superscript—Characters are set slightly above the normal line of text.
  • Subscript—Characters are set slightly below the normal line of text.

Position

Property nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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 nameDescription

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.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the polygon symbol used to draw the halo for a text symbol.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the halo for a text symbol.

Outline width

The width of the outline in points.

Halo size

The size of the halo, measured in points, that extends beyond the symbol shape.

Shadow

Property nameDescription

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 nameDescription

Leader line symbol

The line symbol used to draw the leader line.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.

Learn more about line symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the line symbol that is used to draw the leader line.

Line width

The width of the leader line in points.

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 nameDescription

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.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the symbol used to draw the background.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the background.

Outline width

The width of the outline in points.

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.

Learn more about line symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the accent bar.

Line width

The width of the accent bar in points.

Leader line symbol

The line symbol used to draw the leader line.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.

Learn more about line symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the leader line.

Line width

The width of the leader line in points.

Leader style

The style of line to generate when a point leader is drawn. Leader lines are always drawn with their own geometry.

  • Base—The line callout leader is a single line originating from the closest corner of the text box with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar.
  • Midpoint—The line callout leader is a single line originating from the midpoint of the left or right side of the text box with the gap applied or from the midpoint of the accent bar if the callout has one.
  • Three point—The line callout leader is a 3-point line originating from the midpoint of the left or right side of the text box with the gap applied or the midpoint of the accent bar if the callout has one.
  • Four point—The line callout leader is a 4-point line originating from the midpoint of the left or right side of the text box with the gap applied or the midpoint of the accent bar if the callout has one.
  • Underline—The line callout draws a line that connects to the closest of the four corners of the text with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar. Additionally, either an underline or an overline is drawn along the closest side (bottom or top) of the text.
  • Circular clockwise—The line callout leader is curved (clockwise) from the anchor point to the closest corner of the text box with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar.
  • Circular counterclockwise—The line callout leader is curved (counterclockwise) from the anchor point to the closest corner of the text box with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar.

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 nameDescription

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.

Learn more about point symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the point symbol that is drawn as the background behind the text.

Size

The size of the point symbol measured in points.

Angle

The angle of the point symbol, measured counterclockwise, in degrees.

Scale

Defines how the background is scaled to fit the dimensions of the symbol.

  • None
  • Width and height—Uniform scaling of width and height.
  • Width only—Nonuniform scaling of only width.

Leader line symbol

The line symbol used to draw the leader line.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic line symbol properties.

Learn more about line symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the leader line.

Line width

The width of the leader line in points.

Leader style

The style of line to generate when a point leader is drawn. Leader lines are always drawn with their own geometry.

  • Base—The line callout leader is a single line originating from the closest corner of the text box with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar.
  • Midpoint—The line callout leader is a single line originating from the midpoint of the left or right side of the text box with the gap applied or from the midpoint of the accent bar if the callout has one.
  • Three point—The line callout leader is a 3-point line originating from the midpoint of the left or right side of the text box with the gap applied or the midpoint of the accent bar if the callout has one.
  • Four point—The line callout leader is a 4-point line originating from the midpoint of the left or right side of the text box with the gap applied or the midpoint of the accent bar if the callout has one.
  • Underline—The line callout draws a line that connects to the closest of the four corners of the text with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar. Additionally, either an underline or an overline is drawn along the closest side (bottom or top) of the text.
  • Circular clockwise—The line callout leader is curved (clockwise) from the anchor point to the closest corner of the text box with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar.
  • Circular counterclockwise —The line callout leader is curved (counterclockwise) from the anchor point to the closest corner of the text box with the gap applied. If the callout has an accent bar, it is connected to the closest point at either the top or bottom of the accent bar.

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 nameDescription

Balloon style

The balloon style

  • Rectangle style
  • Rounded rectangle style
  • Oval style

Balloon symbol

The polygon symbol used to draw the background.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the polygon symbol used to draw the background.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the background.

Outline width

The width of the outline in points.

Fixed dart width

Whether to use a fixed size when drawing the dart symbol.

Dart style

The dart style

  • Dart fill symbol matches balloon fill symbol
  • Dart has separate fill symbol

Dart symbol

The polygon symbol used to draw the dart.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the polygon symbol used to draw the dart fill.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the dart.

Outline width

The width of the outline in points.

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 nameDescription

Background symbol

The polygon symbol used to draw the background.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the polygon symbol used to draw the background.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the background.

Outline width

The width of the outline in points.

Corner radius

The radius of the corner in points.

Shadow symbol

The polygon symbol used to draw the shadow.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the polygon symbol used to draw the shadow.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the shadow.

Outline width

The width of the outline in points.

Shadow offset X

The shadow offset, measured in points, from the background symbol in the horizontal direction. If X and Y are zero, no shadow is drawn.

Shadow offset Y

The shadow offset, measured in points, from the background symbol in the vertical direction. If X and Y are zero, no shadow is drawn.

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.

Learn more about line symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the dart.

Line width

The width of the line in points.

Dart symbol

The polygon symbol used to draw the dart.

Note:

The properties listed below are the basic polygon symbol properties.

Learn more about polygon symbols

SubpropertyDescription

Color

The color of the polygon symbol used to draw the dart fill.

Outline color

The color of the line symbol used to draw the outline of the dart.

Outline width

The width of the outline in points.

Dart width

The width of the dart symbol where it connects to the background.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

Top Left

Property nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

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.

  • Left—Characters align to the left of the line.
  • Center—Characters align to the center of the line.
  • Right—Characters align to the right of the line.
  • Full—Characters are aligned to the left and right and spaces fill in the line. This creates a straight edge on both sides of multiline text.

Vertical alignment

The alignment type used to vertically align the text to its geometry.

  • Top—Characters align to the tallest letter.
  • Center—Characters align to the middle of the lowercase letters.
  • Bottom—Characters align to the lowest letter.
  • Baseline—Characters align to the lowest letter on the baseline.

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 nameDescription

Overprint

Whether the symbol should overprint in press printing.

Formatting tab

Click the Formatting tab Formatting to access the Formatting, Paragraph, Internationalization, and 3D property groups.

Formatting

Property nameDescription

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:

  • Additional—Adds the specified value to the line spacing that accommodates the largest font in the line.
  • Multiple—Sets the line spacing based on a multiple of the line.
  • Exactly—Sets a fixed line spacing.

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.

  • None—No glyph hinting.
  • Default—Default glyph hinting according to the font's settings.
  • Force—Force glyph hinting.

Compatibility mode

Whether to draw the text in a fashion compatible with ArcMap.

Paragraph

Paragraph properties apply to single and multiline text.

Property nameDescription

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 nameDescription

Text direction

The base text direction to draw the text.

  • Left to right—Text is drawn from left to right.
  • Right to left—Text is drawn from right to left.

Glyph orientation

The orientation for the nonvertical text in a vertical layout. For example, an English fragment in Japanese text.

  • Right—Align right.
  • Upright—Align upright.

Block progression

The direction in which multiline text is stacked.

  • Top to bottom
  • Right to left—vertical text
  • Bottom to top

Region and language

The ISO code for the base language of the text.

Font encoding

The font encoding.

  • MSSymbol—Symbol encoding
  • Unicode

3D

Available only in 3D view

Property nameDescription

Billboard mode

(3D only)

The billboard mode of the text symbol. It is applied in 3D.

  • None—Not billboarded.
  • Sign post—The symbol always faces toward the viewer as though spinning on a vertical signpost. Viewed from above, the symbol does not face you; you see the top of the symbol.
  • Face near plane—The symbol always faces the viewer directly, regardless of view angle.

Rotation order 3D

(3D only)

The rotation order 3D. It is applied in 3D.

  • XYZ—Rotate in XYZ order
  • ZYX—Rotate in ZYX order
  • YXZ—Rotate in YXZ order

Dominant size axis

(3D only)

The dominant size axis. It is applied in 3D.

  • Z—Dominant on the Z axis
  • X—Dominant on the X axis
  • Y—Dominant on the Y axis

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.