Remove ambiguous labels

When labeling point features, it is sometimes not clear which feature the text is labeling, especially when an offset is applied to dense clusters of features. An ambiguous label is one that is within the offset distance of a point feature other than its own.

You can remove ambiguous labels by placing them in a different, unambiguous location, or if another position is not available, you can let them go unplaced. They can be removed for all point features at the map level, or from a specified label class.

You can choose how the ambiguous labels are treated by the Maplex Label Engine. The options are as follows:

• Remove all—Labels are removed when they fall within the offset distance of any point feature. This is the default.
• Remove within same label class—Labels are removed if they fall within the offset distance of a point feature that is part of the label class.
• Do not remove—Labels are placed regardless of ambiguity.

The images below show the city labels with changes to the ambiguity settings. The image on the left shows ambiguous labels being removed for the small city label class using the Remove within same label class option. Janesville is the red point feature. To make the label unambiguous for the label class, it is moved to the upper left of the feature. Because the Maplex Label Engine is only removing ambiguous labels within the label class, the label is placed close to the Madison point feature, as it is in a different label class. The image on the right uses the Remove all option for removing ambiguous labels. The Janesville label moves to the lower left of the point feature so it does not fall within the offset distance of the Madison point feature.

The images below show the city labels placed to the upper right of their features using the Top right of point placement position. The image on the left shows how labels are placed when the Remove ambiguous labels option is set to Do not remove. The images in the center and on the right show how the ambiguous labels are removed when the Remove ambiguous labels option is set to Remove all. The Hopkinsville and Columbia labels are removed, as they are within the offset distance of the Bowling Green and Murfreesboro features. The red labels in the center image are the unplaced labels, shown by clicking the View Unplaced button on the Labeling ribbon.

Complete the following steps to remove ambiguous labels.

1. Ensure that List By Labeling is the active method of displaying the Contents pane. Click the List By Labeling tab .
2. Choose a label class in the Contents pane and click the Labeling tab.
3. On the Labeling tab, in the Label Placement group, click Label Placement Properties .
4. In the Labeling pane, click Position and click the Conflict resolution tab .
5. Expand Remove ambiguous labels.
6. Select the remove ambiguous labels type:
   • Remove all—Labels are removed when they fall within the offset distance of any point feature. This is the default.
   • Remove within same label class—Labels are removed if they fall within the offset distance of a point feature that is part of the label class.
   • Do not remove—Labels are placed regardless of ambiguity.
7. Optionally, you can further decrease ambiguity by using leader lines.