The label placement position is the first placement property you set for a label class. There are 10 predefined Maplex Label Engine placement positions for point labels: Top left of point, Top of point, Top right of point, Left of point, Centered on point, Right of point, Bottom left of point, Bottom of point, Bottom right of point, and Best position. The default placement position, Best position, finds the best placement location for labels in most situations. When using the Centered on point position, you can specify whether to center the label on the symbol or the feature geometry.
Sometimes, even when you have specified that labels should be placed at a fixed position, you may want to allow a label to shift slightly from that position. For example, if a label cannot be placed due to an obstacle, allowing it to shift a small amount may allow the label to be placed on the map.
You can choose the May shift label upon fixed position option to give the Maplex Label Engine the flexibility to slightly move labels around the point to avoid label or feature conflicts. When you use the Centered on point option, the shift can be vertical up to half the height of the font and horizontal up to half the character width of the font.
- Ensure that the Maplex Label Engine is enabled.
- Ensure that List By Labeling is the active method of displaying the Contents pane. Click the List By Labeling tab
. - Choose a label class in the Contents pane and click the Labeling tab.
- On the Labeling tab, in the Label Placement group, click Label Placement Properties
. - In the Labeling pane, click Position and click the Position tab
. - Expand Placement.
- Choose a position from the Placement drop-down list.
Optionally, check the May shift label upon fixed position check box.
Optionally, if using the Centered on point position, specify Symbol or Feature geometry for the Center label on option.