Refine 2D airport signs

Available with Aviation Airports license.

As features are created or edited, you can modify the AirportSign layer's label properties to set the desired look for your airport signs.

Learn more about using labels in ArcGIS Pro

Rotation

Airport signs can rotate so that the front sign is facing the direction referenced from the value in the AirportSign.AIRPORTSIGNDIRECTION field. This value is the bearing from true north that the sign faces. The back sign renders in the opposite direction of the front sign. If your data contains AIRPORTSIGNDIRECTION field values that don't fit this scenario, you can adjust for that by choosing a value from the Additional rotation or Rotation type options.

If you are working in a rotated map, an additional rotation would be needed on the labels. This can be done by adjusting the expression on the Rotation field drop-down menu to subtract the value of the map's rotation degrees. For example, if the map is rotated to 45 degrees, click the expression button next to Rotation field and alter the expression to say:

• $feature.AIRPORTSIGNDIRECTION + 180 - 45 for the FRONT label class,

• $feature.AIRPORTSIGNDIRECTION - 45 for the BACK label class.

Note:

You must use different values for the FRONT and BACK classes.

Reference scale

The graphic size and extent of the labels are determined by the map's reference scale. The reference scale is used when converting the labels to annotation for display on map products, such as an airport signage plan.

ArcGIS Arcade expressions

The appearance and content of the sign labels are determined by the label expressions that are used to process the AirportSign layer field values with font and color information. These Arcade expressions are provided in the ArcGIS Aviation Airports product files installer. You don't always need to modify these expressions, but they can be customized.

Modify layer expressions

The Arcade expression files provided in the ArcGIS Aviation Airports product data package provide a customizable label display for your airport signs.

You can find Arcade expressions for both the front and back labels of your airport signs in the \Arcade Expressions\Layers directory within the ArcGIS Aviation Airports product data package. These are already incorporated into the AirportSign_frontBack_layer.lyrx layer file. You can edit these expressions to fit your needs.

Note:

You should only edit the layer expressions inside of the expression editor in the Label Class pane.

Learn more about writing Arcade expressions

Global variables

Global variable values can be set to change how your airport sign labels appear in ArcGIS Pro.

Variable Name	Description	Data Type
autoAdjustWidths	If set to true, this expression adds a filler on one side of the airport sign to match the opposite side's width. This value must be set to true for the labelAlignment and blackBackgroundFiller variables to work.	Boolean
labelAlignment	Sets the alignment of text on the airport sign to right justified or left justified. "left"—The text will be left justified. "right"—The text will be right justified.	String
blackBackgroundFiller	If set to true, this expression fills the filler area on the airport sign with black to get closer to the length of the longer side. This ensures that both the front and back of the airport sign are similar in alignment. If set to false, the filler area does not fill the back side of the airport sign.	Boolean

Offset Y

The front and back labels are positioned so that they are centered on, and offset from, the AirportSign point feature location. The Offset Y value sets the distance from the feature where the label renders. The values given for the FRONT section and the BACK section affect how far apart the front and back labels render from each other.

1. On the Symbol tab, click the Position drop-down arrow.

   

2. Reduce the Offset Y value (for example, -27 pt) to show touching front and back signs.

   You can configure the Maplex Label Engine settings to depict your airport signs differently. You can render signs over the sign location at a larger scale.

   

3. Click Apply.

Offset X

You can use a smaller scale and use leader lines to point to a sign location with the labels placed for a best fit.You can edit the Offset X value—for example, 150 pt for the FRONT class and -150 pt for the BACK class—and add the leader line symbol. This allows you to display larger signs at a smaller map scale without obscuring the sign's exact location on the map. Once these labels are converted to feature-linked annotation, they can be edited for more precise placement.

A leader line symbol can be added to either the FRONT or BACK class, but only one class is needed.

1. On the Symbol tab, ensure that Background is chosen in the Callout drop-down menu.

   

2. Click the Leader line symbol drop-down arrow and choose a leader line symbol image.
3. Click Apply.

Once the label preferences are set, the labels can be converted to feature-linked annotation.