Dynamically dispersed point labels, using image files and leader lines for Web

Anonymous User

Original User: briways

My GIS group needs to find, or somehow develop, a labeling tool for points in ArcMap. Ideally, it would work like this:

  

• Each point would be labeled using an image file (jpg or png) so that a location, such as a McDonald's restaurant, would get labeled with thumbnail-sized image of the golden arches, etc.
•     A leader line would extend from the image to the point location on the map
•     The labels would position themselves as close to the points as possible, without overlapping each other.

    When you zoom in or out on the map, the labels would reposition themselves, moving closer or farther from the points, in order to keep from overlapping.

Basically, we're looking for a method to label points with graphics, instead of text, that we can then throw onto a tiled base map online. If we can use any open-source or non-propriety methods, Javascript libraries, HTML5 tools, etc, it would be best for the budget.

We also have access to ArcGIS for Server, so we could publish a map service if there is a way to accomplish this in ArcMap for Desktop. We have been looking for some kind of way to do this in ArcMap for more than a year, without any luck. ESRI has a few articles on how to use PNG files as point symbols, but we're looking for a way to use PNG/JPG files as point labels. Maybe it's too much.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.


Current Situation:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]27967[/ATTACH]


What we want it to look like:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]27968[/ATTACH]

badd.jpg

good.jpg

JeffreyGarrett1

really surprised that there is not more need for this type of labeling.  As briways has indicated I am trying to accomplish the same type of labeling but in ARCGIS 10.2.

Sites USA's system has been doing this for years:

http://www.sitesusa.com/#!Retail-Locations/zoom/c1a4i/image45v

or

http://www.sitesusa.com/#!Mix-Things-Up/zoom/c1r8l/image23sb