Label only Waterbodies that a path passes through

Question

I have a many canoe routes that I have imported from Google Earth using the KML to Layer tool.  I would like to label only the waterbodies (lakes, rivers, streams) which the route passes through (shown as a blue line on my maps).  I can do this by creating my own labels, but this is quite time consuming and I know there must be an easier way.

I have attached a sample of my latest attempt. I am experimenting with monochrome, so bear with me.

Thanks,

Alex Ernst

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AlexErnst · Answer

Yes, my end goal is to create many maps, each of various routes (about 20).  Some are overlapping, but most are far apart.

I will experiment with your method and see what happens, as I love to learn new techniques. Thanks!

AlexErnst · Answer

Ok, selection by location worked really well!  Not only was I able to sort just those labels, but I can also show only those water bodies, which makes a cool looking map.  I still need to work on my label placement, but attached is my current map.

Thanks!

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jcarlson · Answer

Okay, so it's a local feature class. I would use the Calculate Field tool and create a new field called "showLabel". Make it an integer field, and use an expression like this:

var rt = FeatureSetByName($map, 'route_layer_name')

if(Intersects($feature, rt)){
    return 1
} else {
    return 0
}

Then in your label class properties, you can use an SQL expression to filter out non-intersecting features.

While I like the quick simplicity of @David_Brooks's solution, this does keep down the number of layers in your TOC, and you'll only need to configure the symbology / labeling / etc in one layer rather than splitting it across multiple.

I have a followup question: is the end goal to create maps of multiple routes? And if so, do any of the routes share segments, or come near one another? I ask because a simple boolean field may lead to labels showing on other maps.

If your routes are all far enough apart, then huzzah, the boolean field will work just fine. If not, though, then there probably needs to be some other approach, otherwise you'd need to do a bunch of clicking and re-calculating for each route map separately.