Leader Line Feature Offset
There is a gap setting in composite labels, but it doesn't work the way it's described in the help docs:
The gap, measured in points, between the point symbol and the beginning of the leader line.
It appears the documentation is incorrect, since the gap affects the space between the leader line and the label, rather than the symbol.
While a gap setting from the symbol would be great, what led me here was trying to figure out how to anchor the leader line to the outline of a marker symbol, not its center. I think this looks bad to have the leader line run through my marker symbol:
I noticed today that you can specify what the label itself is offset from:
Unfortunately, this does not affect the leader line, too.
Sorry for the triple post.
I think I found a working solution until this is (hopefully) implemented.
Apply a Move effect to each symbol layer:
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| Standard leader behavior | Move effect applied |
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| Move effect | The gap that @davedoesgis was discussing must be set to at least the same number as the move, or else the leader overruns it. |
@AlfredBaldenweck Thanks for the idea to play with symbol effects. I think I found a better solution: Add a "Cut effect" to the leader line symbol, then adjust the "begin cut" value - around half the size of the point symbol you are labeling is probably good starting point.
Below is an example. The point symbols are 10 pt and the leader line 'begin cut' is set to 5 pt. This cuts the leader line short by 5 pts from the point centroid, but the line remains pointing toward the centroid of the point.
This will work with labels placed in any position around the points, whereas I think your move effect solution only really works if all labels are placed in the same relative direction from the point (e.g. top right).