idea Assign layout graphics a label weight in the map in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

The conflict between “Extent indicator” and labels.

JamalNUMAN — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:24:21 GMT

The conflict between “Extent indicator” and labels.

How to avoid the conflict between the “Extent indicator” and labels wherever possible?

Thank you

Regards

Jamal

Allow Maplex to "see" other dataframes

MarianneFarretta — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:49:59 GMT

I would like the Maplex engine to view any other dataframe as a conflict and not place labels such that they are infringed upon by another dataframe. This comes into play when you need to enhance details on the map, which can be accomplished by placing a tiny, larger-scaled dataframe over the feature of interest. But this doesn't look so good when your I-80 shield is cut in half by the inset dataframe.

Re: Allow Maplex to "see" other dataframes

ChrisMathers — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:28:18 GMT

I have the same issue. I produced a giant 70x75 wall map of my county in two 36x75 panels. There is a bit of overlap for aestheic reasons so there are labels cut by the seam.

Re: Allow Maplex to "see" other dataframes

BruceLang — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:43:08 GMT

Cropping of labels along shape edges (e.g. polygon) used when "clip to shape" is set for the data frame is a problem too. Labels should "push inward" per the set boundary.

Give Dataframes a Weighting Option for Maplex

SamuelFerguson2 — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:22:19 GMT

Add the option to give a data frame a weighting in the maplex label priority to allow labels to avoid placing under inset boxes.

Re: Give Dataframes a Weighting Option for Maplex

AdamForknall — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:38:24 GMT

yeah, or perhaps just have a setting in the label manager that allows you to turn off labels beneath other data frames

Re: Give Dataframes a Weighting Option for Maplex

AlexZhuk — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:19:10 GMT

You may want to promote this idea too:
https://c.na9.visual.force.com/apex/ideaView?id=08730000000by2jAAA

"Bounding box" for graphic elements (north arrow, scale, etc)

IlkaIllers1 — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 16:42:12 GMT

I have a lot of maps with cadastre labels in them, which can amount to a lot of labels. One of the recurring problems is that if the north arrow and scale is inside the bounds of the map, very often it will overlap with multiple labels, creating a messy and confusing impression:

This is not only a problem with cadastre labels, though it does happen with them a lot.

It would be nice if we could give graphic elements a sort of "bounding box" (not sure what else to call it), which - for example - could then be weighted similar to "Label Weight". The only idea I have to do it at the moment would be to draw a polygon on each page, which can be quite time-consuming with lots of pages in data driven pages.

Re: "Bounding box" for graphic elements (north arrow, scale, etc)

JesseWickizer — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 22:15:08 GMT

Here's an idea that admittedly requires a bit of extra setup, but might be worth it if you have a lot of pages in your Map Series. The steps below apply to Pro.

Copy and paste the map in the project to make a duplicate and name them "Base Map" and "Labels Map."
Insert a new map frame to the layout and using the "base" map and call it "Labels Frame."
Re-order the Labels Frame in the Table of Contents so it is below the legend and north arrow and other graphics.
Set the Labels Frame to the same size and position as the Map Frame.
Right-click the Labels Frame and choose Edit Vertices. Edit the shape of the frame so it doesn't cover the area beneath your legend and north arrow.
Synchronize the 2 map extents:
- View the Properties of the Labels Frame and click the Display Options tab.
- Under Constraint, choose 'Linked map frame extent.'
- Under Map Frame, choose 'Map Frame.'
In the Base Map, turn off labeling for all the layers.
In the Labels Map, remove or turn off any layers that do not have labels or feature weights.
In the Labels Map, change the symbology to no stroke, no fill so it's not visible.

Assign layout graphics a label weight in the map

wayfaringrob — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 17:10:26 GMT

It would be nice if layouts had some sort of option to 'talk' to the map and tell it not to label things underneath layout graphics, at least in the particular data frame shown on the layout. I see this being implemented as additional tabs in the label weight ranking dialog - one for each data frame or layout in the project that the map is used in that has the setting turned on. From there, you could assign layout graphics a weight similar to how you can assign map graphics and features a weight on a data frame by data frame basis.

This would allow me to not have to convert my labels to manual annotation/graphics all the time or monkey with the placement settings so much.

ENH-000134871 mentioned here seems to be talking about map graphics, not layout graphics; the original poster does seem to be asking about layout graphics, though.

Re: Give Dataframes a Weighting Option for Maplex

BrennaHughes — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 21:16:29 GMT

Same as this idea from 2011, and still an issue, I think?

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/allow-maplex-to-quot-see-quot-other-dataframes/idi-p/975540

Re: Allow Maplex to "see" other dataframes

BrennaHughes — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 21:19:32 GMT

Would also like Maplex to avoid map elements such as north arrows and scale bars, as described in "https://community.esri.com/t5/mapping-questions/how-to-get-maplex-to-avoid-placing-labels-under/m-p/584721". These are Cartography 101 issues; why don't we have a fix?

Re: Allow Maplex to "see" other dataframes

wayfaringrob — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 21:41:40 GMT

@BrennaHughes I have created an idea for that specifically, and perhaps it should be merged here, I don't know - it's essentially the same request, to get layout elements talking to Maplex. https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/assign-layout-graphics-a-label-weight-in-the-map/idi-p/1177618

Re: Give Dataframes a Weighting Option for Maplex

wayfaringrob — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 21:43:10 GMT

My idea seems to be a duplicate of this one, and could be merged in if Esri staff sees this. https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/assign-layout-graphics-a-label-weight-in-the-map/idi-p/1177618

Re: Assign layout graphics a label weight in the map

wayfaringrob — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 21:45:07 GMT

This seems to be a duplicate of: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/give-dataframes-a-weighting-option-for-maplex/idc-p/1197133

Re: Allow Maplex to "see" other dataframes

BrennaHughes — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 22:03:29 GMT

@wayfaringrob - I think you are correct, there are several similar posts. This one and https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/give-dataframes-a-weighting-option-for-maplex/idc-p/1197133 address dataframes only. Yours addresses graphics: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/assign-layout-graphics-a-label-weight-in-the-map/idi-p/1177618. I found a couple of questions & workarounds here and on StackExchange. Really, we need Maplex to recognize:

Map dataframes
Images
Charts & Tables
North Arrows
Scale Bars
Legends

Am I forgetting any?

Re: The conflict between “Extent indicator” and labels.

wayfaringrob — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 19:52:00 GMT

Would be really useful to just set a weight on it like other elements - right now, half of 'Muscatine' effectively has a strikethrough and there's nothing I can do about it other than annotation.

Re: Assign layout graphics a label weight in the map

wayfaringrob — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 20:58:17 GMT

Another map where this would come in handy.

Esri: not every GIS user has the time or means to export each of their maps to a graphic design application to fix problems that your users have been pointing out for years -- in this case, 12 years. Please help us out.

Re: Assign layout graphics a label weight in the map

wayfaringrob — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 05:32:16 GMT

@JesseWickizerthat seems like quite a lengthy workaround for most scenarios. My go-to: just add a map graphic layer, add a transparent rectangle graphic(s), resize it by eyeballing the area on the layout that needs to be blocked, and make sure weight is high. This could be an issue, though, if the same map is used multiple places.

Re: Assign layout graphics a label weight in the map

brianmoran_usfs — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:20:36 GMT

Hi @JesseWickizer ! Is this still not solved? This issue drives me bananas. Can we at least add Legends and other Data Frames to the list of objects we can weight in the label weight ranking?