topic Re: Text Layout in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Text Layout

ArnieWaddell1 — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:23:50 GMT

ArcGIS Pro 2.8

I have text in a layout and I am panning, zooming in and out, and want the text to remain fixed to the location I originally place it in the layout. How is the accomplished.

Thanks

Re: Text Layout

David_Brooks — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:30:20 GMT

@ArnieWaddell1 can you elaborate on what your issue is? If you have text added to a layout and are panning and zooming around the layout view, the text should stay fixed and woudl shift and scale as you pan and zoom.

Re: Text Layout

ArnieWaddell1 — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:34:40 GMT

If you click the fixed zoom in or out the text that you have placed does not stay in the place that it was originally. I want it locked to the location I originally place it even when I zoom, pan, etc.

Re: Text Layout

David_Brooks — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:37:03 GMT

can you provide screenshots?

Re: Text Layout

ArnieWaddell1 — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:42:19 GMT

These are the layout pics of the original location of my text and as I zoom in, it changes. I want it to remain in the same location as I zoom in while in the layout.

Re: Text Layout

jcarlson — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:46:30 GMT

Do you mean you want the text to "float", i.e., not move with the page, but stay fixed in the screen itself?

Re: Text Layout

ArnieWaddell1 — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:51:22 GMT

Yes, I want it to remain fixed not move. The Tillage Experiment text has to stay in their correct location in the image.

Re: Text Layout

jcarlson — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 21:15:13 GMT

Based on your screenshots, you should be adding these text elements to the map, not the layout. Have you looked at using a Graphics Layer in your map? This would allow you to drop text and points, etc., to your map. This ties your text to their place on the map.

The text size will scale up and down to always display at the font size you specify, but will anchor to the point you placed it. If you want the text to scale with the map (smaller as you zoom out), you'll need to establish a Reference Scale. Again, this is done on the map, not the layout.

Adding the text to the layout ties them to their position on the page, and ignore the map's scale and extent entirely.

Taking things a step further, you might consider using annotations. I've always found them to be more trouble than they're worth, but if you really want scale-specific, fixed text, they're the way to go.

Re: Text Layout

David_Brooks — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 21:15:29 GMT

@ArnieWaddell1 so you need the labels inside the map frame. Not the layout frame. If you don't want to label point feature layers, then use the Map Notes tools to add text and symbols. Do this in the data frame, not the layout

Re: Text Layout

ArnieWaddell1 — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 21:32:22 GMT

Yes, I am using ArcGIS Pro which in map mode adding text is not the same as ArcMap so I have avoided it. I thought, there might be a way in Layout view that it could be fixed but I guess not. I will instead use the new map notes in ArcGIS Pro to add text to my map which is a bit of a pain compared to the old method of graphics text in ArcMap.

Thanks

Re: Text Layout

curtvprice — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 22:48:57 GMT

Just for the good of the thread I think this link to the help on Map Notes may be helpful.

Re: Text Layout

TomBole — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 13:57:00 GMT

Hi Arnie,

You may also want to consider using Map Graphics.

I think it might also be helpful to highlight the difference between map "space" and layout (page)"space".

Map space is the geographic space, or real-world coordinates that your features and graphics (shapes, pictures, text...) are placed.

Layout (page) space is the graphical, on screen representation of the medium (such as a piece of paper) that your map and all the map surrounds and extra map marginalia (title, pictures, and text) are placed.

Obviously these are not the same. This is true for ArcMap as it is true for ArcGIS Pro, though, unfortunately, terminology is not consistent across the products and this may be cause for some confusion. Here is the pertinent information from the ArcMap help (Working with data frames in page layouts😞

"In layout view, focusing the active data frame allows you to work with the features and elements in that data frame as though you were in data view. You can create, delete, and edit features, graphics, and text in a focused data frame.

When working in layout view with an unfocused data frame, text and graphics that you draw are added to the page layout, stored in the units of the page, and won't appear if you switch to data view."

In ArcGIS Pro the ArcMap "data frame" is a "map view" and "focusing the active data frame" is "activating a map frame". Terms are different but the concept is the same.

Hope this helps,

Tom