Maplex vs Converting to Annotation labels

[PennySawyer2]

I have a  question in regards to the maplex labeling tool.  Is it necessary  to set the labels to annotation by converting the labels from maplex tool.  How different is maplex from the standard labeling. I set my street labels to maplex and then tested by converting to annotation; I could tell the maplex before annotations were converted labels looked better. I am new to using maplex and i am trying to distinguish which labeling tool to use.  Also, which is better to use for maplex ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro?

[JosephCarter]

Hi, Penny. I would advise you to explore your Maplex settings, and the many help articles. Stay with Maplex and only drop to annotation when you absolutely must (due to congestion, etc.). You will soon learn the benefits. Street labels are a great learning ground for Maplex experience. You should not worry right now regarding ArcMap or ArcPro. Become proficient with Maplex labeling  and you will become invaluable! The following is good to know:

"A common problem with street labels is that there are too many labels, because each street is represented by multiple features. You'll improve the street labeling by identifying these line features as streets for the Maplex Label Engine, which will then consider all street segments of the same name to be one feature for labeling purposes. Another common issue with street labeling is that the names of streets are often longer than the street features themselves. You will apply an abbreviation dictionary to the street feature labels to shorten the placed label when necessary."

Good luck!,

Joe

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

I can't speak to ArcGIS Pro and how it works with Maplex, annotation, and labels, but here is my take in the ArcGIS Desktop world:

There is no perfect solution to labeling, but Maplex goes probably the furthest of any method.  I would try to play with it a bit, realizing it does take some experimenting with all the settings to effectively label things.  However, it is not perfect.

One strategy that also can work is to do a hybrid strategy.  Use Maplex to get it as far as you can.  Then Definition Query out the labels that aren't working out well, and then either create labels or annotation for those, or via using Definition Query to only affect them use a different set of settings in Maplex.  This can be messy to set up, but well worth it.

What is the Maplex Label Engine?—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop 

Display a subset of features in a layer—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop 

Chris Donohue, GISP

[PennySawyer2]

Thanks everyone. I finally had to convert as annotation. Some of my labels were too close even after me tweaking with maplex settings and setting the tolerance. I need some labels to be curved and straight and maplex does not give me that option.