Configure labels

Maps can display large amounts of geographic data in layers that typically overlap. The way you style data can help describe and identify features. However, you may need more than a symbol or color to communicate information about the map, which is when labeling features can help.

Labels are short pieces of text that describe the features in a layer. The text for a label is derived from the available layer attributes. You can select the attribute you want to show, for example, the name or type of feature.

When you enable labels on a layer, ArcGIS for Power BI automatically places the label on the map on or near the feature they describe. You can control the text size, color, and style to differentiate labels on different layers or use the halo effect around the label to ensure that it stands out from text on the basemap or another layer. You can also specify the zoom levels at which labels are visible on the map.

Use the Labels section under Layer properties to control how features in a layer are labeled on the map. You can add multiple label classes, filter labels, change the label appearance, and control label visibility by scale.

To configure labels, complete the following steps:

1. From the map tools, click Layers to open the Layers pane.
2. Click the Layer Properties tab .
3. Choose a layer to modify from the Active layer drop-down menu.
4. Expand the Labels section, and turn on the Show labels toggle button.

   The +Add label class button becomes visible.

   Note:

   The toggle button controls label visibility only. Turning labels on does not create a label. Labels are created by adding label classes.

5. Click +Add label class to create a label class.

   You can add multiple label classes to the same layer. There is no limit to the number of label classes. Each label class is configured independently.

6. Click any of the following buttons in a label class:
   • Expand/Collapse —Show or hides the label class settings.
   • Rename (Click the more button to access this button.)—Rename the label class. Optionally, you can also double‑click Name to make edits.

     Note:

     The name does not affect labeling.

   • Duplicate (Click the ellipsis to access this button.)—Create a copy of the label class. A copy suffix is added.
   • Delete —Remove the label class.
7. Click the Label field drop‑down menu to select an attribute from the layer.

   The selected field determines the label text. Each label class can use a different field. Field selection is controlled by the map author.

8. Turn off the Show labels toggle button to hide labels from the selected active layer.
9. Click Close to close the Layers pane.

Filter labels

Use Filter labels to control which labels are displayed based on feature attributes. Filters apply to labels only. Feature visibility is not affected. If no filters are applied, all labels are displayed.

To filter labels, complete the following steps:

1. Click the Filter labels button .

   The Filter labels pane appears with the +Add new button enabled to use to determine where the feature labels will be shown.

2. Click +Add new.

   A new Condition group opens with a filter condition. Filter conditions use natural language logical operators to limit the range of values that will be labeled.

3. Click the Delete button to delete individual conditions or condition groups.

   Optionally, click Delete all to delete and clear the entire pane of all conditions.

4. Click the back arrow, or the Done button to apply the filters and return to the label class in the Labels section.

Considerations

You can perform any of the following with the conditions and condition groups:

• You can add one or more conditions to a group.
• You can combine conditions using AND or OR.
• You can add multiple condition groups.
• You can combine condition groups using AND or OR.
• There is no limit to the number of conditions or groups.
• Only labels whose features meet the filter conditions are displayed.

Change the label style

Use Label style to change how labels appear on the map.

To update label settings for the active layer, complete the following steps:

1. Click the Label style button .

   The Label style pane appears,

2. Do any of the following:
   • Specify the label's Font styling configurations, including font family, font size, font color, and emphasis settings.
   • Specify the label's Placement option to adjust the arrangement of the label relative to the feature's location.

     Note:

     This setting is not available for boundary-type location data (polygons).

   • Adjust Offset values to horizontally and vertically offset label properties (in pixels).
   • Turn on the Enable halo toggle button to add a halo outline around the text and optionally specify the halo color and size in pixels.
3. Click the back arrow, or the Done button to apply the label styles, and return to the label class in the Labels section.

Set the label visible range

Use the Label visible range slider to restrict feature labels to appear only at a specified scale. This can be used to avoid overlapping labels or to align the label visible range with the feature layer's visible range, which you can modify on the Layer properties tab.

To update the label visible range, do any of the following:

• From the Labels section of the Layer properties pane, drag the slider to set a minimum label visibility. This represents the coarsest map scale, or the farthest you can zoom out from the map before the labels disappear. If you hover over the slider, an example image indicates the map scale represented.
• From the Labels section of the Layer properties pane, set a maximum label visibility. This represents the finest map scale, or the closest you can zoom in to the map before the labels disappear. If you hover over the slider, an example image indicates the map scale represented.
• The scale identifier arrow and label below the slider indicate the current zoom level, such as Country or Building. To set a more precise scale, click the scale identifier, and choose a zoom level from the drop-down menu.
• Drag the slider handles outward to expand the visible range.
• Drag the slider handles inward to restrict the visible range.

Tip:

The Current map scale indicator shows the current map scale for the ArcGIS for Power BI visualization.

Format the data for labels

Data labels inherit default formatting from the Power BI data based on their data type, but this formatting may not be appropriate for your map. For example, if you're mapping the percent of each county's population that falls in the 18-29 age range and you'd like each county to have a whole number percentage for their label, but the data are stored as decimal numbers, you may need to change the format of the data.

There are two ways to format data fields in ArcGIS for Power BI if you're using Power BI data to create the labels.

Note:

If you format the Power BI data using both the Visualizations pane settings and the Column tools settings, the formatting from the Visualizations pane will appear on the map, overriding the other settings.

Modify the formatting for the ArcGIS for Power BI visual only

To change the label formatting for only the ArcGIS for Power BI visual, complete the following steps:

1. From the Visualizations pane, click Format your visual.
2. On the General tab, click Data format.
3. Select the field used to create the labels from the Apply settings to drop-down menu.
4. Optionally, change any of the following Format options:
   • Change the number or date/time format.
   • Turn on the Percentage format toggle button to show data as a percent.
   • Turn on the Thousands separator toggle button to include a thousands separator. The mark used as a separator is selected based on your location.
   • Select a Decimal places value to show in the labels.

Modify the column formatting for all visuals using the Power BI data

In Power BI Desktop, you can modify the formatting of a column in the data layer using the Column tools tab on the ribbon. This will change the formatting for all visuals in your dashboard that use the same data.

To change the column formatting for the Power BI visual, complete the following steps:

1. In the Data pane, select the column used to create the labels, and highlight it.

   The Column tools tab appears on the ribbon.

2. On the Column tools tab, find the Format drop-down menu, and select the number or date/time format you want to use to format the labels.
3. Optionally, do any of the following:
   • Select the currency drop-down menu $ to choose an appropriate currency symbol.
   • Click the percent button to display the column's values as percentages.
   • Click the thousands separator button to display the data with a thousands separator.
   • Change the number of decimal places displayed for the column's values.

Available number formats

Data formatting options are available for numbers and date and time fields. Numbers can be assigned the following formats:

• General—The shorter of a decimal string or scientific notation.
• Whole number—An integer value with no decimals. If this format is applied to decimal values, they will be rounded to the nearest whole number.
• Decimal number—Fractional numbers with values stored in decimal places.
• Currency—Monetary values.
• Percentage—Fractional numbers represented as a percentage. For example, 0.01 is represented as 1 when formatted as a percent.
• Scientific—Numbers represented using scientific notation. For example 1,200,000 is represented as 1.2E+6.
• Custom—Assign a Format code value to define the formatting of the data.

  Learn more about custom format strings

Available date and time formats

If you're creating labels using Power BI data, you can assign a specialized date and time format to time data you've selected for the label field. There are many formats available for date and time data, with each option shown in an example and using a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) string. VBA strings are created using the following notation:

VBA string	Description	Example
d	Day of month without leading zero.	1-31
dd	Day of month with leading zero.	01-31
m	Month number without leading zero.	1-12
mm	Month number with leading zero.	01-12
mmm	Month name, three-letter abbreviation.	Jan-Dec
mmmm	Month name, written in full.	January-December
yy	Two-digit year.	00-99
yyyy	Four-digit year.	1900-2099
h	Hour without leading zero.	0-23 or 0-12 when the time includes AM or PM
hh	Hour with leading zero.	00-23 or 00-12 when the time includes AM or PM
n	Minute without leading zero.	0-59
nn	Minute with leading zero.	00-59
m	When this appears after h or hh, it indicates minute without leading zero.	0-59
mm	When this appears after h or hh, it indicates minute with leading zero.	00-59
s	Second without leading zero.	0-59
ss	Second with leading zero.	00-59

Read more about supported date symbols and see examples of VBA strings from Microsoft.

Label classes work independently. You can use multiple label classes to label different attributes in the same layer, apply different filters, use different styles, and set different visible ranges. This provides more process control than a single label configuration.