Working with area features

Area features should be labeled inside the feature, with regard to geometric extent, and may have space between letters so they stretch across a feature. They don't need to stretch across the entire extent in most cases, but should be given enough space to indicate the vastness of the area they represent. Try to balance the label in the space, allowing for other features and labels which may need to coexist inside the feature. If the area feature is small, such as a small lake or political boundary, point labeling strategies should be used, even if other features in the same layer or class are labeled inside.

Again, labels should never appear upside down and should be placed horizontally where possible. If labels are not placed horizontally, they should deviate enough so that they don't just look like they're crooked:

1. Right-click on Minnesota_Counties in the Contents pane and select Label. Notice that the labels say only I or U, and, like the rivers, are repeated.
2. Right-click again and select Labeling Properties.
3. Set the font as defined in our classes (Open Sans, Light, 8 pt, Upper case), and set the Placement to Land Parcel Placement. You may also wish to set the Font color to gray 70%, to push it a little farther into the background and improve hierarchy.
4. To spread the labels a bit across the extent, click the Position icon and expand Spread labels. Set it to Spread letters up to a fixed limit (spreading to fill feature can lead to some pretty ridiculous labels where short labels and large areas meet). The maximum value here is based on character width, so 100% means no more than one full letter's space between letters. Notice that the spacing changes depending on the size of the feature, which matches best practices.

Your map should look something like this:

Linear areas with no distinct lines, such as a mountain ridge, should be treated as a mix between line and area features. Letters can be spread along the feature, but since they will be built on a spline, it's important to maintain a constant arc, so it's evident the letters belong together.