Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional - Manual (Page 312)

The content of labels is controlled in the Label with drop-down list in the Layer Properties dialog box.
You can label an object with any column from its associated table. For example, you can label the
STATES table with the state name, abbreviation, 1990 population, or any other field in the STATES
table. Simply choose a column from the list, and the objects in that layer will be labeled with the information
contained in that column.
The Layer Properties dialog box only lets you set a label with expression on one layer at a time.
After selecting multiple layers in the Layer list, the Label with list Layer Properties dialog box
disables and shows a message that says Mixed. Note:
Labeling with Expressions
You can also label objects with an expression. Select Expression from the drop-down list in the Label
Options dialog box. Create the expression in the Expression dialog box. You can type the expression
directly or use the drop-down lists to create it. For example, you want to label the countries of Africa with
their name and population density on two lines. Your table contains the country names and population
figures for each country. To figure the population density, divide population by each country's area. You
can let MapInfo Professional calculate the area of each country using the Area function in the Expression
dialog box. To create the expression, double-click the Africa layer in the Layer Control window and select
the Label Display tab. Select Expression from the Label with drop-down list. The Expression dialog
box displays. Using the drop-down lists, create the following expression:
Country + Chr$(13) + POPULATION / Area(Object, "sq mi")
The Chr$(13) function adds a carriage return to the first line. Using the Label tool, click a country. MapInfo
Professional labels it with the result of the expression.
• For instructions and examples of this topic, see Creating Labels using Expressions in the Help System.
Saving Labels to a Workspace
Both automatic and interactive labels are saved as part of a workspace.
To save your objects:
1. Choose File > Save Workspace. The Save Workspace dialog box displays. The Save Workspace
dialog box allows you to save information about the tables and windows used in your current session.
2. Select the drive, folder, and file where you want the workspace saved.
3. Type a name for your workspace.
4. Click Save.
Packing a Table with Customized Labels
Note that packing a table that contains customized labels can corrupt the labels. For example, you delete
one or more rows from your table and save the table. Then you create a map with customized labels
and save the labels to a workspace. You pack the table to purge the deleted rows. Since the Pack
command closes the Map window, you'll need to reload the workspace. When you do so, your labels
are corrupted.
This problem occurs most often when the deleted rows are located near the top of the Browser. To avoid
the problem, pack the table before you create the labels.
Using AutoLabeling
There are two types of labels, automatic labels and labels you place by clicking with the Label tool.
Automatic labels are labels that MapInfo Professional generates automatically, without you having to
click objects on the map. When you turn on automatic labels for a layer, MapInfo Professional tries to
label every object in that map layer. However, depending on your font size, your map window, and your
map data, you may find that not all items in the layer label automatically.
There are settings in the Layer Properties dialog box that let you set conditions for displaying labels,
in what style they will display, and in what position for all the objects in the layer.
MapInfo Professional 12.5 312
Labeling Your Map