Trimble Business Center

Creating Labels

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 About this tutorial

About this tutorial

Trimble Business Center provides the tools you need to create labels (in single/multi-line
and tabular formats) that enumerate attributes for points, lines, and polygons and
display in the project's graphic views. Attributes can include any of the following:
In this tutorial, you will:
 Create style templates that you will use to create single-line and multi-line labels.
 Create labels for lines, points, and polygons.

 Create a style template that you will use to create tabular-formatted labels.
 Create label tables for lines and points.

Note: If you need additional help at any time you are using the software, press F1 to
display the TBC Help.

Step 1. Open the project

For this tutorial, you will use the project file Creating Labels.vce.

Note: The downloaded CreatingLabels folder contains this PDF file and the Creating
Labels.vce project file.

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 Step 2. Create label styles

1. In TBC, select File > Open.

2. In the Open File dialog, browse to ..\CreatingLabels\Creating Labels.vce and click
Open.
The project opens in the Trimble Business Center window. It includes points, lines,
and a polygon for which you will create various types of labels.

The project file is read-only. You can perform the tutorial steps without saving the
project file. However, if you are interrupted while performing the tutorial, you can save
it with a new name by selecting File > Save Project As. Then, you can re-open the
project to continue the tutorial at a later time.

Step 2. Create label styles

When you select to create a label for a point, line, or polygon in your project, you must
select a label style that specifies the attributes to be included and the formatting of the
label. A default Standard label style is included for each object type, and it may suit your
needs. However, for this tutorial, you will create a new line label style and two new
point label styles to use to create labels later in this tutorial.

Create line label styles:

1. In the TBC ribbon, select Drafting > Labels > Label Style Manager to display the
Label Style Manager dialog.

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 Step 2. Create label styles

Note that the dialog includes a tab for each style type. The Line Styles tab is
selected by default.
Your project includes a default Standard line label style that includes a line's length
and azimuth, as shown in the following example:

For your new label style, you will also include the line length. But instead of the
azimuth, you will display the line's slope angle.
2. Click the New button and enter Tutorial in the Style name field.
3. In the Gap (Millimeter) field, enter 10.
This specifies the distance between the line segment and the label text (a value of 0
places the text directly on the line).
You can keep the default Line spacing of 1.5. Do not specify a Rotation value.
4. On the Lines tab in the Label Properties group box, select Line Length in the Label
type drop-down list.
You will use the units of measurement and precision settings specified in Project
Settings > Units so there is no need to change these properties.
Note that there is an Arcs tab in the Label Properties group box that you can use to
specify labeling properties for an arc or circle. See the TBC Help for more
information about these properties.
5. In the Offset drop-down list, select 1 Above. (Do not change the Along field value).
Then click the Add button.
If you were to include multiple lines of label text above the line segment, this would
be the line of text closest to the segment. You can preview an example of the label
in the Preview pane.

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 Step 2. Create label styles

Experiment with the arrow keys to change position of the label line. Notice that the
changes you make with the arrows are reflected in the Offset and Along fields. (The
Along field determines the location of the label line along the line using a scale of 0
through 1.) When you are done experimenting, ensure 1 Above and 0.5 (centered)
are selected for these two fields.
You are now ready to add a second text line to the label to display the slope of the
line. You want to display the slope value beneath the line.
6. In the Label type drop-down list, select Line Slope.
7. In the Offset field, select 1 Below. Then click the Add button.
In the Preview, the slope value is added to the label beneath the line segment.

Create point label styles:

Now you will create two new point label styles that will include feature codes and
associated feature attributes.
1. Select the Point Styles tab.

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 Step 2. Create label styles

2. Click the New button and enter Tutorial in the Style name field.
3. In the Gap (Millimeter) field, enter 10.
Do not change other default settings.
4. Using the Label Properties controls, add the following properties to the label:
 Name (offset: 1 Above)
 Feature Code (offset: 1 Below)
 Feature Code Attributes (offset: 2 Below)
5. Click the Add button.

There may be cases when you do not want to display all of the attributes for a
feature code (with prefixes, and all on the same line) using the default Feature Code
Attributes label type, as shown here.

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 Step 2. Create label styles

In this case, you can do either of the following:

 Select the Feature Code Attributes label type and use the Prefix field to specify
just the available attributes you want to include in the label, and whether or not
to include prefixes and line breaks, as described in "Select Feature Attributes for
a Feature Code Attributes Label Type" in the TBC Help.
 Select the User Defined Attributes label type instead of the Feature Code
Attributes label type. It allows you to specify which attributes to display,
whether or not to use prefixes (and, if so, what they should be), and where to
include line breaks in the attributes list.

In these next steps, you will create a point label type to be used for a broadleaf tree
(BT) point feature using the User Defined Attributes label type. Although the BT
feature code in the project's Feature Library supports three feature attributes that
could be included in a label (Photo attributes are not supported), you will select to
include only Spread and Type in your label. And you will select to put a line break
between them.

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 Step 2. Create label styles

6. Click the New button and enter Tutorial BT in the Style name field.
7. In the Gap (Millimeter) field, enter 10.
Do not change other default settings.
8. Using the Label Properties controls, add the following properties to the label:
 Name (offset: 1 Above)
 Feature Code (offset: 1 Below)
 User Defined Attributes (offset: 2 Below)
9. When you select User Define Attributes, enter in the Text field the following:
Spread={Spread}$${Type}
Spread= is a prefix that will display preceding the {Spread} attribute value. The
{Type} attribute will not have a prefix.
The two dollar sign symbols specify to insert a line break between the two attributes
in the label.

10. Click the Add button.

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 Step 3. Create labels

11. Click OK to save your two new label styles and close the Label Style Manager dialog.
You are now ready to use the new label styles to create labels in the project.

Step 3. Create labels

This step walks you through a number of typical label creation scenarios.

Create line labels using the Tutorial line label style:

1. Click the single line segment located in the top-left area of the Plan View.

The green arrow indicates the line was created ("runs") from left to right. This will
be useful information when you create a label for the segment later in this
procedure
2. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Labels > Lines to display the
Label Lines command pane.

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 Step 3. Create labels

3. In the Line label style drop-down list, select the new Tutorial style you created in the
previous procedure.
Keep the Layer selection of 0 and the Minimum line length value of 5.000 m. In this
case, a line label will not be created for a line segment that is shorter than 5.000 m
unless the line is included in a label table. To include the short line segment in a
label table, you would need to check the Add small segments to table option and
select a label table in the drop-down list. Since no label table exists in the project,
you will leave this check box unchecked. (You will create a label table later in this
tutorial.)
4. Check the Keep line direction placement check box located in the lower part of the
command pane.

This ensures that the direction in which the line was created (see step 1) does not
determine the "top" and "bottom" of the line segment for the placement of the
label text. Instead, the "top" and "bottom" of the segment are determined by the
direction of the label text, as shown in the next two steps
5. Click in the Select segment to label field. Then click on the right side of the single
line segment you selected in step 1.

By clicking the right side of the line segment, you are specifying that the segment
runs from right to left and, therefore, the label text reads from right to left (upside
down) in the Plan View. Note that viewed from this perspective, the distance value
is displayed "above" the line as specified in the Tutorial line label style.

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 Step 3. Create labels

6. Click on the line segment a second time to clear the label. Then click on the left side
of the line segment.

By clicking the left side of the line segment, you are specifying that the segment
runs from left to right and, therefore, the label text now reads from left to right
(right-side up) in the Plan View. The distance value is displayed "above" the line as
specified in the Tutorial line label style.
7. Uncheck the Keep line direction placement check box.
8. Click in the Select segment to label field and then click on the line segment again to
clear the label. Then click on the right side of the line segment.

The distance value text, although reading from right to left, is now located above
the line segment based on the direction of the segment from left to right (as shown
in step 1). Compare to the image in step 5 when the Keep line direction placement
check box was checked.
You can also change the side of the line on which label text displays using the Swap
Label Sides context command.
9. Click Close to close the Label Lines command pane
10. Select either the distance label text or slope label text, right-click, and select Swap
Label Sides.

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 Step 3. Create labels

Create label leader lines:

1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Labels > Leader Lines to
display the Create Leader Lines command pane.
2. In the Leader type drop-down list, select Line with arrow.
3. Check the Display label horizontally check box.

4. Click in the Target label field, then click the label, release the mouse button, and
drag the label to a new location.

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 Step 3. Create labels

5. Click a second time to save the new location.

A leader line is automatically created, connecting the label text to the line. In
addition, because you checked the Display label horizontally check box, the text has
been flipped to read from left to right.

6. Click Close to close the Create Leader Lines command pane.

Create multiple line labels simultaneously:

1. Select Drafting > Labels > Lines to re-open the Label Lines command pane.
2. In the Label Lines command pane, click in the Multi-select lines to label field.
3. Click anywhere on the multiple-segment line in the upper-right area of the Plan
View.
4. Click the Add button.

Create point labels using the default Standard point label style:
1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Labels > Points to display
the Label Points command pane.

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 Step 3. Create labels

2. In the Point label style drop-down list, select Standard.

Do not change any of the default settings.
3. Click in the Multi-select points to label field, then "draw" a selection box around
points 1, 2, and 3 in the Plan View.

4. Click the Add button.

Note that the default Standard point label style includes the point name and the
elevation.

5. Click the Close button to close the Label Points command pane.
6. In the Plan View, select the label for point 1, right click, and select Swap Label Sides.

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 Step 3. Create labels

7. Select the label for point 3, right click, and select Leader Lines. Without clicking your
mouse button, move the label to a new location, then click to select the new
location.

Create point labels using the Tutorial point label style:

The project includes four points (7 through 10, located in the bottom area of the
Plan View) that are assigned feature codes specifying both the back of a curb and
embedded nails. The feature codes have been processed in TBC, resulting in three
line segments representing the back of the curb and an icon representing each nail.

1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Labels > Points to display
the Label Points command pane.
2. In the Point label style drop-down list, select the new Tutorial style you created in
the previous procedure.
Do not change any other default settings.
3. Click in the Select points to label field and click point 7 in the Plan View.
The label is displayed just as it was defined in the Tutorial point label style: the point
name at the top, followed by the feature code, followed by the feature attribute.
Note that regardless of the angle of the line segment following point 7 in the Plan
View, the label text is displayed horizontally.

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 Step 3. Create labels

4. Check the Align label to associated line segment check box, click in the Select point
to label field, and click point 8 in the Plan View.
5. The label text is aligned with the line segment following point 8.

6. Check the Hide attribute name check box, click in the Multi-select points to label
field, and "draw" a selection box around points 9 and 10 to select them. Then click
the Add button.

Labels for points 9 and 10 do not include the attribute prefix Type.

The project includes three points (11 through 13, located in the bottom area of the
Plan View) that are assigned BT (Broadleaft Tree) feature codes specifying feature
attributes. You will create a new Tutorial BT type label to these three points.

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 Step 3. Create labels

Create point labels using the Tutorial BT point label style:

1. In the Label Points command pane, in the Point label style drop-down list, select
the new Tutorial BT style you created in the previous procedure.
Do not change any other default settings.
2. Click in the Multi-select points to label field and the draw a box around points 11
through 13 in the Plan View to select them. Then click the Add button.

Feature attribute labels are editable in the label's Properties pane.

3. In the Plan View, select the label for point 12, right-click, and select Properties.
4. In the bottom of the the Properties pane, edit the Label text field as follows:
Old: Spread={Spread}$${Type}
New: Spread={Spread}$$Type={Type}

This adds the prefix Type= to the label for point 12.

Create a polygon label using the default Standard polygon label style:
1. To create a label for a polygon using the default Standard polygon label style:
a. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Labels > Polygons to
display the Label Polygons command pane.

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 Step 4. Create label table styles

Do not change any of the default settings.

b. Click in the Select polygon to label field and then select the polygon located in
the center-right area of the Plan View.
The name and area of the polygon display inside the polygon.

Step 4. Create label table styles

As with single- and multi-line labels, to create a label table, you must select an
appropriate label table style. A default Standard label table style is included for each
object type; however, for this tutorial, you will create a new label table style.
A label table style specifies the type of information to be displayed in each column in a
label table. For example, in a label table intended for multiple line segments, you might
include one column each for the length, azimuth, and slope of the segment. Then, when
you create a label table using the style, each selected line segment will be included as a
row in the table with an auto-generated name (for cross-referencing) and the specified
properties displayed in each of the columns.

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 Step 4. Create label table styles

A label table style also specifies the display of text in the table (including the formatting
of angles and precision, the use of unit suffixes, and text justification) and the
appearance of the table itself (including text styles and table borders).
In this procedure, you will create a new line label table style. The procedure for creating
a new point or polygon label table follows the same workflow.
1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Tables > Label Table Style
Manager to display the Label Table Style Manager dialog.

Your project includes a default Standard (Line) line label table style that includes a
line's name, length, azimuth, and slope. It also includes a default Standard (Curve)
line label table style that includes a curved line's name, length, radius azimuth, and
slope.

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 Step 4. Create label table styles

2. Click the New button to display the Create New Style dialog, then do the following:
a. In the New style name field, enter Tutorial.
b. In the Copy from drop-down list, select Standard (Line).
c. Click OK.

The new style is displayed in the Label Table Style Manager dialog. It includes all of
the properties of the Standard (Line) default style.

The only changes you will make to the new style is to remove the Slope field from
the label table and move the Azimuth column (field) to the left of the Length
column.
3. In the Column fields list, do the following:
a. Select Slope and click the Delete icon .
b. Select Azimuth and click the Up arrow .
4. Click in the Preview pane located at the bottom of the dialog. Then use your mouse
wheel to zoom in to verify the changed table layout.

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 Step 5. Create label tables

5. Click OK to save your new line label table style and close the Label Table Style
Manager dialog.

Note: Like the Label Style Manager, the Label Table Style Manager allows you to
add customized lists of feature attributes to label tables, each attribute represented
by a new table column. For more information, see "Select Feature Attributes to
Include in Label Tables" in the TBC Help.

You are now ready to use the new Tutorial line label table style to create label tables in
the project.

Step 5. Create label tables

In this procedure, you will create a new line label table based on the new Tutorial line
label table style you created in the previous procedure. You will also create a label table
for points using the default Standard point label table style.

Create a label table using the Tutorial line label table style:
1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Tables > Create Lines to
display the Create Line Label Table command pane.

2. In the title field, enter Tutorial Line Table.

The title will display in the top of the new label table.
3. In the Style drop-down list, select the new Tutorial style you created in the previous
procedure.

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 Step 5. Create label tables

4. Click in the Location field and then click a location for the label table beneath the
two line segments located in the lower-left area of the Plan View.

The Edit Label Table command pane displays.

Each row in the line label table will include a table tag label (name) that also displays
on the associated line segment in the Plan View. At a minimum, the table tag label
must include a sequential reference number (represented by #). In addition, it might
include a code representing the segment type (for example, L for a straight line
segment or C for a curved line segment). For this tutorial, you will change the
default table tag format from L# to Line #.
5. In the Table tag format field, enter Line #.

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 Step 5. Create label tables

6. Click in the Select segment field, then click one of the two line segments located
above the label table in the Plan View.
The selected line segment is automatically labeled using the tag format Line #. In
addition, a new row with the same name is added to the label table.

7. With your cursor still located in the Select segment field, click the second line
segment.

Create a label table using the default Standard point label table style:
1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Drafting > Tables > Points to display
the Create Point Label Table command pane.

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 Step 5. Create label tables

2. In the Title field, enter Tutorial Point Table.

3. Click in the location field and then click a location for the label table beneath points
4, 5, and 6 located in the lower-right area of the Plan View.

The Edit Label Table command pane displays.

4. Click in the Target point field, then "draw" a selection border around points 4, 5,
and 6 in the Plan View.

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 Step 5. Create label tables

5. Click the Add button

The label table populates with attributes for the three selected points.

This completes the tutorial.

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