I'm not new to GIS, but just learning ArcGIS 10.
I have been led to believe that the standard labeling engine doesn't allow any overlap: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#/Positioning_labels_with_the_Standard_Label_Engine/00s800000020000000/
however, I am seeing significant amounts of overlap between labels in just one layer. This is the image I get:
This is within a Data Frame with a fixed scale (1:2500) and no reference scale . I wondered whether that had anything to do with it, but playing around with either of these parameters doesn't seem to have any effect. Is there anything I'm missing in the label manager options – I have checked and double checked that the "Place Overlapping Labels" check box is off. When I increase the buffer size, I get fewer labels, but some of them still overlap.
Best Answer
Ensure that the "Place overlapping labels" check mark is unchecked. This will not re-position or rotate labels but rather remove labels that overlap other labels. If you would like you can create a "static" annotation features class and export both placed and unplaced annotations. This way you can "turn-on" the overlapping labels and place them manually one by one. The default labeling engine only has basic functionality so if you need a more "intelligent" control over the dynamic placement of labels you might need to get the Maplex extension. You can also try it out for free for a limited time.