Your map has two panels for styling on-map text: Location Text Display and Dynamic Labels. They share many of the same controls, but apply to different types of text.
Which panel styles what?
| Panel | Styles the text for |
|---|---|
| Location Text Display | Location names drawn directly on the map, such as “Smith Hall” appearing under or near a building marker |
| Dynamic Labels | Labels your team has created, such as building numbers, room IDs, or other custom annotations placed in label categories |
These panels do not control:
- Basemap text, such as road names, city names, or neighborhood labels. That text comes from the map tiles.
- Location pop-up text, such as the title or description inside a location’s pop-up window. Those settings are managed separately farther down the Styles tab.
- Hover tooltip bubbles. Those are styled in Location Tooltips.
Note: The Dynamic Labels panel only appears if your map uses Dynamic Labels. If you do not see it, Dynamic Labels are not currently configured for your map. Contact support if you would like them enabled.
Where to find these settings
- Open the CMS for your map.
- Click Styles in the left-hand navigation.
- Scroll to the section you want to edit:
- Location Text Display is under the Location Information heading.
- Dynamic Labels is under the General heading.
Both panels include a live map preview, so you can review changes before saving or publishing.
Before you style location text
The Location Text Display settings only affect locations that are already set to show text on the map.
To turn on text for a location:
- Open the location in the CMS.
- Turn on Show Marker Text in the geometry settings, these float on the left side of the map view.
- Save the location.
Once Show Text is enabled for a location, the Location Text Display settings determine how that text looks.
Dynamic Labels work similarly. The Dynamic Labels panel styles labels that have already been created and turned on in your label categories. Individual labels are added and managed in the Labels tab, while their global styling is managed here.
Text style settings
Both panels use the same core text styling controls.
| Setting | What it controls | Default | Tips & Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Font | The typeface used for the text. | Open Sans Bold | Use this to better match your brand or improve readability. These panels use the curated map font list, not the custom default font uploaded under General. |
| Font Size | The size of the text in pixels. Options range from 9 px to 24 px. | 14 px | Increase the size if text gets lost against detailed imagery. Decrease it if the map feels crowded. |
| Text Color | The color of the text itself. | Black | Choose a color that contrasts well with the basemap and the stroke color. |
| Case | How text is capitalized on the map. | Default / None | Default / None — show the text exactly as it was typed. UPPERCASE — converts everything to capital letters. lowercase — converts everything to lowercase. |
| Stroke Color | The “halo” or outline around each letter. | White | Use a light stroke around dark text, or a dark stroke around light text, to keep labels readable on busy imagery. |
| Stroke Weight | The thickness of the text halo. Options are 0 px, 1 px, 2 px, and 3 px. | 2 px | Use 0 px to turn the halo off. Use 3 px for stronger readability on aerial imagery, but test it because it can look heavy. |
Tip: Stroke color and stroke weight are usually the most important settings for readability. If labels are hard to read, adjust the stroke before changing the font or text color.
Collision controls
When many labels appear near each other, they can overlap and become hard to read. Collision controls determine what happens when labels compete for space.
| Setting | What it controls | Default | Tips |
| Detect text collisions | Whether the map hides overlapping labels to keep text readable. | On | Recommended for most maps. Turn it off only if every visible label must always show. |
| Label Position | Whether labels stay fixed or can shift slightly to avoid overlap. | Location Text Display: Variable Dynamic Labels: Fixed | Use Fixed when labels need to stay exactly where placed. Use Variable when labels can move slightly around markers. |
| Collision Sensitivity | How aggressively labels hide each other when they compete for space. | Location Text Display: 2 Dynamic Labels: 1 | Lower the number if important labels disappear too easily. Raise it if the map feels cluttered. |
Important: Label Position and Collision Sensitivity only appear when Detect text collisions is turned on. If collision detection is off, every visible label displays, even if labels overlap.
Detect text collisions
This setting is on by default and is recommended for most maps.
When collision detection is on, the map hides some labels when they would overlap. As visitors zoom in, more labels appear. As they zoom out, fewer labels appear. This keeps the map readable at different zoom levels.
When collision detection is off, every visible label displays, even if labels overlap. This can work well for sparse maps where every label must remain visible, but it can create stacked or unreadable text on dense maps.
Tip: If you turn collision detection off and the map becomes cluttered when zoomed out, use category zoom levels to control which categories appear at each zoom level. This lets every label in a visible category remain shown, while entire categories drop off as visitors zoom out.
Label Position
Fixed keeps the text exactly where it is anchored. This is useful for grid-like layouts or labels placed at specific coordinates, such as numbered building labels.
Variable allows the map to nudge the text up, down, left, or right of its anchor point to reduce overlap. This is useful for location names that sit near icons or markers.
Location names usually look better when they can shift around markers, so Location Text Display defaults to Variable. Dynamic Labels are usually placed more deliberately, so Dynamic Labels defaults to Fixed.
Collision Sensitivity
Collision Sensitivity controls how aggressively labels hide each other.
| Setting | Behavior |
| 1 | Least aggressive. More labels stay visible. |
| 2 | Balanced behavior. |
| 3 | Most aggressive. Fewer labels stay visible, but the map feels less cluttered. |
A simple rule of thumb:
- If important names disappear too easily, lower the number.
- If the map feels cluttered, raise the number.
This setting only applies when Detect text collisions is on.
Common scenarios
| Scenario | What to try | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| My location names disappear when I zoom out | Lower Location Text Display > Collision Sensitivity to 1, or turn Detect text collisions off. | This is usually collision detection working as expected. If you turn it off, review the map at multiple zoom levels because dense areas can become cluttered. |
| My text is hard to read on aerial imagery | Use dark text with a white stroke, light text with a dark stroke, or increase Stroke Weight to 2 px or 3 px. | Stroke color and stroke weight usually have the biggest impact on readability. |
| I want every label to always show, but only when zoomed in close | Turn Detect text collisions off, then use category zoom levels to control when those label categories appear. | This keeps labels from hiding automatically while still preventing clutter at lower zoom levels. |
| My location labels are stacking in one busy area | Increase Location Text Display > Collision Sensitivity to 3. | This causes the map to hide more labels when space is tight, helping the area stay readable. |
| I want labels to stay exactly where I placed them | Set Label Position to Fixed. | This prevents labels from shifting around their anchor points. |
Saving and publishing
Before publishing, preview changes in busy areas, sparse areas, and multiple zoom levels.
If the live map has not updated, confirm that you saved your changes and ran the correct publish action. Publishing pushes saved changes to the live map.
Different style areas may have separate publish actions:
| Change type | Publish action |
|---|---|
| Location Text Display and other general style changes | Publish Styles |
| Dynamic Label style changes | Publish Dynamic Label Styles |
If the live map has not updated, confirm that you saved your changes and ran the correct publish action.
Tips
Preview before publishing
Use the map preview in the Styles tab to review changes in different areas of your map, including:
- Busy areas
- Sparse areas
- Different zoom levels
- Areas with different background imagery
Prioritize readability over brand matching
Brand colors may look great in a logo but disappear against map imagery. Use text color and stroke settings together to maintain strong contrast.
Be careful when turning off collision detection
Collision detection keeps most maps readable. If you turn it off, review the map carefully when zoomed out and consider pairing it with category zoom levels.
Canceling reverts the preview
If you are experimenting and want to start over, leave the Styles tab without saving. The preview will revert to the settings that were active when you opened the tab.