Drillholes Properties: Labels

To access this screen:

In the Drillholes folder in the Sheets control bar (active 3D window sub-folder), right-click a drillholes file and select Properties.
On the Drillholes Properties screen, select the Labels tab.

Note: A Datamine eLearning course is available that covers functions described in this topic. Contact your local Datamine office for more details.

Control the formatting of drillhole annotation relating to the target overlay.

A 'label' is represented by one or more text items. These can be freeform text, calculated values or values of point object attributes, or any combination. Labels are first defined by setting up the Text field with one or more text items (over one or multiple lines) and then defining that particular label's visual formatting.

You can define as many labels as you need, with each label supported by its own formatting settings. This means you could have, say, a large green label indicating the XYZ position of one aspect of your data on the left and a smaller label on the right of your data indicating another attribute value, for example:

In the above image, 2 separate labels have been defined for the same object overlay. You can quickly view all labels assigned to a particular overlay using the Label drop-down menu. This lists all labels in a table, letting you enable or disable particular labels as you need to, and even delete unwanted labels, for example:

You can add labels to the list (and format them independently afterwards) by clicking New.

To add and format labels for drillhole overlays:

Check Display labels if it is unchecked.
Expand the Label list to see all previously defined labels. If none have yet been set up, a default label is added that shows the BHID value for the drillhole overlay.

Tip: each label can be independently checked or unchecked in this list. Unchecked items are not displayed. This can be a useful way to enable or disable labels temporarily without deleting and recreating them.
- Click New to create a new label with a unique numeric suffix. The Label description is read-only, but updates as label parameters are specified.
- Click Delete to remove the currently displayed Label. This cannot be undone.
Configure your label Text. This is what appears in the 3D window(s).

You can do this in the following ways:
- Text entered in square brackets indicates that an attribute value should be displayed. For example, "[BHID]" indicates that the value of the BHID attribute is required.
  
  Tip: check and pick an attribute from the Column list and click Insert to enter it at the current cursor position.
- Adding ":.n" after an attribute (all in square brackets) constrains numeric attribute values to n decimal places. For example, "[LENGTH:.2]" shows the LENGTH value to 2 decimal places.
  
  Tip:check and pick an attribute from the Column list and choose anything other than Auto in the DP list to Insert an attribute and decimal point constraint automatically.
- Text entered without square brackets is represented literally. Whatever you type appears in each label at the position shown.
- Check Depth and click Insert to specify that a depth indicator is required. Alternatively, enter "<Depth>" manually (or "<Depth:.3>" where the .3 is a decimal places indicator.
Note: a label can be comprised of one or more elements, and you can mix and match Column, Depth and freeform text elements. For example "Borehole ID: [BHID] at <Level:.2> meters" could be displayed as "Borehole ID VB276 at 220.45 meters".
Configure your label Font:
- Choose your font type:
  - A 2D font is always displayed 'face on' to the screen and at a constant screen size. If selected, the Plane orientation setting (see below) can't be used.
  - A 3D font size varies depending on the viewing distance (if the viewing distance is too far, the label disappears). If 3D is selected, you can choose which 3D plane is used to orient your labels (see below).
- Font—specify the font style using the accompanying list.
- Size—specify the size of font using the spin buttons.
- Alignment—justify multiple rows of text to the left, right or centre.
Choose the Position of your label (in relation to the data it represents):
- Collar—adds a label at the top of each drillhole. If displaying a depth label, the current FROM value is displayed.
- End of hole—adds a label at the bottom of each drillhole. If displaying a depth label, the current TO value is displayed.
- Segments—adds a label for each drillhole segment, as shown below.
  Note: If displaying a Depth label, the depth half way between the FROM and TO value for the segment is displayed.
- Intervals—position labels with reference to depth intervals of the hole. If enabled, set a numeric value to determine the distance between labels.
- Group by—if selected, then labels are displayed by any groups of segments that have the same value for the column selected in the accompanying dropdown list. Labels are positioned at the centre of the groups.
Choose your label Offset.

Set the position of the label relative to the drillhole. By default, the label is centered on the drillhole. The drillhole is represented by the central black box in the grid, and the position of the label is set by clicking the required button.
Define the Orientation of your label.

Both 2D and 3D labels can be set as Screen, Parallel or Perpendicular orientation. For 3D labels, their orientation can also be set as Plane. The rotation of both 2D and 3D labels, and the requirement to keep them upright can also be specified, under the conditions described below.
- Screen— labels are shown in the plane of the screen, according to the rotation angle. This option is available for both 2D and 3D labels.
- Parallel— labels are orientated in the direction of the drillhole, as shown below.
- Perpendicular—labels are orientated at right angles to the drillhole, as shown below.
- Plane— only available if 3D is selected in the Font group. Labels are orientated in the specified plane.
  
  Note: when the Plane option is selected, labels may appear back-to-front and/or upside-down, depending on the viewing angle.
  - Azimuth and Dip—if selected, then you can define the azimuth of the labels within a range of -360 to 360 degrees, and the dip within a range of -90 to 90 degrees. In the following example, an azimuth of '40' and a Dip of '0' have been set.
  - Section—if selected, labels are aligned to the section that you select in the accompanying list. You can either select the active section, or any currently-loaded section. An example is shown below (the section is overlaid in transparent red).
  - Best fit—labels are orientated in the best-fit plane of each individual drillhole, as shown below.
Choose if the font should have Rotation. Labels are rotated about their centre, within a range of -360 to 360 degrees. How this rotation is applied depends on whether the Font is 2D or 3D (see above).

The Rotation option is available in the following conditions:
- 2D labels—Screen is selected in the Orientation group.
- 3D labels—Screen or Plane is selected in the Orientation group.
Check Keep upright to ensure your label remains. This setting only applies to the Parallel and Perpendicular orientation settings, where it is possible to invert your label when the data view is inverted around one axis.
Choose your drillhole label Color either by defining a standard fixed color, or a display legend.
- Fixed—select a standard fixed colour for all labels from the adjacent list.
  
  Note: even if the Legend option is selected (see below), the fixed colour is also used to colour labels that cannot be matched to a legend interval.
- Legend—select a predefined, system standard or user-created legend. If data cannot be matched to a legend interval, then the associated label is coloured using the colour shown in the Fixed list.
  - After selecting a legend, expand the list to select a Column of the drillhole object containing values to be matched to the legend.
Tip: use the buttons provided to Preview, Edit or Create a default legend for the selected Column.
Choose your fine-tuning Options:
- Always on top—set this option to prevent labels being obscured by the displayed data. This is particularly useful when labeling 3D data which may make it difficult to see labels due to their shape.
- Group thousands—if labels contain long numbers, selecting this option makes them more readable by separating each group of three digits with a comma.
- Hide absent values:
  - If checked, absent data values are not labelled.
  - If unchecked, absent data values are labelled as "-" in the 3D window.