# ZIP labels, place names and dots

Official GBMaps guide for the classic map maker. VectorMaps has a different interface.

Source: https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-zip-details
Updated: 2026-09-30

Map details lets you make a busy 5-digit ZIP map easier to read. ZIP labels and settlement names are separate layers, so you can show the detail you need without changing the coloured ZIP shapes.

![Map details panel showing ZIP labels, Hide unassigned areas, settlement names and dots, and their colours](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/help/images/usa-map-details.png)

These switches and colour boxes control the built-in detail on a US ZIP map.

## 1. Show or hide ZIP numbers

In Borders & labels, tick or untick ZIP codes under Labels. The numbers belong to their ZIP polygons; turning them off does not remove the shapes or their territory colours. The tool sizes the ZIP lettering for the map, so you do not need a separate label-size data column.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-zip-details#usa-zip-details--labels)

## 2. Choose place names and dots separately

Open Places. For towns, villages and cities, tick Names, Dots, both or neither. Built-in place dots are different from dots you add with Create Dots. The place names have been thinned and positioned automatically to reduce clashes with one another; some smaller places are deliberately omitted.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-zip-details#usa-zip-details--places)

## 3. Change place-name and dot colours

Use the Place names and Place dots colour boxes at the bottom of Places. They change the built-in settlement lettering and dots, not ZIP labels or your own imported dots.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-zip-details#usa-zip-details--colours)

## 4. Focus on assigned ZIP areas

Once you have coloured territories, press Hide unassigned areas to hide the ZIP shapes you have not assigned. Press it again to bring them back. Your assignments and hidden ZIPs are not deleted.

[Open this step](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-zip-details#usa-zip-details--hide)

## Related guides

- [Map details: boundaries & place labels](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=details)
- [Show only your assigned territories](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=hide-unassigned)
- [USA 5-digit ZIP maps: choose a state](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=usa-zip-maps)
- [Map Colours: page, labels & boundaries](https://www.gbmaps.com/mcs/map-help.php?topic=colours)