I’ve set up styles for a couple of companies now and the one thing I’ve never liked is that I have to create half a gazilion different label styles for the spot elevation labels for the different rotations that are needed.  Well, I’ve discovered a better way, don’t use spot elevation labels!  You can use line labels.  Create a line label style that places a piece of reference text in the label and have it reference a surface.  Now, when you grip edit the line and change it’s rotation, the label rotates with the line.  One thing to make note of here is that the elevation is coming from the label LOCATION, not the geometry of the line.  If you create your style so the label is displaying at the end of the line, it will still get the elevation from the label location, (the grip location).  To help make sure you aren’t labeling the wrong location, make sure that your text component within the label is attached to the label location and not some point on the line.  You can do the same thing for curves and as you grip edit the label around the curve, the label will rotate along the curve.

In the following image, you can see the lines that are being used for the label all coincide at the same point and the labels are all displayed to that point yet the elevations are all different.  Why is that?

Well, as you can see in the next image, I’ve selected the labels and, according to the grips, they are all in different locations.

A quick edit of the label style so the label is attached to the label location instead of the start of the line and it becomes more apparent in the drawing that you are labeling the wrong location.

Grip edit the labels so they are at the start of each line and you see what you expect.

One drawback to this method is that the line must be on and thawed.  If you turn off the layer that the lines are on, the labels will disappear (or at least they will after a regen).  To combat this issue, there are two options; first you can use a color or plot style for the lines that doesn’t plot or you can simply set the layer the line is on (not the label) to no plot.

Enjoy a completely rotatable spot elevation label!

*edit*

On the discussion groups, stacy.dunn brought up an excellent alternative.  You can also use a two point slope label that will accomplish the same thing by including in the label the first pick point elevation.  Personally, I like the idea of the slope label better then the line.  It just feels cleaner.  They both accomplish pretty much the same thing though.