How do I add a Natural Earth label layer to a TileMill project?

Question

I'm using TileMill from MapBox to generate tiles and export Mapnik xml files. So far so good. I've downloaded the entire Natural Earth dataset, and have so far successfully imported layers for lakes, coastlines, land and rivers. Now I would like to add labels, using the "Physical Labels" dataset.

When I attempt to add a layer using the shape file 'ne_10m_geography_regions_points.shp', I get a few dozen little red dots (all of which seem to be on a coastline), but no labels. I've tried combinations of the 'ne_10m_geography_regions_polys.shp' and points, but don't get anything nearly resembling the examples on the Natural Earth download site.

I'm a bit new at this, so I'm not sure if the problem is TileMill, the Natural Earth data, or me. I suspect it's me but I don't understand why this layer would be different than the others I've successfully used.

Answer 1

You'll need to create/style the labels yourself. The Natural Earth data provides, as indicated, the points where the labels will go, along with the text. You'll style them with CartoCSS. See https://www.mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/guides/styling-labels/ for basic guidance on styling labels.