Located at: \\covagssrv\gis common\arcgis\training\PowerPoint -or\\covagssrv\GIS Common\arcgis\ArcGIS_HELP_TIPS\default.

htm (Select ArcGIS PowerPoint Slides)

Welcome to Learning About ArcGIS Annotation

Three main types of text in ArcGIS: 1) Geodatabase Annotation (Standard or Feature-Linked), 2) Dynamic Labels, and 3) Map Annotation.

Annotation in the geodatabase is stored in annotation feature classes. Like other feature classes, all features in an annotation feature class have a geographic location; attributes; and can either be inside a feature dataset or a standalone feature class. Each text annotation feature has symbology including font, size, color, and any other text symbol property. Annotation is typically text, but it can also include graphic shapesfor instance, boxes or arrowsthat require other types of symbology. The two other main options for storing text in ArcGIS are dynamic labels and map document annotation. If you have more than a few hundred pieces of text or if you want editable text that you will use in many maps, use geodatabase annotation. Working with geodatabase annotation in ArcMap will generally be faster than working with map document annotation. Geodatabase annotation is indexed spatially, meaning that it will draw and select much faster.

Based on my past two weeks of testing feature-linked annotation, I recommend not to use it and use regular standard annotation.

There is not much difference in how you edit and maintain Geodatabase Annotation weather its Standard or Feature-Linked. Feature-linked should update itself if the attribute value changes. It does sometimes but sometimes it does not. I do not trust it.

Two Types of Geodatabase Annotation:

Feature Linked Standard (Like our existing coverage annotation) There are two kinds of annotation in the geodatabase standard and feature-linked. Standard annotation is not formally associated with features in the geodatabase. An example of standard annotation is the text on a map for a mountain range. No specific feature represents the mountain range, but it is an area you want to mark. Feature-linked annotation is associated with a specific feature in another feature class in the geodatabase. The text in feature-linked annotation reflects the value of a field or fields from the feature to which it's linked. For example, the water transmission mains in a water network can be annotated with their names, which are stored in a field in the transmission mains feature class.

Feature-Linked Geodatabase Annotation

The link between a feature and its annotation is maintained through a composite relationship. Special behaviors in the ESRI Annotation Features allow you to derive an annotation feature's text from a field or combination of fields in the feature class.

Two annotation composite relationships are shown below.

An ArcCatalog View
Geodatabase Feature Dataset Relationship Class for Feature-Linked Anno

Standard Anno

Feature-Linked Anno

Relationship Class Properties

Relationship Class Properties

Feature Class Properties for mun400_FLanno (Feature-Linked)

Fields properties for mun400FL_anno

Indexes properties for mun400FL_anno

(Indexing is what makes geodatabase annotation perform better than map annotation or dynamic labels when using large numbers of text.)

Subtypes properties for mun400FL_anno

(Annotation Classes are stored as Subtypes. You can choose to rename the subtype under the Description heading.)

Relationships properties for mun400FL_anno

(If a relationship is present, then the annotation is Feature-Linked.)

Annotation Classes properties for mun400FL_anno

(Each class is represented by a subtype. Each class was created from the coverage annotation levels for mun400 by importing the coverage annotation into the geodatabase.)

You can rename the Class to something more descriptive. Use the Expression Builder to link the text to the appropriate field or combination of fields. Default symbol properties can be set for each Class.

Annotation properties for mun400FL_anno

(Reference Scale used for the imported annotation is 1:1200.)

Each class can have its own Symbol Collection.

Use the Import Coverage Annotation Tool in ArcToolbox to import annotation from an existing coverage. The levels will come in as Annotation Classes stored as Subtypes. You can choose to import the annotation as standard or feature-linked.

After clicking the Import Tool, a Dialog will appear. Click the open folder button, navigate to your coverage, and add the annotation to convert.

Create a new annotation feature class to store the new annotation. Click the button to navigate to your feature dataset and type the feature class name you want (i.e. mun400FL_anno).

Next, enter the reference scale. (1200 works good for our data.) Check Feature-Linked. Click the open folder button and navigate to the feature class to link to (i.e. mun400_poly).

Leave these checked and click OK.

You will see the processing dialog appear while the annotation class is being created.

The Relationship Class has been create for the feature link.

The feature linked annotation has been created from the coverage annotation and linked to the mun400_poly feature class.

Preview the new annotation and Identify one of the text features to see its attributes.

Lets create a new Annotation Class called Concatenated_Names to demonstrate how to create an Expression to represent several fields concatenated together. Go to the annotation feature class properties and click the Annotation Classes tab.

Click New to create a new class.

Click the Expression button and create an expression to concatenate the PRE_DIR,STREET_NAME,STREET_TYPE, and SUF_DIR.

Click OK

Next, well start an edit session in ArcMap on the streets_arc feature class. Well add new feature linked anno for the Concantenated_Names class.

As stated in the help on the previous slide, select the streets_arc features to annotate. Right click the feature class and highlight Selection and select Annotate Selected Features.

Next, select the annotation class to add annotation to and click OK.

BUG: Unfortunately, you will only be able to add annotation to the Default Annotation class, which is Concate_Anno in this example. If you were to pick FullStreetName it would still go to Concate_Anno. ESRI is suppose to have a fix in 9.2.

Change your selectable feature class to Street_Flan and use the Edit Tool to select and reposition the text.

You can change the text attributes by selecting the text and clicking the Attributes button and making changes in the Attributes Dialog.

You can change the attributes for many of the tabular values by clicking the Attributes button within the Attributes Dialog. In this example, the text is being set to Bold.

This is the same as clicking the Bold Button in the previous slide.

Use the Leader Line Annotation Tool to add annotation using a leader line. You can then edit the leader using the Attribute Tool.

To get to the Leader Line editor, click the attribute tool, and then click leader and the following dialog box will appear.

Notice the leader line has been changed.

Using Help to find Annotation that Follows Features

Type annotation in the Index of the ArcGIS Help. Double-click editing from the list to get the help more topics.

Pick Creating and editing annotation that follows features to display the help.

Construct Annotation Following a Feature (Add the tool from the Advanced Edit Tools Commands list.)

Annotation that Follows Features Once you add the tool, you need to start editing, set the Target to your annotation class, type the text for the annotation, and click along the feature where you want to place it.

Tip: To stop placing text just click another tool.

You can add curved annotation by selecting Curved from the Annotation Toolbar dropdown. Use the Pencil to Place the annotation along a feature.

Start clicking along the feature to curve the text, then right click and select Finish Sketch to end it. Note: The text in the Text Box is the value added. If using Feature Linked Annotation this value may change if it does not match the attributes for that feature.

Feature Linked Attribute

The End