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Importing SDE 3, VPF, or PC ARC/INFO coverage annotation

Importing SDE 3, VPF, or PC ARC/INFO coverage annotation
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About importing SDE 3, VPF, or PC ARC/INFO coverage annotation

Note: This topic was updated for 9.3.1.

NOTE: ArcInfo or ArcEditor is required to import into a feature-linked annotation feature class.

You can import an SDE 3, VPF, or PC ARC/INFO coverage annotation feature class into an existing standard or feature-linked geodatabase annotation feature class.

The annotation feature class into which you import can be empty or already contain annotation. Since these formats are symbolized similarly to coverage annotation in ArcMap, you import with the Convert Coverage Annotation command.

If the annotation feature class you import contains attributes and you import into an empty geodatabase annotation class, these attributes will import as well.

Importing from these formats into a feature-linked annotation feature class does not link annotation to features, but does create the relationship class.

Learn how to link the imported annotation.

How to import SDE 3, VPF, or PC ARC/INFO coverage annotation

Adding the Convert Coverage Annotation tool to ArcMap

  1. In ArcMap, click the Tools menu and click Customize.

  2. Click the Commands tab.

  3. Click the Label category.

  4. Drag the Convert Coverage Annotation command from the Commands list and drop it onto any toolbar or menu.

  5. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.

Importing SDE 3, VPF, or PC ARC/INFO coverage annotation

  1. Open ArcMap and add the annotation feature classes you want to import.

  2. Set up the display of your annotation as you would like it to appear once imported.

  3. Print some maps with your annotation to ensure that the text symbology is correct before continuing to step 4.

  4. Add the Convert Coverage Annotation tool to ArcMap by following the steps detailed above.

  5. Make sure you have a geodatabase annotation feature class to store your imported annotation. You can create a new annotation feature class in ArcCatalog. If importing into a feature-linked annotation feature class, when you create a new annotation class, you must specify a default text symbol and an annotation reference scale. This text symbol should be the same as the symbol used to symbolize your annotation in ArcMap. The reference scale should be the scale at which you import the annotation.

  6. Click the Convert Coverage Annotation button.

  7. Check the annotation that you want to import. You can import multiple annotation feature classes at once, but they will all import to a single geodatabase annotation feature class. All imported annotation will have the same reference scale because all annotation in a geodatabase annotation feature class has the same reference scale.

    8. Learn more about annotation reference scales.

  8. Click the In a Database option.

  9. Click the Browse button and navigate to an existing geodatabase annotation feature class into which you want to import.

  10. Click Convert.

  11. Click Yes to add the imported annotation to your map.

  12. Click Close to close the Convert Coverage Annotation dialog box.

Tips

  • If your target annotation feature class has existing annotation features, a dialog box will appear asking if you want to delete all existing features. Click Yes to delete all existing features and replace them with the imported annotation. Click No to leave the existing annotation and append to these the imported annotation. Click Cancel to leave the existing annotation and exit the tool without importing.

  • If there are errors, an error message will appear once the operation is complete. You can get more information about the errors by checking the log file that is created in your temp directory.

    • A log file is only created if there are errors.

    • The file is created in your user temp directory, which is commonly found under \Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Temp.

    • The log file will have the name GL<feature class name>#.log. For example, if the target annotation feature class is AlbanyAnno, then the first error log file created for this target will be named GLAlbanyAnno0.log. The second file will be named GLAlbanyAnno1.log, and so on.

    • The errors listed in the log file are geodatabase errors associated with loading or changing features.

  • If you are working with an ArcSDE geodatabase, when possible, import annotation before you version your data. This will eliminate the processing time required for reconciling and posting the edited version back to the parent version.

  • The row length for an annotation feature varies depending on the length of the text string, whether or not the text is curved (curved text takes up more space), and the internal symbol storage. For text annotation, row lengths of 80–100 bytes are typical. Graphics stored as annotation will require 400 bytes or more per row.

  • When importing into feature-linked annotation, if your target annotation feature class is linked to a network feature class, you should import annotation after building the geometric network. This is recommended because when features are snapped in the network building process, their geometry is modified in such a way that linked annotation features are not updated.

See Also

  • Annotation in the geodatabase
  • Displaying annotation
  • Overview of creating annotation