ArcMap and the Catalog tree contain tools that create standard and feature-linked annotation. Creating annotation requires both creating a feature class to store the annotation and populating it with annotation features. You can follow one of three approaches:
- If you've already invested time and effort creating ArcInfo Workstation coverage or PC ARC/INFO coverage, SDE 3, CAD, or VPF annotation, you can display these formats in ArcMap and import them into a new standard or feature-linked annotation feature class.
Learn more about Importing coverage or CAD annotation into geodatabase annotation
Learn more about Importing SDE 3, VPF, or PC ARC/INFO coverage annotation
Importing from these formats into a feature-linked annotation feature class does not automatically link annotation to features. If the annotation feature class you imported has a field that relates to a field in the feature class to which you want to link, you can use SQL to link the annotation to their features. If you don't have these fields, you can manually link the imported annotation to features with the editing tools in ArcMap.
Learn how to relink your converted feature-linked annotation
Learn how to relink your converted feature-linked annotation manually in an edit session
- If the text you want to display is stored in one or more attributes in a feature class, you can display the text as labels in ArcMap and convert them to annotation. This creates a new standard or feature-linked annotation feature class.
- If you don't have any data, or you want to design your annotation feature class schema from scratch, you can create an empty standard or feature-linked annotation feature class in the Catalog tree.
To populate an empty standard annotation feature class, you can display and convert labels to annotation in ArcMap or manually add annotation using the tools on the Annotation toolbar. To populate an empty feature-linked annotation feature class, you can select features in ArcMap and use Annotate Selected Features to generate annotation. You can also have ArcMap create new annotation for you as you add new features.
When creating annotation in an ArcSDE geodatabase by converting labels or importing from another format, you should always try to create the annotation before registering your data as versioned. If the data is not versioned, all the data will be loaded directly into the base tables, and a database compress will not be required.
If you are creating feature-linked annotation that is linked to a geometric network feature class, you should create the annotation after building the geometric network. When features are snapped in the geometric network building process, their geometry is modified at a level at which messages are not sent to linked annotation features to update themselves. So after building the geometric network, if a feature's geometry is changed in the snapping process, the feature and its linked annotation might not correspond correctly any more.