idea Make Annotation transparent only while editing in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

Make Annotation transparent only while editing

AMccor — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:08:26 GMT

While editing an annotation layer, is there a way to make an annotation transparent but only when it is selected and being moved? I don't want the entire annotation layer to be transparent, just the one I am moving so that I can see what is below it to ensure it's positioned well.

In ArcMap, the interface was designed so that while editing annotations in the Map frame, if an individual annotation was selected and moved it would show the outline of the annotation, but be otherwise see-through. This allowed the user to see what the annotation was being placed upon, while giving a good idea of the position of the annotation. Is there a way to get this same feature in ArcGis Pro?

Thanks for your help

Re: Make Annotation transparent only while editing

OliviaDavis — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:43:09 GMT

That’s a really useful feature from ArcMap. In ArcGIS Pro, it would definitely help if selected annotations turned semi-transparent while moving for better placement accuracy. Right now, it’s hard to align text over map features precisely. Would be great if Esri could reintroduce that dynamic transparency during annotation edits.

Re: Make Annotation transparent only while editing

AMccor — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 03:19:23 GMT

@OliviaDavis Alas, doesn't appear to be the case right now - the snapping feature is limited, and I don't always want to be using snapping. For the time being, I've just had to make the entire annotation layer mostly transparent to do my editing, and then change it back when done. Thanks for your response regardless!