topic Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging in ArcGIS Pro Questions

ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

DavidSherman2 — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 21:01:07 GMT

I am attempting to convert some labels on a map to annotations in ArcGIS Pro 2.0 using the new Convert Labels to Annotation tool, and the system is hanging for 10+ minutes every open that tool or attempt to change the tool settings ("Input Map", "Output Geodatabase", etc.). This is a fairly big project, but the map I have open is simple- only 10 layers, 4 of which contain labels. We're talking ~18 labels total.

I tried starting a brand new project just to test the tool, and everything ran very quickly, so what is causing the tool to hang on my project? I suppose a better question is: what is the Convert Labels to Annotation tool attempting to access when it opens? Every map within a project (open or closed)? Every GDB associated with a project?

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

CiaraRowland-Simms — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 17:14:04 GMT

Hi David,

Convert labels to annotation should definitely not be taking that long to open. The tool looks for the active map view and pulls out the map's scale and extent - the process should be extremely fast. Could I ask what you mean by a fairly big project? How many maps and layouts are there in the project? When you tried starting a brand new project, were you using the same data to produce your labels, a cut down version of it or a completely fresh set of data? Where was your data coming from?

Sorry for all the questions, but it will help me narrow down the issue and hopefully reproduce it.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

JakubSisak — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:26:49 GMT

I am running converting labels to annotations for 1m interval LiDAR contours and it's taking extremely long time. In ArcMap, this would only takes minutes but in Pro 2.01 the process is at 90% after 1.5 hours of processing. I will try your suggestion about doing this in a completely new project.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

CiaraRowland-Simms — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 10:22:29 GMT

Hi Jakub,
How did it go with setting it up in a new project? If you're still having issues it would be good to know a bit more about your data - how big a dataset is it? How many features are there? Are you converting for the current extent or the entire map extent? Are you converting labels in a local .gdb or on a server? Hopefully we can get to the bottom of the slow down!

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

SterlingLoetz5 — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 20:28:47 GMT

This is still an issue in Pro 2.3. Converting map labels to map annotation is very slow. I meet or exceed the hardware requirements for pro 2.3 and have updated graphic drivers to most current available.

My data is not very large/complex - point, line, polygon feature classes in a file geodatabase stored on a server. Less than 70 features in the project. I converted map labels to an annotation feature class successfully, however 2 labels took about 4 minutes to complete. Just 2 labels?...

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

AlexTarr1 — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 07:17:29 GMT

I am having the same problem with the Convert Labels to Annotation tool. At the moment I am trying to convert 24 point labels in a local GDB to annotations. The "View Details" pop-out claims the process succeeded in 6 minutes 31 seconds. But it took the tool another 22 minutes to finish "Initializing," during which time several layers were all locked and I couldn't work with the contents.

Any suggestions about adjusting settings or the project to get around this behavior would be much appreciated.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

JakubSisak — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 18:26:28 GMT

It's January 2020. We are on version 2.4.3 and exporting labels to annotations is taking impossibly long time. The process seems to hang but eventually succeeds. Exporting ~ 5000 labels to annotations (local project, local database all on m.2 solid state hard drive and massive over the top specs on my dell workstation machine) took 14 hours. There is a bug there somewhere. tried the same project with data in SDE on one machine, then all local with data in FGDB on a local machine then on my private home laptop = same results. Data is simple, area is defined by an extent. I am willing to provide data and project for troubleshooting upon request.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

CiaraRowland-Simms — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 11:54:12 GMT

Jakub Sisak‌ Sorry this is still posing an issue. If you could provide data demonstrating it that would be great!

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

JustinJohnston — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 19:26:28 GMT

I am having this same problem today on a point layer with 7 points. Converting labels to annotation almost immediately goes from 2% to 100% complete, but then nothing happens. Just hangs at 100% complete. Based on the other comments, I am going to leave my computer and see if it actually finishes and shows me the annotation. I am using the latest version of ArcGIS Pro. I have converted in the past with not issues. This is the first time experiencing this.

Cheers,

Justin

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

Robert_LeClair — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 19:48:48 GMT

Justin - I'm seeing this as BUG-000121190 - The 'Convert Labels to Annotation" tool takes too long to create annotations in ArcGIS 2.3.1 compared to ArcMap." The ArcGIS Pro 2.3.1 notation is when it was reported to Support Services. The latest update is that it's in the Product Plan to be fixed but I don't see when. My hope is in the next release of ArcGIS Pro 2.8 maybe? For now a workaround could be open ArcMap, label your features like you've done in ArcGIS Pro, convert the labels to annotation and then use the annotation layer in ArcGIS Pro. If you need to edit the annotation layer, you'll need to run the Upgrade Dataset GP tool. Not an efficient workaround I know but it will reduce the time spent until the bug is resolved.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

SBrandenburg — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 18:52:48 GMT

This issue is certainly not resolved in 2.8. It still takes a few minutes to convert labels to annotation, even a single label. It doesn't seem like you need to take a look at people's data, it seems to happen with all data all the time?

If you really think it would help solve the issue I can share my data, it is one polygon with one simple label, and converting it to annotation takes upwards of 30 minutes sometimes, or it never completes.

When you convert a label to annotation, you specify the layer to convert, why does it lock every layer during the process? See screenshot. It's like the tool doesn't just look at the layer you specify, it almost seems like it is going through every single layer in the map and looking for labels to convert, even though when (if) it eventually finishes it only produces the desired annotation.

One other thought would be the extent you set it to. When you set this extent, is this the extent it looks across for labels in the specified layer, or is this the valid extent it can place annotation? I tend to set a large area for this extent, because I have ran into the issue of trying to move annotation and getting the error it is out of the valid extent.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

Anonymous User — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 20:39:52 GMT

We logged the bug in reference https://support.esri.com/en/bugs/nimbus/QlVHLTAwMDEyMTE5MA== , via our local Esri vendor, and have been notified it's apparently fixed in ArcGIS Pro 2.9. A rather large dataset was provided to esri at the time, as the processing times were blowing out significantly in comparison to ArcMap. The process we have creates annotations for our countrywide cadastre, which over 4 different scales is ~4 million parcel labels.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

Jimmy_Simpson — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 20:38:27 GMT

This is happening to me again in 2.9.3. Simple 20 labels on 20 lines took 5+ mins to run. I took a good 4+ mins after I clicked run for the messages to even log "start time".

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

Robert_LeClair — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 20:49:28 GMT

Jimmy - a couple things to try. Create a new file geodatabase and copy/paste the feature class to that geodatabase, and in a new ArcGIS Pro project, label your features exactly as you did in the other project. Then convert the labels to annotation. Save your project to a temporary location. What is the time result?

Next thing to try is to rename your Esri folder in your C:\users\<user_profile>\appdata\local and C:\users\<user_profile>\appdata\roaming to Esri_Old. Then reload the saved *.aprx and try the workflow again. What is the time result?

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

ChristyFung — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 15:37:52 GMT

I'm still getting this issue in 2023, I'm converting 3 boundary labels but it takes more than 15 mins to run. I will be using a brand new project to see if it helps.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

Robert_LeClair — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 18:57:04 GMT

Christy - sorry to hear you're experiencing this anomoly. 15 minutes for 3 labels is not expected behavior. It should take a second or two from my testing. My guess is that the project is corrupted so testing on a new project is worthwhile. Secondly, maybe your file geodatabase is corrupted. You can run the Recover File Geodatabase GP tool to see if this helps performance. Thirdly, I would rename the ESRI folders in the previously mentioned post and see if that helps as well.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

WilliamHardie — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 18:16:47 GMT

It's 2024, running 3.1.2. My features are stored in an Enterprise Standard database. There are 50 lines in the featureclass, I have a definition query limiting it to 9 features. Converting either to annotation or to graphics takes over 30min.

I've been using the Arcmap work around... glad I still have it licensed on my machine.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

BrookeAumann — Thu, 02 May 2024 12:26:48 GMT

Here I am May 2024, and this is still an issue... first the tool takes forever to open for inputs, and then it takes forever when you run it. Also, can't append to existing anno datasets like you could in ArcMap. VERY frustrating for work that has lots of labels that need to be moved around.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

Robert_LeClair — Fri, 03 May 2024 20:45:10 GMT

@BrookeAumann - sorry this process is taking a very long time to complete. This is not expected behavior for sure nor is it my experience using ArcGIS Pro 3.2.x. I would strongly recommend that you contact Esri Support Services to create a case and work with an analyst to resolve this issue and/or create a BUG for this workflow.

Re: ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

ChrisDillon — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:18:15 GMT

June 2024, on Pro 3.2.1, and the symptoms and results are the same for me as described by everyone else here. To say this is an anomaly is ridiculous. Doesn't matter which workstation, which update, what data set, how many layers, how many records, it hangs forever. This is a bug, clearly, and if it was fixed before, its broken again.

If it doesn't effect every user, then we need to isolate what commonality is causing it, could be as simple as the feature layer label starts with the character "2", or the input map you select has a different coordinate system than the selected feature later and its taking longer to translate. (These are random stabs in the dark, because I don't know.) Some combination of variables causes this to happen, very commonly.

I have noticed the tool does NOT hang for me prior to running if you set all the parameters BEFORE selecting the Input Map.

For example I fill out the fields from the bottom up, starting with Output Layer, then I select Convert unplaced labels, then I select my extents, the output geo database, then select single layer and select the feature layer, then I select the conversion scale, and FINALLY when I select the input map, it spins and spins for 2 to 10 minutes before I can even run the tool. I find it funny that it allows me to select a feature layer prior to selecting an input map.

Once its done hanging, I am able to run the tool, which can vary from 2 to 20 minutes, sits on 2% completed, jumps to 100%....several times....and then sits updating.

Then eventually finishes and unlocks the rest of the remaining layers. Even in situations where is spits out a warning about no applicable records in the scale (002847: No labels to convert. There are no feature layers that are labeled at the conversion scale.). It will present the warning, and spin updating for like 10 minutes prior to finalizing.(What is it doing if it clearly indicated there are no records...what's to finalize?)

If I do not leave the geoprocessing pane, the convert labels to annotation tool will try to refresh itself with the current settings after anything I click in ArcGIS. For example if I deselect a layers visibility, the tool refreshes, if I change to the edit ribbon.....the tool refreshes. This could be expected behavior, however...bugs are all in the details.

In the last 4 weeks I have used this tool with many data sets of varying sizes, created/produced by many different sources, using many different coordinate systems, in many different project files (created independent of each other) also I have these same results on multiple workstations.

It is only this geo processing tool, all others work with all data sets in an expedited manner, regardless of their size, coordinate system, workstation. This is the only geoprocessing tool that this happens to, constantly.

I hope any of this description helps someone narrow this down because this thread was opened in 2017, its 2024.....thats 7 years. It only took the US 8 years and 2 months to send mankind to the surface of the moon, and that was 55 years ago. I understand you can't fix something if you can't replicate it yourself, but just because you can't replicate it yourself, doesn't mean it isn't a genuine issue for users. Be annoyed at my post because you think you know better than me, but if this wasn't a bug, you wouldn't have a 7-year-old post with people still suffering from such a simple request, experiencing the same results.

P.S. I shouldn't have to open another bug when there is one. Even if someone believes its fixed.

BUG-000121190 for ArcGIS Pro (esri.com)