topic Re: Capture Text in Shape File in Geoprocessing Questions

Capture Text in Shape File

JosephJennings — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 19:11:36 GMT

Hello all,

I am attempting to export a Geodatabase that has two feature classes to two shape files. One of these feature classes contains contour lines (line features) and the other contains text (annotation features) which both display properly when plotted into ArcMap. The contour lines export fine but the text is converted into little diamonds and is therefore not readable. I have searched for a method of capturing the text and properly displaying it but I have not found any help yet. Does someone know how I can convert this text to a shape file so that it still reads as text?

Any help will be greatly appreciated,

Joe

Re: Capture Text in Shape File

T__WayneWhitley — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 21:15:14 GMT

Feature To Point is documented to be the capability at the advanced Desktop level (ArcInfo, prior to 10.1). Here is the relevant doc:

HowTo: Convert an annotation feature class to a shapefile
http://support.esri.com/cn/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/33027

...and the other workaround, if you don't have the advanced license (also documented at the above link), is to use Calculate Geometry from the anno attribute table to generate the centroid X/Y coordinates from each anno's associated geometry, then use this table to create a point event layer, then export that to a point shapefile. Slightly convoluted, but looks like the trick here is to create a point geometry associated with your anno txt strings.

Enjoy,
Wayne

Re: Capture Text in Shape File

JosephJennings — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 13:46:17 GMT

Hi Wayne,

Thanks for your response. I have the advanced license and using the 'Feature to Point' tool and following all of the steps given in the article, it still creates the same sort of shape file (little diamonds instead of text.) Do you know what might be the issue?

Thanks again,

Joe

Re: Capture Text in Shape File

JakubSisak — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:24:55 GMT

both display properly when plotted into ArcMap
Joe

Are you attmpting to display the annotations converted to shapefile in an application other than ArcMap?

Re: Capture Text in Shape File

T__WayneWhitley — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:53:41 GMT

So I guess you are previewing output shapefile within ArcCatalog? If you are only viewing the features and they successfully converted to points, then yes that was the purpose of this conversion (in the tool execution, make sure you specify a shp extension, writing your results 'outside' your gdb).
The actual text should have been written to a TextString field in the attribute table along with some additional fields that may help you in displaying in another app... such as the Angle field - should help restore the display similarly stored in the anno feature class by providing the rotation angle.

Hope that helps.

Wayne

Re: Capture Text in Shape File

JosephJennings — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:54:22 GMT

Eventually I will attempt to display these files in another application, but for now I am using ArcMap to display them before I load these files into the other application.

Thanks

Re: Capture Text in Shape File

JosephJennings — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 15:02:01 GMT

Oh, ok. So what you are saying is that while ArcMap will not display the text, when I import the exported shape file into another application the text will display properly? The 'Feature to Point' tool seemed to work as I was able to see the TextString field in the attribute table.

Thanks again,

Joe