ArcGIS Pro "Convert Labels to Annotation" hanging

[DavidSherman2]

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? 

[SBrandenburg]

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.

[Anonymous User]

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.

[Jimmy_Simpson]

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".

[Robert_LeClair]

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?

[ChristyFung]

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.

[Robert_LeClair]

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.

[WilliamHardie]

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.