Editing Annotation Attributes: Selection and Apply oddness

[Craig_Eissler_Iceman]

Hello, and see below.

I am attempting to edit these 5 annotation texts.

When I drag a box to select them on the map, they do NOT all get selected in the Edit > Annotation > Attributes pane. ...In this example , only the city of Arecibo would get edited. ...So, why would I also have to select the others in the pane?

A separate question, but related: Where did the 'Apply' button go in 3.0? 
What is the proper sequence now for having these changes "applied"?

[Robert_LeClair]

To do a group attribute edit in the Attributes Pane, you need to select the GroupAnno:  PR_CitiesAnno(5) text.  Then you can do a group edit on the data.  This has been the same workflow in ArcMap for years.

To get the Apply/Cancel buttons back in the Attributes Pane, go to the bottom left of the pane and uncheck the "Auto Apply" checkbox.  Then you will see the Apply/Cancel buttons again.

[Jennifer_Cadkin]

Thanks for the questions.  For your first question, I want to confirm that you would like the layer name PR_CitiesAnno highlighted rather than the first selected feature.  If so, we are aware of this enhancement request and appreciate the input.

For your second question, The Apply command is shown when the Auto Apply checkbox is unchecked.  This checkbox is at the bottom left of the Attribute pane.  If it is unchecked and the Apply command still doesn't show, please provide a screenshot of the entire pane.   It is possible the data is not editable. To check editability, review the List by Editing tab in the Contents pane.  

[Craig_Eissler_Iceman]

OK thanks, but I guess I'm still wondering "why" I have to select the Annotation twice; first on the map, then again in the Modify > Attributes pane? I'm seeking the reason, because that usually informs me of some other functionality that I may not be aware of that's directly related to this.

-CCE

[Jennifer_Cadkin]

You shouldn't need to select features twice.  Can you expand on the workflow to help me understand what is happening?  Also, how you want to complete this workflow.   By selecting again in the Attribute pane, you mean highlighting the feature identifiers in the treenode so you can perform a bulk update, correct?

[Craig_Eissler_Iceman]

Thank Jennifer; it sounds like maybe we should turn this around since, apparently, I'm not going about it most efficiently. ...So, if you don't mind, please let me know the proper sequence to edit Annotation Attributes, especially if you have a few, if that's any different. ...For instance in my example, there were 5.

Thanks, CCE

[Jennifer_Cadkin]

I don't understand what you are trying to accomplish- are you needing to make the same attribute edit to multiple annotation features?  

[Craig_Eissler_Iceman]

Yes!

[Jennifer_Cadkin]

Yes, bulk attribute editing is a two step process...select the features in the map (or table) and then highlight the features in the treenode (by highlighting the layer or ctrl+click to highlight particular features).  As to why it does not highlight the layer node for speeding up bulk editing, as @Robert_LeClair noted, this goes back to ArcMap.  My assumption is that since the Attribute pane is used for a variety of workflows (bulk updates, single feature editing, single feature review), a decision was made to do something which ended up as highlighting the first feature in the first layer.  We have considered changing this to highlighting a layer rather than a feature--if there are multiple layers with multiple features, it would highlight the first layer in the treenode.

Thank you for the question and feedback.

[Craig_Eissler_Iceman]

I don't know what you mean by "treenode" or "layernode"; those aren't terms I use.

But, if you're both saying that, yes, you have to click the Annotation Features on the Map, then ALSO highlight them in the Attributes pane, but not exactly sure why, that's fine. I just want to make sure I'm going about it the right way. It just "seemed" to me that it would automatically highlight whatever it is that I have selected.