Personal geodatabases: How were annotation reference scales determined?

AlfredBaldenweck

Note: I know that Personal Geodatabases are deprecated. Please do not inform me of that here, I am well aware.

That being said, I'm working on a project involving them here and could use some help. ArcMap is not an option for me.

How were annotation reference scales in personal geodatabases determined?

For example, I have a personal geodatabase containing an annotation feature class that I know for a fact has a reference scale of 1:24,000.

In this version of the MDB format, annotation properties were stored in an XML in a particular field of a certain system table.

The reference scale is documented like so:

<Key>ReferenceScale</Key>
<Value xsi:type='typens:XMLPersistedObject'> 
     <Bytes>xtrDhXhl0xGfugDAT2vGpQAAAAACAAAAAAAAcNdACQAAAA==
     </Bytes>
</Value>

That appears to be a base 64 value, but I can't get anything useful out of it

import codecs
y = b"xtrDhXhl0xGfugDAT2vGpQAAAAACAAAAAAAAcNdACQAAAA=="
y = codecs.decode(y, "base64")
print(y)
#b'\xc6\xda\xc3\x85xe\xd3\x11\x9f\xba\x00\xc0Ok\xc6\xa5\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00p\xd7@\t\x00\x00\x00'

print(y.decode("mbcs"))
#ÆÚÃ…xeÓŸº

Similarly, on a different dataset using an earlier form of MDB (these were set up differently, so what we get instead is the entire annotation definition in a blob field) I could get the field as hex. If I decode it online (since I'm having trouble getting the right encoding with python) I can see that there's reference scale in there somewhere, but nothing around it maps to any number. I don't know what the scale of this one is supposed to be.

Spoiler

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

#Reference scale begins below

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eference scale begins below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

Spoiler

ZŽX›ÐÑª|ÀO£:
&SourceFeatureClassAnnoProperties
óIX3
Ò¢o ¶ò+EA
Ò¢o ¶ò+[Feat_Name] ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿDefaultt>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\––Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìÿÿÿÿ4@@
–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@Y@€V@v>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\–"¸7úY©ÍJƒJKô ¸ÿÿrp0ÕRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåPY]t1A€ócyp… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?ùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìúò°®<@ð?
AË¥ÚRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?M124R2"@à?æy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNAùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌÅ¨$šK@
–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@
Rã‘ÎãªK¸Q_Arial‘› ×˜âžI—Wr»9å\ó‰RSîÉAÑˆ
ìs*Œ•B$×ÒŸAÀOkÆ¥ÿÿÿÿÿÿwC&ÕÙÒ¨ÌŸ‡ÍZÿÿrC&ÕÙÒ¨ÌŸ‡ÍZ>@rªyàÒŸHÀOkÆ¥ÿÿrp0ÕRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåc„Ù[Â/Án#UyUErÁ ‹
AG@5At®Zy
¶WAgb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?¨½@¨½@ÿÿÿÿÿÿVersionAutoCreateÿÿ

ReferenceScale
ÆÚÃ…xeÓŸºÀOkÆ¥¨½@"SymbolCollection
fŒ]‘ÓŸÊÀOkÆ¥t>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\––Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìÿÿÿÿ4@@
–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@Y@€V@v>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\–"¸7úY©ÍJƒJKô ¸ÿÿrp0ÕRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåPY]t1A€ócyp… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?ùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìúò°®<@ð?
AË¥ÚRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?M124R2"@à?æy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNAùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌÅ¨$šK@
–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@
Rã‘ÎãªK¸QÜ|Arialÿÿ‘› ×˜âžI—Wr»9å\óDefault(UpdateOnShapeChangeÿÿ RequireSymbolID*AllowSymbolOverridesÿÿ*OverposterProperties
V=ÇàˆlŒI·|x`nhŒ—ÿÿ–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌâX¬FL@ hQ9S@ƒ¢¸ÔžQ@@

ZŽX›ÐÑª|ÀO£:&SourceFeatureClassAnnoPropertiesóIX3Ò¢o ¶ò+EAÒ¢o ¶ò+[Feat_Name] ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿDefaultt>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\––Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìÿÿÿÿ4@@–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@Y@€V@v>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\–"¸7úY©ÍJƒJKô ¸ÿÿrp0ÕRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåPY]t1A€ócyp… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?ùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìúò°®<@ð?AË¥ÚRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?M124R2"@à?æy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNAùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌÅ¨$šK@–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@Rã‘ÎãªK¸Q_Arial‘› ×˜âžI—Wr»9å\ó‰RSîÉAÑˆ ìs*Œ•B$×ÒŸAÀOkÆ¥ÿÿÿÿÿÿwC&ÕÙÒ¨ÌŸ‡ÍZÿÿrC&ÕÙÒ¨ÌŸ‡ÍZ>@rªyàÒŸHÀOkÆ¥ÿÿrp0ÕRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåc„Ù[Â/Án#UyUErÁ ‹AG@5At®Zy¶WAgb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?¨½@¨½@ÿÿÿÿÿÿVersionAutoCreateÿÿ ReferenceScaleÆÚÃ…xeÓŸºÀOkÆ¥¨½@"SymbolCollectionfŒ]‘ÓŸÊÀOkÆ¥t>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\––Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìÿÿÿÿ4@@–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@Y@€V@v>Z¶“)ÑšC€Çì\–"¸7úY©ÍJƒJKô ¸ÿÿrp0ÕRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåPY]t1A€ócyp… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AîZMhv1Av-I¶… AY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?ùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–Ìúò°®<@ð?AË¥ÚRÐ¨ò`Œ…íåY]t1A€ócyp… Agb*Ò²¿Q "õsPROJCS["NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500_Feet",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983",DATUM["D_North_American_1983",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",1968500.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-109.5],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",45.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_2",49.0],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",44.25],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]Pùå›Á0Âx—ÁÒf.ìx‚AjøÀˆÃ@jøÀˆÃ@hqÙûgàj?-Cëâ6*?-Cëâ6*?M124R2"@à?æy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNAùåy’ÈÐ‹¶ îNA–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌÅ¨$šK@–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌY@Rã‘ÎãªK¸QÜ|Arialÿÿ‘› ×˜âžI—Wr»9å\óDefault(UpdateOnShapeChangeÿÿ RequireSymbolID*AllowSymbolOverridesÿÿ*OverposterPropertiesV=ÇàˆlŒI·|x`nhŒ—ÿÿ–Äé~#ÑÐƒƒ ¹–ÌâX¬FL@ hQ9S@ƒ¢¸ÔžQ@@

So, all in all, I'm pretty confused as to how I can figure this out in either version and would appreciate any pointers.

Thanks!

RobertKrisher

The easiest way to access that programmatically is to use one of the APIs provided to read the annotation properties. Because you're using a MGDB I assume you're using ArcGIS Desktop? Which means you would use .NET, Java, or C++ and ArcObjects to access this information.

It is possible to access ArcObjects using Python code, but it requires jumping through some extra hoops in order to load and work with the COM Objects used by ArcObjects.

AlfredBaldenweck

Good information. Unfortunately, no ArcMap for me, which is why I'm as deep into this as I am. Do you have any information on accessing ArcObjects through python these days?

RobertKrisher

What form and version of ArcGIS is installed in the environment where you're running your Python? This will determine which APIs are available to you.

AlfredBaldenweck

Pro 3.5

RobertKrisher

What happens if you do an Arcpy.Describe on the class? I'm not even sure if you can access the contents of the Personal Geodatabase using Arcpy in the ArcGIS Pro runtime.