Annotation and labeling in the parcel fabric

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

You can label and use geodatabase annotation on parcel fabric sublayers. Labels are automatically generated and are not editable or selectable. Labeling can be a fast way to add text to your parcel map where manual editing of the text is not necessary. If you need more flexibility with your labeling, you can use annotation to select, move, and edit text on your map. To work with annotation, labels are typically generated for the layer and then converted to annotation. You can store your annotation either in the map document or in a related geodatabase feature class.

If working with annotation, you can create feature-linked annotation. Feature-linked annotation is a type of geodatabase annotation that is directly linked to features. Feature-linked annotation moves and updates with the feature to which it is linked. For example, if the distance on a parcel line is updated, feature-linked annotation updates to show the new distance value.

Feature-linked annotation can be created for the following parcel fabric feature classes:

• Control points
• Lines
• Parcels
• Points

Feature-linked annotation links to parcel fabric feature classes through a composite relationship. The parcel fabric feature classes are the origin feature classes in the relationship. When editing parcels in the parcel fabric, any feature-linked annotation is updated when edits are made to the data referenced by the annotation. For example, if you change the dimension of a parcel boundary (bearing, distance), the feature-linked annotation updates to reflect the change once the parcel changes are saved.

Annotate Parcel Courses tool

The Annotate Parcel Courses tool on the Parcel Editor toolbar can be used to annotate a selection of parcels using an existing or empty feature-linked annotation class. The tool opens the Annotate Selected Features dialog box, which displays a list of available annotation classes that are feature-linked to parcel fabric tables.

The tool converts labels to annotation, creates new annotation, and overwrites any existing annotation. Duplicate annotation is removed.

Creating feature-linked annotation for parcel fabric sublayers

To create labels for a parcel fabric sublayer and then convert them to feature-linked annotation, follow these steps:

Steps:

1. In ArcMap, add the Labeling toolbar and open the Label Manager.
2. On the Label Manager dialog box, turn on labeling for the parcel fabric sublayer to which you want to add text.
For example, to add labels to the lines sublayer, click the empty check box next to the Lines sublayer listed under Label Classes.
3. Choose the attribute field you want to use to generate labels from the Label Field drop-down box.
For example, to label distance on the lines sublayer, choose the Distance field.
4. To label features differently—for example, to use different attribute fields to label different features in the same layer—you need to create new label classes for each set of labels. On the Label Manager dialog box, choose the layer to create a new label class.
The current label class used is the Default label class.
5. To customize the labels generated from the attribute field, use label expressions.
For example, to insert the abbreviation ft next to the distance labels on your parcel fabric lines sublayer, click Expression and add
[Distance] & " ft"
to the Expression text box.
Tip:

You can also use label expressions to combine attribute fields to create one label. For example, the expression

[Bearing] & " " & [Distance]

displays the bearing and the distance in the same label.

Learn more about building label expressions

You can further customize your labels by changing the label text symbol and label placement options.
Once your labels have been generated and customized, they can be converted to annotation.
6. Ensure that the label scale and properties have been appropriately set, as they determine the size, position, and appearance of the converted annotation.
Tip:

Before converting to annotation, zoom to a scale in the map that displays the labels at the size you want to use for annotation.

7. Right-click the parcel fabric sublayer that has the labels you want to convert and click Convert Labels to Annotation.
8. On the Convert Labels to Annotation dialog box, choose whether to store the annotation in the geodatabase or in the map.
9. Choose whether you want to create annotation for all features, features in the current map extent, or selected features.
10. Make sure the Feature Linked check box is checked.
11. Make sure Convert unplaced labels to unplaced annotation is checked so you don't lose labels that were unplaced.
12. Click Convert to convert labels to annotation.

The Hide field and labeling

The Hide field on the parcel lines table is used by the parcel fabric to detect duplicate dimensions when new parcels are created or when parcels are migrated to the fabric. The Hide field is automatically flagged to 1 (true) when dimensions are inversed and detected as duplicates for a common parcel boundary. For example, if data is migrated to the parcel fabric and dimensions are inversed for parcel lines, and if duplicate dimensions are detected for a common parcel boundary, the Hide field will be flagged to 1 (true) for one of the parcel lines. Another example is when parcels are built from construction lines. If duplicate dimensions are detected for a common parcel boundary, the Hide field will automatically be flagged to 1 (true) for one of the parcel lines.

The Hide field can be used in a label expression to remove duplicate labels when labeling parcel features. For example, in the following label expression function, only those parcel lines with a Hide value of 0 (false) are labeled with a bearing and distance.

Label Expression

Function FindLabel ([Bearing], [Distance], [Hide], [Category])
 if(([Hide]=0) and (([Category]=5) or ([Category]=0) )) then  
FindLabel = [Bearing] & " " & [Distance]
End if
End Function

Note:

If you are entering dimensions on your parcels, you can manually set the Hide field to 1 (true) in the traverse grid for duplicate dimensions and use the same label expression described above.

Note:

The Hide field is only available on parcel fabrics that have been upgraded to ArcGIS 10 and later.