Learn the steps needed to ensure that ESRI Annotation layers display as desired in MapGeo Studio.


Last updated: November 11, 2020


Prerequisites:

  • Access to MapGeo Studio


Process:

ESRI standard annotation must be converted to a different format for display in MapGeo Studio, exporting to a shapefile or .geojson file will work well. Prior to conversion, make sure that the textstring field is visible in the attribute table. If the textstring is contained within a blob element, additional processing will be needed to display your data in MapGeo Studio.


Once your data is loaded to MapGeo Studio, it will initially display as a polygon. The default CartoCSS needs to be edited for the annotation text to appear as desired. See the CartoCSS library for recommended styling for annotation layers.


Helpful Hints

Some annotation layers contain carriage returns or line feeds that are converted to ‘\r’ and ‘\n’. These characters will be literally displayed on the map without additional processing.

 


If these values exist in your data after loading to MapGeo Studio, performing one of these queries in the MapGeo Studio SQL window will convert the carriage returns and line feeds for better display on the map:

  • update  layername

set fieldname = regexp_replace(fieldname, '\r\n', chr(10), 'g')

  • update layername

set fieldname = regexp_replace(fieldname, '\\r\\n', chr(10))



Some annotation layers also include formatting tags that are literally displayed in MapGeo Studio. These will take a bit more processing to remove from the data. A starting query to run in the MapGeo Studio SQL window to remove the tags below. Depending upon the structure of the formatting tags in your data, this query may need to be altered:

  • UPDATE {layername}
    Set textstring = split_part(split_part(textstring, '>',2), '<', 1)

where textstring like '%<%'



Helpful Hints

  • Review the textstring field in an ESRI program before loading annotation data to MapGeo Studio. This may help identify records with formatting tags.

  • Review the textstring field in MapGeo Studio after loading. This will allow you to identify records that need processing. Running a selection query for records that contains a ‘<’ or '\\r\\n’ is recommended.