10028: Annotation layer's feature class does not have a symbol stored in a symbol collection

You are using a geodatabase annotation feature class that does not reference a symbol collection. This can potentially affect drawing performance because each text symbol must be individually generated.

Solution

• Check the drawing performance of your basemap layer in ArcMap or your map service in the Preview window. See Working with basemap layers or Publishing map services for more information.
• If you want to improve performance, build a symbol collection as part of your annotation feature class in the geodatabase. You can do this using the following steps:
  1. In the Catalog window, right-click the annotation feature class and click Properties.
  2. Click the Annotation tab on the Feature Class Properties dialog box.
  3. Use the tools to build a symbol collection as shown here.

More information

Annotation feature classes are used to store map labels and their geographic locations. Each annotation text feature has the following:

• Location, shape, and text placement properties
• A text string (or a feature attribute to be used as the source of the text)
• Its text symbol used to render the text

A key aspect of annotation is how the text symbol properties can be associated with each annotation feature. Using a symbol collection can help to optimize map performance because the symbol is referenced once and can be reused for many annotation features.

Here are some other considerations for working with map text:

• Try to identify the subsets of annotation types in your annotation feature class. For example, parcels can be labeled with their line dimensions and key information such as the parcel identification number (PIN) and lot size. In this case, you can think of having two sets of annotation (with a text symbol for each held in the symbol collection)—one for lot lines and another for parcel text.
• Recognize that annotation is typically scale sensitive, so each subset of annotation is typically designed to work within a narrow range of map scales. You might also have annotation subsets and associated text symbols for each map scale.

See Annotation in the geodatabase for more information about working with annotation.

If your application warrants the use of your annotation as it is currently designed, you can choose to mark this warning as an exception to avoid receiving the warning next time you analyze the map. Beware that the resulting map will draw more slowly.