PROBLEM

ArcGIS runs out of memory while labeling with Maplex

Last Published: April 25, 2020

Description

ArcGIS runs out of memory while labeling with Maplex.

Cause

Labeling can be a memory intensive process as the positions of hundreds or thousands of pieces of text are determined by the label engine.

The ESRI Maplex Label Engine allocates memory on an as needed basis during the labeling process. If necessary, the label engine will use all available physical memory during a labeling process.

Note:
Due to performance reasons, no paging to virtual memory is performed during labeling with the ESRI Maplex Label Engine.


A labeling process can exhaust physical memory, especially when labeling is being performed during a convert labels to annotation operation. This typically has one of two results:

· Labels are placed with decreased quality.

· The labeling process ends with an 'Out of Memory' error.

Solution or Workaround

The amount of memory used depends on a number of items including:

· The number of features being labeled.

· The extent of the map being labeled.

· The number of trial positions generated based on the label placement properties.

If memory usage issues are encountered while labeling with Maplex, try reducing one of the above parameters.

For example:

· Label a smaller extent of features if a larger extent does not complete labeling and set the conversion of labels to annotation to only convert the labels within the displayed extent.

· Decrease the number of trial positions that the engine needs to calculate by changing one of the parameters. Instead of reducing the font size from 8 pts to 6 pts with a .25 step interval, change it to reduce from 8pts to 6pts with a .5 step interval, thereby reducing the number of trial positions by half.

Article ID:000008442

Software:
  • ArcMap

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