Convert geodatabase annotation from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro

Summary

ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) will be retired March 1, 2026, as described in: ArcMap Continued Support

File geodatabase annotation created in ArcMap will not display in ArcGIS Pro.  Annotation created in ArcMap uses code from 32-bit ArcInfo Workstation, a retired Esri product. Since ArcMap is also 32-bit, the old code could be directly imported into ArcMap.  However this fails in Pro, which is a 64-bit application.

Procedure

There are two methods that can be used to convert geodatabase annotation from ArcMap format to an ArcGIS Pro geodatabase.

Upgrade dataset

1. In ArcGIS Pro, click Analysis in the menu bar, and click Tools in the ribbon.
2. In the Geoprocessing pane, type Upgrade Dataset.  This tool allows selecting the annotation feature classes from the ArcMap file geodatabase and convert those annotation features to Pro format in the same file geodatabase.

Note: 
Points, polylines, polygons, and other geometric features from the ArcMap file geodatabase display in Pro without conversion.

Export to shapefile

1. In ArcMap, ArcCatalog, in the Catalog tree, open the geodatabase containing the annotation feature class(es) to use in Pro.
2. Right-click the annotation feature class, select Export > To Shapefile (single).
3. Navigate to the output folder, name the shapefile with the .shp extension.
4. The output shapefile is a polygon shapefile, and around each polygon is a bounding box for the annotation text string.
5. The annotation text string is stored in the field named TextString in the polygon attribute table.
6. Re-create the annotation in Pro from the text in the TextString field, applying the text size, font, and color to use in the new annotation feature class.