Unable to change the background color of labels in ArcGIS Pro

Description

In ArcGIS Pro, when editing labels from the Labeling tab, the background color does not change after clicking Apply.

Cause

The labels edited are text graphic layers instead of feature layer labels. Labels can be converted to graphic layers to enable further customizations. Graphic layers have different settings to configure, therefore, configuring labels does not affect graphic layers. Existing cache may also overwrite the latest edits on labeling properties, in some cases.

Solution or Workaround

Apply one of the workarounds provided.

Configure the graphics

1. Open the ArcGIS Pro project.
2. On the ribbon, click the Graphics tab. The Graphics tab is available when a graphic layer is present on the map.

3. In the Text Symbol group, click Format Text Symbol .
4. In the Element pane, on the Text Symbol tab, click General .
5. Expand the Callout node.
6. Click the drop-down menu and select Background.
7. Click the Background symbol drop-down menu and select an option from Polygon symbols.
8. Click the Color drop-down menu and select a background color.
9. Click Apply.

Directly enable and configure the feature layer label

1. Right-click the feature layer and select Label to enable labeling.
2. Right-click the feature layer again and select Labeling Properties.
3. In the Label Class pane, click the Symbol tab.
4. Expand the Callout node.
5. Click the drop-down menu and select Background.
6. Click the Background symbol drop-down menu and select an option from Polygon symbols.
7. Click the Color drop-down menu and select a background color.
8. Click Apply.

Clear the cache data

1. On the ArcGIS Pro ribbon, click Project.
2. Click Options.
3. In the Options dialog box, click Display.
4. Scroll to the Local cache section and click Clear Cache Now.
5. Click OK > OK to restart ArcGIS Pro and apply the changes.