Data entry in the parcel traverse grid

Available with Standard or Advanced license.

You can use several shortcuts and overrides when entering data in the parcel traverse grid.

Enter a parcel traverse

Data entry into the parcel traverse grid works best with the numeric keypad and other keys in this vicinity on your keyboard. For example, consider the following sequential courses:

1. N45°59'59'"E, 100.00 ft.
2. Tangent curve, left radius 50 ft., arc length 60 ft.
3. Exit curve tangent, straight line 50 ft.
4. Straight line 90 degrees to the left, 75 ft.

With the plan units set to feet, quadrant bearing and degrees, minutes, and seconds and the curve entry set to chord direction and arc length, the keystrokes are as follows:

1. 45.5959-1 ENTER 100 ENTER
2. * ENTER 0 ENTER -50 ENTER 60 ENTER
3. * ENTER 50 ENTER
4. -90 ENTER 75 ENTER

Notice the following:

• The asterisk (*) can be used to indicate a tangent to the previous course.
• A circular curve is defined by typing 0 in the Distance field and pressing ENTER to move to the curve parameter fields.
• The surveyor's convention of using a negative radius is used for a curve to the left.
• You can define a line in 90 degrees (or any angle) to the right (+) or left (-) of the tangent of the previous line.

Note:

Line bearings that are inconsistent with their shape geometry by more than 10 degrees are highlighted in yellow. Line distances that are inconsistent with their line shape length by more than 20 percent are highlighted in yellow.

Reuse data

You can reuse data from courses already typed in the Lines grid by holding down the Shift key and clicking on a previously entered traverse line. The steps are as follows:

1. In the Lines grid, ensure the Bearing field has focus.
2. Hold down the Shift key and use the Construction Tool to click an entered traverse line on the map. If you click closer to the line's from point, you get a bearing 180 degrees different from the line's original bearing.

   The bearing is automatically populated, and the focus shifts to the Distance field.

3. Hold down the Shift key and click the same line again. The line's distance is automatically populated in the Distance field.

Line categories

Line categories are defined internally and are used to represent parcel structure. For example, if a series of boundary category lines form a closed loop, a parcel is created. A closed loop of connection category lines does not create a parcel.

The following line categories are available:

• Boundary Line (Category 0)—Represents the boundary of a parcel or unclosed parcel in the parcel fabric.
• Dependent Line (Category 1)—Represents lines that are dependent on parcel boundary lines, for example, easement lines. Dependent lines do not define the boundaries of parcels; that is, a closed loop of dependent lines will not create a parcel.
• Precise Connection (Category 2)—Represents a line that connects a parcel point to a closely located control point. In the parcel fabric adjustment, precise connection lines place the control point on top of the connected parcel point. Precise connection lines should start at the parcel point and end at the control point and should never start at the control point, that is, be oriented in the reverse direction.
• Connection (Category 3)—Represents lines that connect parcel points across right-of-ways and connect parcel points to control points. Connection lines are used to add connectivity to the parcel fabric to form a network that can be adjusted in the parcel fabric adjustment. Connection lines do not define the boundaries of parcels; that is, a closed loop of connection lines will not create a parcel.
• Radial (Category 4)—Represents lines that radiate out from the end points of curves to the center points of curves. Radial lines are automatically generated and maintained for curved boundaries. Radial lines are only displayed when a parcel is opened.
• Road Frontage (Category 5)—Represents the boundaries of parcels that lie adjacent to roads or right-of-ways. When creating a new parcel, you could use the Road Frontage category rather than the Boundary category for parcel lines that lie along roads.
• Origin Connection (Category 6)—Represents lines that connect a point of beginning to the starting point of a parcel. When creating a new parcel, an origin connection line is always entered first, and then the remaining traverse lines of the parcel are entered.
• Part Connector (Category 7)—Represents lines that connect the parts and/or rings of a multipart or donut parcel. Part connection lines are automatically generated when multipart or donut parcels are migrated to a parcel fabric. When creating a multipart or donut parcel, part connection lines are used to connect parts and/or rings.

Close a parcel traverse

When entering the last course of a parcel traverse loop, the end point of the line automatically snaps to the starting point of the traverse if the end point lies within the tolerance specified for closure. To specify a tolerance for closure , open the Parcel Editor Options dialog box (Parcel Editor > Options) and click the Tolerances tab.

You can also type an asterisk after the last dimension entered for the last course of the traverse to close it. The asterisk automatically places the starting point number in the To field of the last course in the Lines grid. For example, if the last course of a traverse is S42°32'10"E 129.70 ft, you would type the following:

42.3210-2 ENTER 129.7* ENTER

Check parcel misclose

Parcel boundaries are defined by COGO (bearing, distance, radius, arc length) dimensions typically derived from raw survey measurements. Often, these dimensions do not accurately close the parcel polygon. That is, if you compute around the parcel boundary using the dimensions, you will not return to the exact coordinates of the starting point. The difference between the starting and closing coordinates of the parcel is referred to as the parcel misclose and is a measure of the accuracy of the parcel dimensions. The smaller the misclose, the more accurate the parcel dimensions. Larger miscloses indicate errors in the original survey measurements or data entry.

A misclose ratio and a misclose distance are stored for each parcel in the parcel fabric. The misclose distance is the difference between the starting and ending coordinates of the parcel traverse. The misclose ratio is calculated by dividing the misclose distance by the total distance of all lines that participate in the parcel traverse, and expressing this value in reciprocal form. For a closed parcel, this means the misclose distance is divided by the record values on the lines that define its perimeter. The following is an example:

0.89 (misclose distance) ÷ 2466.05 (perimeter) = 0.00036090
1 ÷ 0.00036090 = 2770.8
Misclose Ratio = 1:2771

The misclose distance and misclose ratio for a parcel are stored in the Misclose Distance and Misclose Ratio fields, respectively, on the Parcels table. These fields are also visible under the Properties tab on the Parcel Details dialog box.

Parcels with misclose ratios between 1:1 and 1:1500 should be reviewed and assessed for errors. Misclose ratios between 1:1500 and 1:100000 are acceptable.

Adjust the parcel traverse

A parcel traverse can be adjusted to eliminate a misclose. You can specify which adjustment method to use under the Closure tab on the Parcel Details dialog box. You can choose from the following three adjustment closure methods:

• Compass adjustment
• Transit adjustment
• Crandall adjustment

On the Closure tab, you can find the adjusted traverse dimensions under Computed Values. The adjusted dimensions are computed by applying the adjustment of closure to the entered dimensions using the specified closure method. The difference between the two dimensions is listed under Residual Values. Entered dimensions are never altered by the computed dimensions. The computed dimensions reflect the geometry of the parcel after an adjustment of closure has been applied.

Tip:

Click View closure on the Parcel Details dialog box to graphically view the parcel closure without the adjustment in the edit sketch.

On the Closure tab, you can assign a start coordinate to your parcel traverse. If you are creating an unclosed parcel, you can assign an end coordinate to your traverse. Coordinates can be assigned by snapping to existing features on the map or by manually typing x,y values.

If you are working with a closed loop parcel traverse, the end coordinates text box and Compute button are not available. The end coordinate is the same as the specified start coordinate. Once the start coordinate is assigned, click the Lines tab to enter your traverse dimensions. The traverse is closed onto the start coordinates based on a tolerance or using an asterisk (*).

To assign start and end coordinates to an unclosed parcel traverse, set the value of the Unclosed attribute on the Properties tab to True. Once this attribute is set to true, the end coordinates text box and Compute button become available. Once the start and end coordinates are assigned, click the Lines tab to enter your traverse dimensions. To close the traverse onto the end coordinate, click Compute. Any misclose between the traverse end point and the assigned end coordinate will be adjusted through the traverse using the specified closure method.

Enter curves greater than 180 degrees

To enter a curve that is greater than 180 degrees, you can either enter the central angle of the curve in the Delta field on the traverse grid or enter a negative value in the Chord field. If entering a central angle, the plan's curve parameters need to be set to Radius and Central Angle. If entering a negative chord, the plan's curve parameters need to be set to Radius and Chord Length. If the curve is turning left, add a negative sign (-) before the radius value.

If the curves on the plan work with mixed curve parameters, you can enter a central angle by overriding either the Arc Length or Chord field. You can enter a chord length by overriding the Arc Length field. See the Overriding curves parameters table below.

Undo/redo

Click Undo or Redo on the Standard toolbar to undo or redo data entry changes to the parcel traverse grid. You can undo or redo the edit of any field in the traverse grid as well as undo or redo the addition of a traverse course.

Shortcuts

When entering bearings using the quadrant bearing format, you can use numbers to specify the quadrant instead of having to type the required letters. This allows you to work solely with the numeric keypad and speeds up the data entry process. The following table lists the numbers that can be used to represent each of the quadrants:

Specifying quadrants

Quadrants	Keystroke	Use in grid column	Example
Northeast quadrant (NE)	-1	Bearing	45-59-59-1
Southeast quadrant (SE)	-2	Bearing	45-59-59-2
Southwest quadrant (SW)	-3	Bearing	45-59-59-3
Northwest quadrant (NW)	-4	Bearing	45-59-59-4

Instead of clicking the drop-down lists (Accuracy, Category) to set parameters, you can use keyboard shortcuts such as F9 or F10 to cycle through the items in the drop-down lists. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that can be used to cycle through drop-down lists in the traverse grid:

Drop-down lists

Drop-down list	Key-stroke	Use in grid column
Cycle through options in Category column	F9	Category
Cycle through options in Accuracy column	F10	Accuracy

Overrides

Sometimes, curves on a plat or plan do not conform to a single set of curve parameters. There may be cases where you will need to enter a curve using different curve parameters from the parameters you specified for the plan. To view the curve parameters of the current plan in the parcel traverse grid, click Plan, right-click the selected plan in the Plan Directory dialog box, and click Properties.. Plan units and parameters are set on the Record Format tab of the Plan Properties dialog box. Instead of having to change the curve parameters, you can override the currently set curve parameters in the traverse line entry grid. The following table lists the letters that can be used to override the current plan curve parameters:

Overriding curve parameters

Override with	Keystroke	Use in grid column	Example
Tangent bearing	tb or TB	Bearing	20-1tb (using quadrant bearing)
Radial bearing	rb or RB	Bearing	45-4rb (using quadrant bearing)
Chord bearing	cb or CB	Bearing	45-4cb (using quadrant bearing)
Tangent length	t or T	Arc length, Delta, Chord	25.01t
Chord length	c or C	Arc length, Delta, Chord	25.01c
Arc length	a or A	Arc length, Delta, Chord	25.01a
Delta (central angle)	d or D	Arc length, Chord	90-59-59d

You can override distance units in the parcel traverse lines grid. The distance units of a new or existing parcel are set at the plan level of the parcel. To view the distance units of the current plan in the parcel traverse grid, click Plan, right-click the selected plan in the Plan Directory dialog box, and click Properties.. Plan units and parameters are set on the Record Format tab of the Plan Properties dialog box.

Distance units can be overridden in the Distance, Radius, and ArcLength fields on theLines tab on the Parcel Details dialog box with the units listed in the following table:

Override with	Keystroke	Example
Meters	m or M	25m
Millimeters	mm or MM	25mm
Centimeters	cm or CM	25cm
Kilometers	km or KM	25km
Feet	ft or FT	25ft
Yards	yd or YD	25yd
Inches	in or IN	25in
Miles	mi or MI	25mi
Chains	ch or CH	25ch
Links	lk or LK	25lk
Rods	rd or RD	25rd
SurveyFeet	ftus or FTUS	25ftus
SurveyYards	ydus or YDUS	25ydus
SurveyMiles	mius or MIUS	25mius
SurveyChains	chus or CHUS	25chus
SurveyLinks	lkus or LKUS	25lkus
SurveyRods	rdus or RDUS	25rdus
RomanMiles	rmi or RMI	25rmi
NauticalMiles	nm or NM	25nm

Append data into the traverse grid

When creating a new parcel, you can click Load Cadastral XML on the Parcel Details dialog box to append a parcel traverse from a cadastral .xml file into the Lines grid. The load cadastral xml functionality appends a single set of parcel traverse lines. Any populated line attributes saved with the cadastral .xml file are also appended into corresponding attributes in the Lines grid.

Tip:

Create a cadastral .xml file by selecting parcels and clicking Parcel Editor > Save as XML.

To load parcel traverse lines from a cadastral .xml file, create a new parcel and click Load Cadastral XML on the Parcel Details dialog box. Only traverse lines and their attributes are loaded into the Lines grid. With the exception of the StatedArea, Rotation, Scale, and MiscloseDistance attributes, the parcel's plan, template, and other attributes, such as Accuracy, are not loaded . This information must still be defined when you create the new parcel. Since the StatedArea, Rotation, Scale, and MiscloseDistance attributes are derived from the parcel traverse, these attributes are populated when loading traverse lines from the cadastral .xml file.

Tip:

To load and join one or many complete parcels from a cadastral .xml file, click Parcel Editor > Append File.