Creating a line with the Offset Line window

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

The Offset Line window allows you to add COGO lines on either side of a specified centerline. Specify parameters, such as the start distance along the line, side, and length, to create the new line.

Steps:

1. Click the Edit tool on the Editor toolbar.
2. Click the line feature or features for which you want to create an offset line.
3. Click Offset Line on the COGO toolbar.

   The Offset Line window opens.

4. Choose the target in which the new feature will be created.
   • If you have feature templates for the layers in your map, click the Template button and click the template to use to create the new feature. You can also double-click the preview of the template to choose a different template.
   • If you do not have feature templates, click the layer in which to create the feature.
5. The direction of the selected line is indicated by arrows. If you want to reverse it, check Reverse the selection direction.
6. Set the Start Distance value to be the initial value for the selected line.
7. Type values for the distance along the line and the distance offset from the line. The value for distance along the line is added relative to the start distance. You can press the TAB key to move to the next option box.
8. Click the Side to offset drop-down arrow and click Left of line or Right of line.
9. Click the Add button or press the ENTER key.

   A new offset point is added to the edit sketch. As you add points, they are shown in the list at the bottom of the dialog box and on the map in an edit sketch. To reorder the items in the list, select them and click the up or down arrows. To delete points, select them and click the Delete button. You can also right-click the list to save and load offset points from a text file, remove points, and navigate the sketch.

10. You can add another line to the selection or change the selected line while you are entering points. The points will be offset from the currently selected lines.
11. Click Finish to finish the sketch and create the new feature.
Note:

The Offset Line window does not populate COGO values. However, you can use the Update COGO Attributes command to achieve this.