Opening and editing parcels

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

Parcels in the parcel fabric are edited directly in the map. Using the Select Parcel Features tool , double-click a parcel to open it or right-click the parcel and click Open.

The Select Parcel Features tool is located on the Parcel Editor toolbar.

Right-click a parcel or parcels to use other tools such as Parcel Division, Parcel Remainder, and Construct From Parent.

When there are overlapping parcels—for example, a parcel overlapping its subdivision block—selecting the single parcel will also result in its underlapping block being selected. When two overlapping parcels are selected, the selection chip appears next to the overlapping parcels. Click the button on the chip to cycle the selection to the next coincident parcel. This deselects the parcel on top and selects the next parcel under it. Click the arrow to the right of the icon to view a list of the parcels from which you can select. As you hover over a parcel or use the keyboard arrows to browse the list, the active parcel flashes so you can see it more easily on the map.

Deselect an underlapping parcel by clicking the List By Selection button located at the top of the Table Of Contents window.

List By Selection button

In the Selected window, click a blue square to deselect its corresponding feature, in this case, the parcel subdivision block.

Deselect parcels using the List By Selection tool.

The Parcel Explorer window

The Parcel Explorer window lists selected parcels by their plan. Parcels that are not yet joined to the parcel fabric are listed under Unjoined Parcels. If there is no parcel selection present in the map, the last parcel selected or opened is listed.

Open the parcel explorer window to see a quick view of selected parcels and their plans. You can also open, edit, and join unjoined parcels. To display the Parcel Explorer window, click Parcel Explorer on the Parcel Editor menu.

Editing a parcel

When a parcel is opened, the Parcel Details dialog box is displayed. The Parcel Details dialog box shows the attribute information for the open parcel under the Properties tab. The Name, Type, Unclosed, Stated Area, Legal Start Date, Legal End Date, Accuracy, Compiled, and Historical attribute values are editable. The remaining attributes are system attributes maintained internally. The Plan drop-down list displays the parcels' associated plan or record of survey. The Template button is unavailable. You can only set feature templates for newly created parcels in the parcel fabric, not for existing parcels.

Under the Lines tab, the parcel traverse lines, and their COGO dimensions are displayed together with the traverse mislcose information. You can edit line dimensions and add connection lines and dependent lines. You cannot change the geometry of the parcel. To redefine the parcel traverse, unjoin the parcel.

To save edits and close the Parcel Details dialog box, click Keep Changes . To discard edits, click Exit Without Saving.

Opening parcels using dimensions instead of shape values

When opening and editing parcels, you can choose to display the parcel geometry using coordinates derived from the COGO dimensions on the parcel lines instead of using the fixed, joined coordinate locations in the parcel fabric layer.

When a parcel is opened, it is displayed using the fixed, joined coordinates by default. To display the parcel using coordinates derived from COGO dimensions on the parcel lines, click the Parcel Measurement View button on the Parcel Details dialog box.

Displaying parcels using coordinates derived from the line's COGO dimensions is a useful way to check the accuracy of the COGO dimensions. If a bearing, distance, or curve parameter on a parcel traverse is inaccurate, the error or inaccuracy will become visually apparent when the parcel is displayed using coordinates derived from these values. For example, in the graphic below, parcels displayed using coordinates derived from measurements are different from their display using their joined location coordinates.

The parcel has erroneous dimensions.

Note:

When a parcel fabric is accurate and where COGO dimensions are consistent with their recorded values, there most likely will not be any noticeable differences between parcel measurement view and the view of a parcel in its fixed, joined location.

To apply COGO scale and rotation values refer to the topic: Advanced parcel editing options.

Job book

Each edit to a parcel is internally extracted into an XML stream in memory. These XML streams are saved as mini jobs and are visible on the Job Book dialog box. Each edit or mini job is date and time-stamped.

To open the Job Book dialog box, click the Parcel Editor menu and click Job Book. Right-click each edit or job to select, pan to, and zoom to the parcels. You can also add meta data to each job or edit by opening the job properties dialog box (right-click the job and click Properties).

Edits are tracked as jobs and stored in the job book.

Save as XML

You can save selected parcels to a permanent, cadastral XML file by clicking the Save as XML on the Parcel Editor drop-down menu. This functionality is useful for transferring parcels between parcel fabrics. A saved cadastral XML file of parcels can be appended at any time and joined to a parcel fabric by clicking Parcel Editor > Append File.