Rotating one or more parcels

Depending on the area of the country you’re researching, you may need to rotate your parcels in order to get them to align with the waterways. The reason for this is that surveyors used magnetic compasses to determine the line directions. It turns out that compasses do not point exactly due north. The difference between true north and where a compass actually points is known as the magnetic declination.

You might suspect the need to rotate your parcels if they don’t fit properly along the streams. If you find that you are fudging the placement of adjoining parcels in order to get them to fit along a stream properly, try rotating the parcels a few degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.

To rotate a single parcel via the Deed Entry form

1.    Enter a value in the Declination field of the form.  Use a negative number to rotate counter-clockwise.

To rotate a single parcel via the Text View

1.    Select a single parcel by clicking on it

2.    Go to the Text View (F6 shortcut key)

3.    Insert the following line near the top of your deed text. Make sure it’s located before the first line beginning with Pt.

Decl 5

This will rotate the parcel five degrees clockwise. Use a negative number, e.g. -5, to rotate counter-clockwise.

4.    Go to the Plot View (F5 shortcut key) to view the results. Return to the Text View and modify the number as needed.

To rotate all parcels

1.    Go to the Text View (F6 shortcut key)

2.    Navigate to the first item by pressing the firstdeed button

3.    Open the Edit menu and select the Insert Deed command

a.    If the Deed Entry Form comes up, press OK.

4.    With the Text View displayed, open the Edit menu and select Select All

5.    Press the Del key to delete all deed text in the Text View

6.    Enter the following deed text into the empty Text View

Include

Decl 5

End

This is an Include Item that will rotate all parcels five degrees clockwise. Use a negative number to rotate counter-clockwise.

7.    Go to the Plot View (F5 shortcut key) to view the results. Return to the Text View and modify the rotation amount as needed.

See Also:

www.DirectLineSoftware.com/decl.htm has a table of declination (rotation) corrections that can be used as a starting point for determining the correct value to use.