Deed Drafter can be configured to use the services you authored from your organization's geographic information by modifying the DeedDrafterConfiguration.xml file. The DeedDrafterConfiguration.xml file must be stored in the same folder as the Deed Drafter application file (.exe file). The configuration file is read when the Deed Drafter application is opened. If changes are made to the configuration file, the Deed Drafter application must be restarted for the changes to take effect.
The configurations referenced below are not required to use Deed Drafter with the provided sample data. Instead, they demonstrate how to configure the application to work with your organization's data. The default configuration should be used as a starting point to configure your own version of Deed Drafter. When building your own configuration, test your changes frequently by saving the configuration file and restarting the application.
To configure Deed Drafter to work with data in your organization, open DeedDrafterConfiguration.xml in Microsoft Notepad or another text or XML editor and modify the following attributes, as necessary.
Set the application title, email address, and search label
The application title, default email address used for sharing cadastral xml files, and the search label text can be changed by modifying the application tag:
<application title= "Esri Deed Drafter" mailTo= "" searchLabel= "Search for APN or Subdivision/Condo Name" />
| Attribute | Default value | Description |
| title | Esri Deed Drafter | Title of the application. |
| mailTo | Default email address used for emailing the cadastral xml file. | |
| searchLabel | Search for APN or Subdivision/Condo Name | The search instructions displayed under the Search text box, under the Parcel Navigator drop-down arrow. Change these instructions to refer to your search fields. |
Set the basemap layer URL
The basemap layer URL can be set by modifying the baseLayer tag:
<baseLayer url="http://tryitlive.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/TaxParcel/MapServer" />
Replace the baseLayer URL with the REST endpoint of a basemap for your region.
| Attribute | Default value | Description |
| url | http://tryitlive.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/TaxParcel/MapServer | The REST endpoint for a basemap published using ArcGIS for Server or ArcGIS Online for organizations. The basemap is assumed to be using either Web Mercator or State Plane as a spatial reference. |
Set the initial map extent of the basemap layer
The initial map extent is defined by minimum and maximum coordinate values taken from the spatial reference in the basemap layer (Web Mercator). To determine your map extent's coordinate values, you can either add the service to ArcMap and zoom to your desired map extent to obtain coordinate values, or you can use the Extent Helper application.
The initial map extent can be set by modifying the extent tag:
<extent xMin="-9814681" yMin="5129448" xMax="-9814000" yMax="5128910" />
| Attribute | Description |
| yMax | The maximum Y coordinate |
| xMax | The maximum X coordinate |
| yMin | The minimum Y coordinate |
| xMin | The minimum X coordinate |
Set the operational layers
The operational layers are the layers used for browsing, snapping, and feature identification in the Deed Drafter application. These layers can be displayed as part of the basemap layer. By default, Deed Drafter does not display the operational layers. If the operational layer is not displayed as part of your basemap layer, you need to set the Draw attribute of the operationalLayer tag to True
Operational layers are defined under the operationalLayers tag:
<operationalLayers>
<operationalLayer id="0" draw="False" snap="True" tooltip="Tax Parcel: APN,Sub" identify="True" name="Tax Parcel" searchFields="PARCELID,CNVYNAME" url="http://tryitlive.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/TaxParcelQuery/MapServer"/>
<operationalLayer id="0" draw="False" snap="True" tooltip="Control: Point Label" identify="True" name="Control Points" searchFields="Local1" url="http://services.arcgis.com/b6gLrKHqgkQb393u/arcgis/rest/services/DeedDrafter/FeatureServer"/>
<operationalLayer id="1" draw="True" snap="True" url="http://maps1.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/NGS_Survey_Control_Points/MapServer"/>
</operationalLayers>
| Attribute | Description |
| id | Identifying number of the layer in the service. To determine the id number of the layer, open the service URL in your browser. The id number is displayed next to the layer under Layers. |
| draw | Optional attribute. Set draw to True only if the operational layer is not displayed as part of the basemap layer. |
| snap | Set snap to True if this layer supports snapping when entering parcels. |
| tooltip | The ToolTip text that displays when you hover over each row in the search results. Search results are displayed under the Search text box, under the Parcel Navigator drop-down arrow. |
| identify | Set identify to True if this layer supports identify functionality on parcels. |
| name | The name of the layer displayed on the Parcel Information dialog box when identifying parcels. Specifying a name is useful when the original layer name is not meaningful. Only set the name if the layer supports identify. |
| searchFields | Field or fields used to search under the Parcel Navigator drop-down arrow. Multiple fields may be listed, separated by commas. Search fields can be enabled on multiple operational layers. |
| url | Specify a URL when using a layer from a server that is different from the URL specified for the operationalLayers tag. |
Set the spatial reference
Set the spatial reference WKID (well-known identifier) string. This is the spatial reference of your target parcel fabric. The spatial reference must be in a projected coordinate system. Because the basemap layers are in Web Mercator, Deed Drafter uses the spatial reference of your parcel fabric to scale and rotate entered parcels for output into the cadastral XML file.
The spatial reference WKID string can be set by modifying the spatialReference tag. The spatial reference WKID string should not include spaces or carriage returns.
<spatialReference
wkT="NAD_1983_HARN_StatePlane_Illinois_East_FIPS_1201",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983_HARN",DATUM["D_North_American_1983_HARN",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Transverse_Mercator"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",984250.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-88.33333333333333],PARAMETER["Scale_Factor",0.999975],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",36.66666666666666],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]"
/>
To obtain the spatial reference WKID string of your parcel fabric, right-click the feature dataset in ArcMap that contains your parcel fabric and open the Feature Dataset Properties dialog box. Under the XY Coordinate system tab, select and right-click the coordinate system of your parcel fabric and click Save As to save the coordinate system as a WKID string to a .prj file. Open the .prj file in a text editor. Replace all double quotation marks (") with ".
Set the geometry service and snap tolerance
The REST endpoint for the geometry service is specified using the geometryServer tag. The geometry service is used for snapping. You can adjust the snapping tolerance by modifying the snapTolerance attribute.
<geometryServer url="http://utility.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Geometry/GeometryServer" snapTolerance="10"/>
Replace the geometryServer URL with the path to your corresponding service.
| Attribute | Default value | Description |
| url | http://utility.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Geometry/GeometryServer. | The url for the geometry service used for snapping. If you have your own server, change the url to use your own geometry service. |
| snapTolerance | 10 | The snap tolerance in meters. The starting point of the parcel traverse will snap to a point on a basemap layer (that supports snapping) if it is placed within this distance of the basemap point. |
Define your parcel data entry settings
Parcel entry units and the closure snap tolerance are defined using the parcelEntry tag.
<parcelEntry angular="DMS" miscloseRatioSnap="5000" miscloseDistanceSnap="5"/>
| Attribute | Default value | Description |
| angular | DMS | Format for entering the traverse bearing. Use one of the following:
You can enter directions in Quadrant Bearing by specifying "DMS"; however, all remaining directions will be in Quadrant Bearing format unless changed in the DeedDrafterConfiguration.xml file. |
| miscloseRatioSnap | 5000 | The end point of the last leg of the parcel traverse will snap to the starting point (close) if the ratio between the misclose distance and the parcel perimeter distance is less than this value. |
| miscloseDistanceSnap | 5 | The end point of the last leg of the parcel traverse will snap to the starting point (close) if the two points lie within this distance. |
| distance (Optional) | Units used to enter a parcel traverse if the units are different from the units used by the target spatial reference. Use one of the following:
|
Advanced configuration settings
Define the document types
When entering a parcel traverse under the Parcel Entry drop-down arrow, the Document Type drop-down menu allows you to choose the type of the parcel update you are entering. This list contains a set of default document types, but these can optionally be overwritten with document types specific to your organization.
Define your own list of document types by adding a set of documentTypes tags after the parcelEntry tag, but inside the </deedDrafter> tag.
Define the document types found in this drop-down menu by adding document tags inside these documentTypes tags:
<documentTypes>
<document name="DEED: Split" type="7"/>
<document name="DEED: Map Update" type="7"/>
<document name="ROW Dedication" type="9"/>
</documentTypes>
| Attribute | Description |
| name | Item that will appear in the Document Type drop-down menu. |
| type | Parcel type will be set to the specified value. |
When the traverse is saved to a cadastral XML file, the file is named with the Recorder ID and the chosen document type, for example, Deed Split 2223.xml.
Set application window sizes
The application width, height, and parcel entry grid height can be changed by adding attributes to the application tag:
<application title="Esri Deed Drafter" mailTo=""searchLabel="Search for APN or Subdivision/Condo Name" width="1000" height="650" maxGridHeight="130"/>
| Attribute | Default value | Description |
| width | 1000 | Default width of the application window. |
| height | 650 | Default height of the application window. |
| maxGridHeight | 130 | Maximum parcel grid entry height. |
Datum transformation
A datum transformation is necessary when the basemap and parcel fabric use different datums. Deed Drafter natively supports the following datum transformations:
- esriSRGeoTransformation_NAD_1927_TO_NAD_1983_NADCON, forward and reverse, WKID=1241
- esriSRGeoTransformation_NAD1983_To_WGS1984_1, forward and reverse, WKID=1188
- esriSRGeoTransformation_NAD1927_To_WGS1984_4, forward and reverse, WKID=1173
An additional datum transformation may be required if the starting point is consistently offset when the cadastral XML is appended in ArcMap.
An additional transformation between the datum used by the basemap and the datum used by the parcel fabric can be added to the configuration file by specifying either a WKID value or the transformation parameters.
To specify a WKID, add the following attributes to the <spatialReference> tag:
| Attribute | Description |
| datumTransformationForward | Define the direction of the transformation. Use True for forward or False for backward. |
| datumTransformationWkId | Specify the WKID value of the correct transformation. |
<spatialReference
wkT="PROJCS["NAD_1983_HARN_StatePlane_Illinois_East_FIPS_1201",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983_HARN",DATUM["D_North_American_1983_HARN",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Transverse_Mercator"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",984250.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-88.33333333333333],PARAMETER["Scale_Factor",0.999975],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",36.66666666666666],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]"datumTransformationForward="False"datumTransformationWkId="1672"
/>
To specify the transformation parameters, add the following attributes to the <spatialReference> tag:
| Attribute | Description |
| datumTransformationForward | Define the direction of the transformation. Use True for forward or False for backward. |
| datumTransformationWkTd | Specify the explicit transformation parameters. |
<spatialReference
wkT="PROJCS["NAD_1983_HARN_StatePlane_Illinois_East_FIPS_1201",GEOGCS["GCS_North_American_1983_HARN",DATUM["D_North_American_1983_HARN",SPHEROID["GRS_1980",6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Transverse_Mercator"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",984250.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",-88.33333333333333],PARAMETER["Scale_Factor",0.999975],PARAMETER["Latitude_Of_Origin",36.66666666666666],UNIT["Foot_US",0.3048006096012192]]"
/>