Load Sketch into the Traverse tool without Parcel Fabric/COGO Enable for ArcGIS Pro

[Anonymous User]

In ArcMap, you can Load Sketch into the COGO Traverse tool and modify the survey calls(Metes and Bounds) of a polygon. It seems there is not an exact way to do that in ArcGIS Pro.

Every documentation keeps pointing to COGO enable this or that or Parcel Fabric. This isn't ideal, I would like to see development team to build that feature into ArcGIS Pro Modify Tool suite. 

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/editing/create-a-traverse.htm

https://www.reddit.com/r/ArcGIS/comments/mblcfz/question_about_arcgis_pro_cogo_traverses/

[AmirBar-Maor]

Hello @Anonymous User ,

The traverse tool is part of the editing Modify tools and it allows you to traverse both polygons and lines.

The reason you are pointed in the documentation to enable the COGO on your lines feature class is that a COGO enabled feature class has the ability to capture the measurements as attributes as well as predefined symbology, labeling and display expression that works well for metes and bounds legal descriptions.

What are the advantages of entering features over a sketch?
Every line you enter is its own feature which means can save your edits halfway through entering a traverse. It also means you can pick it up from where you have left simply by tracing those lines. Having labels can help you identify any entry mistakes early on - another reason to not use a sketch.

If you choose to not use the new parcel fabric, you can use those lines to create a polygon using the 'Construct Polygon' tool (also found in the editing modify tools).

Another option if you want to preserve using polygons: select the polgyon, Copy and paste special into a COGO enabled line feature class, Use the traverse trace to modify it, then Construct from polygon, delete the lines (as you can see - this is not efficient).

Any reason you are not using the new parcel fabric?

How long have you been editing in ArcGIS Pro?

[Anonymous User]

I been editing for in AGP for two plus years now. I kept with the updates so having the Traverse tool work both on polyline and now Polygon after 2.73 is wonderful. 

The advantage of this Load Sketch and modify survey calls require less steps, flexible, and is straight forward.

In ArcMap the steps are:

1. Go into edit session

2. Select an existing feature 

3. Right Click to edit vertices

4. Go to COGO window and right click on the empty area and load sketch

There it would populate the bearing and distance (Survey Calls). I attached a link of the image below and also modify the original post to now have an image attachment to show you the screenshot. There are many GIS analysts that will find this method useful, especially those who work in Real Property, Survey, and Land acquisition. 

Why am I not using parcel fabric?

1. I plot a lot of old deeds and use it for research purpose to  find ownership. It will not part of a fabric and using parcel fabric  for this task is cumbersome.  

2. I work for a local government and one reason is our server is on 10.6, Parcel Fabric on AGP 2.8 requires it to be 10.8 to work. We can't upgrade until certain department switches their utility network. My department is one of the few that is using AGP more than ArcMap.  

[AmirBar-Maor]

Thanks @Anonymous User  for the information.

Are you aware that attempting to load a traverse from a polygon will:

1. Use the Grid (projection) dimensions and not the original ground dimensions?

2. Any misclose that was adjusted between all the traverse courses will be reflected in the inverse dimensions?

3. Any densified curves you might have in your data will appear as many small courses?

About the parcel fabric. If yo are the only one editing it you can also use a file Geodatbase (single user deployment) and not have to wait for other departments to upgrade the enterprise environment. Some additional benefits for you to consider:

1. If you enter a lot of old deeds you will be able to associate each parcel you enter and each boundary to the deeds it came from (regardless if it is now historic or current).

2. You will be able to isolate and see only the features that pertain to that deed/plat (using the Show Only Active Record)

3. Better quality control: easily find topological issues, lines with wrong COGO values, parcels with wrong area etc.

4. All the reasons above to use 'COGO enabled lines' + we also track if the COGO dimension was 'entered', inversed 'from geometry' or 'computed'.

5. Efficiency 

6. ...

[DarylHochhalter]

I would just like to add to these comments it would be really nice if you could add similar tools as what was available in Arcmap so that we can all use COGO entries whether implementing a parcel fabric or not. I have used them for years without a parcel fabric and would really like to continue doing so. Obviously, the pro people at ESRI have made the calculation there is some other way to do this by enabling your feature classes, I'm not sure why that is so important to you. Many of us would just like to use the feature without doing that. Also, the load from sketch option is something I've used for years for many different reasons and many different features, from utilities to various parcel layers. Rather then explaining why I want them, could you please explain why ESRI refuses to give the tools we had before?

Because these things are not available in Pro, I still use Arcmap for several editing workflows.

[AmirBar-Maor]

@DarylHochhalter 

We are already getting requests to make parcel fabric tools available for non parcel fabric feature. Things like historic parcels and parcel lineage, parcel alignment, COGO type, Highlight Gaps and Overlaps and more + more parcel capabilities to come.

The parcel fabric in Pro uses simple feature classes, so your workflows would not change much, just get more efficient. That said, if you figured out which tools to use for your custom solutions, and it works for you, you can continue to use your custom solution. 

We focus on the land records / cadastre industry and are committed to the success of our customers by providing them with the most advanced and efficient technology to do their job. We call it the "parcel fabric".

[melisahansen]

@AmirBar-Maor  our organization also uses the Load traverse from Sketch as it makes our workflows much faster. We are not actively using parcel fabric and do not have plans to just yet. As anonymous user stated, being able to bring in an existing parcel to the traverse tool, is much faster when editing existing parcels. 

Currently in Pro, I would have to COGO the entire parcel from scratch, where previously I could just edit the traverses imported. ArcMap, was more flexible and efficient to our workflows. Are there plans to bring this option into Pro? 

[AmirBar-Maor]

@melisahansen 

We regard any solution that manages parcels outside the parcel fabric as a custom solution. We've made it easy to migrate any data into the parcel fabric and provide additional capabilities to make your parcel maintenance more efficient. 
Organizations that want to have their own custom solution can use the rich ArcGIS Pro SDK for their custom workflows.

Another capability we are currently working on to make you more efficient is the capability to OCR deeds and create features (with COGO values). Such capability will be limited to the parcel fabric.

[MattSund]

@AmirBar-Maor we also use the Load traverse from sketch tool.

It is a simple use case - not really a custom workflow.

You traverse a series of survey lines from reference mark to parcel. Sometimes you make an error and you need to edit the data.

In ArcMap this is entirely possible. Select the sketch, open cogo and load traverse from sketch.

Using the trace tool in ArcPro is impractical as there are many overlapping and nearby lines which the trace tool inadvertently follows.

This issue is keeping our editors in ArcMap.