After you define a parcel, you can calculate its earthwork volumes using the grid and composite

volume methods. For more information about earthwork, see Calculating Volumes on page 79. You can use the AutoCAD Map 3D commands to create a database of parcel numbers, owners, cost, and so on to help manage parcel maps.

Drawing Parcel Geometry

To draw the parcel boundaries, you can use the commands from the Lines/ Curves menu, or other AutoCAD commands such as LINE or PLINE. You can also define parcel boundaries from points.

Note Do not use spirals in parcel boundaries. Spirals cause incorrect areas to
be reported. You can also use Survey to draw parcel boundaries as Survey Figures. You can use the Survey Command Language to input the data in a data collector, or you can input the data using the Survey command line.

Note Be sure to draw the parcels as closed regions. If any of the joining lines
has a break, then you cannot calculate areas. If you use polylines to draw parcel geometry, then you must break crossing polylines before defining the parcels. Also, delete any duplicate lines that you may have drawn where two parcels abut each other. You can break crossing lines and erase duplicate lines by using the AutoCAD Map 3D Cleanup command.

Draw Parcel Geometry Based on Area

To draw a parcel as an exact area, use the Parcel Sizing commands. Draw the parcel with only one open segment, and then use one of the Parcel Sizing commands to close the segment. Parcel Sizing commands include Slide Bearing, Radial, Swing on Line, and Swing on Curve.

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The following illustration shows how a parcel is defined by using the Slide Bearing command.

Depending on the parcel settings, these commands can define the parcel to the parcel database, and they can also label the parcel that is calculated. You cannot use the Parcel Sizing commands to modify a parcel that is already defined to the parcel database. To change a parcel definition, you must delete the existing parcel definition and redefine the parcel. For more information about deleting parcels, see Managing Parcels on page 96.

Defining Parcels to the Parcel Database

As with alignments, you must define parcels to the parcel database so that the individual geometric component points, lines, arcs, or polylines, become linked as a single object. This parcel data is stored in a database in the project folder. When you define parcels to the database, you can label them and perform map check calculations on them, depending on what you specify in Parcel Settings. To define parcels to the parcel database
Steps 1 Draw a parcel using the PLINE command. Use to locate

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Chapter 5

Working with Alignments and Parcels