Create highly customizable Legal Descriptions directly from LDT/C3D Parcels or AutoCAD geometry. Contains a fully featured word processor, or you can export the description to Microsoft Word in a single click.  When working in Land Desktop or Civil3D, the project parcels are immediately available on our parcels tab, no importing or conversion necessary!

Work with geometry, either using a single polyline, a collection of lines & arcs, or predefine parcels to batch process an entire subdivision in three clicks!

Instantly Visible Results
The main Legal Writer dialog is shown below (with the Objects tab enabled).  Immediately upon selecting objects or a defined parcel, the results are shown to the right in our HTML compatible word processor.

There are four main areas of this dialog, detailed below.

Commencement Paths
When you need to describe how to get to the beginning of the description, you can choose a multi-segment polyline or a collection of lines and arcs.  This reference path is processed in the same fashion as the boundary calls and the descriptive text placed above the boundary description.

Acquire Descriptions
When the Legal Description Writer dialog appears, it collects all the potential descriptions from the drawing.  This includes text and mtext objects, along with description attributes from point blocks.

• AutoCAD Text/Mtext
• Autodesk Land Desktop AECC_POINTs
• Autodesk Map3D/Civil3D AECC_COGO_POINTs
• Eagle Point blocks
• Softdesk blocks
• SurvCADD point blocks
• User blocks with DESC attributes.

You can set the description search radius.  When the legal is being created, and it gets to the end of a line/curve segment, it looks through the potential description collection for the closest description found.  If it's within the designated distance, it is placed in the body of the legal (using the [PntDesc] field).

Number Words
Instead of using digits for the results, you can choose to use number words.  For example, instead of 123.34 you can have "one hundred twenty three point three four".  This increases the longevity of your legals, insuring that 8 never starts looking like 3 after copies and faxes.

Parcel Manager
If you want to process more than one boundary, you can automate reporting by establishing named parcels.  The included Parcel Manager makes easy work of this.

• Create a single new parcel by entering a name.
• Delete one or more parcels from the list.
• Rename a parcel.
• Audit parcels for proper geometry.
• Show a parcel zoomed in the viewport.
• Add objects to parcels.
• Remove objects from parcels.
• Add a pointer to parcels made from lines and arcs.

Also, you can add hundreds or thousands of closed polylines in one quick step.  The routine builds the parcel definition for each polyline and also labels it at its centroid.  This allows you to easily match up a lot report with the drawing. Great for large subdivisions!

Template/Field Design
With our template design with fields, you have total control over the results.  You control every word of every sentence, including subtle details like bold, underline, etc.

Take for example, the curve segment template string in the dialog above.  The user can change the wording in any way. Whenever a calculate field is needed, you can either type it in or choose it from the keywords menu (which also contains brief descriptions).  Each field (in brackets) gets replaced with the calculated value when each call is processed.  A complete list of fields is shown below:

Cardinal Directions
The [CardMaj] keyword returns four increments being Northerly, Easterly, Southerly, or Westerly.  The [CardMin] keyword will return these four as well as Northeasterly, Southeasterly, Southwesterly, and Northwesterly.  The field [CardMin] is useful even in precision legals to describe the general direction a curve is heading.  Cardinal options also exist for the concave direction of curves.

Other Settings
The configuration dialog also allows complete control over bearings, units, descriptions, etc.

Other Details

• Easily insert adjoiner (or any) text from the drawing into the cursor position of the editor.
• Initiate all tools with your choice of a pulldown menu, toolbar, or command line entry.
• Import and Export any number of settings to files for later recall or sharing with associates.

Speed
In the time it would take you to read this sentence, our legal description writer could have generated a detailed metes and bounds report on each lot in a subdivision of over 1000 lots!  In another 10 seconds and a single click it could be moved to Microsoft Word.

Legal Reader
As an added bonus, MapWorks Legals includes a Legal Reader.  Open a Word document, RTF or TXT file containing a legal description and with a single click, the bearings & distances are parsed to a grid with coordinates and closure calculated.  Most curves are detected, including support for radial-in, radial-out.  For stubborn segments, our curve calculator is one click away.  Once closure is acceptable another click draws the boundary in AutoCAD.

System Requirements
MapWorks Legals requires AutoCAD 2000i or higher (LT Not Supported).

• Microsoft Word (2000 or higher) is optional.
• No other Civil Survey add-ons required!

Product Support: Email & Discussion Group Support.

Note: This product does not support the Softdesk North Rotation concept!

Before You Buy: Consider that this is a small subset of the functionality in MapWorks.

Product Demo: Send an email to request a time limited MapWorks Legals evaluation.
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