Adding a Plat

Deed Text

Paste, type, or scan a metes-and-bounds legal description and the app will parse it into a boundary traverse. Have a printed deed? Tap Scan Deed Document to photograph it and let the app read it on-device — no typing. Supports degree/minute/second bearings, decimal degrees, chains, rods, feet, and spelled-out directions.

Tap + and choose Deed Text

From the main plat list, tap the + button. In the Add Plat sheet, select the Deed Text tab.

New Plat sheet with Deed Text tab selected, showing deed text field and Scan Deed Document button

Paste, type, or scan your legal description

Copy the metes-and-bounds description from your deed and paste it into the text field. The description must use the word thence to separate boundary calls.

Prefer not to type? Tap Scan Deed Document at the top of this tab to photograph a printed deed. The app reads it on-device and fills the field for you — review, then parse. See Camera / OCR Scan for the full walkthrough.

Example deed text (6-corner L-shaped tract):

"…thence North 01°30'00" East, 175.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at an interior corner; thence South 88°30'00" East, 120.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at an interior angle point; thence North 01°30'00" East, 130.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at the northwestern corner of the upper portion of said tract; thence South 88°30'00" East, 250.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at the northeastern corner of said tract; thence South 01°30'00" West, 305.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set along the northern right-of-way line of Glade Valley Road at the southeastern corner of said tract; thence along said northern right-of-way line North 88°30'00" West, 370.00 feet to the Point of Beginning."

This 6-corner description closes perfectly (0.00 ft error) and is a good test of the parser's handling of interior angle points and combined lots.

Deed Text tab with a full metes-and-bounds legal description pasted in and the Parse Deed button below

Tap Parse

Tap the Parse Deed Text button. The app processes the description and shows a preview of the legs it found — bearing, distance, and unit for each boundary call.

Tip: Review the leg list carefully. If a leg looks wrong (unexpected distance or bearing), check that the source text is complete and unformatted.

Parsed plat showing 4 legs with bearings and distances, C1 to C2 through C4 to C1

Parsed corners list showing Corner 1 through Corner 4 with monument descriptions from the deed

Name your plat and save

Enter a name and optionally assign a folder, then tap Save. The plat appears in your list and opens to the Map tab.

Map tab showing plat boundary on standard map

Set a GPS anchor at Corner 1

The boundary exists as a relative traverse until you anchor it. Walk to your Point of Beginning, open the Corners tab, tap Corner 1, and choose Set Reference. The full boundary will appear on the map immediately.

Set Reference dialog showing GPS accuracy and anchor options

Sample deed text you can paste and try

These are real-style examples you can copy directly into the Deed Text field to test the parser or learn the format.

6-corner L-shaped tract (feet, DMS bearings)

United States · Metes and Bounds · Degrees / Minutes / Seconds

Commencing at an iron pin set at the Point of Beginning at the southwestern corner of said tract; thence North 01°30'00" East, 175.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at an interior corner; thence South 88°30'00" East, 120.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at an interior angle point; thence North 01°30'00" East, 130.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at the northwestern corner of the upper portion of said tract; thence South 88°30'00" East, 250.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set at the northeastern corner of said tract; thence South 01°30'00" West, 305.00 feet to a 1/2 inch iron pin set along the northern right-of-way line of Glade Valley Road at the southeastern corner of said tract; thence along said northern right-of-way line North 88°30'00" West, 370.00 feet to the Point of Beginning.

6 legs · closes to 0.00 ft · tests interior angle points and combined lots.

Texas — Hill Country, 4-corner ranch parcel (chains, DMS bearings)

United States · Metes and Bounds · Chains & Links (older Texas style)

Beginning at a 1-inch iron pipe set in the ground at the southeast corner of this tract, said point being located on the north right-of-way line of County Road 310; thence North 02°15'30" West, 18.42 chains to a 1-inch iron pipe set at the northeast corner; thence South 87°44'30" West, 12.65 chains to a cedar post set at the northwest corner; thence South 02°15'30" East, 18.42 chains to a 1-inch iron pipe set on the aforesaid north right-of-way line at the southwest corner; thence along said right-of-way line North 87°44'30" East, 12.65 chains to the Point of Beginning, containing 23.27 acres of land, more or less.

4 legs in chains (1 chain = 66 ft). The parser converts chains to feet automatically. 23.27 acres.

Virginia — Shenandoah Valley, 5-corner tract (rods, spelled-out bearings)

United States · Metes and Bounds · Rods & Spelled-out Bearings (older Virginia style)

Beginning at a stone corner on the east bank of Stony Creek; thence North thirty-seven degrees fifteen minutes West forty-eight rods to a stone corner; thence North fifty-two degrees forty-five minutes East sixty rods to a stone corner in the fence line; thence South thirty-seven degrees fifteen minutes East forty-eight rods to a stone corner; thence South fifty-two degrees forty-five minutes West thirty rods to a stone corner at the creek bank; thence with the meanders of Stony Creek South fifty-two degrees forty-five minutes West thirty rods to the Point of Beginning.

5 legs including a creek-boundary leg along Stony Creek. Rods converted to feet (1 rod = 16.5 ft); closes cleanly. Tests the spelled-out bearing parser.

Jamaica — St. Elizabeth Parish, 4-corner lot (chains & links, British colonial style)

Jamaica · Metes and Bounds · Chains & Links (British Colonial System)

ALL THAT parcel of land situate in the Parish of Saint Elizabeth in the island of Jamaica containing by admeasurement ONE ACRE AND SEVENTY-NINE PERCHES be the same more or less. COMMENCING at a concrete boundary post at the southernmost point of the said parcel; THENCE North Twenty-five degrees Thirty minutes East a distance of Five chains and Fifty links to a concrete post; THENCE South Sixty-four degrees Thirty minutes East a distance of Three chains and Twenty-five links to a concrete post at the fence corner; THENCE South Twenty-five degrees Thirty minutes West a distance of Five chains and Fifty links to a concrete post on the roadside boundary; THENCE North Sixty-four degrees Thirty minutes West a distance of Three chains and Twenty-five links along the roadside to the point of commencement.

Jamaican deeds follow British colonial surveying conventions — chains, links, and perches. 1 chain = 100 links = 66 ft. The spelled-out bearing and "Five chains and Fifty links" format are fully supported.

Ontario, Canada — Township lot, 4-corner parcel (metres, decimal bearings)

Canada · Metes and Bounds · Metres & Decimal Degrees

Commencing at an iron bar planted at the south-east angle of the herein described lot; thence North 01.250 degrees West, 182.88 metres to an iron bar at the north-east angle; thence North 88.750 degrees West, 121.92 metres to an iron bar at the north-west angle; thence South 01.250 degrees East, 182.88 metres to an iron bar at the south-west angle; thence South 88.750 degrees East 121.92 metres being more or less to the point of commencement, the whole containing 2.226 hectares.

Canadian survey descriptions often use metres and decimal degree bearings. The parser handles metric distances and decimal bearing formats. 2.226 hectares ≈ 5.5 acres.

Curved road frontage — cul-de-sac lot (feet, DMS, with a curve call)

United States · Metes and Bounds · Includes a Curve (radius / arc / chord)

Beginning at an iron pin found at the southwesterly corner of the herein described lot, said pin lying on the northerly right-of-way of Fox Hollow Court; thence North 12°00'00" East, 180.00 feet to an iron pin at the northwesterly corner; thence South 78°00'00" East, 150.00 feet to an iron pin at the northeasterly corner; thence South 12°00'00" West, 180.00 feet to an iron pin on said right-of-way at the southeasterly corner; thence along said right-of-way along a curve to the right having a radius of 432.00 feet, an arc length of 150.76 feet, and a chord bearing of North 78°00'00" West and a chord distance of 150.00 feet to the Point of Beginning.

A curved boundary (common for cul-de-sac and road frontage). The app places the curve by its chord — the straight line between its two endpoints — so the corner lands correctly, and draws the arc along the frontage. Closes to 0.00 ft.

Supported formats

Bearings: N42°30'15"E, N42.504°E, North 42 degrees 30 minutes East, North forty-two degrees West. Distances: feet, metres, chains (ch), links, rods (rd), perches. Numbers may be written out in English ("forty-two point five").

Meander calls ("thence with the meanders of said creek…") are parsed as a single straight leg using the stated distance. For irregular water boundaries this is an approximation — the app will show a straight line between those two corners.

Curved boundaries (curve calls). Curves are common along cul-de-sacs and road frontage — for example "thence along a curve to the right having a radius of 432.00 feet, an arc length of 150.76 feet, and a chord bearing of North 78°00'00" West and a chord distance of 150.00 feet." The app reads the chord bearing and chord distance to place the curve's far corner exactly where it belongs, and draws the arc along the boundary. What matters for staking is the corner, and that lands correctly. A curve call needs both a chord bearing and a chord distance; if a curve is described only by radius and arc with no chord, the app flags that leg so you can verify it against the plat.

A curved-frontage lot on the map — the boundary drawn as a true arc along the road frontage, corners placed correctly

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