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Publish Parcels for Sharing

The parcel family: bulk creation, ROW that follows the road, auto-subdivision, and the sharing data shortcuts never got.

Command VDCPARCELGEN VDCROWGEN VDCLOTSPLIT VDCPARCELREGEN VDCPARCELPUB VDCPARCELREF VDCPARCELNUM VDCPARCELQC VDCPARCELXPORT VDCPARCELPROBE · VDC Lots tab › Parcels panel

VDCPARCELPUB is part of Create Parcels from Linework; the full section follows.

The parcel family: bulk creation, ROW that follows the road, auto-subdivision, and the sharing data shortcuts never got.

What it does

  • Create Parcels: linework → real parcels in one run. Cleanup first, endpoints snap, overshoots split (arc-aware), undershoots heal, duplicates/micro-slivers drop; open ends flagged on the QC palette and a predicted count prints BEFORE anything is created. Analyze-only mode. Own named site always (a site holding parcels is refused).
  • ROW Gen: alignments → ROW parcels with true cul-de-sac bulbs, and a stored recipe per alignment. Regen re-hashes the roads and rebuilds only the stale sites: move the alignment, run one command, the ROW catches up; opt-in stale watcher flags the moment a road moves.
  • Lot Split: a block parcel → the max number of conforming lots per a zoning preset (the SAME library VDCLOTQC audits, lots pass by construction). Preview + confirm, frontage numbering, VDCLOTFRONT stamps on every lot.
  • Publish / Parcel Ref: parcels → a versioned JSON package beside the drawing → rebuilt as REAL local parcels in a quarantined VDC-REF site. Native labels, your template's styles, every lot tool works; re-run = refresh.
  • Renumber (serpentine sweep, verified), Parcel QC (slivers, micro segments, duplicate numbers, overlaps, stale ROW), Export/Import (closed polylines with XData identity, and back), Parcel Probe (creation-bridge diagnostic + test square).

Good to know

  • Creation runs through the Civil COM bridge, the .NET API can't create parcels; the probe proves the bridge on a seat in seconds.
  • A ROW street crossing forms one parcel per enclosed face (center + arms), that's parcel topology; they all carry the ROW style.
  • Copies of parcels still blow up, that's Civil 3D. Publish/Ref replaces copying; Export/Import is the recovery path.
  • Regen clears and rebuilds whole ROW sites, hand edits there don't survive; the recipes ARE the design intent.
  • Ribbon: VDC Lots → Parcels. Settings under %APPDATA%\VDC\Parcels\.

Dialog

Create Parcels from Linework dialog
Create Parcels from Linework, VDCPARCELGEN
Right-of-Way from Alignments dialog
Right-of-Way from Alignments, VDCROWGEN
Auto-Subdivide a Block dialog
Auto-Subdivide a Block, VDCLOTSPLIT
Regenerate Stale ROW dialog
Regenerate Stale ROW, VDCPARCELREGEN
Publish Parcels for Sharing dialog
Publish Parcels for Sharing, VDCPARCELPUB
Reference Published Parcels dialog
Reference Published Parcels, VDCPARCELREF
Sweep Renumber Parcels dialog
Sweep Renumber Parcels, VDCPARCELNUM
Parcel Topology Audit dialog
Parcel Topology Audit, VDCPARCELQC
Parcels to Polylines and Back dialog
Parcels to Polylines and Back, VDCPARCELXPORT
Parcel Creation Diagnostics dialog
Parcel Creation Diagnostics, VDCPARCELPROBE

When to use it

  • Turning a drawn master plan (boundary + ROW linework + lot lines) into live parcels in one pass.
  • Converting linework received from another firm or drawn in plain AutoCAD into real parcels.
  • Rebuilding parcels after a re-layout - erase the old site's parcels and re-run on the current linework.
  • Checking linework quality before parcelizing: run Analyze-only and read the open-end flags.

How to run it

  1. Run VDCPARCELGEN - the dialog opens: source (selection or layers), cleanup tolerances, site name, parcel style, numbering, and area labels. Click OK.
  2. If Selection scope: select the linework (lines, arcs, polylines) and press Enter.
  3. Read the cleanup funnel in the summary - endpoints snapped, crossings split, undershoots healed, duplicates dropped, predicted parcel count, and open ends remaining (flagged on the QC palette).
  4. The parcels form in the named site, get sweep-numbered from your start number, styled, optionally area-labeled, and provenance-stamped.
  5. Fix any flagged open ends in the linework and re-run into a fresh site if the predicted count came up short.

Options

  • Source: Select linework on screen, or everything on named layers (comma-separated in the editable dropdown).
  • Snap tolerance (ft): endpoints closer than this pull together; undershoots within it heal onto the segment they almost reach (default 0.10).
  • Drop segments under (ft): micro-sliver filter (default 0.05); arcs are never micro-dropped.
  • Split crossings: crossing straight lines split at their intersection - the overshoot fix. Arc crossings are flagged, never auto-split.
  • Analyze only: the full cleanup report and palette flags with NOTHING created.
  • Site name: the site the parcels form in (default "VDC Parcels"). A site already holding parcels is refused - pick a fresh name.
  • Parcel style / Area label style: editable dropdowns of the drawing's styles; blank keeps the drawing default.
  • Numbering: row sweep from your start number, serpentine (plat-style switchback) or straight, with a row-grouping tolerance.
  • Erase source linework: removes the source lines after a fully successful create (off by default).

Watch out for

  • The tool will NOT create into a site that already holds parcels - everything in a site interacts, and surprise topology merges are exactly the "parcels blow up" failure this tool exists to end. Pick a fresh site name.
  • Open ends (dangles) mean loops can't close there - no parcel forms through an open end. The QC palette flags each one; double-click to zoom, fix the linework, re-run.
  • The predicted parcel count is the planar-graph estimate from the cleaned linework - if the created count differs, look at the flagged issues first.
  • Parcel creation runs through the Civil COM bridge; if it reports a bridge failure, run VDCPARCELPROBE for a step-by-step diagnostic.
  • Copies of parcels still blow up - that's Civil 3D. Re-run this tool on linework instead of copying parcels between drawings.

Related: Parcel Probe · Lot Fronts · Lot QC · Lot Table