Original question: >Using ArcView 3.1 I am drawing polygons that represent county boundaries >for various historical time periods. Frequently the law creating a county >will describe a boundary line in the following manner: > "from the SW corner of Joe Smith's parcel, proceed N 71 degrees E for 25 > miles." >Is there an ArcView feature that will allow me to figure the needed angle between two lines? Responses: Jack O'Connell: >Take a look at surveyor.avx or the survey feature of de.avx (DWF/DEM Data >Editing Extension). You can enter a meets and bounds description and with >the latter extension, rotate it to adjust for changes in declination. Russell G. Burdge: >There is a free extension available on the Arcscripts page called "Edit >Tools", actually a demo version available, that allows you to enter these >line features based on Coordinate Geometry or COGO. This will allow you to >enter the start point of your line, in your case from a known point in >historical record or county seat, and proceed with the angle based on >compass bearing and distance. The documentation available with this demo is >pretty good and should work for you. [Nick Seigel also suggested the COGO tool as a good option] Dr. Kerry Livengood >There are number of scripts available for entering bearings and distances. >I have found the NWF/DEM Produced by Norcross Wildlife Foundation and >MA Department of Environmental Management to be one of the best. It can also >close a survey (all surveys have an error and will not produce a polygon)n >as well as merge themes. <> Jeff Jenness: >I don't know of any direct ArcView feature that will do exactly what you describe, but I wrote an extension that you might be able to use for your purposes. It's called "Distance/Azimuth Tools", and there's an on-line manual you can look over if you're interested at: > http://www.jennessent.com/arcview/distance_azimuth.htm >and you can download the extension at: > http://www.jennessent.com/arcview/arcview_extensions.htm >or http://gis.esri.com/arcscripts/details.cfm?CFGRIDKEY=7A5E057C-1BC9-11D5-943D 00508B0CB419 > Many thanks to all who replied. I am busy looking at the various solutions presented to see which works the best in my particular circumstances. Emily Kelley Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Newberry Library Chicago, IL