ADA COUNTY SURVEY CORNER RECORDS PROJECT

1
ADA COUNTY SURVEY CORNER RECORDS PROJECT
Ada County Surveyors Office, Boise, Idaho 2003
Corner Perpetuation and Filing Database And Image
Viewing Software
2
THE PROJECT
The Image Viewing Software

• This project was first started in September of
  1998 and is based on scanned images of the
  Surveyor Corner Records as recorded in the Ada
  County Recorders Office. The Surveyor Corner
  Records, or CPFs, as they are commonly called,
  were scanned using a HP 6100C flat bed scanner
  and Photo-Paint software with a setting of Sharp
  Black/White on legal size at an optical
  resolution of 300 dpi. All images were saved as a
  .cal file format which is a compressed bit map
  file used in scanning government drawings. This
  compressed format was used by the U.S. Army Corps
  of Engineers to economize the distribution of bid
  documents to bidders around the country.
  SourceView was written to organize and view those
  scanned drawings and documents. It also works
  very well for viewing and printing scanned
  projects like Corner Records.

3
Idahos Cross Index System - The basis for the
alpha-numeric numbering scheme for organizing the
corner records. (A-1 to Z-25)
4
FREE SOURCEVIEW READER SOFTWARE
5
To open the software, find the Sourceview (.svd)
file. Click on File, Open, and find the
pagelist.svd (indexing file) to view the corner
records.
6
This will put the Corner Perpetuation Records on
the list of four previously opened applications.
Selections can now be made each time from here
for future viewing.
7
When you find the correct .svd file, the index
page should appear like the one shown above. Now
click on Page List under File to get the list
of all corner records to be viewed.
8
The complete list of corner records will now be
available to view. To search by township/range,
type in the township and range with two spaces in
between and then the cross index number to get to
the general vicinity. Hit the Enter key to
search. The instrument number can also be input
for a specific corner record. Click OK to view
the corner record.
9
The corner record is now viewable. To zoom, draw
a box or hit the shift key and the key.
10
The zoomed in view is very readable.
11
The CPF Database

• Using MS Excel 2000 and MS Access 2000

12
Months were spent creating and developing the
complete database of the corner records from the
County Surveyors Office
copies. Each record had to have the pertinent
information added such as Township, Range,
Section, X-Index number,
Surveyor Name, Date Recorded, Database number,
and Instrument number. The instrument numbers
varied in length from 6
numbers to 9 numbers. After I was sworn in as a
Deputy for the Recorder, the original corner
records were moved to the
County Surveyors department to have access for
the scanning process and to take care of the
records. Every original corner
record was then compared to the database
list and rectified. Some original corner records
were found to be missing and
copies were made in place of the originals.
A note in the upper right hand corner denotes
Copy, Original Missing. A linked
Excel file of the database was also
created early on to create the final pagelist
text space-delimited format for SourceView.
The complete list was then
sorted and printed from the excel file in the
Township and Range order. This is how the
originals are filed so
that was the scanning order also. Scanning was
started using a single sheet legal size scanner
including each side of
each record. Around 10 of all the records have
two pages to the form. The scanned images were
then checked off from
the excel file list and the page two entry was
added to the excel file. Each side has a separate
image. All the page two
files were queried with another linked database
and the PG2 entry was made. Rick Fisher build a
query to check the digital
list of the actual scanned image files with
the database image file numbers. A second query
was built to check the database
image file numbers with the scanned image
numbers. This was important for the quality
control of having and image for every
entry in the Pagelist. He also
built me a query to build the Pagelist in the
correct sort order. Most text sorting such as
with Excel and Access
do not sort the numbers. For instance, the number
C-3 would follow C-25 and C-10 would follow right
after C-1. It will sort
each column first and then the next number
individually. With the correct sort order, the
PG2 (Page 2 image) will
follow directly in the column after the identical
Page 1 image number. After building the correct
sort order, the database
file was exported to Excel and then to a text
file for the correct spacing. This was saved as a
.svd file so the viewing software
Sourceview can easily retrieve and
display the images. After the initial Pagelist
was built as a .svd file, the project was tested
page image by page
image. So it was discovered that about 10 to 20
were not readable by Sourceview. Even though the
software that created
the .cal file could read every file they were not
good enough for Sourceview to read each image.
Contacting the Sourceview
people, now Maxview, I was informed they no
longer develop or support the 16-bit Sourceview
software and have devoted
all their resources into the new 32-bit version
viewer called Maxview. They sent me an
evaluation copy to help
me correct the error images that SourceView would
not view. Each individual image was viewed and
fixed by adding the
rest of the header to the image file. This
created a file with an fx added. Each file then
had to be renamed and
copied to replace the original file. Most of the
images are now viewable with the SourceView
Reader. A CD was made to see
if the project was a success. A couple of
images caused SourceView to crash. Those were
rescanned. The final corrected list
from the queried comparison indicated
the data was a match.
Months were spent creating and developing the
complete database of the corner records from the
County Surveyors Office
copies. Each record had to have the pertinent
information added such as Township, Range,
Section, X-Index number,
Surveyor Name, Date Recorded, Database number,
and Instrument number. The instrument numbers
varied in length from 6
numbers to 9 numbers. After I was sworn in as a
Deputy for the Recorder, the original corner
records were moved to the
County Surveyors department to have access for
the scanning process and to take care of the
records. Every original corner
record was then compared to the database
list and rectified. Some original corner records
were found to be missing and
copies were made in place of the originals.
A note in the upper right hand corner denotes
Copy, Original Missing. A linked
Excel file of the database was also
created early on to create the final pagelist
text space-delimited format for SourceView.
The complete list was then
sorted and printed from the excel file in the
Township and Range order. This is how the
originals are filed so
that was the scanning order also. Scanning was
started using a single sheet legal size scanner
including each side of
each record. Around 10 of all the records have
two pages to the form. The scanned images were
then checked off from
the excel file list and the page two entry was
added to the excel file. Each side has a separate
image. All the page two
files were queried with another linked database
and the PG2 entry was made. Rick Fisher build a
query to check the digital
list of the actual scanned image files with
the database image file numbers. A second query
was built to check the database
image file numbers with the scanned image
numbers. This was important for the quality
control of having and image for every
entry in the Pagelist. He also
built me a query to build the Pagelist in the
correct sort order. Most text sorting such as
with Excel and Access
do not sort the numbers. For instance, the number
C-3 would follow C-25 and C-10 would follow right
after C-1. It will sort
each column first and then the next number
individually. With the correct sort order, the
PG2 (Page 2 image) will
follow directly in the column after the identical
Page 1 image number. After building the correct
sort order, the database
file was exported to Excel and then to a text
file for the correct spacing. This was saved as a
.svd file so the viewing software
Sourceview can easily retrieve and
display the images. After the initial Pagelist
was built as a .svd file, the project was tested
page image by page
image. So it was discovered that about 10 to 20
were not readable by Sourceview. Even though the
software that created
the .cal file could read every file they were not
good enough for Sourceview to read each image.
Contacting the Sourceview
people, now Maxview, I was informed they no
longer develop or support the 16-bit Sourceview
software and have devoted
all their resources into the new 32-bit version
viewer called Maxview. They sent me an
evaluation copy to help
me correct the error images that SourceView would
not view. Each individual image was viewed and
fixed by adding the
rest of the header to the image file. This
created a file with an fx added. Each file then
had to be renamed and
copied to replace the original file. Most of the
images are now viewable with the SourceView
Reader. A CD was made to see
if the project was a success. A couple of
images caused SourceView to crash. Those were
rescanned. The final corrected list
from the queried comparison indicated
the data was a match.
Months were spent creating and developing the
complete database of the corner records from the
County Surveyors Office
copies. Each record had to have the pertinent
information added such as Township, Range,
Section, X-Index number,
Surveyor Name, Date Recorded, Database number,
and Instrument number. The instrument numbers
varied in length from 6
numbers to 9 numbers. After I was sworn in as a
Deputy for the Recorder, the original corner
records were moved to the
County Surveyors department to have access for
the scanning process and to take care of the
records. Every original corner
record was then compared to the database
list and rectified. Some original corner records
were found to be missing and
copies were made in place of the originals.
A note in the upper right hand corner denotes
Copy, Original Missing. A linked
Excel file of the database was also
created early on to create the final pagelist
text space-delimited format for SourceView.
The complete list was then
sorted and printed from the excel file in the
Township and Range order. This is how the
originals are filed so
that was the scanning order also. Scanning was
started using a single sheet legal size scanner
including each side of
each record. Around 10 of all the records have
two pages to the form. The scanned images were
then checked off from
the excel file list and the page two entry was
added to the excel file. Each side has a separate
image. All the page two
files were queried with another linked database
and the PG2 entry was made. Rick Fisher build a
query to check the digital
list of the actual scanned image files with
the database image file numbers. A second query
was built to check the database
image file numbers with the scanned image
numbers. This was important for the quality
control of having and image for every
entry in the Pagelist. He also
built me a query to build the Pagelist in the
correct sort order. Most text sorting such as
with Excel and Access
do not sort the numbers. For instance, the number
C-3 would follow C-25 and C-10 would follow right
after C-1. It will sort
each column first and then the next number
individually. With the correct sort order, the
PG2 (Page 2 image) will
follow directly in the column after the identical
Page 1 image number. After building the correct
sort order, the database
file was exported to Excel and then to a text
file for the correct spacing. This was saved as a
.svd file so the viewing software
Sourceview can easily retrieve and
display the images. After the initial Pagelist
was built as a .svd file, the project was tested
page image by page
image. So it was discovered that about 10 to 20
were not readable by Sourceview. Even though the
software that created
the .cal file could read every file they were not
good enough for Sourceview to read each image.
Contacting the Sourceview
people, now Maxview, I was informed they no
longer develop or support the 16-bit Sourceview
software and have devoted
all their resources into the new 32-bit version
viewer called Maxview. They sent me an
evaluation copy to help
me correct the error images that SourceView would
not view. Each individual image was viewed and
fixed by adding the
rest of the header to the image file. This
created a file with an fx added. Each file then
had to be renamed and
copied to replace the original file. Most of the
images are now viewable with the SourceView
Reader. A CD was made to see
if the project was a success. A couple of
images caused SourceView to crash. Those were
rescanned. The final corrected list
from the queried comparison indicated
the data was a match.
Months were spent creating and developing the
complete database of the corner records from the
County Surveyors Office copies. Each record had
to have the pertinent information added such as
Township, Range, Section, X-Index number,
Surveyor Name, Date Recorded, Database number,
and Instrument number. The instrument numbers
varied in length from 6 numbers to 9 numbers.
After I was sworn in as a Deputy for the
Recorder, the original corner records were moved
to the County Surveyors department to have
access for the scanning process and to take care
of the records. Every original corner record was
then compared to the database list and rectified.
Some original corner records were found to be
missing and copies were made in place of the
originals. A note in the upper right hand corner
denotes Copy, Original Missing. A linked Excel
file of the database was also created early on to
create the final pagelist text space-delimited
format for SourceView. The complete list was then
sorted and printed from the excel file in the
Township and Range order. This is how the
originals are filed so that was the scanning
order also. Scanning was started using a single
sheet legal size scanner including each side of
each record. Around 10 of all the records have
two pages to the form. The scanned images were
then checked off from the excel file list and the
page two entry was added to the excel file. Each
side has a separate image. All the page two files
were queried with another linked database and the
PG2 entry was made.
13
Rick Fisher, working in the County Surveyors
division, built a query to check the digital list
of the actual scanned image files with the
database image file numbers. A second query was
built to check the database image file numbers
with the scanned image numbers. This was
important for the quality control of having and
image for every entry in the Pagelist. He also
built me a query to build the Pagelist in the
correct sort order. Most text sorting such as
with Excel and Access do not sort the numbers.
For instance, the number C-3 would follow C-25
and C-10 would follow right after C-1. It will
sort each column first and then the next number
individually. With the correct sort order, the
PG2 (Page 2 image) will follow directly in the
column after the identical Page 1 image number.
After building the correct sort order, the
database file was exported to Excel and then to a
text file for the correct spacing. This was saved
as a .svd file so the viewing software Sourceview
can easily retrieve and display the images. After
the initial Pagelist was built as a .svd file,
the project was tested page image by page image.
So it was discovered that about 10 to 20 were
not readable by Sourceview. Even though the
software that created the .cal file could read
every file they were not good enough for
Sourceview to read each image. Contacting the
Sourceview people, now Maxview, I was informed
they no longer develop or support the 16-bit
Sourceview software and have devoted all their
resources into the new 32-bit version viewer
called Maxview.
14
They sent me an evaluation copy to help me
correct the error images that SourceView would
not view. Each individual image was viewed and
fixed by adding the rest of the header to the
image file. This created a file with an fx
added. Each file then had to be renamed and
copied to replace the original file. (All of the
images are now viewable with the SourceView
Reader by checking immediately after scanning.) A
CD was made to see if the project was a success.
A couple of images still caused SourceView to
crash. Those were rescanned. Finally the final
corrected list from the queried comparison
indicated the data was a perfect match. Quality
control is an ongoing process, however, most of
the errors have been discovered and corrected.
CDs were burned and given free of charge to all
the local firms and agencies in the Treasure
Valley area. I now consider the corner record
database and viewing pagelist to be almost
completely error-free and very reliable for
viewing corner records. The new corner records
are now scanned as they are received from the
recorders office and put into the database. The
new database is the basis for creating the new
pagelist which is then posted to the County
Surveyors website, about every two or three
weeks. The local surveyors then download all new
images, the new pagelist, and included MSAccess
database from the website. This is added to the
existing directory on their computers to provide
updated CPF images of the records and an ability
to do proper research from their desktop
computer.David J. Couch, PLS, USMS Assistant
County Surveyor
15
This is the raw .txt file that is created from
the database. Notice the sort order of all the
A-15s that are sorted chronologically and the
PG2s are in their proper place in the sorted
list matching their Page 1s.
16
When you open the Access 2000 database file
called cpflist.mdb, you get this screen. This
gives you two immediate menu search choices. You
can search the database for all the corner
records in a given section or you can search by
instrument number.
17
The instrument number selection looks like this
with the instrument numbers in chronological
order. Also listed are the surveyors name, date
recorded, and GCDB number.
18
The other menu choice is to search for all the
corner records in a specific section.
19
The search box asks for township, range, and
section.
20
Fill in the number of the township, range and
section in the blanks such as 3n, 2e, 21 and
click OK.
21
The list of all corner records in that section
are listed. Notice the list can come from any of
the surrounding 4 sections, also. This list can
be printed by clicking on the Print Records
button at the top.
22
Many other queries are available in this
database. For example, click on the
SurveyorsTotalByYear query like above.
23
This query lists the surveyor and the number of
corner records filed in each year.
24
This query shows the total of all corner records
filed in a particular year.
25
This query shows the total number of corner
records filed by an individual surveyor. Rip
Smith is currently leading all surveyors in Ada
County for number of corner records filed.
26
You can also query by the surveyors name and list
all corner records filed by that surveyor.
27
Finally, now included is a query of each corner
record by the GCDB (BLM Geographic Coordinate
Data Base) number of each township.
28
ADA COUNTY SURVEYORS OFFICEADA COUNTY
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES2ND FLOOR NEW COURTHOUSE200
W. FRONT STREETBOISE, IDAHO 83702208-287-7900
For more information contact the office below

• STAFF
• JOHN PRIESTER, PE/LS, COUNTY ENGINEER/COUNTY
  SURVEYOR
• DAVID WELLS, PE, ASSIST. COUNTY ENGINEER
• DAVID COUCH, PLS, USMS, ASSIST. COUNTY SURVEYOR
• GLEN SMALLWOOD, SURVEY TECH.
• NANCY FARNSWORTH, SURVEY TECH.