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Drawing Workflow for NSW Digital Plans

This page walks through the complete workflow for preparing a survey plan in R3Survey, from drawing the first line to plotting the final plan. Follow these steps in order.

See Preparing a Survey Plan for detailed reference on each command and field.

Step 1 — Draw the Plan

Draw the survey linework, set up the drawing, and fill in plan metadata.

Create the survey plan

  1. Run R3PL and enter the plan number (e.g. DP123456) — this creates the component layers for the plan (Boundaries, Roads, Control, Connections, Reference Marks, etc.)
  2. The component layers are named {planName}_{componentName} (e.g. DP123456_BDYS) — see Drawing layers for NSW LandXML export

Tip

You can also add a plan from the Plans tab in R3PLANLAYERSETTINGS. Configure any custom components there before creating the plan — components cannot be deleted once a plan exists.

Draw the survey linework

There are two approaches to creating lot polylines:

Option A — Draw closed polylines directly:

  1. Draw each lot as a closed polyline on the Boundaries component layer of the working survey plan
  2. Draw new road parcels as polylines on the Roads component layer

Option B — Draw individual lines/arcs, then build lots:

  1. Draw the boundary linework as individual lines and arcs (adjoining lots share the same line — no need to duplicate edges)
  2. Run R3BUILDLOTS to automatically create closed lot polylines from the individual edges — the command detects all closed regions and creates a polyline for each lot
  3. Run R3ROADFRONTAGE to trace road frontage polylines from the lot edges — pick the start and end points of each road frontage
  4. Move the resulting lot and road polylines to the correct plan component layers (Boundaries and Roads)
  5. Erase any remaining source lines if you chose not to erase them during R3BUILDLOTS

Tip

Option B is faster when you have many lots with shared boundaries — each boundary line is drawn once and R3BUILDLOTS creates all the lots automatically. R3BUILDLOTS also checks for near-miss vertices and crossing edges, helping catch drafting errors early.

Then for both options:

  1. Set the Road Name and Width for road parcels in the Parcel expander in R3PROPERTIES
  2. Draw lines between the surveyed locations of the SCIMS marks on the Control component layer
  3. Draw connection lines from the control marks to the boundary corners on the Connections component layer

Set the scale and insert title blocks

  1. Run R3DWGSCALE to set the drawing scale — the correct scale is important for label placement and table sizing
  2. Insert a title block using R3INSERTPF1, R3INSERTPF2, or R3INSERTPF3

Tip

If you need to adjust the scale after inserting a title block, delete the title block, run R3DWGSCALE to set the new scale, then insert the title block again.

Number the lots

  1. Number the lots using the Parcel expander in R3PROPERTIES, or use R3NUMBERLOTS to number them in sequence
  2. Check lot numbering with R3SHOWLOTS — this highlights each lot with its number so you can verify the numbering is correct

Fill in plan metadata

  1. Run R3PLANLAYERSETTINGS and edit the working plan — fill out all the plan metadata (datum, zone, LGA, parish, county, locality, purpose, surveyor, firm, reference, date)
  2. Ensure the Scale Factor (CSF) is entered — this is required before running R3DIMS and for the LandXML export
  3. Run R3PLANFORMFILL to populate the title block fields from the plan metadata
  4. Run R3CA to copy the title block attributes to any other title blocks in the drawing, including those in layout tabs

Step 2 — Import and Set Up Survey Control

Import SCIMS marks, position them, freeze control lines, and add control labels.

Import SCIMS marks

  1. Run R3IMPORTSCIMS to import SCIMS marks from a CSV, GeoJSON, or MOSS file — the same file downloaded from SIX Maps SCIMS Online
  2. Alternatively, manually insert PM blocks using the R3PM command and enter the mark properties in the SCIMS Control Point expander in R3PROPERTIES
  3. Move the imported SCIMS blocks to the surveyed locations — move the insertion point of each block to the endpoints of the control lines exactly

Freeze and reposition control lines

If the control traverse is larger than the plan sheet and you need to reposition lines to fit:

  1. Run R3FREEZECTRL to freeze the control and connection line geometry — this saves the original bearing and distance values
  2. Move or shorten the frozen lines as needed to fit within the plotting area
  3. Labels and export will use the frozen (original) values, not the repositioned geometry

Add tables, datum, and PM labels

  1. Run R3INSERTTABLES to insert the dimension and coordinate tables into the drawing
  2. Run R3MGATABLE to populate the coordinate schedule table with SCIMS mark data
  3. Select each adopted SCIMS mark and set the Datum field to X or Y in the SCIMS Control Point expander in R3PROPERTIES
  4. Run R3ADDPMLABELS to place mark labels at each SCIMS mark and dimension the control connections (showing MGA Ground / By Survey dimensions between marks)

Step 3 — Dimension and Check

Add dimension overrides, check lot closures and areas, then dimension the plan.

Add dimension overrides

Where the legal plan dimensions differ from the drawn geometry (e.g. closing legs, compiled dimensions, or custom rounding), enter overrides in the Dimension Overrides expander in R3PROPERTIES. See Observation Overrides for details.

Check lot closures and areas

Run R3LOTEDIT on each parcel to review:

  • All leg dimensions (geometric and legal)
  • Legal area calculated from the dimensions
  • Misclose and s26(2) compliance
  • Click OK to save the calculated legal area as an area override

Dimension the plan

  1. Check settings in R3LABELSETTINGS and adjust label placement to your liking
  2. Run R3DIMS to dimension the plan — this places bearing and distance labels on all boundary and connection lines
  3. Run R3NORTH to add the north point to the drawing

Step 4 — Validate and Export (Stage 1)

Validate the plan data and export the LandXML file.

Validate

  1. Run R3XMLVALIDATE and fix any reported issues — missing metadata, unclosed parcels, misclose failures, missing lot numbers, etc.
  2. Run R3SHOWOVERRIDES to review any dimension overrides (press Enter to dismiss)

Export

  1. Run R3EXPORTLANDXMLNSW
  2. Select Stage 1 Mandate (recommended) in the export mode dialog
  3. Choose a save location and filename
  4. Review the schema validation results in the command line — fix any errors and re-export if needed

Review the export

  1. Run R3XMLREPORT to generate a readable summary of the exported file — check bearings, distances, and areas against the plan
  2. Optionally run R3IMPORTLANDXML to import the XML back into a new drawing as a cross-check

Step 5 — Add Stage 2 Items

Stage 2 adds reference marks and boundary marks to the plan. Complete Steps 1–4 first.

Draw reference marks

  1. Draw lines on the Reference Marks component layer from each reference mark to the boundary corner it references
  2. Select each line and fill in the Reference Mark expander in R3PROPERTIES:
    • Type — DH&W, GIP, Peg, Nail & Wing, SSM, etc.
    • State — Found, Placed, Found By Me, Gone, Not Found
    • Origin — the DP number the mark was originally placed on (when State is Found or Found By Me)
    • Desc — optional physical description (e.g. "ON KB", "IN CONCRETE")

Draw existing road frontages

  1. Draw existing road frontages on the Roads component layer
  2. Select each road and set the Road Name and Width in the Parcel expander
  3. Set the State to adjoining in the Parcel expander in R3PROPERTIES

Insert corner and mark symbols

  1. Run R3INSERTCORNERS to automatically place boundary corner symbols in model space:
    • R3_BC_A blocks at corners with no reference mark connection
    • R3_RM_A blocks at corners that have a reference mark line connecting to them
    • R3_RM_A blocks at the end of every RM line — set to No Mark Required if the end isn't a subject boundary corner
    • Natural-boundary corners are skipped
  2. Boundary corner blocks appear as monuments in R3PROPERTIES with the default value of Peg Placed
  3. If a mark was found or a different mark type was used, select the block and change the Type and State in the Monument expander. Setting a Type on a No Mark Required point switches its State to Found.

Add RM labels

  1. Run R3DIMS again (or R3ADDRMLABELS) to add reference mark dimension labels to the plan

Step 6 — Validate and Export (Stage 2)

Re-validate and export the complete plan including Stage 2 data.

Validate

  1. Run R3XMLVALIDATE again — check for any new issues introduced by the Stage 2 items (missing RM types, missing origins for found marks, etc.)

Export

  1. Run R3EXPORTLANDXMLNSW
  2. Select Full Export in the export mode dialog — this includes reference marks, boundary marks, and all Stage 2 data
  3. Choose a save location and filename
  4. Review validation results and fix any errors

Review

  1. Run R3XMLREPORT to verify the complete export — check that reference marks, monument data, and all dimensions are correct
  2. Submit the validated file to LRS Connect and review the LRS validation report

Step 7 — Draft and Plot

Finalise the plan drawing for printing and lodgement.

Finalise the drawing

  1. Review all dimension labels — reposition any that overlap or are hard to read using standard AutoCAD move/grip editing
  2. Use R3REPOSTEXT to nudge text labels along their parent line
  3. Use R3FLIP to flip dimension text to the other side of a line
  4. Add any additional annotations, notes, or drafting elements on the Miscellaneous layer (these are not exported to LandXML)

Set up layouts

  1. Check the drawing's scale list is set up for metres (SCALELISTEDIT — see Set up the scale list for metres)
  2. Create paper space layouts with viewports at the correct scale. Set each viewport's Standard scale from the list so its zoom and annotation scale match — mark symbols are sized by the annotation scale
  3. Run R3SYNCMARKSCALES from the Model tab so every mark carries every viewport's scale
  4. Leave mark symbols (R3_BC_A, R3_RM_A, R3_PM_A) in model space — don't place them on the layout
  5. Use R3MOVETEXTTOLAYOUT to move text labels from model space to paper space if needed
  6. Run R3UPDATELAYERSTATES to update any saved layer states to include the survey plan layers

Plot

  1. Plot or publish to PDF for lodgement
  2. Upload the PDF plan and the LandXML file to LRS Connect to complete the lodgement

See also