Click on this button (it is located on the
Main Menu dialog)
to launch the Parcel Editor. You will be asked to select what line theme you want to edit; you can choose from line themes already in the View, load a line theme from disk, or create a new line theme.
Dialog overview
The Parcel Editor dialog is used to edit line shapefiles, which represent the boundary lines between parcels of land or other spatial features, and to prepare them to be built into polygons, which represent the parcels themselves (of course, you can edit any type of line shapefile, whether or not you want to build the lines into polygons). Polygons have area and can be colored in; lines have only a length and direction. Many types of analysis can be performed only on polygons. ArcView does not inherently support topologically correct relationships between features the way ARC/INFO does;
the Parcel Editor seeks to partially mimic the way ARC/INFO handles lines and polygons. The principal ways it does this are by making sure that the lines connect correctly at their endpoints or nodes and by giving you the ability to build them into polygons. The Parcel Editor consists of a drawing and endpoint-marking environment and a set of tools to help you edit a line shapefile in preparation for building. You can always use the regular ArcView tools and buttons from the button bar while using the Parcel Editor, but it is best to try and use the tools on the dialog most of the time to avoid unexpected outcomes. Generally, tools on the dialog will work on the editable theme and tools on the ArcView tool and button bars may work on the active theme(s) or the editable theme.
