Start with the right data

Two layers are mandatory — the data check fails without them:

• Parcels (polygons) — recognized names: Parcels, Parcel, Tracts, Parcels_Input, Parcel_Set (case doesn't matter).
• Centerline (line) — recognized names: Centerline, CL, Center_Line, Route. Without it, crossing lengths cannot be computed.

Each parcel needs an identifier. Ellicott detects the field automatically — it looks for PARCEL_ID, PARCEL_NO, TRACT_ID, TRACT_NO and close variants — and shows you its pick (with sample values) for confirmation before anything runs. Blank or duplicated IDs don't block the check, but they're flagged: blanks get placeholder IDs and duplicates are suffixed, so clean IDs make cleaner exhibits. An owner-name field (OWNER, OWNER_NAME, …) is picked up the same way when present.

• Permanent Easement (polygons) — ESMT, Easement, PE, Permanent_Easement
• Temporary Workspace (polygons) — WS, TWS, Workspace, Temporary_Workspace
• Additional Temporary Workspace (polygons) — ATWS, Additional_Workspace
• Access Roads (lines) — Access_Roads, Access, Roads, AR, TAR
• Surface Sites (polygons) — SS, Surface_Sites, Surface, Staging, Staging_Sites
• Survey Points (points) — Survey_Points, Points, Monuments, Control; each point should carry TYPE, CAP, and PARCEL_ID fields.

Layers with other names aren't lost — the data check lists them as unmatched so you can see exactly what was and wasn't recognized.

Alongside the dataset, you can attach a Line List — a separate .csv tracking sheet with one row per parcel's recording details (deed volume/page or document number, the recording instrument, PLSS, survey/abstract, and similar fields). A parcel crossed by more than one line can have more than one row.

A column in that file joins each row to a parcel. Ellicott looks for the same kind of ID column it detects on the parcels themselves, picks it automatically when it can, and lets you choose it by hand otherwise. Matching ignores case and surrounding spaces, so small formatting differences between the two files don't break the join.

Before anything runs, the confirmation page reports how the join went: how many parcels matched, which parcels have no matching row, which rows matched no parcel, and any duplicate key values — where the first row for that value is the one kept.

Use a projected coordinate system, usually a US State Plane zone in feet. On the data review page, check the detected zone against your source data before confirming it.

Resolve a declared mismatch before continuing: check the selected file or project against the coordinate system of the placed deed. If the file’s coordinate system is undeclared, confirm it only when you know its coordinates already use the deed’s frame. Confirmation does not move or reproject geometry.

The same corridor preparation applies. Placed tracts from the saved Assembly supply the parcel boundaries; waiting tracts stay out of the project.

A route gets revised for years after its first delivery, and a separately-uploaded dataset on an existing project bills as its own delivery — the same as the project's first upload. Upload only the tracts that actually changed, not the whole route again: the production fee is per delivered exhibit, so a smaller upload keeps the bill matched to the re-work instead of re-billing tracts that did not move.