DIGITAL SPATIAL FILE SPECIFICATIONS

Table of Contents

• Survey Instructions Home
• Part B - Agreements

  • B1 - Interdepartmental Agreements

    • B1-1 - Interdepartmental Agreement re Description of Canada Lands, 1955 (Excluding Indian Lands)
    • B1-2 - Interdepartmental Agreement with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development re Land Transactions on Reserve Lands, 2009
  • B2 - Intergovernmental Agreements

    • B2-1 - Intergovernmental Agreement with British Columbia Respecting Legal Surveys of Highways Through Indian Reserves and Sechelt Lands and Lands Being Transferred to Canada, 2003
    • B2-2 - Intergovernmental Agreement with the Province of Alberta re Town of Banff Incorporation Agreement, 1989
• Part C - Administrative Requirements

  • C1 - General Requirements and Procedures for Surveys
  • C2 - Surveys in the Northwest Territories
  • C3 - Surveys in Yukon
  • C4 - Surveys Offshore
  • C5 - Surveys of Indian Lands
  • C6 - Surveys of Lands Administered by Parks Canada
• Part D - Survey Standards

  • D1 - Official Surveys
  • D2 - Explanatory Plans
  • D3 - Strata Surveys
  • D4 - Condominium Surveys
  • D5 - Registration and Land Use Area Plans
  • D6 - Oil and Gas Surveys in Indian Reserves
  • D7 - Oil and Gas Surveys in the Territories and Offshore
  • D8 - Mineral Claim Surveys in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
  • D9 - Mineral Claim Surveys in Yukon
  • D10 - Field Monitoring of Exterior Boundaries and Interior Frameworks
  • D11 - Boundary Maintenance
  • D12 - Control Surveys
  • D13 - Basemapping
  • D14 - Land Descriptions
  • D15 - Survey Reports
  • D16 - As-built Surveys
  • D17 - Guidelines for the preparation of Legal Description Reports for the Individual First Nation Agreement under the First Nations Land Management Act
• Part E - Appendices

  • E1 - Glossary
  • E2 - Legal Principles for Surveys of Canada Lands
  • E3 - Guidelines for the Preparation of Plans
  • E4 - Accuracy Standard for Legal Surveys
  • E5 - Digital Spatial File Specifications
  • E6 - Instructions for Preparation of Compiled Plans of Consolidations of Yukon Titled Land

Effective Date

This Chapter is effective March 8, 2011. It replaces Chapter E5 as published November 3, 2008 in the General Instructions for Surveys of Canada Lands, e-Edition.

Chapter Sections

• General
• Specifications
  • Geo-Referencing
  • Spatial information
  • Layering
  • Topology and Structure
  • Main monuments coordinate file
• Report

General

1. These specifications require the surveyor to prepare:
   1. a digital spatial file;
   2. supplementary information contained in the survey report (chapter D15) or a separate report; and
   3. if the survey is geo-referenced, a main monuments coordinate file.
2. These specifications apply to all surveys submitted for review except for Oil and Gas wellsite surveys in the Territories and offshore in cases where no parcel is surveyed.
3. Specimen digital spatial files included in chapters D1 and D5 are for guidance in preparing the digital spatial file.
4. The digital spatial file and the main monuments coordinate file shall be submitted via e-mail, Canada Lands Survey System (CLSS) On-Line or on a medium suitable to the Surveyor General Branch (SGB).
5. The digital spatial file format shall be DXF or DWG (acceptable versions).
6. The digital spatial file name must be composed of the following elements:
   1. the project number issued by the Surveyor General Branch;
   2. the 2 letters "SF";
   3. if required, a sequential number "1, 2, 3 ..." to distinguish multiple digital spatial files submitted for one project; and
   4. the file format extension (.DWG or .DXF).
      
      Example:
      [Project number][SF][Sequential number].[DXF |DWG]
      200814003SF1.DWG
7. The main monuments coordinate file format shall be an ASCII text file.
8. The main monuments coordinate file name must be composed of the following elements:
   1. the project number issued by the Surveyor General Branch;
   2. the 2 letters "PT";
   3. if required, a sequential number "1, 2, 3 ..." to distinguish multiple main monuments coordinate files submitted for one project; and
   4. the file format extension (.TXT).
      
      Example:
      [Project number][PT].[TXT]
      200814003PT1.TXT

Specifications

Geo-referencing

9. The digital spatial file shall be referred to NAD83CSRS projected coordinates (e.g. NAD83CSRS/UTM, NAD83CSRS/MTM or NAD83CSRS/Double Stereographic projection applicable to the area of survey) or other approved coordinate system (e.g. ATS77/MTM for Nova Scotia).
10. When the survey is geo-referenced using new ties to NAD83CSRS, the coordinates of the digital spatial file must be the same as those shown on the plan and those contained in the main monuments coordinate file.
11. In cases where the survey is not geo-referenced, derive NAD83CSRS coordinates for the digital spatial file using the Surveyor General Branch's dataset as follows:
    1. extract the coordinates of two well separated monumented points;
       1. one monument shall be held fixed to geo-reference the digital spatial file; and
       2. the second monument shall be used to orient the file to GRID;
    2. calculate the combined scale factor using the fixed monument and its approximate elevation (may use National Topographic System map).

Spatial information

12. The digital spatial file must be spatially correct and must represent the geometry shown on the plan.
13. All spatial distances in the digital spatial file must be GRID distances. The distances shown on the plan are normally ground distances.
14. All spatial bearings in the digital spatial file must be GRID bearings referred to the central meridian of the projection, where applicable. The bearings shown on the plan may be astronomic if the survey is not geo-referenced.

Layering

15. Table 1 below lists the layer names and the specific content for each layer. Additional information such as title, lot numbers, etc. is not mandatory but may be included in the digital spatial file. This additional information must be stored on other layers and the layer structure is left to the choice of the surveyor.

    Table 1

    Layer Name	Description	AutoCAD object
    CCCMBDRY	All primary boundaries dealt with by the plan other than natural boundaries.	line or arc	update dataset
    CCCMSEC	All secondary boundaries dealt with on the plan, other than natural boundaries. (i.e. easement).	line or arc	update dataset
    CCCMTIE	All tie lines. (see paragraph 20).	line	update dataset
    CCCMBDRYNAT	All primary natural boundaries dealt with by the plan.	polyline	update dataset
    CCCMSECNAT	All secondary natural boundaries dealing with easements and rights of ways dealt with by the plan.	polyline	update dataset
    CCCMCONDOx	All condo units with each floor placed on a different layer. Each floor layer shall be uniquely labelled CCCMCONDOx, where "x" is a unique value for each floor.	polyline	update dataset

16. CCCMBDRY contains the primary boundaries dealt with by the plan. (i.e. if the purpose of the plan is to create new parcels, all boundaries except natural boundaries of the new parcels shall be present on this layer. Similarly, if the purpose of the plan is to create an easement only, all boundaries of the easement other than the natural boundaries shall be represented on CCCMBDRY layer.)
17. CCCMSEC contains all secondary boundaries dealt with by the plan. (i.e. if the purpose of the plan is to create parcels as well as easements, the parcel boundaries shall be represented on CCCMBDRY and the easement boundaries shall be represented on CCCMSEC in order to avoid conflicts between the line works.) Information on CCCMSEC layer should only exist if two or more types of boundaries are dealt with by the plan. Only non-natural boundaries shall be present on this layer.

    Text description of Figure 1

    Figure 1

18. CCCMBDRYNAT contains all primary natural boundaries dealt with by the plan. (i.e. if the purpose of the plan is to create new parcels, only the natural boundaries of these new parcels shall be represented on the CCCMBDRYNAT layer.) Only primary natural boundaries shall be present on this layer.
19. CCCMSECNAT contains all secondary natural boundaries dealt with by the plan such as natural boundaries of an easement. If the easement is bounded by a natural boundary that segment of the easement shall be on the CCCMSECNAT layer. Information on CCCMSECNAT should only exist if two or more types of natural boundaries are dealt with by the plan. Only secondary natural boundaries shall be present on this layer.
20. CCCMTIE contains all the other measured boundaries and connections to survey monuments and nearby control survey markers. All tie lines on CCCMTIE shall be shown in full length. (i.e. if a tie is made to a control point 2 kilometres away, the line on CCCMTIE will be completely shown at its true length, but may be shown as broken on the plan.) Other traverse lines shall not be shown on this layer.
21. CCCMCONDOx contains the boundaries of all condominium units. Each unit shall form a closed polygon and all unit boundaries shall be an accurate representation of the unit boundaries represented on the plan. Each unit shall be spatially oriented relative to the parent parcel. The parent parcel is to be shown on the CCCMBDRY layer. For multi-floor condominiums, each floor shall be placed on a separate layer in the digital file. Each floor layer shall be uniquely labelled CCCMCONDOx, where "x" is a unique value for each floor (e.g. "0" for basement, "1" for first floor, "2" for second floor , etc.). Common areas are not to be shown in the digital spatial file.
22. Line work in details shall not be placed on the CCCMBDRY, CCCMBDRYNAT, CCCMSEC, CCCMSECNAT, CCCMTIE or CCCMCONDOx layers. Line work on these layers shall represent the main body of the plan, even if not visible at plotting scale.

Topology and Structure

23. All boundaries and ties must be represented by lines.
24. All lines must be topologically correct on the layer itself, but not between layers. (Note: Natural boundary layers such as CCCMBDRYNAT and CCCMSECNAT must be topologically correct with their corresponding CCCMBDRY or CCCMSEC layer.)
25. The following rules are to be followed for each layer (unless indicated otherwise) to ensure properly structured data:
    1. no duplicate lines within a particular layer;
    2. no overlapping lines within a particular layer;
    3. no crossing lines on CCCMBDRY and CCCMBDRYNAT;
    4. no undershoots and overshoots (see figures 2 and 3);
    5. at corners or intersections, all lines must converge to the same point. Situation where a small triangle, a small gap or a small line is created must be avoided and corrected (see figures 4, 5 and 6);
    6. the line types must be one of the following AutoCAD object:
       1. Straight line are to be of type LINE;
       2. Curved lines are to be of type ARC; and
       3. Natural features and condominium units are to be of type POLYLINE.
    7. each line of the same nature shall be broken at monuments (no gaps), deflections and intersections. Lines shall not be broken at other points such as traverse hubs; and
    8. the data must be 2-dimensional (i.e., Z value = 0).

       Text description of Figure 2
       Figure 2

       Text description of Figure 3
       Figure 3

       Text description of Figure 4
       Figure 4

       Text description of Figure 5
       Figure 5

       Text description of Figure 6
       Figure 6

Main monuments coordinate file

26. The coordinates of the main monuments and the control survey markers that appear on the plan to geo-reference the survey shall be provided in a text file along with the reports (see paragraphs 7, 8 and 28 of this chapter). These coordinates must be provided if the survey is geo-referenced (see paragraph 10 of this chapter).
27. The format for this text file will be point ID, Northing, Easting, Orthometric Height (if available) and Scale Factor (if available) with all text elements separated by a delimiter (Comma "," or pipe sympol "|") and with each point on a separate line.
    
    Example:
    [Point ID] [, or |] [Northing] [, or |] [Easting] [, or |] [Orthometric Height] [, or |] [Scale factor]
    200,5183075.467,344077.656,265.54,0.999623
    201,5183073.253,344241.115,265.40,
    60,5183256.62,344434.93, ,
    
    
    Note: The comma cannot be used as a delimiter when it is also used as the decimal placemark (International System of Units, French notation).

Report

28. If the digital spatial files and the main monuments coordinate file (if applicable) are submitted by means other than by CLSS On-Line submission form, the survey report shall include the following additional information on the spatial file (note: the On-Line submission form is being developed):
    1. an outline of what was used to geo-reference the digital spatial file (see paragraphs 9 and 11 of this chapter);
    2. the combined scale factor(s) (see paragraph 13 of this chapter);
    3. the bearing correction between the plan and digital spatial file bearings (may be zero) (see paragraph 14 of this chapter); and
    4. for geo-referenced surveys, the estimated absolute accuracy of the survey at the 95% confidence level (see paragraph 9 of this chapter and the appendix E1-Glossary for definition).