LandXML import information and guidance

Information on preparing LandXML files for Landonline, including guidance on illegal characters and naming new marks and parcels, and what to check before and after import.

For more information on creating LandXML files, see:
LandXML reference documents for surveyors and developers

Illegal characters in LandXML files

Illegal characters are characters that LandXML and Landonline won’t accept. For example, degree symbols (°) and superscript characters (m2).

If illegal characters are used in a LandXML file or within Landonline, you can encounter issues proceeding with your survey. The import may be blocked, and ultimately the illegal characters will need to be removed before you submit your survey to Toitū Te Whenua LINZ.

Example of an error when importing, caused by illegal characters:
'Import failed: Bearing(69°27'50) must be a positive number in D.MMSSS format.'
 

image of the import LandXML panel during an import. The import has failed due to the bearing being in the incorrect format.

Illegal characters that must not be used in a LandXML file

The following characters must not be included in your LandXML:

  • ° deg
  • ↑ arrow
  • superscript, for example m2
  • subscript, for example 313A

To avoid issues working in Landonline, you should not use the Alt quick keys to create any symbols when:

  • creating plans in 3rd party software
  • adding user-added labels in Plan Generation layout sheets.

The most common errors are using the degree symbol ° and the metre squared symbol m2.

Some of the characters above may have been used when Landonline was populated during the conversion process or by subsequent plan capture.  

  • These characters cannot be used in a LandXML file and may not be catered for by your survey software.  
  • You may need to manually edit the LandXML extracted file to be able to use the LandXML file in your survey software.
  • You should not reintroduce the symbol into Landonline by manually entering it using shortcut keys. 

Characters that can be used in a LandXML file

The following characters are catered for by Landonline on extract and import, and can also be catered for in your survey software:

  • Standard alphanumeric characters, for example a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and standard punctuation (space, comma, semi-colon)
  • ? question marks
  • + plus
  • - minus  
  • / forward slash
  • \ back slash

The LandXML schema requires the following symbols to be catered for with specific encoding in the LandXML file:

  • & ampersand is catered for by using &
  • “ ” words inside quotations in a free text field are catered for by using ""
  • < less than bracket is catered for by using &lt;
  • > greater than bracket is catered for by using &gt;
  • ‘ minutes are catered for by &apos;
  • “ seconds are catered for by &quot;

Survey software checks you should make before saving to LandXML

Before saving the LandXML file in your survey software, and before importing the LandXML file into Landonline, you need to ensure that:

  1. The parcel areas have been rounded to the nearest 1m2 (0.0001 Ha).
    • XML allows the area of each parcel to display to less than 1m2, while Toitū Te Whenua LINZ requires areas to the nearest 1m2 (0.0001Ha).
  2. All the arc information is correct, especially the arc length.  
    • Some survey software calculates the arc length, which may be different by 0.01m to the arc length in Landonline.
  3. The LandXML attribute 'lengthAdoptionFactor' (which may just be called 'Length Correction' in survey software) has a value of '1' and is shown lengthAdoptionFactor=’1’.

How to name new marks when importing a LandXML into Landonline

In Landonline, mark names for new marks should be made up of 3 components:

  1. Mark type abbreviation, for example PEG, IT, LP, UNMK.
  2. Mark number, for example 1, 2. Preferably these should be alphanumeric, not roman numerals.
  3. Mark plan reference, for example DP 523456.

Warning: Mark names must be unique

The LandXML schema requires mark names to be unique, even if Landonline does not have unique mark names.  

Landonline cannot import an XML file with non-unique mark names. You will need to make all mark names unique in your survey software.

How to capture appellations for new parcels when importing a LandXML in Landonline

It is important to create new parcel appellations correctly in your third-party software to ensure they are imported into Landonline with the correct format.

If you are:

  • capturing a plan in third-party software, and
  • a pre-allocated survey reference has been assigned,

follow these examples:

  • parcel name = 'Lot 1'
  • parcel name = 'Sec 1'
  • parcel name = 'Marginal Strip'
  • parcel name = 'Principal Unit 1'
  • parcel name = 'Area A' .

Warning:

You must NOT add the survey plan reference to the parcel name field for a new parcel.

When the LandXML file is imported into Landonline:

  • the appellations are recognised as new appellations
  • Landonline automatically populates the New parcels panel using the correct appellation format of 'General'
  • the survey plan reference is automatically applied to the appellation.
     
image of the Edit parcel appellation panel. The parcel appellation is in 'Simple' format, and the CSD type and CSD reference are correctly filled in and highlighted.

Examples of incorrect appellations in LandXML files

If you add the survey plan reference to the parcel name field for a new parcel, on import Landonline will use the incorrect appellation format.

Examples of the survey reference number being added to the parcel name:

  • Parcel name = 'Lot 1 DP 4003574'

    image of a parcel name in the XML file. The Parcel name is listed as "Lot 1 DP 4003574".

  • Parcel name = 'Lot 1 Deposited Plan 4003574' .

    image of a parcel name in the XML file. The Parcel name is listed as "Lot 1 Deposited Plan 4003574".

When the LandML file is imported into Landonline, Landonline automatically populates the New parcels panel using the incorrect appellation format of 'Other'.
 

image of the Edit parcel appellation panel. The parcel appellation is in 'Other' format, and the appellation is entered as "Lot 1 DP 4003574".

Results of incorrectly captured appellations

If you try to search a parcel from our example above DP 4003574, which was incorrectly captured as ‘Other’, the search will not return a result. Trying subsequent searches until a result is found is frustrating and time consuming.

For non-primary parcels, if the parcel is incorrectly captured as ‘Other’, then when the parcel is linked, the parcel label will not show in capture. Note that it may look completely normal in the New parcels panel as in the example below.
 

Image of thew New parcels panel, highlighting an Easement parcel. The parcel appellation looks normal in the panel. The spatial view is also visible, and an empty parcel appellation label is highlighted.

When you edit the appellation for the parcel you will see it is in ‘Other’ format. You will need to edit the appellation and change it to ‘Simple’ to resolve this.
 

image of the Edit parcel appellation panel. The parcel appellation is in 'Other' format, and the appellation is entered as "Area A Deposited Plan 4003574".

For help with editing new parcel appellations, see:
Add and edit a new parcel

Include bearing corrections against referenced surveys

Ensure all Referenced Surveys have bearing corrections entered against them even if the bearing correction is 0.00000.

Editing in Landonline after a LandXML file has been imported 

Imported LandXML files may still require edits to be made to the survey in Landonline after import. The amount of editing required will depend on:

  • the survey software used to create the LandXML file
  • any Pre-validation report failures
  • the survey's Survey purpose.

After import, ensure you check each of the following for completeness:

  • Spatial capture screen
  • Survey details panel
  • Marks panel
  • Vectors panel
  • Existing parcels panel
  • Lines panel
  • New parcels panel.

You should always run Pre-validation after import to help you identify any data that could not be imported from your survey software, and any failures or inconsistencies in your survey.

For more information on Pre-validation, see:
Pre-validate

LandXML Parcel mappings

Some LandXML parcel classes do not map the Parcel intent and Layer. The LandXML schema does not cater for every field in Landonline, nor does it cater for every field to be mapped. Where there is more than 1 import value for a schema value, Landonline will not map it. This requires you to make a conscious choice in Landonline.

After import, you will need to:

  • enter the parcel details in the New parcels panel, and
  • update the observations associated with the parcel in the Layers field in the Vectors panel.  

The updated parcels in the New parcels panel will require linking to your spatial capture.

For more information on mappings used by Landonline, see:
Enumeration Mappings applicable to Landonline - LandXML 
 

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