Recognition

(This page also includes links to Reviews, Testimonials, and History.)

Recognition of Deed Plotter:

The Greenbrier Graphics® Deed Plotter® has become so accepted and popular that instructors of universities, colleges, community colleges, and continuing education have demonstrated the features of our Deed Plotter as part of their curriculum. A partial list of schools that have and/or expose students to Deed Plotter includes:

University of Arkansas School of Law, Lewis and Clark Law School, University of Florida, University of Louisville, University of Maryland, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, Texas A & M, Bluefield State College, Virginia Tech, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, and The Maritime Forest Ranger School in New Brunswick, Canada.

Deed Plotter is recommended in at least one formal college textbook. (See page 103 in the 3rd Edition of Legal Aspects of California Real Estate by Louis B. Hansotte, Attorney at Law.)

Deed Plotter is often a significant topic at seminars throughout the U.S. and Canada. Lawyers, bar associations, appraisers, title insurance underwriters, and many other professions often sponsor these events.

Mike Johnson, MAI in Casper, Wyoming, offers continuing education (C.E.) seminars throughout the United States. Various boards and associations that approve these seminars include those for: Appraisers, Assessors, Title Companies, Right-of-Way Associations, and Realtors. His students focus on the details of legal descriptions. Mike shows them how easily Deed Plotter can generate a map and data, even if the description is somewhat complicated.  Mike also sells Topo map software that works with Deed Plotter.

The actual use of Deed Plotter is so simple that the primary purpose of class instruction is to suggest it as a tool and to demonstrate its features.

Title companies, Farm Credit Services, Bureaus of Indian Affairs, Government agencies, and many others buy Deed Plotter in large volume.

Those who seek to market or publicize Deed Plotter are often members of the profession they wish to target.

All of these factors point to why the majority of our market comes from referrals or exposure by trusted institutions and professions. Within the community of real estate professionals, the Greenbrier Graphics Deed Plotter has become a trusted name and popular source for the mapping and analysis of survey descriptions. You can see why we seldom advertise. Until our loyal customers pointed out that our product name was used by a competitor to divert sales, we were content with a Web Site that was modest and discrete.

Deed Plotter Reviews and Articles:

Our Deed Plotter® software (latest release is Deed Plotter+ for Windows) has received so many reviews over the years that there is not sufficient space for the inclusion on this Web Site for all of them.

Publications in which our various versions of Deed Plotter has been reviewed include:

  • O.B.A. REAL PROPERTY LAWYER (Winter 97,98)
  • The REMUG Journal (September 1995)
  • Quarterly Byte (Vol. 7, Number 2-1991)
  • Real Estate Valuation Magazine (Vol. 6, Number 2-1991)
  • Genealogist Dr. Hively wrote the review that follows in 1999.  If you would like more information or you are a genealogist, please see http://www.innernet.net/hively/PALand.  (See new book note below)
  • Professional Surveyor (Vol. 20, Number 8-September 2000)
  • The Real Estate Professionals web site at http://realestatepros.about.com put Deed Plotter for Windows “In the Spotlight” with its April, 2001 review by Dale E. Wickell.  His web site is packed with useful information for real estate professionals.

NOTE:  Dr. Hively has published a book titled, “How to Plot Land Surveys: A Basic Primer for drawing deeds, surveys and other land descriptions”.  Though not required by Deed Plotter users, this book will prove a good reference for the non-surveyor.

PENNSYLVANIA ORIGINAL LAND RECORDS SERIES FOR YORK COUNTY, PA

DEED PLOTTER +™
FOR WINDOWS AND WINDOWS NT
REVIEWS PAGE

Software version 4.09, copyright 1999

DR. HIVELY’S REVIEW:

Deed Plotter+ comes self-contained on a 3 1/2 floppy and printed manual.

Installation was very easy and straightforward. Hard Drive space required is minimal, just over 1 MB.

The “windows help,” coupled with a printed manual is a huge plus. Whether one cares to follow ‘on screen’ help, or read from a printed page, both formats are provided. Deed Plotter+ for Windows Help has a number of fine attributes. First, when it opens, the entire file index fills the screen to be viewed at one glance.

The tutorial in the manual is straightforward and uncomplicated. Moving around within the various components of the program is carefully explained.

I input my “standard” test survey so quickly that I was surprised that it was completed as soon as it was. The software auto-computes acreage.

For printing, Deed Plotter+ has a very nice “Print Preview” feature that allows the user to see the entire page on screen before it is printed. This allows one to change scale, fiddle with the look of the page, or add other text documentation to get your printout just right the first time.

Multiple “connected-draft” surveys are possible from any existing tract corner.

Export files supports .DXF and .WMF for generic CAD or word processing Meta files. Both of these file extensions are industry standard: DXF for Auto-CAD and most other major CAD programs; WMF for “Windows Meta Format” – inclusion in text documents.

Deed Plotter+ files are proprietary and use a “DES” file extension. My comment here is pandemic of almost all survey plotting software. Most deed/survey software have their “own” file extensions, that are incompatible with generic or more popular file formats. Should one require import of a file produced with another program, this software does not allow for it.

Two superb features:

First, Deed Plotter+ has a “Conversion” sub-menu that has the ability to read and convert well-written text from a word processor deed description automatically into standard metes and bounds. If your deed or survey is described already and in computer text language, then “Deed Conversion” may be able to automatically read, convert and plot the tract. This is a very nice feature. Second, one that I particularly find neat. Many colonial or older deed descriptions are full of errors by transcription, due to the condition of the document (paper creases, age or water spots, faded text, etc.) or simply illegible. Deed Plotter+ has an “Analyze Tract” feature that may identify a faulty line call that affect closure, or look for lines that are too long or too short, or bearings that have transposed digits, are in the wrong quadrant or are reversed in direction. This feature becomes a computerized detective as to what may be wrong with the tract description and offers suggestions in descending priority as to what may be the culprit. Another very nice feature.

Editing of text, line, line types, colors, auto-line labeling, rotation of text, tract, and a host of other useful features are offered.

The printed manual has very nice sections on “Introduction to Surveying Principals” and “Fundamentals of Surveying Law.” If you do much of this kind of work, or have more than passing interest on how it all works, the folks at Greenbrier Graphics™ have done a first-rate job with their documentation.

This is one software program that has “advanced features” that the novice may not require, but they don’t get in the way, either. It allows for expanded possibilities as one’s expertise, knowledge and requirements may expand.

The memory size of the program (about 1 MB) and the RAM requirement for usage (8 MB) make this a very good choice for laptop users and others who don’t have, or don’t care to use up a lot of RAM and hard drive space.

Altogether, Deed Plotter+ is a very fine deed/survey-plotting program.

Deed Plotter Testimonials:

Greenbrier Graphics, LLC frequently receives comments about its Deed Plotter® program, manual, and technical support.  We honor confidentiality which means we only post comments after seeking permission. Those shown below are just a few typical representations.
(We continue to receive very nice comments (2020) concerning Greenbrier Graphics, LLC, and Deed Plotter; however, we have been lax in posting them.)

Testimonial Received October 16, 2020

I just wanted to say thank you once again for your kindness in getting me back in “action” with Net Deed Plotter. 
I have used this program since 2007 including attending a seminar on the use of the program conducted by Mike Johnson in Crockett, Texas in November 2008.

It has been a pleasure working with you.
Marcy Searcy

Testimonial Received August 19, 2020

Greenbriar Graphics –
I greatly appreciate the assistance you gave me today!
Wanted to let you know, again, how much I really enjoy using your Net Deed Plotter. I have used it for many years in oil and gas land and real estate work and it has been a real time saver and problem solver for me. With one of the newer features, allowing me to copy and paste a long description directly from MS Word into the Deed Plotter, you have really knocked it out of the park!
Plenty of tools out there for people in my business that don’t provide much help and cost a great deal more than Net Deed Plotter. What I paid you, many years ago, may be the best investment I ever made in my business.
Keep up the great work and thanks, again!

I know that testimonials are beneficial, so, please feel free to use mine, if you would like.
Larry Kingsbury

Testimonial Received March 12, 2020

Dear Sirs:
I have used this program for numerous years and have nothing but complete praise and admiration to the Makers of this program.  As an Independent Petroleum Landman, I utilize this program at least 2 to 6 times per week if not more.  I may not enjoy reading a manual to learn how to perform certain functions, but the original hard copy manual is always within arms reach, and it is a fairly easy manual to read and utilize. If you are new to this program, just take a few minutes and experiment, and you will find out there is a tremendous amount information this program can handle to produce the desired results. If you have a need for presentation to clients, along with a colored printer, you can look like you hired a Professional Company to do the work. This program will be worth every dollar you invest.   Support staff is a joy to work with. 

Thanks and best wishes for continued success.

Fred B. Danford

Testimonial Received February, 28, 2020

Dear Sirs:
I have been a customer of Greenbriar Graphics for over 15 years & bought my first Deed Plotter program back then. I have ALWAYS been pleased with your products; HOWEVER, I just wanted to tell you that your service has always been absolutely top notch and first class! It is rare, in these days and times, to find a company that, not only has a live human being answer their phone, but to have them immediately attempt to help you and actually resolve your problem right then and there. Every time that I have called, someone answers the phone and, if not, which is rare, ya’ll call me back very shortly thereafter. It is very assuring to know that when you buy a product like yours, and have any kind of an issue, you can actually know that you have a company that you can actually reach and talk to on the same phone call . I have spoken to a man named Paul, at your company, several times and every time he has helped me, not only solve my immediate issue, but he continues giving me input that helps me in other ways as well.  Thanks guys! PLEASE don’t change. Our country needs more companies like yours!!

Sincerely,
Russell Dark, Petroleum Landman

This testimonial was received December 7, 2019 from a Landman who began using Deed Plotter many years ago and updated to Deed Plotter, v5.6 (also known as Net Deed Plotter).

I have been in the Right-of-Way/Landman business for over forty years. In this type of business you run across many deed descriptions that need to be plotted so that you have a visual of what that particular plot looks like. For years all we had was a protractor and ruler which of course meant that it might not be real accurate. Lo and behold in 1987 a genius company came out called Greenbriar Graphics. It was an answer to prayer with a program that could accurately plot out a description with enhancements that made our job easier and look fantastic, especially when we were creating title certificates that required a picture to go with the description. Several other companies have tried to “copy” Greenbriar’s Deed Plotter but to no avail. Hands down Deed Plotter is the best plotting program in the business and probably the easiest to use. I would totally recommend this program to anyone considering getting into this business or if you are already in this business changing over to this one.

John Maeder   

 It was with great trepidation that I tried the new Net Deed Plotter, as I have been using the older Deed Plotter, and its Windows version since 1985.  The first copy that I purchased came on a 5 ¼” floppy, so I really qualify as an “old dog”, and was fearful of a newer, improved version.
I was very surprised at the ease of navigation and the simplicity of use.  In addition to making outstanding maps and exhibits with statistics, the MERGE function, which always gave me trouble, became a joy to use and I quickly started to experiment the proper placement of partitioned lots.

Thanks Again,
Paul Jackson

I think this is my third copy of Deed Plotter. First one was for DOS I believe, and I still have the one for Win 3.1. Haven’t needed to use Deed Plotter for a while, and was worried that you folks might not still be around. It was a relief to find your site still up and a new version for XP & later. Installing the new version was a bit like running into an old friend.
I am and oil and gas landman and currently have a job in which Deed Plotter is indispensable.  I just wanted you to know that I really appreciate you keeping it available.
Thanks again for keeping Deed Plotter up to date and making it easier to use. A friend loaned me a copy of Muncy’s Plat Pronto to try, and I find it is not capable of doing the things I need to do.

Sincerely,
John Oler

Hi-
Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your product.  I have used Deed Plotter since the early 90’s when I purchased my copy at a trade show in Reno NV.  I guess it was time to upgrade so I could continue to use it with Windows XP.  Keep up the good work.

Thanks,
Bill (William Boyle)

I am satisfied that your program is the finest available anywhere in the world today.
I am assured by many other professionals that your program cannot be matched.
I have also been assured that you are a man of honor and that you have a reputation for wonderful customer support and service.
These testimonials and references to you show you are a professional and man of tremendous integrity.

Respectfully Yours,
Mike Bishop

Gentlemen,
I was very satisfied with Deed Plotter and was even more impressed with Net Deed Plotter.
Thanks for your hard efforts and such a fine product.

Mike Shelton
Atoka Operating
Landman

Thanks. I did in fact download the Net Deed Plotter when I completed my order.  I was still using the old 1998 version with great success but yet obvious limitations.  I’ve used this software since the early 1990s – my first version came on a 3.5″ floppy disk – and continue to find it a superior value.

Abbie

(The following refers to Net Deed Plotter)
I want to express my deep gratitude for your wonderful program and the incredible customer service that comes with it.  I have used your program, as well as others, in my work as a landman in the Barnett Shale, and I have always had the best experiences with Greenbriar. 

Specifically, the maps draw out better than with other programs I have used, they print better, which makes for happier clients!, and when I get stumped on a deed call or something else that doesn’t make sense to me, Paul has been invaluable in helping me complete the drawings.  I have not had that experience with any other software.  It’s well worth the money and its my go-to program for making accurate, presentation-worthy drawings for my clients.

Thanks so much!
Lacey Perkins

All set.  Thank you very much for your help!  By the way, I love your program!  I had been using the Deed Plotter for Windows for 2 years.  Just for fun, I went to your website and discovered you had a new version 5 out, so I downloaded and started using that.  I really liked the changes so I talked to the abstractor/ register of deeds, who I work for, and she approved upgrading the software to the new version.  My job here in Montcalm County is to do the abstracting work for individuals and some title companies requiring searches on properties for sales, refis, etc.  Your program has made it so much quicker and easier to draw out a legal description and to check how other legal descriptions lie in relation to my parcel or to see if they overlap each other.  Your product has been especially helpful in a new development area in our largest municipal area.  In that area we have legal descriptions that are a page or two long with several legal descriptions being very close.  Your product has made it much easier for me to keep track of all of these parcels while doing the searches for even more new development in the area. 

Thank you again and have a great day!
Barb Udell
Montcalm County Abstract Office

Dear Greenbrier Graphics:
About two years ago, I purchased a Deed Plotter+ for Windows program from you. Although I have no experience or training in surveying or law, I have been able to accurately plot and locate several tracts of land for me as well as family members and friends. Deed Plotter+ is so user-friendly that I plotted and mapped my first deed within a few minutes of installing it on my computer.

One of my favorite features is the ability to change the scale of the map so readily. I find that, when used in conjunction with a topographical map, Deed Plotter+ makes finding the correct location of corners effortless. Thank you for providing such an outstanding tool, and please feel free to use this letter for promotional purposes.

Sincerely,
Larry D. Ewing

I have been a satisfied customer with Deed Plotter for many years. Utilizing it in all types of valuation situations, it has become a tool on which I can rely. Prior to using Deed Plotter, I had experience with other software packages. I found Deed Plotter far superior to those products. It is easy to learn and use. The software is comprehensive in scope and is the best package of this type I have ever seen. Recently I purchased two additional packages for our appraisal staff.

John L. Carroll, Assistant Manager
Howard Hanna Real Estate Appraisal Services
Pittsburgh, PA

Dear Greenbrier Graphics,
As the State Surveyor for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, and thereby a state employee, an endorsement of a particular product would have been inappropriate.  However, now that I have returned to the private sector, I would like to commend you on your fine product, its simplicity, and easy learning curve.  While I was at the MDOT, we purchased 80 copies.  The widespread use of this software by the Professional Surveyors, Survey Technicians, and real estate employees, greatly reduced the amount of description errors at the source of the documents.  The cost of your software is negated with the discovery of the first description error, BEFORE it leaves our office.  Therefore, it is with pleasure, I am ordering a new copy for my desktop.

Sincerely,
Richard T. Tolbert, PLS

Thought I would drop you a note to let you know we are still are still using your deed-plotting package (more than 6 years now). We are a mapping company that specializes in cadastral (property) mapping projects for city and county governments. Each technician can “COGO” more than 300 deeds daily utilizing your Deed Plotter plus software package. It continues to be the fastest and simplest for entering deed or subdivision descriptions and for merging multiple tracts when the need arises. We like the fact that you optionally can enter bearings and distances from the numeric keypad, as well as the conventional method. This is, by far, the fastest method for us, as each person can enter 300+ descriptions per day. We like many features of the software including the ability to save files with a DXF format, having a choice of quickly changing scales, and also turning calls on and off on each Cogo plot.

Continue the updated versions of your software, as it is pleasing to know that you are always enhancing the package to meet the ever-changing requirements. If you have a customer that needs to verify the features and ease of use, let them give us a call because it is our daily “COGO” package.

Nancy James Sullivan of KIMBALL METES & BOUNDS, INC.

The Idaho Transportation Department is in the process of mandating legal descriptions of highway right of way parcels be submitted to the Department in compliance with Deed Plotter.

We desire to incorporate the requirements for Deed Plotter to convert legal descriptions in a word processing program to a Deed Plotter map in our Design Manual requirements for project development.

To accomplish this and insure the accuracy of the requirements that we desire to publish in our Design Manual, we are requesting written permission to quote verbatim such portions of your copyrighted “User Manual” as we find necessary or useful to fully explain these requirements to both our in house staff and fee consultants. In all instances that we utilize your material, you will be given full credit as the source.

My staff and I have found Deed Plotter to be a great product to QA/QC descriptions. In this regard, a reply to the above request would be most helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call.

Very truly yours,
Andrew B. White
Senior Right of Way Agent (titles) Right of Way Section
Boise, Idaho 83707-1129

The email below to Greenbrier Graphics, LLC was received January 29, 2007.  Ron Wallace, a registered surveyor in Texas, had typed a 25 page legal description into Microsoft Word that needed a verification of closure and the area calculated.  He copied the legal description from MS Word and pasted it into Deed Plotter, then he used our Deed Conversion option to automatically search out 503 deed calls.  The data and a map were quickly produced without retyping any data into Deed Plotter.  His comments follow:
A client of ours needed metes and bounds descriptions for several easements that ran along the installed utilities and had varying widths, line segments and curves (tangential and non-tangential), thus resulting in one easement alone having five hundred and three deed calls crossing through our tract! We purchased Greenbrier Graphics’ “Deed Plotter for Windows”, and after typing up the metes and bounds description, we ran it through the program and had our closure report in less than five minutes. You can no doubt figure that to have “hand entered” the courses it would have taken longer, not to mention the possibility for human error that weighs in with each keystroke. Deed Plotter for Windows is a proven asset to our “survey toolbox”.

Ron L. Wallace, R.P.L.S.
Baseline Land Surveyors, Inc.

In Professional Surveyor Magazine (Vol. 20, Number 8-September 2000), Mr. Joseph Bell, the magazine’s software review editor, published a review of Deed Plotter.
In that review, Mr. Bell demonstrated that, though Deed Plotter is designed for those with no surveying background, it could prove very useful to surveyors.

Five months after that review was published, the following comments were received from Mr. Bell:I worked for seven months for a private engineering firm. I was assured that all boundaries were closed by irrefutable AutoCAD routines. By using your program, I found that they rarely closed. Thereafter, I checked all deeds with your program and found that it was easier, faster, gave a picture and more importantly gave an area and an analysis. I even checked my own deeds. You may quote me. Every surveyor should use Deed Plotter+ as an independent check on his legal descriptions. If it saves one bad legal from going out and tarnishing your reputation as a careful, conscientious surveyor, it is worth ten times the price.

Thank you for your kind words. I think I did not say enough about the programs value.

Joe Bell

A Brief History and Summary of Greenbrier Graphics, and its Deed Plotter, Deed Plotter+, Deed Plotter+ for Windows, and Net Deed Plotter Software:

The current president of Greenbrier Graphics first developed software (the original Deed Plotter) to draw and analyze legal descriptions in 1978.  This was about three years before IBM released its first P.C. By 1985, these programs were available for the IBM P.C., and distribution had begun.

In 1987, Greenbrier Graphics®, Inc. was created for the formal development and distribution of software, and it was decided to focus on the improving and marketing of our “non-surveyor” mapping program, which by then had been renamed Deed Plotter®. “Deed Plotter” became the trademark name of our mapping software and was/is marked as such on the software, manuals, and promotional literature (including advertising).

When our first update was released, a plus (+) was added to the name “Deed Plotter” so as to indicate improvements. We now had a Deed Plotter+®.  When we wrote our Windows version of Deed Plotter, we identified it as such by using the wording “Deed Plotter+ for Windows.”

Since 1987, we have been first in the design, implementation, improvement, and marketing of many features that help shield the end user from the difficulties that some legal descriptions can present.  For example, we first made the entry of unusual curve data possible and more user-friendly.

That same year, we began the development of a method used to automatically accept many metes & bounds legal descriptions as they exist in a word processor or text document. This process was called “proofing” and the program was called “Proofer™.”  When we moved to Windows (released Deed Plotter+ for Windows), further refinements were made to Proofer and the integrated process became known as “Deed Conversion™.”  If you type, scan, use voice recognition or any other means to create a document that includes a legal description, you may want to see if this automated description reader works for you.

From the beginning, we have indicated in our manuals that Deed Plotter is a “Deed Description Analyzer™” program.  That is not merely an advertising ploy.  The software has been continuously updated and improved relative to attempting the analysis of defective and complicated legal descriptions.  When our Windows version was released, it included a menu option entitled “Analyze Tract.”   We have included an “Analyze” example on this Web Site.

In late 2007 major revisions occurred resulting in version 5 of Deed Plotter.  This version of Deed Plotter is also referred to as Net Deed Plotter. Various updates have occurred since, and version 5.62 of Deed Plotter was released in May 2019.

In addition to writing code and manuals for Deed Plotter, the president of Greenbrier Graphics, LLC, has been active in improving the standards of surveying in West Virginia.  He has written articles that were published in the WVALS magazine and in P.O.B. magazine. He also worked with other surveyors on complex or disputed surveys and is an expert witness in court cases that involve boundaries or rights-of-way.  Deed Plotter is frequently used by lawyers for boundary disputes.
_____________________________________________________________________________