Interface Help

Toolbar Help

Property Search Help

FAQs

Understanding the Parcel Viewer Interface

Below is an illustration of the Parcel Viewer interface. Hover your mouse cursor over a part of the image to see the name for that part of the interface. If your cursor indicates a hyperlink with the pointing hand symbol, , click to jump to a text description and, if applicable, instructions for how to use that part of the interface.

When you see this symbol, , in one of the help items below you can click on it to see an illustration that is specific to that item (then click your browser's "Back" button to return to this page).

Parcel Viewer Interface Illustration (smaller than actual size)

Search Display Area (Search Menu)
This area of the screen displays search options (in the initial view ) and search input forms. When necessary, this area also displays lists of possible matches from which you can select precise matches.

The search options are:

• Search by Address

Click here to see how.

• Search by Parcel Number

Just enter any 10-digit parcel number in the space provided. (If you want to look up a condominium, parcel numbers for condominiums are treated a little differently.)

Click here to see how.

• Search by Street Intersection

Enter the names of a street and a cross-street to locate a particular intersection (and then navigate to a nearby parcel).

Click here to see how.

Results/Text Display Area
When you successfully complete a parcel search, or when you use the identify tool on a parcel in the main map, the resulting information is displayed in this space.

The parcel search report consists of the following:

• parcel number

• street address

• zipcode

• taxpayer name

• a link to the Property Report
  The report displays the available information from a copy of the King County Assessor's database that is located on the Parcel Viewer server. The report categories are:

  • Assessor Real Property Records

  • Assessor Parcel Records

  • Assessor Legal Description Records

  • Assessor Commercial Building Records.

• a link to the Districts Report
  This report displays the results from queries to 30 GIS data layers that contain information about political, developmental, management, and regulatory districts and areas. Please be patient, it can take up to 30 seconds to query this many layers and generate a report. The results include county council district, school district, water district, zoning code (unincorporated King County only), proximity to the urban growth area, floodplain designation, sensitive areas designation, watershed, and much more.

• a link to the DDES Permit Search engine.
  DDES=King County Department of Development and Environmental Services.

Mini-Menu

This button bar provides you with some useful links and functions that are separate from direct interaction with the map display (which the tools in the toolbar provide).

• Intro button
  This is a link to the Parcel Viewer main Web page.

• Help button
  This is a link to the Parcel Viewer Help overview page.

• Print button
  Click the print button to open a form into which you can enter a map title of your choice and then with just the push of a button create a map layout that you can print from your Web browser. Here's how:

  1. Click the print button to open the input form, which will appear in the search-menu area of the Parcel Viewer interface. There you may type a title for your print page.

  2. Click the button that says "Printer friendly page" and wait for the page to be generated. The page will contain your title (or a default title), the map image, and data for any parcel that is currently selected.

  3. Finally, use your browser controls to print as you would any Web page. (Then use your browser's "back" button to return to the Parcel Viewer interface.)

  4. To save the map as an image file instead of printing it, right-click (Windows) or click and hold (Mac), and then use your browser's save-picture-as or save-image-as command.

• Standard Mode button
  The illustration immediately above shows the side-by-side buttons that you can use to toggle back and forth between Standard Mode and Enhanced Mode. Standard Mode offers just the basic three search options: Search by Address, Search by Parcel Number, and Search by Street Intersection.

• Enhanced Mode button
  The illustration immediately above shows the side-by-side buttons that you can use to toggle back and forth between Standard Mode and Enhanced Mode. Enhanced Mode offers the basic three search options plus the ability to select multiple adjacent parcels according to their proximity to another parcel.

Current Tool Indicator
The current tool indicator updates automatically to display the name of the active tool.

See also: Using the Parcel Viewer Toolbar

Main Map Display 
This area is your dynamic map display space. Each time you pan or zoom or perform a search, a new map image is created on the server and displayed here. Use the various tools to the right of the map display to pan, zoom, or select a parcel on the map image.

See also: Mini-Menu, Print button for instructions on how to print or save the map image.

Toolbar
The toolbar contains the buttons you use to interact with and control the map display.

See: Using the Parcel Viewer Toolbar for details regarding the interactive functions that can be performed on the map with the various tools.

Large Map / Small Map Toggle Button
Click this text button to increase the size of the main map display (and return it to its standard size when desired). In order to see the entire Parcel Viewer interface in large-map mode, your computer monitor must support a screen display of 1024 by 768 pixels or greater.

The standard main map display (the map image only, not the entire Parcel Viewer interface) is 400 by 350 pixels. When you click "Large Map," the main map display will increase to 600 by 450 pixels.

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Revised June 23, 2003