Frequently asked questions

I moved a floating window (Measure, Magnify, Find, etc.) off the screen. How can I get it back?

If you accidentally move a window outside the visible window, you may move it back by using the browser's scrollbars to scroll the window until the element is visible. Then drag it back to the main area of the window.

I hid a corner element (Toolbar, Legend, Results, etc.) and cannot see it. How can I show it again?

If you collapse an element there should be a reversing icon near the area where it was collapsed. Try clicking the visible arrow to make the element appear. If that does not work, try clicking the Show/Hide all tools icon in the upper right corner of the map to see if it reappears.

The map window went away and all I can see is this help page now. How can I get back to the map?

Click the Launch map link at the top of this page to show the map window again.

What is the difference between Locate Address, Find Parcel and Search Street? Don't they all have an address?

Although streets, parcels and addresses all have to do with a street address, there is a unique distinction between all of them. The address for a parcel is the registered location at the time of the sale. Locate Address is helpful when there are multiple businesses located on the same property. Searching for a street may be necessary for routes designated as private.

When is the best time to use Locate Address vs. Find Parcel vs. Search Street?

If you are looking for a particular piece of land, then Find Parcel is the best choice. If you just want to find a location on a street and you know the street direction (i.e. NW, SE, etc.) then use Locate Address. Search Street is kind of a fall back solution to the first two methods. Generally you will be able to find what you are looking for using these one of these two options. However, occasionally there are properties (particularly apartment complexes, trailer parks and condominiums) that may not lend themselves to typical address searching.

When I type a Parcel Number in the Find Parcel window it states that the entry is invalid. What kind of format can I type here?

A permanent parcel number of 12 digits is based on the federal rectangular system of survey. The initial two digits represent a particular county within the state. Since this site only contains information for Kent County, these two numbers must be 41 (the Michigan state number for the County of Kent). The next two digits stand for a specific survey township within the county. This number will correlate with the following table:

ID	Township	Cities
01	Tyrone
02	Solon	Cedar Springs
03	Nelson	Cedar Springs
04	Spencer
05	Sparta
06	Algoma	Rockford
07	Courtland	Rockford
08	Oakfield
09	Alpine
10	Plainfield
11	Cannon
12	Grattan

ID	Township	Cities
13	Walker	Grand Rapids
14	Grand Rapids	East Grand Rapids	Grand Rapids
15	Ada
16	Vergennes
17	Wyoming	Grandville	Grand Rapids
18	Paris	Kentwood	Grand Rapids
19	Cascade
20	Lowell
21	Byron
22	Gaines
23	Caledonia
24	Bowne

The following two digits in a PPN indicate the Section number within the survey township. This number must be in the range of 01 through 36. These numbers starts at the top right of the township and then zig zag left to right as seen in this table:

06	05	04	03	02	01
07	08	09	10	11	12
18	17	16	15	14	13
19	20	21	22	23	24
30	29	28	27	26	25
31	32	33	34	35	36

The next single number represents the Quarter Section. This is numbered similarly to the section:

2 NW	1 NE
3 SW	4 SE

The next two numbers (typically combined with the Quarter Section number to form 3 digits) represents either the Quarter-Quarter Section (00, 25, 50 or 75) Or Subdivision Code (1-24, 26-49, 51-74, or 76-99). This makes the range for the numbers 100-499.  These are numbered within each Quarter Section as follows:

25 26-49	00 01-24
50 51-74	75 76-99

The final three digits identify the specific, individual parcel of land. This is typically in the range of 001-160.

A dash (-) is typically used to separate each of the sections mentioned above. Therefore the entry of 41-13-25-227-016 (Kent County, Walker Township, Section 25, Quarter Section 2, Subdivision Code 27, Parcel 016) represents the Kent County Administration Building at 300 Monroe Ave NW. This number can be entered with or without the dashes in the Find Parcel screen (i.e. 41-1325227016 or 411325227016). However, if dashes (or any other character) are placed in the wrong position, the error message at the bottom will appear. Also, if more or less than 12 total digits are specified, the Find button will not function until the number is corrected.

Troubleshooting

What to do, what to do...

I was sent to a page that said "We are terribly sorry, but the map encountered a problem." What do I do now?

First let us say, this is rather embarrassing. You should not have ever seen that page and our apologies are extended. But now what? I guess we need your help to get everything back to normal and keep this from happening again in the future.

The first thing you should try is clicking on that "back" link (or just click here). Hopefully, this will return you to the map and everything will be hunky-dory. If that doesn't work and you get sent to the dreaded Application Error screen again, try the "start over" link on the same line. This should open a new page and reset some things that may get you back to using the map the way it was intended.

So now you say "well, what if that doesn't work either?" Well, then I guess your sunk - just kidding. Let's try this: close every browser window that is open. Just to be clear that means that every Robot in the task bar needs to go away. Once they are all closed, try opening the map the same way you started it in the first place. Most of the time this will clear up the error you were getting and you should be up and running again.

What if that doesn't work? Well this is where we need your help. If the map fails to open immediately every time you open the window, you are best off calling the helpdesk at 616-632-6521. If the map only fails after you try a certain number of steps, then we need you to be a super sleuth: start writing down every step that you take from the time that you open the map. Then open a ticket or call the helpdesk to explain what you were doing when the map crashed.

Again, we are very sorry that this had to happen to you. We work hard to design systems that function well and our IT staff is always striving for near 100% uptime. Below are some specific error messages that you may receive and some suggestions of what to try for those exact situations. Hopefully you won't see this page again any time in the near future.

Error messages

Parcel Viewer is currently out of service. Please try accessing during business hours.

Occasional routine maintenance is required in order to keep all information in the map accurate. Especially on weekend nights, this message may appear to inform you of this replication. Please be patient for these processes to complete and try again during normal business hours. If this message appears during business hours, please feel free to contact the helpdesk.

An unhandled exception has occurred: There was an error in the callback.

The web application may have timed out. Try holding the Control key (Ctrl) down and clicking the browser's Refresh button or press F5 to restart the web application. If the error continues, please report the problem to the helpdesk at 616-632-6521.

SOM is not started.

Streets and addresses are constantly changing. To guarantee the best results from the Locate Address tool, the indexes for street address must be routinely rebuilt. If you receive this error, you are likely trying to use the map during a rebuild cycle. Please be patient for this process to finish and try the map again an hour or so later. If you still get an error when the map does become available, try using the Start Over link on the error page.

Application Error - Page_Error - serverObject

In this case, the normal web page does not appear, just this error message. A number of problems may be causing this error. The server may have too many users. In this case, wait a few minutes and try the website again. Or the server may be down. If the problem persists, contact the helpdesk at 616-632-6521.

Map never appears.

If the tools and borders appear with a constantly scrolling green progress bar, then the services that provide images for the map may be down for maintenance. This process should complete within a few hours and will typically be available during business hours. If not, please visit the helpdesk.

Application Error - Page_Error - Error HRESULT E_FAIL has been returned from a call to a COM component.

In this case, the normal web page does not appear, just this error message. The cause may be that one or more of the GIS services are not running. Ask the helpdesk (616-632-6521) to check that the services used by the website are running and accessible to the website.