This method is used for establishing the instrument stations only. After mixing the stations, details are located either by radiation or intersection. The characteristic feature of resection is that the point plotted on the plan is the station occupied by the plane table.

In this method of plane table surveying, the point is located on the plan by drawing a ray from the plane table station to the fact and plotting to scale along the beam the distance measured from the station to the end. The method is suitable for surveying small areas which can be commanded from a single station. It is chiefly used for locating the details from stations, which other forms of surveying, such as triangulation or transit-tape traversing, have previously established.

Plane Tabling is a graphical surveying method in which fieldwork and plotting are done concurrently. It is most suitable for filling in the details between the stations previously fixed by triangulation or theodolite traversing. It is particularly adapted for small-scale or medium-scale mapping in which great accuracy is optional, as for topographical surveys. 

A traverse is a set of connected lines whose lengths and directions must be measured. Traversing is the surveying process used to find these lengths and directions. In general, chains are used to measure length, and a compass or theodolite is used to measure the direction of traverse lines.