We offer software that makes
doing takeoffs easier and faster!
If you could
do your takeoffs in significantly less time, could you bid on more jobs?
If you bid on
more jobs, will you get more work?
To see how
this software is used in your trade, contact
us at (602) 224-9971 for a personalized on-line demonstration; whereby we
will take you through the software at the convenience of your own computer.
The software we offer is
available in three levels of functionality:
Basic - This
version allows viewing and printing drawings, organizing drawings in
projects and measuring but measurements can't be saved. It also allows full
review of information created with more advanced versions.
Pro - This version adds the ability to save measurements and
annotations, display them in various colors, list the measurements, and
easily transfer them to other applications.
Premier - This
version adds the ability to organize measurements and annotations in layers,
calculate quantities based on multiple measurements and compare drawing
versions.
The software’s Plan Viewer is
much more than a viewer. It performs several main functions:
Viewing
drawings
Organizing
drawings in projects
Making
measurements
Making
annotations
Organize
measurements and make advanced calculations
Transferring
quantities to other applications
Printing
drawings with their measurements and annotations
Comparing
different versions of a drawing to identify changes
Viewing Drawings
The software allows you to view the plans with powerful zooming and scrolling
capabilities. The software also allows you to organize drawings by project. You
can switch between drawings instantaneously within a project. If more than one
person uses the software in your organization, drawings and other project
information can be stored on a common server.
These capabilities are available
in all versions.
Organizing Drawings in
Projects
Drawings can be organized in projects to make it easy to move from drawing to
drawing within a project, or to move from project to project. Drawings and
projects can be quickly chosen from drop-down lists or from folder trees. The
viewer remembers the last project you viewed, the last drawing viewed within
each project and the last view displayed for each drawing. This makes it easy to
move among drawings and pick up where you left off.
These capabilities are available
in all versions.
Making Measurements
Making measurements in the software is done by simply clicking on the points in
the measurement. For each measurement, the software stores the point count, the
length, the area and the perimeter. The perimeter is the length plus the
distance from the last point to the first point (you don't have to manually
close the measurements). You can
also combine disconnected groups of points into a single measurement, define
cutouts within areas, quickly digitize arcs, digitize to a known length and edit
existing points.
Measurements may be displayed in
many different ways using "Traces". A trace defines the colors and
other attributes for the points, the lines between the points and the area
enclosed by the points. Standard traces can be defined and re-used.
The Basic version
supports making a single measurement which isn't saved. It may be displayed
using pre-defined traces. The Pro and Premier versions support all
measuring capabilities.
Making Annotations
Annotations are used to add notes and other marks to drawings. The software
supports many methods of annotating:
Text
Annotations
Line
Annotations
Rectangular
Annotations
Oval
Annotations
Hyper-link
Annotations
Most annotations are created by
clicking on one or two points. Foreground colors, background colors and font
characteristics can be specified for annotations. Hyper-link annotations are
used to create a link form one drawing to a view of another drawing. Clicking on
the hyper-link displays the view of the second drawing.
The Basic version doesn't
support annotations. The Pro and Premier versions support all
annotation capabilities.
Organizing Measurements and
Making Advanced calculations
The Measurement List provides a simple list of all the measurements in a
project. The list can display the measurement description, trace, quantity, unit
of measure, layer and drawing. The list can be sorted by any of these values.
The list can be printed or easily transferred to other applications such as
Excel.
The Quantity Worksheet is a more
advanced tool for organizing measurements and annotations. It also lets you
perform calculations and easily transfer them to other applications. The heart
of the Quantity Worksheet is the Worksheet Tree/Grid Control. This tree part of
the control allows you to define a hierarchy of project information (items),
much like the hierarchy of folders you use to organize files.
You can assign measurements and annotations to the item branches in the tree.
This can be done by simply dragging them from the drawing, or you can have them
assigned automatically. Assigning measurements to items allows you to accumulate
measurement quantities and even use them in calculations. The item quantities
can then be dragged and dropped to other applications such as Excel.
Assignments can also be used to
drill down to specifics in the drawings. If you're looking for information about
a concrete slab, you can browse down through the tree until you find it. Then
you can double click on the assigned measurements and annotations and jump to a
view of the drawing they came from.
The Basic version allows
you to view, print and transfer Measurement Lists and Quantity Worksheets
created with more advanced versions. The Pro version supports the
Measurement List. The Premier version supports both the Measurement List
and the Quantity Worksheet.
Transferring Quantities to
Other Applications
The software supports both the "cut and paste" and "drag and
drop" techniques to transfer information to other applications such as
Excel. When viewing measurements on a drawing, you can transfer individual
measurements. When working with the Measurement List or the Quantity Worksheet,
you can transfer individual cells, rectangles of cells, entire rows, entire
columns or even the entire grid.
Excel Integration
The software offers an Excel Add-in that provides advanced integration. The
add-in provides functions that lookup measurement and worksheet quantities in
the software. When quantities are transferred to Excel, they can be transferred
as formulas containing those functions rather than as numbers. The formulas then
extract the actual quantities from measurements or worksheet quantities. So when
measurement and/or worksheet quantities change, you can choose
"Refresh" from the software menu in Excel and instantly see the latest
values.
You can right-click on an Excel
cell containing a software function and pick "the software Drill Down"
from the context menu. The measurement or quantity worksheet item referenced by
the function will be instantly displayed in the software.
The software Excel Add-in is
included in the Premier version of the software. It can be purchased as
an add-on module for the Pro version.
Printing Drawings with Their
Measurements and Annotations
The software has extensive printing capabilities. You can print an entire
drawing or just the current view of the drawing. You can print at the original
scale or a percentage of that scale. Or the scale can be adjusted to fit the
printed area to the page. When the printing will extend across multiple pages,
you can print across then down or vice versa. Edge pages that contain no
significant information can be omitted.
Printing capabilities are
available in all versions.
To
see how this software is used for your vocation, contact
us at (602) 224-9971 we are happy to provide a personalized on-line
demonstration; whereby we will take you through the software at the convenience
of your own office.
