21.01 Tricks And Tips

Keyboard and Mouse Tricks

Hitting Spacebar toggles between the Takeoff Tool and the Select Tool
With takeoff selected, you can press the arrow keys on your keyboard to nudge or realign the takeoff that is selected
Hold the CTRL key down to temporarily access the Zoom Tool
Hold the ALT key down to temporarily access the Pan Tool
Roll the scroll wheel on your mouse to Pan up and down
Hold the CTRL key down and roll the scroll wheel on your mouse to Pan left or right
Hold the SHIFT key down and roll the scroll wheel on your mouse to Pan up or down
Right-click on a selected piece of takeoff or a condition gives you access to many of the program’s features directly. This is the Context Menu
To rename a condition without having to open the Properties, right-click on it and select Rename from context menu
Pressing the INSERT key will usually create a NEW object relative to your current focus (if you are on the Bids tab, a new bid, if you are on the Image tab, a new condition, etc)

Use the View Window to quickly navigate through your set of plans without changing the view in your Image Window
Use Bid Areas instead of Zones to separate takeoff quantities
Create your Bid Areas and then select the Bid Area you wish to do takeoff in and then perform the takeoff – your takeoff will automatically be assigned to this area
The Text Format Toolbar hides when text is not being edited and shows when text is being edited – you can permanently dock it if you like
Creating Layers in the Master->Default Layers dialog will create those Layers in every new bid
Using Connect and Setting A Tolerance greatly aids Snap To Linear
A linear condition can be Set As Curved Segment by default
Toolbars and Dockbars can be docked or undocked and moved anywhere on the screen, even on a second monitor
You can tell which areas have takeoff by expanding the Area drop-down. All areas in bold have takeoff assigned to them
You can tell which pages have takeoff on them by using the Pages drop down menu on the Image tab. All pages displayed with blue page icon have takeoff – this is also visible on the Cover Sheet
Undo/Redo only applies to takeoff objects
Most program wide options can be changed at the bid level by going to the Preferences Tab on the Cover Sheet
Default Preferences can be set at Tools-Options-New Bid. These options only affect NEW bids and will not change existing bids

Use the 3 buttons on the Main Menu bar to contact On Center Software with Feature Requests, Support Requests and Training Requests.