Working with Plans from a Planroom or DFS

Many Planrooms and DFS post their projects in a format that automatically creates a bid in On-Screen Takeoff and allows a user to download the Image Files from within the software. These are called On-Screen Takeoff Projects - they will have an OSX extension. There must be an open database in order for the project file to work correctly.

 

DFS (Document Fulfillment System) is a project document management and fulfillment system that allows companies to store and organize their documents and display them online for quick and easy access. DFS will store any type of electronic file.

 

A DFS portal is a web site that displays projects and documents for quick and easy access. You can quickly search, view, download, order, and print documents that you need using a standard Web browser.

 

With On-Screen Takeoff, Planroom and DFS users can:

 

• Directly access document listing from enabled plan services
• Control the downloading of desired pages right from On-Screen Takeoff
• Check for document additions and revisions without using a browser

 

When an OSX file is used to create a project in On-Screen Takeoff, a new "Planroom" tab is created in the Conditions window. This Planroom tab allows a user to view a list of all the plans included with a project and then, download only those images they need.

 

 

There are four control button at the bottom of the Planroom tab.

 

Button	Description	What It Does
	Download Selected Page	Downloads the highlighted page and saves the image file to the folder specified under Tools>Options>Folders>Planroom Folder in a sub-folder named for the specific project.
	Download All Pages	Downloads all pages and saves the image files to the folder specified under Tools>Options>Folders>Planroom Folder in a sub-folder named for the specific project.
	Delete Page	Deletes the image file from the project's folder. Can always be downloaded again if you decide you need it.
	Cancel Download	Stops the current download.

 

The pages on the Planroom Tab may be color-coded if your Planroom supports this function.

 

• White : The page has not been downloaded yet
• Yellow : The page is current, no updates are available
• Red : There is an update available for this page which has not been downloaded
• Green : Updates were posted and successfully download, the page you are seeing is different from the original but is the most current available from the Planroom
• Broken : Indicates that the page is not available from the Planroom. The project file may be incorrect or the Web site may be unresponsive. Contact the Planroom directly for more assistance.

Viewing a PDF file that is part of a Planroom project

Many times, depending on how a project is actually setup by the Planroom or DFS, PDF files may be 'coded' to open in an external viewer and not directly in On-Screen Takeoff.

 

Notice, in the example below, we've already downloaded the !!cover.pdf file but the file is not being displayed in the Image window - you'll see the notice (Press Enter to View). That indicates that the Planroom has coded this particular file to open in an external program, usually Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can visit www.adobe.com to download the Reader.

 

 

Planroom Q & A

Will I be able to see the plans after they are removed from the site?

Yes, if you have previously viewed the plans and have not deleted them, you will be able to view or print them any time in the future since they are saved to your hard drive.

If you have not previously viewed the file or have deleted the images from your hard drive you will not be able to view them - they are simply not available for On-Screen Takeoff to download. Please contact your Planroom for further assistance.

Can I print just one part or a selection of a plan?

Yes, by zooming in on the part of the plan you wish to print and printing the Current View you can print exactly what you see on the screen.This printout will be scaled to fill as much of the paper size you are printing to. See Printing the Current View for more information.

How do I print my plans?

Review the Section - Printing. You must make sure that the plan is being displayed at the correct scale first. See Setting and Calculating the Scale of an Image for more information on this.

 

Copying Image Files from CD to your Hard Drive