CPC files Compatibility with On-Screen Takeoff

Can I still use CPC files in On-Screen Takeoff?

Yes, CPC files are automatically converted to TIF format.

How does the converter work?

When you add a CPC file to a new project or access an existing project with CPC files the files are converted to TIF immediately and stored in the same directory as the CPC files.

 

I cannot get the CPCTool to work, what’s wrong?

When you import a CPC file or attempt to access an existing project with CPC files, a DOS prompt flashes on the screen, but the file is not converted. This usually indicates that the utility cannot register itself.

Vista Users

Due to the way that Vista maintains security, even if a user is an Admin, they aren’t really running AS AN ADMIN most of the time – only if an application invokes the Admin level of security (like our installer does) will Windows pass an Admin Token to the user for a specific use (like installing an application, writing to the system registry, deleting certain files). The CPCTool does NOT ask Windows for the Admin token correctly. 

See Converting CPC files when running Windows Vista for more assistance on manually registering the CPCTool converter

Windows XP Users

Even if you are an administrator on a machine, Windows may still be blocking the CPCTool from registering itself. See the FAQ about regarding Vista security (above) - follow the same steps to manually register the CPCTool.

I have an existing job. What happens to my takeoff when I convert the CPC to TIF?

Your takeoff should not be affected. If anything, you may need to make very minor adjustments to the scale. (Use the Calculate Scale feature – all of your takeoff will re-size itself once the scale is changed).

I’m using the Planroom tab in On-Screen Takeoff; why won’t my images convert correctly?

The CPCTool user agreement was not accepted by an Administrator (see above) or you have the Planroom Folder (Tools>Options>Folders) pointing to a location where you cannot create the directory structure. Even if you are able to  ACCESS a particular location, you  may not have access to WRITE/Create folders/files in that location.

 

Also, depending on how complex the folder structure, On-Screen Takeoff may not be able to accommodate the number of characters in the folder path  (limited to 256 characters TOTAL including the file name). If the CPC images will not convert to TIF, change the folder where the downloaded CPC files are stored (or copy all the CPC files) to your local hard drive. Then, have On-Screen Takeoff convert the files. THEN, you can copy/move the converted files back to your network drive and load the TIFs into your project. 

 

 

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