Pressing the <Spacebar> toggles
between the Takeoff Tool 
and the Select Tool 
With takeoff selected, press the arrow keys on the keyboard
to nudge or realign the takeoff that is selected
Hold the <Ctrl> key down and
click with the left mouse button Zoom in, click with
right mouse button to zoom out
Hold the <Alt> key down to temporarily
access the Pan Tool
Roll the scroll wheel on the mouse to Pan up and down
Hold the <Shift> key down and
roll the scroll wheel on the mouse to Pan left
or right
Hold the <Ctrl> key down and
roll the scroll wheel on the mouse to Zoom
in and out
Right-clicking on a selected piece of takeoff or on a Condition
provides access to many of the program’s features directly via
the Context Menus
To rename a Page without having to open the Cover Sheet, right-click
within the Image Window and select Rename Page...
from context menu
Pressing the <Insert> key creates
a NEW object relative to the current focus (a new BID on the Bids
Tab, a new Condition on the Image
Tab)
Use the View Window 
to quickly navigate through the set of plans without changing
the view in the Image Window or to see a detail page
while performing takeoff on the floor plan
Use Bid Areas instead of Zones
to separate takeoff quantities - Bid Areas are more precise, zones
can leave some takeoff 'unassigned'
Create Bid Areas, then select the Bid Area
before drawing takeoff – the takeoff is automatically assigned to
the selected Bid Area
The Text Format Toolbar hides when text is
not being edited and shows when text is being edited – it can be permanently
docked on the main toolbar by dragging an dropping it there
Creating Layers in the Master >
Default Layers dialog adds those Layers to 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 on the Advanced Properties tab
Toolbars and Dockbars can be docked or undocked and moved anywhere
on the screen, even onto a second monitor
It is easy to distinguish which Areas contain takeoff by expanding
the Area drop down menu - Areas in bold indicate takeoff is assigned
to them
It is easy to distinguish which which pages
contain takeoff on them by using the Pages drop down
menu on the Image Tab - any page displayed with
a blue page icon includes takeoff – pages are color coded the same
way 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
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