5.02.00 bids tab

The Bids Tab video

The Bids Tab displays a summary for each Bid in the current database.  Selecting a Bid from the Bids Tab activates the Image, Takeoff, and Worksheet Tabs for that Project.

(No Bid selected)

(Bid Selected)

• The Bid Date column is updated when a project is loaded or updated from a Planroom.  The user can set or change this in the Cover Sheet.
• The Copy From and Copy Timestamp columns are populated when a Bid is copy and pasted within the same database or duplicated within the same database.  The Copy From field indicates the original Bid Number and the timestamp (the date and time) when the copy was made.
• Click on the desired column header (i.e. Bid No., Project Name, Status) and an arrow will appear next to the group title: a down arrow indicates the list is sorted in descending order, and an up arrow, ascending.
• Double-click on a Bid to open the Image Tab for the selected Bid.

Use filtering and grouping on the Bids Tab to organize/find Bids easier...

Filtering the Bid List

To locate Bids quickly, there are two filter fields located directly below the main Tabs:

• Project Name
• Estimator

To filter by Project Name, type the name in the respective field and the Bid list filters based on the entry - to turn the filter off, click the Delete button next to that field.  In the example above, we typed "PL" in the Project Name Filter, only those projects whose Project Name includes (not necessary starts with) the letters "PL" are displayed.

To filter by Estimator, click the arrow in the field, scroll to a selection and click on it - only Bids that have that Employee as "Estimator" on the Cover Sheet are displayed. In order for an Employee to appear in the Estimator drop down menu, they must have Enable Login selected in their Employee detail (see Master Database Tables - Employees for more information).

• Project Name and Estimator filters are persistent between sessions - be sure to clear them when creating a new Bid or looking for something that does not fit the filter.

Grouping the Bid List by Job Status

To group the Bids list by Job Status, right-click anywhere in the Bids list to bring up the Context Menu and select Group by Job Status.

When the Bids list is grouped by Job Status, the Bids list collapses and green dots display next to each different Job Status in use.  To see all of the Bids set to a particular Job Status, click the expand list button () that appears to the left of the green dot.

Bid Date Color Code

On-Screen Takeoff color codes the Bid Date to help you quickly identify Bids you need to work on TODAY (or in the future).  

Blue - Future date

Red - Today's date

Black - Past date

This is driven by the Bid Date in the Cover Sheet.

The Bids Tab context menu

Options on the Bids Tab context menu change depending on whether the click occurs on a Bid, folder, empty space, or deleted Bid.

Option	What it does or how it's used...
New >>	Bid - Creates a new Bid. Alternate - Creates a new Alternate for the selected Bid. Change Order - Creates a new Change Order for the selected Bid. Folder - Creates a new Folder where Bids can be placed.  Bid folders allow a user to organize Bids by any particular criteria. Database - create a new Access or SQL database
Open...	Opens the Open Database dialog box.
Close	Closes the current database.
Import...	Opens the Import dialog box for importing different files.  See Importing Bids for details.
Export...	To Takeoff File - Creates a *.ost file (Takeoff file) - this can be imported into On-Screen Takeoff or some estimating programs.  This file does NOT include the image filfes To Bid Package - Create a *.osp file - this Bid Package can include all plan images.
Properties	Opens the Database Properties dialog box for the selected database.
Compact/Repair	Runs the Compact & Repair routine on the selected database.
Backup	Places a copy of the selected database in the "Backups" folder.
Duplicate	Duplicates the highlight Bid(s).
Delete	Deletes the highlighted Bid or Folder.
Rename	Renames a selected Folder.  To rename a Bid, open the Bid's Cover Sheet.
Renumber Conditions	Renumbers the selected Bid's Conditions in their current sort order.  It is best to do this from the Conditions Tab.
Restore Bid	Moves the selected Bid from the Deleted Bids folder back to its original location.
Empty Deleted Bids Folder	Permanently removes all Bids from the database currently stored in the Deleted Bids folder.
Group by Job Status	Groups the Bids Tab by each Bids' Job Status.
Expand/Collapse All	Expands or Collapses all Bid folders

Image Tab