10.01.00 Adding (linking) Images to a Bid

Adding Images to a Bid video

One of the primary functions of On-Screen Takeoff is allowing you to view project plans (Images, or electronic plans, plan files, or blueprint files). When you add Images to a project, they aren't actually being stored inside the database. On-Screen Takeoff just creates a link (a reference, so to speak) to the image files.

For detailed instructions on creating a Bid and how to add or manage images, watch the Training Video (Internet connection required). If you just have questions about adding images, fast-forward to 5:00 in the video.

When you add images from a CD or Flash Drive, that CD or Flash Drive must be in the CD-ROM every time the Bid is opened in order for those images to be displayed. On Center Software recommends copying the contents of any CDs to a local or network drive first then linking the Cover Sheet to that location (do not link files to a removable drive). (If you use the Bid Wizard, OST automatically copies all files to the local hard drive.)

Image links are specified on the Pages tab on the Cover Sheet. If the images are moved from their original location after being linked to, it is necessary to update the location of each page file. See the article Reassociating Image Files for detailed instructions on updating the file location if it changes.

See the next article for information on which image file types you can use with On-Screen Takeoff.

This article assumes that you are not using the Bid Wizard. When using the Bid Wizard, adding images is done during Bid creation and the files are all copied to the default Planroom folder. See Bid Wizard for more information.

Cover Sheet - Pages Tab

The Pages Grid

On the Cover Sheet, the pages grid shows a list of all pages currently added to the project, where the image file is stored, and page details such as size and scale.

There are eight columns on the Pages tab:

Field	Description
Page Title	When linking to an image file, if that document has an internal page title, it is displayed here, if not, the Image File name is displayed.
Repeats	Indicates the number of times this particular page is repeated. See Adding Repeating Pages for more information.
Page Size	Defaults to the Page Size listed under Tools>Options>New Bid unless specified in the image file.
Scale	Defaults to the Scale listed under Tools>Options>New Bid unless specified in the image file. The program can calculate the scale if it is in doubt. You MUST SET and VERIFY scale BEFORE performing takeoff. See Calculating and Setting Scale for more information.
Image File	Along with the Image Folder at the bottom of the Cover Sheet, indicates the actual file to which this project page is linked. (If the file is located in the "Image Folder", the file name will only show unique information for this file (sub-folder and name).
Index	When the Image File is a multi-page document (several pages within a single file, such as a mutli-page PDF), the Index indicates that page number to be displayed on the Image Tab for this project page.
Overlay Image	Specifies the Overlay Image - Overlays cannot be indexed files (multiple pages in one file).
Show	Drop down list allows user to select whether to display the Original, Overlay, or Both images.

The Image Folder indicates the common directory structure for linked files. In the example above, notice the pages only show the Image File and extension - that's because they are all in the "Image Folder". If the Image File is stored in the Image Folder, then it shows the file name and extension, if it is in a different folder, the entire directory structure displays.

The Pages tab control buttons

Button	Description	What it does
	Add new page (blank)	Inserts a new blank page one line below the currently selected line
	Add Images	Automatically adds images of the same file type (.tif, .pdf, etc.) from a selected folder
	Add new page and link to image	Inserts a new page and opens the image file selection dialog
	Add new folder	Adds a new folder immediately below the last folder in the list - allows estimator to organize the pages for easier page navigation. See Using Folders to Organize Your Plans for more information.
	Delete	Deletes the current selection - cannot be undone When you delete a page on the Cover Sheet, all associated takeoff in the base Bid AND every Alternate & Change Order is immediately and irrevocably deleted.
	Change Folder	Changes the folder where the currently selected page(s) are stored
	Duplicate Page	Duplicates the selected page (does not duplicate the takeoff) (only works with a single page at a time)
	Expand Image Folders	When working with folders on the Pages tab in the Cover Sheet, this expands all image folders.
	Collapse Image Folders	When working with folders on the Pages tab in the Cover Sheet, this collapses all image folders.
	Image Folder (and lookup button)	Indicates the common directory where the first images added to the Bid are stored. For example, in the screen shot above, Image files which only show an image name or partial path/name are stored in this "Image Folder", those showing a full path/name are not stored in the Image Folder and On-Screen Takeoff is storing the complete path to the image file. The lookup button allows the estimator to change the folder, in the event the majority of images are moved to a different location.
	Move Up button	Allows estimator to move a single page or congruent group of pages up in the grid, one row at a time.
	Move Down button	Allows estimator to move a single page or congruent group of pages down in the grid, one row at a time.

Notes

When first adding PDFs to a Bid, OST prompts you to convert the images to a TIFF format. Converting to TIFF format is optional, but recommended.
TIFFs require fewer system resources to display than PDFs and provide for better overall performance.
Most image files can be converted to TIFF from the Image Tab after they have been loaded - see Converting Plan Images to TIFF.
When you first add non-Group 4 TIFFs to a Project, you'll be prompted to convert to Group 4 TIFFs to improve performance. This is the ONLY time it is possible to convert non-Group 4 TIFFs.

Before you do ANY takeoff in your project, VERIFY the scale of EACH drawing you'll be using, see Verifying the Scale of an Image.

Adding/Linking Pages to a Project

Inserting Blank Pages into a Project

To add blank pages to a project, open the Bid Cover Sheet and on the Pages tab, click the Add button .This adds a blank page to the project. Now, to assign (link) an image to the new page, see below. If you are using a digitizer, add the total number of pages needed before starting takeoff. Set page size and, if known, the scale for each page.

Blank pages are added with the settings specified under Tools > Options > New Bid.

Linking an Image to a Blank Page

To link images to Bid pages:

Open the Cover Sheet and select the Pages tab
Click the Lookup button in the Image File column for each page to link to an image
In the Add Image dialog, browse for the image to link to
Once located, select the image file and click the Open button
The dialog closes and the Cover Sheet displays
The Page Name and Scale may be changed at any time but you MUST set and verify scale BEFORE doing any takeoff.

The page size (or dimensions) may only be changed immediately after the blank page is inserted - once an image is linked to a page the page size is unchangeable.

Adding a New Image Page

To add a single page linked to an image file using default page size and scale settings:

Click the Insert New Image Page button
When the Add Image dialog comes up, browse for the image file to link to this page
Once located, select the image file and then click Open - the Cover Sheet displays the new link
The size and scale are set based on the image file's properties, if available, or to the defaults specified in New Bids options

Duplicating a Page

To duplicate an existing page:

Click the Duplicate Page button - a copy of the selected page is added directly below the original page named "Copy of [duplicated page’s name]".

Takeoff and annotation from the original page is not duplicated. If you duplicate a Typical Page (a page with "Repeats", the duplicate page contains the same number of Virtual Pages as the original.

Adding a Group of Images

To add a group of images of the same file type (*.tiff; *.pdf, *.dwf, etc.) from a particular directory:

Click the Auto Add Images button
When the Add Images dialog comes up, browse for the location of the images
Locate the folder containing the images, select one of the images and click Open - On-Screen Takeoff adds all of the images of the same file type located in that folder - the Cover Sheet shows all the image files linked to new pages
When automatically adding pages in this manner, all image files of the same TYPE are added. For example, if there are .tiff, .pdf and .cal image files in the folder, to add all images, perform the Auto Add Images steps three separate times to grab all three types of files

Supported Image file types

10.01.00 adding (linking) images to a bid