On-Screen Takeoff Tips & Tricks - OST DPC

Over the years, we and our users have come with quite a few tips & tricks when using On-Screen Takeoff^® (OST) (and Digital Production Control^®(DPC)).

Keyboard and Mouse Tips

Throughout OST:

• Pressing the <Insert> key creates a new object relative to the current focus
• if you're on the Bids Tab, a new Bid
• if you're on the Image Tab, a new Condition
• if you're in a list such as Employees or Styles, a new record dialog box opens
• in a grid such as Job Statuses, Bid Areas, etc., a new, blank row

On the Image Tab

• Press the <Spacebar> to toggle between the Takeoff Tool and the Select Tool .
• When you select one or more takeoff objects, press the arrow keys on the keyboard to nudge or realign the takeoff that is selected.
• Right-click on a selected piece of takeoff or on a Condition to open the Context Menu where you'll see numerous options.
• Some options on the Context Menu are duplicates of those found on the Toolbars and in the Menus
• Some options are only available via the Context Menu such as aligning gridded takeoff and duplicating/reassigning takeoff all at once
• Right-click within the Image Window (where your plan and takeoff are displayed), and select "Rename Page" to update a Page's name without opening the Cover Sheet.
• Use the next and previous buttons to cycle through all the Pages of your project so you can see the Page as you're naming it
• Hold down the <Ctrl> key and click with the left mouse button Zoom in, click with right mouse button to zoom out.
• Hold down the <Alt> key down to temporarily access the Pan Tool.
• Roll the scroll wheel on the mouse to Pan up and down.
• Hold down the <Shift> key down and roll the scroll wheel on the mouse to Pan left or right.
• Hold down the <Ctrl> key down and roll the scroll wheel on the mouse to Zoom in and out.

Efficiency and Usage Tips

• Use the Annotations and View Window (Ctrl + 2) 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. You can even draw Annotations (even Named Views) in the 2nd Window (applies to current versions of OST only).
• Use the View Window to open a third Page - only available when the 2nd window is already open.
• Use Bid Areas instead of Zones to separate takeoff quantities - Bid Areas are more precise, Zones can leave a little takeoff 'unassigned'.
• 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, though.
• Creating Layers in the Master > Default Layers dialog adds those Layers to every new Bid, but not in any existing Bids.
• Using Connect To and Setting a Tolerance in a Condition's Advanced Properties tab makes Snap To Linear easier to use.
• You can set all takeoff objects to be "curveable" when drawn in the Linear Condition's Advanced Properties. Just click the "Set As Curved Segment by default" property. Once drawn, when you leave the Page, the object becomes a straight segment if it hasn't been curved.
• You can move and redock the Toolbars and Dockbars within the On-Screen Takeoff window or even pull them out and drag them to a different monitor. On-Screen Takeoff "remembers" where you've put them next time you open a Bid.
• It is easy to distinguish which Bid or Typical Areas contain takeoff by expanding the Area drop-down menu - any Bid or Typical Areas in bold indicate takeoff is assigned to them.
• It is easy to distinguish 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.
• You can define Default Preferences by opening Tools > Options > New Bid. These New Bid options only affect Bids created after they are changed, existing Bids are never updated.
• Many Bid settings that are set by default can be changed at the Bid level by going to the Preferences Tab on the Cover Sheet.