Many Planrooms (builders exchanges, construction news services, job posting boards, etc.) post projects in a format that On-Screen Takeoff uses to create a Bid and setup the Planroom Tab in the Conditions window. These are called On-Screen Takeoff Projects and use an OSX file extension (example, Hotel Project.osx). Once the project is created, you can download the plans directly from the Planroom tab in On-Screen Takeoff.
- A Planroom is a subscription-based Internet site, such as a builders' exchange or construction newsroom, that allows users to browse projects and download them into On-Screen Takeoff.
- DFS is a project document management and fulfillment system that allows a company to store and organize their documents and display them online for quick and easy access. A DFS portal is a Web site that displays projects and documents for quick and easy access.
When you download an On-Screen Takeoff project file (an OSX file), the program creates a project in the current/active database and a new "Planroom" tab displays in the Conditions window (for that project only). That Planroom tab allows you to:
- Access a list of available documents and plans (if enabled by Planroom or DFS provider)
- Control the downloading of desired pages (right from within On-Screen Takeoff)
- Check for document additions and revisions without using a browser (if supported by the project provider)
There are four control buttons at the bottom of the Planroom tab.
| Button | Description | What it does/How it is used... |
|---|
|
 | Download Selected Page | Downloads the selected page and saves the image file to the folder specified under Tools > Options > Folders > Planroom Folder in a sub-folder named for the specific project |
 | Download All Pages | Downloads all pages into the Project folder |
 | Delete Page | Deletes the image file from the project's folder - it may be possible to download the page/file again as long as the project is still available on the Planroom or DFS site |
 | Cancel Download | Stops/interrupts the current download |
The pages on the Planroom Tab may be color-coded if the Planroom supports this function:
| Indicator Color | Icon | What it means... |
|---|
| White |  | The page has not yet been downloaded |
| Yellow |  | The page is current, no updates are available |
| Red |  | There is an update available for this page which has not been downloaded (page not current) |
| Green |  | Updates were posted and successfully downloaded, the page being displayed is different from the original but is the most current available from the Planroom |
| Broken |  | Indicates that the page is not available from the Planroom. The project file may be incorrect, the Web site may be down, or the project may no longer be available. Contact the Planroom directly for more assistance |
Project Updates
Many projects provide end-users with a notification that images have been updated when you open the Bid's Image Tab.
- If you click Yes, the project is updated. Pages may be added, deleted, or renamed, and other project related information may be changed. (If a page is deleted on which you had performed takeoff or annotation, that takeoff/annotation will be lost.)
- If you click No, the update is ignored until the next time the Bid is opened.
This check for updates cannot be disabled - it is part of Planroom Project functionality. If your project is modified by a project update, the change is not reversible - please contact the provider of the project if you have any problems.
On Center does not publish projects - we provide the software to import projects created by planrooms. On Center cannot modify projects or change the way these planrooms create or update their projects. You need to deal directly with whoever published the
project (the planroom or service) to request any change, ask questions about a
project, or provide feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions about *.OSX Projects
Viewing a PDF file that is part of a Planroom project
Many times, depending on how a project is setup by the Planroom, PDF files will open in an external viewer (usually Adobe Acrobat, but it depends on what is the default PDF handler on your computer) and not directly in On-Screen Takeoff.
Notice, in the example below, the page named "!!cover.pdf" indicates that this page is already downloaded (it displays a yellow page icon) but the file is not being displayed in On-Screen Takeoff's Image window - instead the message "(Press Enter to View)" shows. This indicates that the project is telling On-Screen Takeoff to open the PDF in an external view.
On-Screen
Takeoff is functioning correctly - this is how the author of the
project file has coded the
project, and not something that is controlled by On-Screen
Takeoff. If you would like this functionality changed, please contact the publisher of your
project directly. On Center cannot change this from within On-Screen
Takeoff.
It is possible to manually add PDFs into a
project after downloading them - see Related articles for information on adding images to a
project.
Can I still See the plans after they are removed from the site?
It depends, if you downloaded the plans to your hard drive and those plan files have not been deleted from your computer, they can be viewed even if the project is removed from the Planroom's Web site.
If you never downloaded/viewed the plan/page, or you have deleted the file/page from your computer's hard drive, then these pages cannot be viewed - they are simply not available for On-Screen Takeoff to download. Please contact the publisher for further assistance.
How do I print my plans?
See Related Articles for more information on "Printing" - we dedicate an entire Section to Printing.
Can I print just one part or a selection of a plan?
Yes, by zooming in on the part of the plan to print and printing the Current View, On-Screen Takeoff prints exactly what is displayed on the screen. This printout is scaled to fit the current paper size, see Related Articles for more information.
Can I Change the Bid Date displayed on the Bids Tab?
Yes, although this date is originally set by the Planroom, you can change it on the Cover Sheet in On-Screen Takeoff. If the Planroom issue an update to the Project, the Bid Date will change to reflect whatever the Planroom dictates.
How do I use On-Screen Takeoff with iSqFt projects?
See OST - iSqFt Projects for instructions on setting your preferred takeoff tool in iSqFt.
How do I use On-Screen Takeoff with ConstructConnect's Platform?
ConstructConnect Project Intelligence, Bid Center, and Document Viewer work a little differently than Planrooms that use OSX files. See this article for more information: On-Screen Takeoff - 03.13 Creating (Importing) a Job from ConstructConnect into OST using OST-Connect
Converting Overlay Files to TIFF