On-Screen Takeoff - 08.07 Adjusting Existing Annotation and Setting Defaults - OST

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Sometimes the Annotation font is too big and may block other information/takeoff or it may be too small to read at normal zoom. Annotations such as Dimension lines, Area labels, Text Boxes, even the dimension lines On-Screen Takeoff automatically inserts between related takeoff objects, can be formatted so the font is legible yet does not block the image.

You can also adjust the defaults for future Bids.

To format Annotation objects:

Existing Bids

Adjusting Text Properties

Click on the Select tool the select tool button is an upward pointing arrow angled slightly to the right

Click on the Annotation object to adjust, in the example, an Area Label

example of an annotation whose font is too big for the current page

The Text Format toolbar displays (it may be docked or undocked, depending on its state the last time it was shown)

On-Screen Takeoff text formatting toolbar

Select the Font Style and Size

Click away from the object to apply the changes

The selected annotation adjusts to the new Font Size:

example of an annotation whose font has been resized to fit better on the page

Adjusting a Shape's Color and Line Width

You can adjust shape of markup annotation (lines, arrows, callouts, ink) by right-clicking it and changing the Color or Line Width...

you can change the line width (strength) of shape takeoff

Deleting an Annotation

First, select the Annotation you want to delete (see Related Articles for more information).

Then, you can...

  • Right-click and select Delete, or
  • Click the Delete button on the Main Toolbar,
  • Press the DEL or Delete key on your keyboard.

If you made a mistake and didn't want to delete an Annotation, just press <Ctrl>+Z (or hit the Undo button) before you do anything else.

Future Bids (Setting Defaults)

To adjust Annotation font formatting for all future (new) Bids:

Click Tools > Options > Fonts/Colors

On-Screen Takeoff Options dialog box fonts/colors tab

Select the Annotation type in either the Default Font or Default Color box

Click the Change Font or Change Color button

Adjust the formatting as needed

Click the OK

New Bids are created using these default settings - adjusting default settings does not affect existing Bids.

Note
Shape Annotations (arrows, circles, clouds, etc.) retain their last format settings from use to use. For example, if you set a Shape annotation to Purple with a Line Depth of 6, that setting is retained until you change it again.

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