Welcome to the eTakeoff Newsletter – Issue 2, 2012

In this copy of the newsletter we bring you a case study with Construction Specialties, Inc. plus news on a current and upcoming releases of eTakeoff. There are also usage tips on moving projects and using the Project List window.

Case Study

CaseStudyConstSpecConstruction Specialties, Inc.

Founded in 1948, Construction Specialties, Inc. is an enormous organization with sales offices and manufacturing across the globe. They offer a wide variety of products including doors, wall coverings, flooring, louvers, grilles, sun controls, specialty venting cubicle tracks and curtains and more. Click here to read an interview with Steve Snyder, the Estimating Supervisor for their Expansion Joint Cover business unit.

Product News

eTakeoff Release 3.1-26

Versions 3.1-26 and later includes these enhancements. Enhancements are available in all versions [unless specified otherwise].

  • It’s now easy to change the folder for a project. eTakeoff will automatically move the drawing files if needed. (See the Basic Viewer Tip below.)
  • Integration with Construction Points is now supported.
  • A new extension was added to calculate joist lengths. [Premier]
  • A new polygon annotation was added (similar to the pattern search polygon). [Pro and above]
  • The default name for hyperlink annotations is set to the name of the destination drawing. [Pro and above]
  • You can now create a new layer when creating or editing a trace. [Pro and above]
  • A new user preference allows you to quickly create multiple dimension annotations. [Pro and above]
  • There are now user preferences for converting multi-color files to black and white. You can decide what levels of gray should be black or white.

Click here to get a detailed description of these and other enhancements.
WARNING: Upgrading to version 3.1-26 requires a database upgrade. If you have multiple users sharing the same database (not drawings) on a shared server, they all need to upgrade simultaneously.
eTakeoff Release 3.2

In the late summer or early fall we’ll release version 3.2. Among other things it will include major enhancements to Pattern Search and Drawing Compare. Look for more details in the fall newsletter and the eTakeoff Notification Window.

WARNING: Upgrading to version 3.1-26 requires a database upgrade. If you have multiple users sharing the same database (not drawings) on a shared server, they all need to upgrade simultaneously.

eTakeoff Release 3.2
In the late summer or early fall we’ll release version 3.2. Among other things it will include major enhancements to Pattern Search and Drawing Compare. Look for more details in the fall newsletter and the eTakeoff Notification Window.

Basic Viewer Tips

Move Project Button

It’s often useful or necessary to change the folder where a project’s drawing files are located. In the past this required backing up the project, deleting it, moving the folder and then restoring the project. Now it can be done more simply. You can change the folder for a project right inside of eTakeoff. Watch the video for details. Moving Project Folders is included with all versions of eTakeoff.

Advanced Viewer Tips

Project List Window

It’s fairly easy to manage information within projects. But until recently there were no tools for managing large numbers of projects. In release 2.5 we added more project information and a project window to let you list, sort and manage all your projects. Watch the video for details. The Project List Window is included with Pro, Pro-Plus, Advanced and Premier.