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- Trainer's Corner April, 2010
- By John Barrett, Instructor
-
In the Accubid Enterprise product family, the task of taking off database items, job items, and assemblies is made much easier by use of a takeoff pad. Accubid Enterprise ships with several default on-screen pads which can be modified to suit nearly any estimating environment. While Enterprise comes complete with a very comprehensive set of 'ready-made' takeoff pads designed to streamline your typical, day-to-day estimating procedures, you still have the flexibility of creating your own or customizing any existing take off pads.
The takeoff pad you create should be relative to the specification of the project being estimated. The takeoff pad enables you to take off material quickly and efficiently. You can add buttons to the takeoff pad that link to database items, sizes, variables, scales, functions, and keyboard buttons.
Fig. 1
To create a new takeoff pad, follow these steps:
- Select the Takeoff Pad Setup option from the Takeoff menu on the Takeoff screen.
Fig. 2
Note:
You can also set up takeoff pads from Enterprise Manager, within the Application Manager module. - From the Takeoff Pad Setup screen, click the folder icon on the toolbar to open the Load Takeoff Pad selection list.
Fig. 3 - Select the Takeoff Pad you want to start with. It can be any of these listed below in Figure 4.
Fig. 4 - Save the new pad by clicking the Save As icon on the toolbar.
Fig. 5 - When the Save Takeoff Pad As… dialog appears, enter the new name and make any changes to the new touch pad settings available in the dialog.
Fig. 6
Now that you’ve created a new takeoff pad, you’re free to add any number of function buttons as you require, or as your specification dictates.
After you’ve created your new takeoff pad, simply access it from the On-Screen Pad drop-down list. It will load onto your screen automatically.
Fig. 7
It’s important to note that while using a takeoff pad, whether it’s on or off-screen, the pad is not designed to represent the entire database available to you. It is best suited to provide you with the most likely and logical items for takeoff as they relate to the specification. In the event you need to access an item not listed in the takeoff pad, simply choose the Database tab at the side of the takeoff pad.
Fig. 8
Note:
This exercise was created by using the example of copying the ‘On Screen – Blank’ takeoff pad. A quick shortcut to creating an on-screen takeoff pad would be to copy an existing similar already populated takeoff pad rather than the blank one. This is done by following the same steps as above i.e. performing a simple Save As function followed by renaming and modifying the new takeoff pad as required.