[David Cutler]

Alright, the suspense is killing me, who’s got some “new tricks” learned from XCON to share?

[David Cutler]

I was hoping to make it to at least a few sessions today, but it’s a bit crazy around here…

Looking forward to hearing everything that everyone is taking away!

[David Cutler]

Interesting question Vince. My first thought was that the new columns wouldn’t apply to old markups because of formulas and such, but that doesn’t make sense since the formulas are column based, not tool based.

I’ve had a similar issue where I’ve opened a takeoff file that was created by one of my coworkers with a different profile and an older version of Revu. When I add new a new markup my custom columns populate, but they don’t for the previously applied markups.

Perhaps there is a “refresh markups” or “recalculate columns” command that we haven’t seen yet? If there isn’t, perhaps this is something to add to the “feature request list”.

[David Cutler]

Thank you for the quick replies Matt and Troy!

[David Cutler]

I have a “Cutler Takeoff Notes” workbook in Excel that I use for every project. I typically start with a copy from a previous estimate. This has my checklist for what sub/suppliers that I need to contact and multiple calculation sheets that I use for various details, stone summaries, earthwork calculations, etc. I don’t use every tab in every estimate, but it saves me from starting from scratch each time.

On the Revu side I have started to use an “Estimate Cover Sheet” that includes my standard estimate items (and ones that I historically have forgotten to add in). This brings my Mobilization, Supervision, Layout, Testing, Portable Toilets, etc into every estimate with a simple page insert. The cover sheet is a work in progress. I’m anticipating adding standard layers and other standard items to it in the future.

[David Cutler]

I haven’t registered yet Doug. Talking about the sessions afterwards is a great idea. I look forward to being a part of the discussions – especially in person next year.

[David Cutler]

Soooo many possibilities with this one @troydegroot that I’m not sure where to start…

I need to go re-read the post, but a couple of questions to start with after my first read:

1. If a quantity link is established by a user with an Extreme license, can the markup be performed by someone with a Standard license?

2. Is it possible to have multiple people working in the same PDF file adding markups concurrently?

3. Does quantity link work with drawing sets?

4. Can the same linked Excel file draw from multiple PDF files?

Looking forward to exploring this one further.

[David Cutler]

That’s what I found with this drawing set Vince – too much information on one sheet. I’ve always struggled with deciphering the layer names that the designers use. Using the Isolate tool I will be able to clearly see what is on each layer. I might even re-name some of them so that I don’t have to keep guessing.

[David Cutler]

Now you have kicked in my FOMO… Just tried registering but my discount code isn’t working… Best laid procrastination plan isn’t working out…

Looking forward to hearing what everyone picked up.

[David Cutler]

I hear what you are saying @troydegroot but my way is sooo much more efficient than those other people! 🤣

[David Cutler]

That’s a good question Vince.

The standard “Snip & Sketch” captures does work well for photos and does save the step of printing the photo to a PDF. The challenge becomes when working with text or linework “Snip & Sketch” also captures the background. As a result, in this example “Snip & Sketch” would generate a block of white, in addition to the text. The Revu Snapshot tool only captures the text from the PDF (assuming you have the gridlines turned off in Excel when you print to PDF).

As a side note, for more complicated forms, I’ve considered making an Excel grid template with cell names in each cell (A1, A2, A3) and then printing that to a PDF. Using the Snapshot tool I could then paste that grid over another PDF and use the grid to “map” the form that I’m looking to fill out. I’d then write a series of formulas in Excel to place my data where it needs to be to be pasted into the form.

[David Cutler]

This is another case where the Revu Snapshot tool’s ability to only capture the “linework” without the background color provides better functionality than the default Windows “Snip & Sketch”.

[David Cutler]

Now you have my curiosity up Doug…. I was a bit surprised by your original question as I thought it was as simple as combining files, but now I see that there is more to it…

[David Cutler]

Thank you for sharing these Andrew!

[David Cutler]

I think I’d take it a step further Troy and say that you need to start with how you need to present the information to the client at the end of the process as this drives how you enter the data into the estimating software. Having an item for 10,000 lf of quarter round doesn’t do you any good if your client wants to know how much quarter round is in on each floor.

Spaces are an interesting topic. I’ve experimented with them some, but haven’t had the right project to fully develop my knowledge of how to use them yet. I wonder if we will ever see a routine in Revu that would auto establish spaces…