Measure Square 2017 Commercial Edition User Guide

Transcription

1 Measure Square 2017 Commercial Edition User Guide 2/17/17 Contents 1. About Measure Square Corp What Can MeasureSquare Do? How to Evaluate 15-Day Free Trial Contact us Getting Started Download and install MeasureSquare Register MeasureSquare ID Four steps to estimating a project User interface introduction Plan Import and Trace Rooms Import a plan Set plan scale Add multiple floors Plan Takeoff (Room Drawing) Freedraw a room Draw a rectangular room Create rooms based on existing walls Reopen to draw Add a doorway and a window Add a stairway Add an elevation Creating border dividers Creating internal wall Creating curved walls... 31

2 7.11. Divide floor in to regions to receive different products Batch room takeoff using floor divider and split room command Batch room takeoff using Draw Wall command Nest rooms inside another room to create an open floor plan Merge selected rooms Duplicate rooms and floors Insert holes on floors Add a note and handwritings Add a line segment Review and modify properties of rooms, doorways, elevation etc Search a room on diagram D view Export plan as AutoCAD file View Options and Edit Tools Product Assignment Manage master product database Manage product database structure Add or delete products in master product database Relocate a product to another folder Create multiple product databases Create project-level product list Applying flooring products (carpet, vinyl, tile, hardwood, laminate, etc. ) to rooms by drag-and-drop method Apply product to stairways Apply area items, linear items, and EA items to stairs Apply product to treads, riser, and stringer Different stairway covering styles Apply a linear base product to room perimeter and single wall segment Apply multiple linear products to the same wall base Apply transition on doors or on border of different products Apply subfloor underlayment Associate product with add-on items Apply heat welding rod on borders of sheet vinyl and swim lanes... 76

3 8.11. Remove product assignment Room view Wall stack design Wall profile Room Profile Apply tile pattern to floor and walls Tile Pattern Editor Arbitrary tile design with tile replacement tool Seam Layout and Estimation Entering layout and estimating mode Complete estimating commands on estimating toolbar Estimation Settings for roll goods Review estimation data Estimate by floor Change layout direction for roll goods Seam manipulation Cut sheet manipulation Pattern carpet layout setting Estimation for Tiles Different Tile Waste Calculation Methods Associating Grout and Computing Grout Freestyle Tile Import, crop, and associate image with tiles and display tile image on diagram Match pattern carpet and tiles across multiple rooms or regions Control estimation settings for roll goods Set Project-level estimation criteria Set System-level estimation criteria Export Estimation Data to Worksheet Project Printout and Report Synchronize to M2 Cloud License Control System Setting Onsite measure with Disto laser meter

4 15.1 Pair Disto meter with Windows and MeasureSquare Drawing with the DISTO and MeasureSquare Advanced Techniques How to Convert C++ Database and Projects to.net Convert C++ Database to.net Convert C++ Projects to.net

5 1. About Measure Square Corp Measure Square Corp. was founded in 2001 with a mission to create the best measure estimating software on the best computer platforms available. Over the years, generations of its products have shaped the way that measure estimating is being done, with efficiency, accuracy, and professional results. Since the company s inception, MeasureSquare s customer base has grown from zero to businesses. Customers range from national firms such as Sherwin Williams, Redi Carpet, and FCI to regional multi-location operations like RiteRug, R.C.Wiley, B.T.Mancini, Acousti Engineering Corp. and installers for Home Depot and Lowe s to small retail stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. 2. What Can MeasureSquare Do? Designed for commercial flooring contractors, M2 commercial handles takeoff, estimating and layout on blueprint plans for carpet, tile, vinyl, wood, laminate, and add-on items such as pad, base, transition, welding, labor items for multi-family and large commercial jobs. Key features: o o o o o o Batch import and scale blueprints from PDF, CAD, and other formats Takeoff floors, regions, walls, and ceilings with product assignments Specify flooring products, add-on line, and labor items by drag and drop method Estimate product quantities and seam layout with optimize cut waste and seam locations Generate a clean cut sheet and seam diagram for installers Print to blueprint scale with details, or export report in Excel, PDF. 3. How to Evaluate 15-Day Free Trial Follow the instructions below to deploy MeasureSquare program o o o Step 1: Verify system requirements o Windows 7, 8, or 10 (32/64 bit) Step 2: Download program and register for 15-day free trial account o Download 15-day Trial here o Register M2 ID and trial account Step 3: Watch video tutorials and sign-up for a demo

6 o o Sign up for a free webinar with live Q&A by calling or ing us. o Watch our self-learning video tutorials Step 4: Subscribe o Monthly payment, no contract o Updates and support included o Onsite and web training available: 4. Contact us North America: Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom: Customer support hotline: M-F 8am-5pm Pacific Time Submit your questions from the web: ml support staff: support@measuresquare.com Australia Office (Australia, New Zealand) PO Pox 2144, Woorim, Bribie Island, QLD, 4507, Australia AU: info@measuresquare.com.au NZ: info@measuresquare.com.nz UK Office (Great Britain) MeasureSquare 221 E Walnut St, Suite #110 Pasadena, CA Unit 13b Brindley Court, Dalewood Road Lymedale Business Park, Newcastle Under Lyme Staffordshire, ST5 9QH, UK , info@measuresquare.co.uk 5. Getting Started 5.1. Download and install MeasureSquare Follow instructions below to download and install MeasureSquare on your PC Download a 15-day Trial from here

7 After the download is complete, double-click the MeasureSquare installation file to start installation wizard. Click Next to start installation. Follow instructions to finish installation. After installation is completed, double-click icon on your desktop to launch MeasureSquare program 5.2. Register MeasureSquare ID When launching MeasureSquare for the first time, you are prompted to register a MeasureSquare ID. Why you need to create a MeasureSquare ID (M2 ID) M2 ID works like an Apple ID in that you use it to identify yourself and sync diagrams with other ios devices, such as ipad and iphone, and it enables you to store data on M2 Cloud when using sync function of M2 program. You can also synchronize projects between the M2 Cloud and desktop.net MeasureSquare. M2 ID also enables you to use network features such as Synchronizing projects and product database to M2 cloud Sharing projects and product catalog How to register M2 ID? Open MeasureSquare program and click Register for free trial to create a M2 ID and password

8 Enter a valid address and contact information. Click Register. After signing up, check your and proceed to activate your M2 ID by clicking the activation link from the confirmation sent to your registered address. After activation is completed, open MeasureSquare program again, sign in with your M2 ID ( used to register) and password, and click Login button Four steps to estimating a project Step 1: Import Plans and Trace Rooms Import PDF plans and establish scale (PDF and image files are supported) Set up product schedule with color coding for surface products (carpet, sheet vinyl, ceramic, VCT, wood, laminate), with add-on line items Trace room areas, perimeters, walls/ceilings Step 2: Assign products and Add-on Details Visually drag and drop products and add-ons to room area, walls including pad, base, transition, welding, labor charges, etc. Add details such as borders, doors, stairways, islands, cabinets, tile patterns, flash cove Use multiplier for multiple floors Verify product assignments in 2D and 3D on floors and walls. Step 3: Layout/Estimate

9 Calculate product and add-on item quantities, linear length, and waste ratio in seconds Optimize seam location, layout direction, cut waste, and match pattern carpet across rooms Re-estimate instantly with product changes Step 4: Generate a Quote and Report Print estimation report, cut sheet, seam diagram, and floor plan with product color coding for clients and installers. Create quotation, work order, and invoice forms Export estimation to PDF and Excel 5.4. User interface introduction MeasureSquare contains several key components: 1. File menu (TOP LEFT) allows users to start a new estimate, open an existing project, save an existing project, print reports, change settings, and synchronize to M2 Cloud in MeasureSquare. 2. Quick Access Tool Bar (TOP LEFT) the most frequently used tools can be placed in this toolbar, providing the user with easy and quick access to those tools. 3. Workflow Tabs (TOP LEFT) organizes a set of tabs representing estimating workflow from Project Info, Takeoff, to Worksheet. Some of these tabs appear only when a certain type of object is selected, providing specific tools for items such as the Freedraw Tool tab. 4. The Ribbon (TOP MIDDLE) contains groups of toolbars namely Project Info preparation tools, Takeoff tools, Estimating tools, Zoom In/Out, and so on. 5. Product/Services List (Master Database) and Project Item List Panel (LEFT) on the lefthand side and contains main products and services list, project items list, and some tab functions at the bottom including Tile Patterns, Profiles, and Templates. 6. Drawing and Layout Area (CENTER) area window for drawing room and material layout, seam cut layout, cut sheet on lower section. 7. Property View window (RIGHT) is located on the right-hand side of the screen and automatically indicates the room/door/window/stair properties, Estimation results, and Room View list.

10 File menu 6. Plan Import and Trace Rooms Often builders, architects and designers send floor plan files electronically in PDF or CAD or image files, such as jpeg, tiff, etc. The program provides various importing functions to bring these files into the program and users can then takeoff the areas from the imported image background Import a plan 1. From Takeoff tab, select the Import icon, and select import file type from the submenu: Supported file formats are: General image formats: JPG, TIF, GIF, BMP etc.

11 Adobe file format: PDF 2. Select image properties Image size: by default, Image Size is 7980 x To fine tune the image size, user can change either Image size pull-down or Resolution. Please note that the higher the resolution is, the larger the image and project file are. Color Format: Color images will be converted to gray scale by default. If one wants to preserve original color of the image, select Colorful option from pull-down list. File Format: Blue prints can be converted in to either Tiff or PNG format. 3. At the preview screen, one can: Crop or rotate an image Select one or multiple pages to import from the right panel Select desired resolution by dragging the DPI bar Scale the image

12 6.2. Set plan scale MeasureSquare provides two methods to set up blueprint scale: Method 1: Select blueprint scale 1. From Takeoff tab, select Import, and select import file types 2. At the preview screen, find Blueprint Scale pull-down list->select desired scale 3. Select which pages to import from right panel->click Import to Current Layer 4. Verify the scale with Dimension Method 2: Use two points to scale a plan 1. From Takeoff tab, find Scale icon -> left-click to start measuring a known size on the plan such as the doorway or the longest wall-> enter actual size->ok. 2. Verify the scale with Dimension

13 6.3. Add multiple floors Residential houses, apartments and commercial buildings may be constructed in multiple floors, the program provides the function to add and edit multiple floors. Add a new floor: click green + icon next to main floor tab and enter floor name. Click OK. Delete layer: click x icon to select delete a floor. Switch among layers: Triangle icon to pop-up a list of floors, select a floor to switch to that floor. The highlighted one denotes current floor.

14 Change layer tab: Open the property window on the right to re-name layer tab 7. Plan Takeoff (Room Drawing) MeasureSquare provides various methods to takeoff a plan Freedraw a room To capture irregular shaped rooms and open areas such as hallways and corridors, use the Freedraw tool to trace around the perimeter of the area. Click Draw icon and left click any corner of a room area to start room tracing. Click room corners clockwise or counter clockwise to trace perimeter of a room Right-click to close a room shape Freedraw runs in continuous mode to capture multiple numbers of room areas until cancelled by a right-click. Left-click room corners to trace a room.

15 Advanced alignment tips From Freedraw->Alignment tab, users can configure alignment settings based on personal preferences. 45/90 Angle Lock: lock current drawing line to either 45 or 90 degrees. Show Drawing Crosshair: shows drawing crosshair of whatever point your cursor is hovering over

16 7.2. Draw a rectangular room Method 1: Use Draw Rect (Rectangular Room) command or area. to capture rectangular shaped rooms Left-click a corner of rectangular area, move to the opposite corner of the rectangular area, left-click again to finish.

17 Method 2: Use Rect By Size (Room by size) command can be found from the Draw Rect dropdown menu and is for inserting a rectangular-shaped room or area by entering length, width and room label. Once all the values are input, click OK. Hover with the red outline of the rectangular room to where you want to place it, and then left click to have the room applied to the takeoff Create rooms based on existing walls MeasureSquare allows users to create a room based on existing walls of connected rooms. As the example shows below, if the user starts from a corner point, traces the room counterclockwise, then the green line intersects with existing walls that can form a closed shape, MeasureSquare will automatically predict the room shape based on existing walls and create a pink contour. Right-click to convert the pink contour to regular walls. If the pink contour does not look correct, ignore it and continue to draw.

18 7.4. Reopen to draw One can revise the shape of an existing room using Re-open to draw command. Right-click on a room->select reopen to draw Red diamonds symbols show up on each side of the wall, left click on one or more red diamonds to delete selected walls.

19 Left-click on red rectangular symbols on the end of a wall to start drawing. Right click to finish Add a doorway and a window Method 1: insert a door with default size, mouse over walls with door signs, and left- Step1: From Takeoff tab left-click Door command click to drop the door. Step2: Continue on adding same sized door and with same transitions to all similar door locations in a batch.

20 Likewise, one can apply same methodology to add a window to a room by clicking on Window command and dropping a window to desired location. Method 2: takeoff doors: The sizes of doorways vary in commercial projects. Using Takeoff Door command can efficiently handle doors with different sizes. Step 1: Select Takeoff Door command Step 2: Left-click left door jamb then right door jamb to create the doorway.

21 Likewise, one can apply same methodology to takeoff a window to a room by clicking on Takeoff Window command to create windows. Properties of doors/windows To edit details of the stairway, double-click on the door or window to open Property View panel on the right, and then change its properties.

22 7.6. Add a stairway MeasureSquare supports standard stairs, pie-shaped stairs, spiral stairs and landings. Users can customize unique stairs by combining different styles of stairs and landings. To add a standard stairway, click Stairway and click drawing area to drop a stairway. To edit a stairway, double-click on stairway to open Property View window on right and find Stairway related properties.

23 To design L-shaped, U-shaped, winder stairs, or spiral stairs, one can first select different styles of landing from the stairway submenu: To connect landing with stairway, user should drag stairway over a landing and allow the program to automatically dock them together. To build/create a custom stairway, such as a spiral staircase, select the Quarter-turn with Curved Treads option from the stairway submenu. Left click to place it on the drawing area. Select another Quarter-turn with Treads, bring cursor close to first one until the pieces automatically dock together. Continue this process until your custom staircase is complete.

24 To view 3D stairways, left-click stairway so that it s highlighted in red and then select View 3D from the Ribbon Add an elevation When doing a takeoff of a plan, users may come across fixtures such as stand-alone walls, counter tops, shower thresholds, stages and so on, which can be accommodated by the Elevation function. To add an elevation, click the Elevation command ; trace its contour in a room. If drawing along the room walls, users can right-click to auto-complete elevations when the final lines are highlighted pink (much like when drawing rooms in free-draw mode) To edit an elevation, double-click on it and change its height or name in the property view panel on the right.

25 Double click an elevation to modify its properties, such as name and dimensions To design wall niche, draw the elevation on the wall with wall expanded. Double-click on it to open property panel on the right, enter the depth of wall niche, and check Is Recess box to create a recess on wall. Below is 3D view of wall niche:

26 To design a stage, use elevation key to draw contours of steps and main stage. Double click each step to change elevation height. Finally assemble steps with main stage. At product assignment stage, product items can be applied to these fixture takeout areas and their perimeters. Save elevation as template, frequently used fixtures can be saved as template in Elevation Template List. Right-click over a fixture drawing->add Elevation Template. Type in the

27 template s name and it will be saved in the Templates list. Templates can be dragged-anddropped from template list to desired location. Advanced elevation tips One can create elevations both inside and outside of a room. An elevation can be created on top of another elevation to form complicate shapes, such as stages or elevated seating Creating border dividers Many flooring projects have border designs and material specs on those border areas. Create a single border on the floor: Right-click on the room Select Create Border Dividers command and enter border Width in the field

28 Mark proper checkboxes on Cut Style and Border Type (default recommended). To apply products to borders, simply drag and drop a product from database to the border. (Alternatively, you can select the product you want applied to the border from the Product drop-down menu in the previous step in the Create Border Dividers window) To add multiple borders, right click on room -> Create Border Dividers -> click Add

29 Border button until you have the desired number of borders listed. In the following example, three borders have been created. To remove borders, right-click in room and click Remove All Dividers Creating internal wall To takeoff/draw internal walls from existing base wall, Left-click on the desired room, go to Takeoff tab and click on Room Edit->Draw wall Move cursor on the desired wall to locate start point, left click to start drawing, continue on for multiple wall segment.

30 Here is an example of internal wall takeoff and its 3D view.

31 7.10. Creating curved walls To design a curved wall, left-click a room to highlight it and select the Set Arc command. Drag red diamond handle in the middle of a wall to turn a straight wall into an arc as shown below.

32 Advanced arc tips One can create an arc while using Freedraw. Firstly, left-click the starting point of the arc, then hit R key on your keyboard. Left-click on a middle point on the arc. It immediate converts previous straight line to an arc. Left-click the end point of the arc to finish the arc Divide floor in to regions to receive different products It is common in commercial floor design that an open area is designed with patterns and different colored products. In such a case, a floor area is divided into connected regions using Divide Floor command from Takeoff tab.

33 First capture whole area with Freedraw on its inside wall perimeter, then use Divide Floor command to place floor dividers along each of the border lines of products or patterns. If there are curves on a dividing line, simply connect two ends of an arc with straight line. Several arcs may be used to simulate a spline curve), and complete the dividing line.

34 To turn segments of dividing line into an arc, select the dividing line that needs to match the curves, Click Set Arc command, and then pick each middle handle of a segment to convert it into arc.

35 Continue on creating the second set of border lines, and turn them into curves. With divided regions, different colored products can be applied to the regions (as in this flower region case). Tip: To delete the floor divider, right-click on the floor divider and select delete Batch room takeoff using floor divider and split room command Often commercial flooring involves floor plans with rooms and open areas connect to each other and share walls. Individual takeoff on each room is inefficient and aligning them with shared walls is tedious as well. Using Floor Divide and Split commands substantially speeds up the process: Use Freedraw to capture inside perimeter of floor area with batch of rooms connected to each other with shared walls Click on Floor Divider Connect shared walls (longest walls first, it may cross several rooms), this process divides whole area into divided rooms and open areas regions Click on Room Edit->Split Room, it converts divided regions into individual rooms with shared walls properly aligned automatically The steps using above example are shown below: (1) Trace whole floor area with multiple rooms on their inside wall perimeter. Zoom in close to details while drawing.

36 (2) Click on Floor Divider command Divide longer shared walls first (that crosses multiple rooms), then continue on dividing individual rooms. Place floor divider on middle section of walls.

37 Here is the completed office area with dividing lines. (3) Click on Room Edit ->Split Room command. Then divided regions turn into individual rooms which are aligned on their shared walls and can be independently operated.

38 7.13. Batch room takeoff using Draw Wall command There is a faster way to do batch room takeoffs in just one step. By using the Draw Wall command, users can divide and split the room at the same time. First, right-click in the room -> Room Edit -> Draw Wall. Left click on wall to select starting point, and move cursor down and left click again to select ending point. In both instances, the wall should be highlighted green when you move the cursor over it, and the wall being draw in between should be highlighted blue. After left clicking the second wall, the walls should be highlighted bright pink and blue as shown below.

39 Right-click or double left-click to finalize the wall drawn. You can repeat this process as many times as you need to quickly divide a room multiple times Nest rooms inside another room to create an open floor plan There can be nested rooms or kiosks inside a bigger open area where these room areas need to be taken out of the bigger area. Placing rooms inside another room does not automatically deduct the area underneath, the Punch Out Room command is used to specify the nested room so that the program deducts the nested area during the estimating process. To takeoff inside rooms, Hold down Ctrl key and left-click to select multiple rooms select Room Edit -> Punch Out Room command on Takeoff Tab

40 7.15. Merge selected rooms There are situations that several connected rooms need to be merged into a single room. This can be done by selecting rooms to be merged, and click on Merge complete. command on Room Tool tab to

41 Below is the merged area after application. All shared walls and internal walls of each merged room are removed after merging. Advanced merge room tips If two rooms are connected with a doorway, when merging, the doorway will disappear so that the product will flow from one room to another. It is a very handy tool when estimators want to show the customer there is no seam between the bedroom and the closet when estimating the carpet.

42 7.16. Duplicate rooms and floors In situations where product usages of duplicated rooms or duplicated floor layers need to be calculated, material usages need to be optimized. For example, save carpet/vinyl cut waste, and so forth. To duplicate rooms: Left-click to select a room, and then go to the Property View panel on the right-hand side. Change the value of the Duplication number under the Room section and then hit Enter. The number of the rooms will be displayed in parentheses after the Room name label. In the example below, Room 1 has one duplicate (a total of two Room 1s), indicated by the red (x2) after the room label, so the amount of products used was doubled in the Region -> Report section of the Property View menu when the duplication was set to 2. (If the duplication were set to 3, then the product amount would be multiplied by 3, and so forth)

43 To duplicate floor layers: Left-click in the empty white drawing space of the drawing area to select the layer, and then go to the Property View panel on the right-hand side. Change the value of the Duplication number under the Layer section and then hit Enter. The number of duplicate layers will be displayed in parentheses after the Floor layer tab name on the bottom of the screen. In the example below, Main Floor has one duplicate (a total of two Main Floors), indicated by the red (x2) after the floor layer label Insert holes on floors

44 Another tool to create holes or takeout areas is to use Insert Hole command. To access hole-related functions, go to Rm Edit. Select Insert Hole, and then directly trace hole-area shape within the existing room area. Insert Hole: free-draw a hole shape Select Move Hole command from the same Room Edit menu. Drag to move the hole and drop it to place it elsewhere in the room. o If dropped right within room boundary and intersected with another hole, the hole merges with the other hole to form a new shape. Select Delete Hole command from Room Edit menu, and left-click on a hole to remove it. Comparison of Hole Insertion commands with Elevation command.

45 Both Hole & Elevation deduct area from underlying floor area or wall. The differences are Product items cannot be applied to holes and their perimeter Holes cannot intersect or touch with room boundary Add a note and handwritings To add a note to the plan, click Note command, enter a brief description and drop the note to the desired location. Frequently used comments can be saved to the program so that users can select an existing comment and insert it to the diagram. By clicking on Handwriting option, user can insert handwriting into diagram area

46 7.19. Add a line segment In many commercial flooring designs, there are straight or curved lines where the linear length needs to be accounted for. The Segment tool can be used to capture such a linear footage. Linear length products can be drag-and-dropped to such a line or curved segments. For a curved line, use straight line segments to capture each curved segment that can be modeled by an arc, click to highlight the segments, and then use Arc tool to convert the corresponding segments into arcs. See example below.

47 7.20. Review and modify properties of rooms, doorways, elevation etc. The Property panel retains properties of objects in the drawing area. It displays the object name, dimension of object, product assignment etc. Click on Property View tab to open property of highlighted object in the drawing area, such as room, doorway, stairway, elevation, line segment and so on. In addition to reviewing the properties of selected objects, user can also: Change dimension/size of selected object such as room size or width of doorway Change product assignment of selected object Click Property View tab to review or modify selected object in drawing area Search a room on diagram Click on icon or use Ctrl-F to pop up a dialog window, and enter full or partial room name to find any matched rooms with highlight color.

48 D view Product design and assignments on floor are easy to inspect and verify with a 2D layout. As products can be applied to walls, the 3D visualization feature enables viewing and rotating of floor and wall assignments in 3D to help verify and communicate this information with customers. Select any number of rooms on floor to show in 3D (if no room is selected, the whole floor will be displayed). Click the View 3D command on the Takeoff Tab to enter 3D mode, Left-click Exit to return back to the 2D mode Export plan as AutoCAD file Users can export project file as AutoCAD file by using Export to CAD file command. However, only the room shaped will be converted. Other details such as product assignments, stairways, doorways, and windows cannot be converted View Options and Edit Tools Zoom to fit: zoom to fit all drawings and plan image into current window view Zoom in: increase the zoom level Zoom out: reduce the zoom level

49 View Option: select and configure room drawing and product assignment display options Grid: show grid lines in drawing area. The grid size can be set in Start menu->system settings- >measurement tab. Pan: turn on pan mode, left click and hold to shift drawing objects in current view 3D View: open room drawing in 3D view; allow rotating and panning drawing in 3D. Show Wall: Display wall and ceilings in expanded view Pattern Start Position: Select pattern or tile grid starting point by clicking on a room corner or any point inside a room/region. Rotate: Rotate selected object such as rooms, stairways, and elevations. Undo: undo last action Redo: redo last action Copy: copy selected drawing object(s) such as room, segment, count item, plan image and so on Cut: Cut drawing object(s) such as room, segment, count item, plan image and so on Paste: Paste copied drawings or image. Delete: delete selected object(s). Seam Lock: Lock seams in selected rooms.

50 Plan Lock: Lock locations rooms in current floor. Image Lock: Lock blueprint image. 8. Product Assignment After the rooms on the floor plan are captured from the takeoff process, the next step is to apply proper products and related installation add-on items to these room areas as specified by material schedule list, so they can be calculated by program. This chapter covers all of the different ways of assigning different types of products and add-on items to floors, walls and ceiling areas, on their area, perimeter lengths, or vertical walls Manage master product database The Product and services database is where the user can create products, installation add-ons, and labor service charge items that are to be applied in takeoff and product assignments process, and then later to be laid out and estimated. This database should be set up properly before starting any real project that is to be bid Manage product database structure Default Product/Services database organizes products with a two-level folder structure: First level folders, second level folders Any specific product item must be placed under a second-level folder User can create third or more levels of folders if needed Users have the flexibility to organize their product items in many ways based on their takeoff estimating practice. For example, use first-level folders for major product types, and second-level folders for sub product types and installation add-on types. Within second-level folders are the products (or more subfolders). See below for a sample setup below.

51 To open product database, right-click on the Product/Services folder on the left-hand side menu. Then select View/Modify Details. (Or, go to File -> Product Database) Add first-level folder: Left-click on Product/Services folder (root folder) to select it, and then click on New Folder icon on the top menu panel. Enter folder name in the pop-up window that appears. Add second-level folder: Left-click on first-level folder to select it, select New Folder icon, and enter folder name to a create second-level folder.

52 To create the third level folder, left-click to select a secondary level folder, select New Folder icon, and enter folder name Add or delete products in master product database MeasureSquare provides a standard product database with generic products, such as broadloom carpet, pattern carpet, ceramic tile, vinyl sheets, hardwood, laminate and installation materials & labor charges. User can modify existing items or add new items to the database. To access master product database, find Product/Service panel and click + to expand subfolders and contents.

53 To modify product database, right-click Product/Services folder and select View/Modify Details. To modify a specific product, right-click a product in the catalog list and select View/Modify Details.

54 To add a new product, first right-click Product/Services folder and select View/Modify details. Then right-click a target folder and select New Product. At pop-up window, enter product name and select a product type. Click OK.

55 Item Info: o No. /SKU is required to uniquely identify a product item. o Color: controls product color displayed on diagram screen o Trade: used for data grouping in worksheet or quotation sheet o Vendor, Manufacturer: Vendor/distributor, manufacturer o Import Image: product image URL from local file folder. o Unit Name: based on Layout Type, select from option list o Product Type: select first from Carpet, Vinyl, Tile, Hexagon Tile, Triangle Tile, Hardwood, Laminate, Labor, Freight and Add-on Item. Mouse over any item from Layout Type option list to see its corresponding product applications. Depending Layout Type, entry form for estimating info is different. Estimating Info: specifies estimating requirements for this product item. This information is used by the program in layout estimating product usages. Pricing Info: specifies cost and sales prices, selling method by container unit or not (box, carton, etc. if so, container unit cost and sales prices) o Sales Price (per Unit): sales price to customers (used in Quotation, Invoice) o Cost Price (per Unit): cost price to this business user (used in Quotation, Invoice, Work Order, Purchase Order) o Unit/Box (qty of Unit per Container): Qty per container unit (for example, SF per box) o Sell by checkbox: check box if sell by container, and select or enter container unit o Box Sales Price: sales price by container

56 o Box Cost Price: cost price by container Product Add-ons: associated add-on items to be applied together with this product. Click on green + icon to associate add-ons to this product. To delete a product from master database, right-click a product->select Delete. Layout Type Estimating Info Parameter Settings Carpet Vinyl Unit Name: select from SY, SF, LF Roll Width: roll width, key entry Roll Length: standard roll length For Pattern Carpet: Horizontal Repeat: pattern repeat in roll width direction Vertical Repeat: pattern repeat in roll length direction Horizontal Drop: pattern shift in roll width direction Vertical Drop: pattern shift in roll length direction Either Horizontal Drop or Vertical Drop parameter can be set (or set to 0.0) but they CANNOT be set at the same time.

57 Pattern Carpet Calculation Method Options: Round up to Pattern Size: if this feature is checked, then the program will round up to the carpet pattern size. Pattern Match Width: if Round up to Pattern Size is unchecked, then the pattern match width option will be accessible. Users can choose to have pattern match width set to factors of 0, 0.5, or 1. Pattern Match Length: if Round up to Pattern Size is unchecked, then the pattern match length will be accessible. Users can choose to have pattern match length set to factors of 0, 0.5, or 1. Tile Hexagon Tile Triangle Tile Unit Name: select from SF, SY Size: tile piece width x length, enter the length or width by keyboard. Decimal numbers can be entered, for example, (Width and length DO NOT have to be equal). Thickness: tile thickness/height in decimal format (needed for grout calculation)

58 For Hexagon Tile and Triangle Tile: Size: since the program only accepts isosceles hexagon and triangle shaped tile, enter the length of one side of the tile. Waste Calculation Method Options: Waste Add-on: calculate tile usage by adding this preset waste add-on percentage to net floor area covered. Half reuse: program will re-use cut waste if 50% of a tile piece is left. Cut and fit: program will re-use cut waste wherever it can fit. For each cut waste, it will be used only once. To see tile cut layout in the diagram, go to Takeoff tab- >View Option-> check Tile Cut. Set texture: For layout type set as Tile, its texture image can be displayed on floor and wall in 2D and 3D. Hardwoo d Laminate Unit Name: SF, SY Width: plank width Thickness: wood thickness (not used in any calculation) Max Length/Min Length: control plank length range from max length to min length for random plank layout Waste Add-on: percentage waste to add on top of covered net floor area Waste Calculation Method:

59 Calculate product usage by adding this preset waste add-on percentage on top of net floor area covered Add-on Items Use of Add-on items are products used to help install main floor covering materials such as underlayment, transition, base, molding, bull nose, trims, etc.. They can be measured by area, length or by each count. Also called installation products or sundries. After creating a new product, find Product Add-Ons section and check Is Add-on box. The product will be recognized as Add-on and ready to be associated with primary flooring product such as carpet, hardwood, tile, vinyl, etc. Unit Name: select from area, length or each count units: SF, SY, LF, EA Width: width of product only needed with length-based unit (for example, height of base, width of transition) Waste Add-on: percentage waste to add on top of calculated quantity Add-on Unit Method Formula/Logic Application SF/SY Product Usage Area qty equates to associated product qty Drag-and-drop OR Material Association Original Quantity Area qty equates to net covered area by associated product (instead of product usage qty) Drag-and-drop OR Material Association LF Floor Perimeter Length qty equates to perimeter (LF) of floor covered by associated product Drag-and-drop OR Material Association Seam Length Length qty equates to total seam length of associated product Material Association Qt/LB/L Tile Grout Grout usage is based on volume of grout gap, tile thickness, and tile sizes Material Association (only associate with tile pattern, not with individual tile product)

60 EA Assignment Times Apply to room corners (inside, outside corners or at room level) Drag-and-drop Here are some sample UNIT type vs Addon Method combinations: Labor, Freight Similar to the setup of Add-on Item but with additional characteristics of labor and freight (for non-tax and data grouping in Worksheet, Quotation) Except Layout Type be set as Labor, Freight, rest of setting options are the same as Add-on Item Relocate a product to another folder Users may want to re-organize existing products by re-locating a product to another folder. The easiest way to do this is to re-name the path of the product. While in master database->left-click a product->enter correct path. For example, change carpet\broadloom to carpet\pattern match. Click Save. The product will be moved to pattern match folder. Alternatively, user can drag and drop a product from a folder to another.

61 Create multiple product databases Commercial users may create and maintain multiple databases for different manufactures. Retailers who have multiple locations may want to maintain products databases based on different regions. To handle such situations, MeasureSquare allows users to create and maintain multiple product databases. To create a new product database, left-click triangle icon. The Product Catalogs window will appear. Select Create a Product Database icon -> enter product database name and click OK. It will create an empty product database. To switch among different databases, left-click the drop-down menu beneath the Product/Service heading of the left-hand menu and select the desired product database name Create project-level product list For commercial projects, users often create project-level products based on finished schedule instead of using existing products in a master database. In this case, users can right-click Project Item folder-> select New Product.

62 User can then specify the product type and product name on pop-up window. After clicking OK, users can fill in the detailed product information in the Item Info window, and then click Save. Please note that project-level products are saved per project Applying flooring products (carpet, vinyl, tile, hardwood, laminate, etc. ) to rooms by drag-and-drop method On left product services panel or project item list panel, navigate and open any folder to locate product item Left-click to drag an item, and move it over to room drawing window and over room to be assigned to (observe mouse cursor turn into apply material icon) While cursor is over the room, the border of the room is highlighted (indicating it is selected and ready to be applied), release left-click button anywhere inside the room to apply

63 Dragged item can be repeatedly applied to any other rooms by left-clicking in additional rooms or areas Right click to cancel product assignment mode (so that apply material cursor disappears) Major flooring products (carpet, vinyl, tile, wood, laminates) can be dragged and dropped to the same room area once, and will be replaced automatically if another major product is applied over it. However, underlayment material items can be applied to the same room area multiple times (for example, pad, adhesive, etc. can be applied to the same floor) 8.4. Apply product to stairways Apply area items, linear items, and EA items to stairs Product items can be applied to stairways in the following ways: Area items (carpet, wood, etc) can be dragged and dropped to treads and risers. Linear items (step bullnose, quarter round, stringer, etc) can be applied by dragging and dropping to step width or one side or both side of stringers. EA items (per step charge or per stairway charge, etc) can be dragged and dropped to step count (by number of steps) or applied to stairway as a whole.

64 To apply length-based product items, drag and drop product into stairway. You should see the highlighted blue lines before you apply the linear product. To apply EA count items to stairs, drag and drop the product from the product database on the left-hand menu into the stairway. The Assign Count Product window will appear and you can keep the default number (all the steps) or enter another value. Click OK when done, and the applied EA items will be indicated by a circle along the count number beside it Apply product to treads, riser, and stringer To apply product to treads and risers, users can drag and drop area-based products such as carpet and wood to treads and risers of the stairway. To apply length-based product to stringers, users can left-click on the stairway to select it and go to the right-hand property view panel. Then select the product to be applied using the drop-down menus beside Left Stringer Product and Right Stringer Product.

65 Different stairway covering styles Stairway covering products can also be assigned from the Stairway Property View menu on the right-hand side menu. Select the staircase and go to the Property View panel on the right. Users can select different measuring styles for the selected stairway using the drop-down menu beside Covering Style, choosing from Waterfall, Tread and Rise, Tread Only, Rise Only, or Fullwrap. The size of the roll cut changes depending on which covering style users select. Users can also customize Steps Per Break right below Covering Style. Waterfall: typically use bullnose to wrap over the curve of steps. This method is usually more expensive since not as many seams are used and thus more product material is used.

66 Tread and Rise: area product in separate pieces for tread and rise. This method is more efficient, using more cuts and thus less product material. Tread Only: area product covers only the tread. Rise Only: area product covers only the riser. Fullwrap: area product covers each step with double area of tread and riser Apply a linear base product to room perimeter and single wall segment Some add-on installation products (such as cove base, moldings, transitions, quarter-round, etc.) are length-based and applied to wall base or room perimeters. In product specification, these items have LF (or MR in metric) as unit of measurement and their layout type is Add-on Item in product database. Differences among linear products: Wall base products will take up a certain amount of space on the room walls, determined by the set width. When viewing rooms in 3D view, wall base products will be visible on the bottom section of walls in rooms they are applied to. Other linear products such as trim, transitions, bullnose, and so forth show up as dashed lines in the program. They don t show up in estimations as taking up any space on the walls, and are not visible in 3D view. They are just measured by the linear feet (LF). Transitions go in between doorways to transition between different flooring products between rooms. Assign LF (MR) add-ons to wall base: All wall perimeter: Drag and drop to highlighted perimeter of a room (when mouse over the room)

67 Single wall segment: Drag and drop to ONE highlighted wall segment (when mouse over the wall segment)

68 8.6. Apply multiple linear products to the same wall base Normally, only one visible linear product will be applied to wall base (such as cove base, moldings, transitions, quarter-round, etc.), but multiple labor charges or installation accessories can be applied to the same wall base. M2 allows users to apply multiple general linear products to the same wall base. To create a general linear product, select Linear or Labor as product type and select LF as the unit name. To apply general linear product to a wall base with a visible base product, drag and drop the additional linear product(s) to the room. A window will pop up prompting you to either Append or Replace above existing linear item(s). Click Append. Repeat this process for additional linear products.

69 8.7. Apply transition on doors or on border of different products Transition items are linear-based products with Unit of Measure (UOM) LF (MR in metric) and Layout Type as Transitions Item in material spec, are often applied at these situations: Drag-and-drop on doorways (or, from Properties window of doorway, click on Green + icon) Drag-and-drop on any dividing line of same room area (so divided areas may transit from one product to another product Drag-and-drop to any wall segment next to another room area Tips: Transitions can be dragged and dropped to the door. Or one can add the transition from Properties window of a doorway.

70 2. Or, left-click the Transition menu and select product from pull-down list Tips: Transition items are graphically displayed with dashed lines on wall segments being applied. See example below with red transition applied around perimeter of the countertop and on wall base of the large open space.

71 8.8. Apply subfloor underlayment Underlayment is a vital factor to the success of the flooring on top of it. A sturdy and smooth surface underneath every finished flooring material is a must. Without smooth and solid subflooring, the finished flooring can fail or look very bad in a short span of time. However, some underlayment is merely used for sound proofing or as a moisture barrier. Underlayment products are specified with area-based Unit of Measurement SF or SY (SM in metric) and Layout Type as Underlayment in estimating spec part of product database. Underlayment is a type of SF trade. Multiple underlayment can be added to a room. (eg padding/carpet removal labor charge, anything that needs to be calculated by the SF that is not the actual flooring product) Assigning underlayment item is the same as applying other area-based add-on products by dragand-drop to any room area. Multiple different area-based items can be applied to the same area on top of each other. A room with flapped corner indicating there is an underlayment assigned. Flapped corners in lower right-hand corner the image below indicate that there is two or more underlayment items assigned to the room. To assign multiple underlayment items to a room, drag and drop additional underlayment products into the room, and select Append in the pop-up window that appears.

72 Tips: Underlayment items can be associated with a major flooring product under its add-on list in product database, and get automatically applied when that major flooring product is applied. Add-on association: When you have a certain combination of floor product and underlayment items you use often for projects, you can consider making the underlayment items an add-on item. To do so, rightclick on the underlayment item and select view/modify details, and then check the box next to is addon. Then right-click on the floor product you wish to associate the underlayment item with, select view/modify details, and click on the green + button. Select the underlayment item from the Set Addon Window that appears, and click Save Associate product with add-on items In flooring estimating, installing major covering materials requires installation add-on items as well as labor costs to get the job done. This can be accomplished by associating add-on items and labor items with major covering product. Steps to Associate Product Add-ons: Step1: Select the add-on item, check Is Add-on check box in product detail window

73 Stegp2: Select the primary item, and then click green + button (as depicted below)

74 Step 3: Pick up the required add-on item, and specify add-on method. Click OK to save selections. Step 4: Selected add-on item then shows under Product Add-ons section

75 Step 5: Select Add-on method from the pull down list. Add-on Unit Method Formula/Logic Application SF/SY Product Usage Area qty equates to associated product qty Drag-and-drop OR Material Association Original Quantity Area qty equates to net covered area by associated product (instead of product usage qty) Drag-and-drop OR Material Association LF Floor Perimeter Length qty equates to perimeter (LF) of floor covered by associated product Drag-and-drop OR Material Association Seam Length Length qty equates to total seam length of associated product Material Association

76 8.10. Apply heat welding rod on borders of sheet vinyl and swim lanes Heat welding rod is measured by linear length and is normally applied under border lines of different color sheet vinyl (by drag-and-drop manually, see screen below) Swim lanes of sheet vinyl cuts in same floor area. It must be set with sheet vinyl item as an associated add-on item by seam length method. Refer to section in product database setup chapter. When properly assigned, linear length usage of heat welding rod is calculated automatically in later layout estimating stage Remove product assignment Remove area item from floor or walls: Drag and drop area eraser to highlight area with product assignment. Remove LF item from wall perimeter or wall segment: Drag and drop Linear Eraser to highlighted room perimeter or segment from lower section of product list panel. Remove EA item: Drag and drop EA eraser to target object to remove all count items.

77 8.12. Room view Rooms view retains expansion status at the room and floor level. It displays Room labels Attachment labels, line segments alphabetically under Room View. Select Room View command on right panel to open list of rooms.

78 To select multiple rooms in the Room View by holding down on the CTRL key on the keyboard and clicking on the desired rooms. The corresponding rooms in the floor plan will be selected. Conversely, rooms selected in the floor plan will also be selected in the Room View. To switch among layers in Room View, click on folder with layer s name Wall stack design Advanced wall design with details can be achieved from wall stack design commands. Step 1: Display expanded walls in drawing area by turning on View Wall command on Takeoff tab. To display walls on right, select Show walls on right side in view options menu. (Alternatively, users can also right-click on the wall and check View Wall to show walls on all sides of the room. Users can also check View Show Walls on Right Side for the walls to be visible to the right of the room) Step 2: Make wall selection. Select a single wall from wall by left-click on a wall in expanded view. Selected wall will be highlighted in blue in the 2D diagram.

79 Step 3: Divide wall into stacks for selected wall(s). To add a wall stack, right-click on wall->add Horizontal Wall Stack or Add Vertical Wall Stack- >left-click to place dividers on the wall to create stacks. To remove a wall stack, right-click on wall->delete Wall Stack. X icon will appear beside your cursor. Left-click on divider. To adjust size of a stack, left-click any wall stack and drag divider to adjust its size (section height), or enter wall stack dimensions in right Property View panel.

80 1. Select Add Horizontal/Vertical Wall Stack 2. Move mouse cursor to locate a divider 3. Left-click to place divider to the wall Step 4: Select main covering product for selected section. Select item from Primary products from pulldown list in property panel on the right. Step 5: Apply finishing trim, décor or bullnose to edges. Drag and drop linear product such as finishing trim to edges of wall stacks.

81 Step 6: Set product layout direction and alignment options for selected stack. Right-click on wall stack -> Layout & Seam -> Set Pattern Position to select pattern starting point. Or from the same Layout & Seam menu, select Set Layout Direction and then use mouse cursor to draw an arrow pointing to desired layout direction to change tiling direction on the floor.

82 8.14. Wall profile There are situations that wall design and product assignments are shared among other walls of the same room or walls of other rooms. This feature allows wall section and assignments be copied from one wall and be pasted to other walls. Copy and paste wall profile Copy Wall Profile. Left-click to select a wall of expanded room view, and select Copy Room Profile. Apply Wall Profile. From expanded wall view of target room, left-click to select one empty wall, select Apply Wall Profile command. Apply Wall Profile with Height. From expanded wall view of target room, select one or multiple walls (with Ctrl-key), left-click to select one empty wall, select Apply Wall Profile with Height. Copied wall stack height is maintained on target wall (instead of scaled proportionally as in Apply Wall Profile)

83 Wall profile library If a wall profile is to be reused for future projects, one can save it to the wall profile library. Save a wall profile Display expanded walls by turning on View Wall, left-click a target wall, and open wall profile library. Select Add Wall Profile and enter name of the profile. Apply a wall profile form the library Display expanded walls by turning on View Wall. Similar to product assignment, user can drag and drop a saved wall profile to target wall Room Profile In commercial flooring projects, many room areas share same floor and wall design and product assignments across all floor layers. This feature substantially speeds up the product assignment process when hundreds of similar rooms are in place.

84 Copy Room Profile Left-click a room -> Room Option->select Copy Room Profile. This command copies Room floor product assignments (include tile pattern, layout direction), wall base assignments, border design and assignments (if exist) Wall stack design (layer sections), wall product assignments, bull nose, trims, decors Paste Room Profile Apply copied room profile to selected room. At pasting, if rooms to be pasted to are with different wall height, wall section heights are automatically scaled proportionally. Paste Room Profile with Height Apply copied room profile to one or any number of selected rooms. At pasting, if rooms to be pasted to are with different wall height, original wall section heights are Room profile library If a room profile can be reused for future projects, one can save it to the room profile library. Save a room profile

85 Left-click a target room, and open room profile library. Select Add room Profile and enter name of the profile. Apply a room profile from the library Similar to product assignment, user can drag and drop a saved room profile to selected rooms Apply tile pattern to floor and walls From Tile Pattern panel, drag and drop desired tile pattern to floor area or expanded wall area. At popup preview window, select combining tile items from each component tile cell with desired size and color. Pattern specified with specific composing tiles is listed under project item list, and can be applied directly to any other areas such as floor and wall areas Tile Pattern Editor Commercial users can design their own tile patterns with Tile Pattern Editor. Step 1: To open Tile Pattern Editor, right-click on a tile->select Design Tile Pattern.

86 Step 2: Select tiles that form desired tile pattern. Click Add Tile to open product database and select one. Step 3: Place tile and adjust its orientation. Left click to drop tile into desired location, use Rotate command to adjust its orientation.

87 Step 4: Place more tiles to form desired pattern. Repeat step 2 and 3 to place more tiles into drawing area. To line up with existing tiles, click tile corner point or edges of existing tiles.

88 Step 5: Preview and save the finished design on Pattern Preview Area. If there re several available pattern units, select one of them from Available Pattern List to preview the full layout on Pattern Preview Area. Select desired one and save it to master database or to current project. Step 6: Apply Tile pattern to room or walls. Drag and drop a tile pattern to target room or wall. Upon pop-up, select tiles that fit into the pattern, specify grout product and click OK to confirm selection.

89 Tips: Use Pattern Start Position to select pattern or tile grid starting point by clicking on a room corner or any point inside a room/region. Or select Layout Direction and then use mouse cursor to draw an arrow pointing to desired layout direction to change tiling direction on the floor Arbitrary tile design with tile replacement tool Users can design random tile pattern with tile replacement tool. Apply a tile in the desired areas. Right-click on accent tile in product database, select replace tile in diagram. Highlight any floor area (or expanded wall area) assigned with tile or tile pattern, left-click to replace existing tile with accent tile.

90 Tips: Only tiles with the same size as existing tiling can be used as accent tiles. 9. Seam Layout and Estimation With room takeoff and material assignment in place, the next step is layout estimating. This section introduces the steps on how to generate an accurate estimate on material usage (such as linear length, square footage, boxes of tiles, etc.), seam layout and cut sheet for roll goods like carpet and vinyl Entering layout and estimating mode Click Estimation icon, the program enters into layout estimating mode, and pops up with a list of items that are already assigned to this project.

91 Click on OK button to proceed. Then project item list on left panel shows product usages. The estimation tab on the right panel displays estimated quantities of project items, waste %s, linear footage and number of tile counts, etc., are listed. In the main diagram window, rooms with roll goods are laid out with seams. Estimating Mode Window Framework: Estimation Data Panel: material usages (SY/SF), linear length (LF), net floor area, floor perimeter (less door openings), and waste ratio. Diagram Window: Seam layout diagram on top of rooms Cut Sheet Window: Stock cut view from laid roll of carpet/vinyl (double click over the cut sheet window on the bottom can separate it from work area) Estimation tool bar: refer to the tool bar tips Seam & Layout Tool Bar: refer to the tool bar tips Here is a list of operations that can be performed under layout estimating mode: (1) Review estimating data. (2) Review item assignments by room vs. estimating data. (3) Change layout directions for roll item or tile goods (4) Seam Manipulation. Adjust seam location on diagram, add or remove different seams (5) Waste reduction. Optimize waste for roll good items (carpet, vinyl) (6) Review and adjust cut sheet: optimize cuts and waste on cut sheet (7) Adjust stairway cuts or layout direction to optimize waste (8) Adjust tile grid location or snap starting point to any point on floor (9) Pattern carpet matching. Adjust pattern carpet first cut, or pattern repeat margins for cuts,

92 optimize cuts for hall ways (10) Set Estimate by layer mode Complete estimating commands on estimating toolbar Estimate: layout with optimal waste. Automatically choose horizontal and vertical layout direction with smaller waste. Horizontal Layout: layout estimating with horizontal direction (East/West) Vertical Layout: layout estimating with vertical direction (North/South). Set Layout Direction: change layout direction for an individual room Switch Layout Direction: Switch from layout estimating mode to room drawing mode so no seam layout or cut label is displayed. To switch back to estimating mode, click on the same icon again which keeps previous seam locations. Reset Layout Direction: Clear all manual adjustments recalculate products quantities and re-layout cuts based on default estimating settings. Estimating settings: Auto Estimate: when toggled on (by default), program re-generates cut sheet and usage quantity automatically upon any seam adjustments or room editing changes. When off, one needs to click on Estimate button to re-allocate stock cuts to reflect change effects on seams and rooms. Estimate by Layer: estimate item quantities separately by floor layer. Auto Select Product: program will automatically select one product from project item list to estimate. Auto Show Cut View: automatically display cut sheet when a roll good is seleted. Hide Cut View: hide cutsheet Tips After you manually move the location or change layout direction for individual rooms, the Estimate/Horizontal Layout/Vertical Layout commands will NOT affect your manual adjustments. If you want to use those command to ALL of your rooms, When you work on bigger projects, it is recommended to toggle off Auto Estimate so as to avoid re-estimating time upon each seam or room adjustment. Make all necessary seam adjustments, then select Auto Estimate to re-allocate stock cut sheet while keeping all current changes (instead of using three layout buttons that would clear all current change and estimate the computer way).

93 9.3. Estimation Settings for roll goods Cut Margin: cut or trim margin to add to each cut or fill piece (To apply to width or length or both are controlled at layout estimating command) Margin Type: add cut margin along the width only, length only or both width and length. Max T-seams: maximum number of T-seam to be placed in a room. Maximum Roll Cut Length: maximum length allowed for each roll cut. Roll-Cut Round Up: round up roll cut length to nearest 3, 6, etc. Minimum Reusable Length: if the length of remnant roll good is greater than the minimum reusable length, the program will use the remnant roll for estimation Review estimation data To review estimation data for entire project, click Estimation Data icon on right panel as shown in the image below.

94 Upon entering estimating mode, all estimating data are filled under Estimating Mode tab on right panel. One may drag right border of this panel to adjust width, and to find more columns of estimating data. Drag any column title and drop it to location to adjust its order Double-click on any room area on diagram, item applied to this room is selected on right panel; meanwhile if it is a roll good, the corresponding cut sheet window is shown at lower section Estimate by floor In many cases, there is a need to estimate and quote a job by floor layers so a job can be sold and installed by floors and at different installation phases. When estimate by layer, it assumes that material roll and cuts (therefore the waste cuts) are not shared between floors. Normally, the waste factor is higher.

95 To enter Estimate by Floor mode, select from sub-menu next to Estimation Settings, check Estimate by layer Tips: If project has been estimated under regular mode (not estimate by layer), entering Estimate by layer mode will erase existing estimation data, cut sheet and seam diagram Change layout direction for roll goods It is common practice to compare different layout directions. Click on Estimate, the program enters into layout estimating mode, and pops up with a list of items that are already assigned to this project To change layout direction of a roll good, select the product from pull-down list, then click Horizontal or Vertical layout button to redo layout with that direction. These two commands apply to all rooms of the same floor.

96 To change layout direction on one selected room, select Set Layout Direction command on takeoff tab and drag mouse cursor to desired direction inside a room. Tips: When using Set Layout Direction command, user can layout product alone any direction.

97 9.7. Seam manipulation Drag and drop seam on diagram. Seams placed on rooms can be dragged and dropped at any location. And it can be snapped to any corner points or aligned with any wall segments automatically when that corner point or wall is highlighted. Seam can be removed or deleted by drag-and-drop off a room. Switch Seam Side: switch seam layout from one side to another side (for example, from left to right, or from top to bottom, vice versa) Add T-Seam: place a cross seam against roll layout direction. Use Even T-seam from submenu to place evenly spaced T-seams to selected cuts.

98 Add B-Seam: place section-dividing length-line at roll layout direction (shown in solid line vs. regular dashed seam line). Delete Seam: pick and delete seam. Seam can be removed or deleted by drag-and-drop off a room Lock Seam: lock seam location of selected room(s) Reset Seam Location: Reset existing seam locations and re-estimate whole plan Switch Layout Direction: Switch layout direction of selected regions Set layout direction: Set material layout direction to any direction. Drag mouse cursor to point layout direction in a room, the program will lay material along pointed direction. Set Pattern Position: Set pattern or tile grid starting point by picking up a corner or any point on a room. Change Step Per Break for Stairway: double click on stairway with roll good, set number of steps per cut for stairway from property panel on the right. By default, carpet cuts for stairway are made individually for each step to optimize the cut waste. But it may not be the best layout. To set a cut per several steps, left-click stairway and select Covering Style or Step per break.

99 What is dividing line (or section dividing line)? Dividing line is used to divide a floor area into separate sections so that seams within each section can be placed and edited individually. This feature is helpful in placing seams on complicated shapes such as long hallways or connected corridors. Below is an example for its usage (dividing seams are in solid color)

100 9.8. Cut sheet manipulation Cut sheet window shows roll stock cuts of selected roll good items from floor diagram. Stock cut sheet is generated by the program automatically. However, user can manually adjust cuts in the cut sheet window with these operations, and therefore affect Total Linear Length, Qty and Waste %: Cross reference cuts on floor and cut sheet. Left-click any cut on cut sheet to cross show corresponding cut in floor diagram (highlighted) Move to front/end of a roll to move a cut to the beginning or to the end of a roll (right click over a cut) Allow cuts overlapping: right-click on cuts and to enable overlapping cuts. Zoom in and out in cut sheet window (use mouse wheel) Drag-and-drop single cut to different locations in cut sheet (even across rolls) Drag a block of cuts and shift to right (press down SHIFT-key) Rotate cut by right-click over a cut to rotate it Add a new roll by dragging a cut to a blank space Add T-seam on cut in cut sheet

101 While using these commands, observe changes in Total Linear Length, Qty, and Waste % to achieve optimized results. Drag and shift a single cut Drag and shift a block of cuts to right section. Press down SHIFT key; drag a cut to shift a block of cuts to the right Pattern carpet layout setting Pattern carpet can be specified in product database with pattern repeat parameters:

102 Horizontal repeat (carpet width direction) Vertical repeat (roll length direction) Pattern drop parameters are used for graphical display and are not used in cut planning and estimating. They are rarely used. Horizontal drop (shift in width direction) Vertical drop (shift in length direction) Pattern carpet cut algorithm. At layout estimating mode, by default, EXCEPT for the first cut, the program automatically adds extra repeat margin (Vertical Repeat size) in roll for each additional cut applied to any room area. In this example below, first cut (A Cut) is 40 3 without repeat margin added; second cut (B cut) is added with 18 vertical repeat margin, two fill piece cuts are with repeat margin added as well.

103 Configure Pattern carpet cut algorithm. Select Pattern Carpet Layout Setting from System Setting- >Estimating-> Carpet Layout. Round up Cut by Pattern Size to round up each cut to next full pattern size along both width direction. Set Pattern Width/Length Factors to change default setting of repeat margin formula. Change Horizontal Repeat factor or Vertical Repeat factor from their pull down list (or type in a factor) to control repeat margin additions, the program uses these factors to multiply their corresponding repeat size to get final repeat margin. o For example, 0.5 in Vertical repeat means to add half pattern size to roll length cut, 1.0 means adding a full pattern, etc.

104 Set First Cut: Right-click on a cut on the diagram->set as First Cut to eliminate repeat margin on that cut). First cut is labeled with * ahead of cut label (for example, *B(C2)) on the cutsheet. Tips: Please note that cut margin option and pattern carpet are mutually exclusive. Cut margin will not be added to pattern carpet Estimation for Tiles Different Tile Waste Calculation Methods Right click on tile product in the database and select View/Modify Details. In the middle section of the product details window that appears, users can select from three different tile waste calculation methods: Waste Addon, Half Reuse, and Cut and Fit. In the following example, three identical rooms have tile products of the same dimensions, but different waste calculation methods, applied to them.

105 Waste Add-on: calculate tile usage by adding this preset waste add-on percentage to net floor area covered. If selected, then you can enter your desired waste add-on percentage. In the Waste Add-on example from above (shown again enlarged below), the waste addon was set to 10%. The waste for this room is thus 10%. Half Reuse: program will re-use cut waste if 50% of a tile piece is left. In the Half Reuse example from above (shown again enlarged below), the mosaic-like patterns visible along the top and bottom walls of the room indicate areas where reused tile product was used. The waste for this room was 3.5%. Cut and Fit: program will re-use cut waste wherever it can fit. For each cut waste, it will be used only once. To see tile cut layout in the diagram, go to Takeoff tab->view Options-> check Tile Cut.

106 In the Cut and Fit example from above (shown again enlarged below), the mosaic-like patterns visible along the top and bottom walls of the room indicate where tiles were re-used. The waste for this room was also 3.5% Associating Grout and Computing Grout Grout is the gap in a fractional inch in between two tile pieces, and is needed for grout calculation. On the left-hand side menu, below the Project Items folder you will see the Tiling folder. Right-click on the Tiling tile product within the Tiling folder, select view/modify details, and a pop-up window will appear allowing you to change the tile pattern grout product and grout width.

107 To associate grout with the selected tile product, choose a product from the Grout Product drop-down menu. To set the grout width, select desired value from the Grout Width drop-down menu. Go to the tile product details window and check the box to the left of Sell By (Box). Enter your value for the SF/Box quantity Freestyle Tile When creating a new tile product (or editing existing one: right-click -> view/modify product details), go to the product details and select desired tile shape from the drop-down Shape menu. MeasureSquare has default shapes of Rectangle, Triangle Regular, Hexagon Regular, and Dodecagon Regular. If these shapes do not fit your needs, then you can select the Freedraw shape option. Then click on the Takeoff Tile button that appears below and you will be taken to the Polygon Drawing window. Click Draw Polygon, and then freedraw a tile shape much like how you freedraw rooms.

108 You can press the r key to make rounded edges for your polygon shape. Once you finish free-drawing your tile shape, click Save and the Polygon Drawing window will close. Click Save again in the tile product details window to finalize, and your custom-drawn tile is complete Import, crop, and associate image with tiles and display tile image on diagram When creating a new tile product (or editing existing one: right-click -> view/modify product details), go to the product details and click the Set Texture button. The Product Texture window will appear. You can import an image from your computer by clicking the Import an Image button on the bottom right.

109 You can crop your imported image in the middle of the window. Then click Set Texture & Preview, and select OK when finished. Make sure to also save the tile product details window before closing. Apply the customized tile product to the rooms you want it to be applied to. Then go to view options menu, Options, and check Tile Texture. The imported and cropped tile texture image is now displayed on the diagram.

110 9.11 Match pattern carpet and tiles across multiple rooms or regions For pattern carpets: select multiple rooms with the same pattern carpet by holding down Ctrl key and left-clicking so that all selected rooms are highlighted with a red outline. Right click on selected rooms ->Layout & Seam ->Set Pattern Position. Click on any point or snap to any corner point to take effect. Pattern carpet grid is synchronized across room borders. This feature is for graphical layout and presentation, and does not affect seam cuts and estimating quantities. For pattern tiles: select multiple rooms with the same pattern tile by holding down Ctrl key and left-click so that all selected rooms are highlighted with a red outline. Right click on selected rooms -> Layout & Seam -> Set Pattern Position. Click on any point or snap to any corner point for the pattern positioning to take effect. The selected rooms should be highlighted blue at this step.

111 The tile patterns will now be matched across the selected rooms based on where you clicked: 9.12 Control estimation settings for roll goods MeasureSquare allows the user to set estimation criteria for roll goods at project level or at the system level. When estimating a project for the first time, the program will apply estimation criteria at system level to the entire project. If user chooses to specify estimation criteria at project level, project-level estimation criteria will OVERWRITE system-level criteria and will be applied and saved to current project Set Project-level estimation criteria To set project-level estimation criteria for roll goods, left-click a room with roll good product and select the gear/wheel icon to the right of the Estimate icon to specify estimation settings.

112 Max T Seams per Room can control maximum number of auto-generated T-seams in a single room area Cut Margin and Margin Type: In the example below, selecting cut margin type Length and Width, adds 3 to both the length and width of the fill piece. Max Roll-Cut Length: its default value is 0.0 (meaning it uses its roll length as maximum cut length), but users can change by entering a new value in the text field. Min Reusable Length: controls if an end of roll will be used as a cut, and then pack rest of cuts and shifts forward. Roll-Cut Option can control whether to share roll good waste across all floors/layers. Roll-Cut Round Up can be set to control how much to round up roll cut length. In the example below, the roll cut round up is set to 3, so the 7 10 room wall is rounded up to 8 0 in the roll cut sheet below. Here the cut margin is 0.

113 In the next example, the cut margin is set to 3. As you can see, the roll cut sheet changed to 8 3. Linear Length Round Up can be set to control how much to round up the linear length of an entire row in the roll cut sheet. Note that project-level settings will overwrite system-level settings Set System-level estimation criteria To set project-level estimation criteria for roll goods, go to File->System Setting->Estimating.

114 Max T Seams per Room can control maximum number of auto-generated T-seams in a single room area Cut Margin & Margin Option: In the example below, selecting cut margin option Length & Width, adds 3 to both the length and width of the fill piece. Max Roll Cut Length its default value is 0.0 (meaning it uses its roll length as maximum cut length), but users can change by entering a new value in the text field.

115 Min Reuse Length controls if an end of roll will be used as a cut, and then pack rest of cuts and shifts forward. Roll Cut Option can control whether to share roll good waste across all floors/layers. Roll Cut Round Up can be set to control how much to round up roll cut length. In the example below, the roll cut round up is set to 3, so the 7 10 room wall is rounded up to 8 0 in the roll cut sheet below (the cut margin is 0. If you added a 3 cut margin, ). In the next example, the cut margin is set to 3. As you can see, the roll cut sheet changed to 8 3. Linear Length Round Up can be set to control how much to round up the linear length of an entire row in the roll cut sheet. Note that system-level settings will be overwritten by project-level settings.

116 10 Export Estimation Data to Worksheet When the layout estimating step is done, move to the next stage on the Worksheet tab. To create a new worksheet, select New command Select worksheet type, such as proposal, quotation, work order, purchase order, or invoice. Select group style and check the box by Import Project Estimation. By product: a full list of project items with usage quantities and sales data without room and floor layer info is displayed. By area: project items assigned are listed under each room label. By product trade: project items marked by that trade are listed. By product break by room: project items broken down by its usage under each assigned rooms Below is a sample worksheet that organizes items by product:

117 Here is a sample Proposal worksheet that organizes items by area: You can change the grouping by rearranging the column order via left-clicking and dragging. In the example above, you can left-click the Area title in the second column, and drag it to the left of the first column, Floor. Whereas before the worksheet was organized by floor first and area second, after moving the columns, the worksheet is now organized by area first, and by floor second: To select which columns to show and which ones to hide, right-click on the top panel of column names and click Select Columns from the drop-down menu. In the Select Columns window, you can customize what to show in your worksheet by checking or un-checking the boxes.

118 To delete a worksheet, left-click to select a tab and select Delete Worksheet command. To add a new item, left-click Add command. To cut a selected item, left-click to select one line item and select Cut command. To paste an item, select Paste command. The pasted item will appear at the bottom of the list. To delete an item from worksheet, left-click to highlight it and select Delete command. To merge multiple line items into one, hold down Ctrl key and left-click to select more than one item. Then click merge. To move an item up or down, left-click to highlight it and click Move Up or Move Down command to move it up or down by one item. Click the command as many times as needed to move to desired location on list. To reload/refresh your estimation to current worksheet, click Reload command. To export to Excel workbook, select Export Excel File, navigate to target directory, type in file name, and it saves current presentation of worksheet into the Excel format. Note: Data exported to MS Excel does not include the formula for total calculation. One may need to build a formula for future recalculation needed with exported Excel file. 11 Project Printout and Report Installation diagrams are vital to the quality of an installation job. It is often attached with the work order and must be followed by installers. Before printing the diagram page, click File menu and go to Print to preview printouts and set up print options.

119 After select Print command, preview of printouts will be displayed. On top of preview window, there are several submenus. Select Print to choose a physical printer or a virtual printer to print diagrams.

120 Select Printer & Paper to choose paper size and layout orientation. Select Options to configure printout format and content.

121 After configuration, select Print PDF to convert diagram and documents into PDF document and save them to a local computer. 12 Synchronize to M2 Cloud MeasureSquare program can save and retrieve data from M2 cloud, such as, user data, product database and print templates. For users who want to use MeasureSquare program on multiple devices, it is important to sync to M2 Cloud periodically to ensure user data flow consistently on different devices. To sync local project files to M2 cloud, go to File menu->cloud File Tab->click on Import to import project files that have been saved on local computer to M2 cloud->select project files to be uploaded->click Open->click Sync.

122 To sync product database to M2 cloud, go to Takeoff tab, find Product/Services panel, select triangle icon and select Sync. 13 License Control After a user has started subscribing one or more licenses, select Question Mark icon and select MeasureSquare ID & license to review license status.

123 If the program is not activated and if a license is available, select the license and click Activate to start using it. If user is done with using the program and wants to transfer the license to another machine, click Logout & Quit. The license will be returned to M2 cloud and will be available for another machine to use. 14 System Setting System Setting is designed to help the user configure general settings and options. It is suggested to explore this right after one opens the program. To open System Setting, go to File menu->system Setting.

124 To change measurement system or select default unit name, open Measurement tab and select desired measurement system and unit name from pull-down list. To set default value for drawing, select Takeoff tab to make changes.

125 To configure system-level estimation criteria, open Estimating tab and specify desired rules.

126 To configure desired drawing style, select Drawing Style tab to modify default colors, thickness of lines, etc. To configure hotkeys, open Hotkey tab and specify desired keyboard shortcuts.

127 15 Onsite measure with Disto laser meter MeasureSquare RETAIL and upper-tier editions are integrated to work with several Leica DISTO meter models that are Bluetooth enabled. The PC or tablet running MeasureSquare must also be Bluetooth capable to receive measurement data wirelessly transferred from the DISTO. Key benefits of DISTO drawing include: Precision and efficiency with laser measurements to prevent human errors resulting from measuring tapes Seamlessly measure large areas including rooms with obstructing objects such as furniture or warehouse stacks Supported DISTO Models: D330i, E7500i, E7100i, D Pair Disto meter with Windows and MeasureSquare Step 1 Turn on DISTO Turn on laser meter by pressing on the Red On button. Step 2 Turn on Bluetooth To turn on Bluetooth on Disto device, find model name and follow instructions below.

128 For D330i: Press Bluetooth button to switch Bluetooth on or off. For E7100i: To turn on Bluetooth, press Bluetooth button to switch Bluetooth on or off. For E7500i: Press Func. ->Top-left Dot button->press = to switch Bluetooth on or off.

129 For D810 Touch: Step 3 Pair Disto with Windows PC 1. Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Bluetooth. 2. Turn on Bluetooth > select the device > Enter paring code: 0000 (Four zeros) ->Pair. *Previously paired devices will be stored to PC, therefore pairing is only essential for first time DISTO usage Step 4 Pair MeasureSquare with Disto meter 1. Open MeasureSquare. Under Takeoff Tab, select Disto icon->discover->connect to establish the software connection with the DISTO. 2. If the connection is successful, Disto device will be highlighted in green. Please note that Windows automatically disconnects Disto if the device is idle for 30 seconds. To stay connected, check Keep Alive box.

130 15.2 Drawing with the DISTO and MeasureSquare After the DISTO is successfully paired with MeasureSquare, user can draw with the DISTO and MeasureSquare by first selecting a starting point and then proceeding to draw via either the Draw Room or Draw Takeout functions. Below is a guide to the commands available to the user in the DISTO Start Point Picking Mode Start Point Picking Mode To select a starting point, 1. Use arrow keys on the soft keyboard in MeasureSquare to move the blue dot to the desired start point. 2. Once the desired starting point is located, press on the DISTO start Room Drawing mode. Room Drawing Mode When entering room drawing mode, user can use Disto device and soft keyboard in MeasureSquare to capture room shapes. This chapter will demonstrate how to capture a rectangular shaped room and a polygon shaped room. Draw a Rectangular Room 1. Press on Disto to enter Drawing Mode. The blue dot turns to red arrow. Point the red arrow to desired direction using arrow keys in soft keyboard.

131 2. Press the button again on Disto to capture and transfer first measurement. As soon as the measurement is received, MeasureSquare draws a wall in drawing area. Note: when measuring a wall, place the end of Disto against one wall and use laser to shoot the oppsite wall as shown in the image below. 3. Capture and transfer next wall measurement using the button (identical to the first step)

132 4. Square the room by pressing Close command. (the last two walls do not need to be measured) 5. As soon as room is closed, it enters Start Point Picking mode. Draw a Polygon Room

133 The example below demonstrates steps necessary to create a polygon room with features including a doorway, a missing wall, and an angled wall. 1. Press on Disto to enter Drawing Mode. The blue dot turns to a red arrow. Point the red arrow to desired direction using arrow keys in soft keyboard. 2. Press the button again on Disto to capture and transfer the first measurement. As soon as the measurement is received, MeasureSquare will draw first wall on the drawing area. 3. Capture and transfer the next wall measurement using the button (identical to the first step)

134 4. To add a door, capture the measurement from door-jamb to jamb by pressing the button on Disto, then go to MeasureSquare soft keyboard->select Mode->Convert to Door in MeasureSquare. The program will convert last measurement to a doorway.

135 5. To draw an opening, capture the measurement of an opening by pressing the button on Disto, then go to MeasureSquare soft keyboard->select Mode->Convert to missing wall in MeasureSquare.

136 6. To draw a 45 degree angled wall, select Rotate to rotate red arrow to desired angle 7. Select Close key to close the room. (the last wall does not need to be measured)

137 15.3 Advanced Techniques MeasureSquare provides user shortcuts to help speed up measuring. It also offers advanced functions to help user handle situations that involve measuring walls with arbitrary angels, curved walls, outside corners, etc. Those techniques will be discussed in this chapter. Room Corner Navigation Normally a user wants to start measuring from corner point of an existing room. To quickly navigate to room corner, Use arrow keys to move blue dot to target room. When blue dot gets close to a wall, it will snap to nearest two corner points by creating two more blue dots. Select desired corner point using Next Point key on soft keyboard. Then press the red ON button on Disto to enter Drawing Mode.

138 Size Entry with Keypad If a measurement is shorter than length of Disto device itself, it is difficult to be captured by Disto. MeasureSquare allows a user to manually input a measurement while measuring with Disto. While in Room Drawing mode, use arrow keys to point red arrow to desired direction Select Input, enter desired measurement, say 6, and then select Apply. 6 wall will be created in drawing area. Continue to measure with Disto Switch Starting Point While measuring halfway, if one wants to measure from the other end of drawing, select Mode then selects Switch Starting Point to measure.

139 Create a Room Based on Existing walls MeasureSquare allow users to create room based on existing walls of connected rooms. As the example shows below, if user starts from a corner point, measures one wall, then point red arrow to desired direction, MeasureSquare will automatically predict room shape based on existing walls and create pink contour. Select Close on soft keyboard, it converts a pink contour to regular walls. If the pink contour does not look correct, ignore it and continue measure.

140 Measure Walls with Outside Corner When measuring walls with outside corners, one may need to use the Minus function. For example, to measure the angled wall in the image below, user can Measure from one corner to a point on a wall to obtain the first measurement, which is highlighted in blue. Select Mode->Minus. A pink arrow appears, which is going to deduct next measurement from the measurement obtained in step 1 Measure from the other corner to the same point in step 1 to obtain second measurement, which is highlighted in orange. The length of the angled wall will be computed automatically.

141 Measure Arbitrary Angled Wall To measure an arbitrary angled wall, user can use triangulation function. Step1: Measure two or more corners of a room and then select Mode->Triangulation. Step 2 Press the Lower left button to cycle through corners until desired reference point is selected. Step 3 Capture the distance, shown as a dashed blue line in the image above and transfer via Bluetooth. The angled wall will then be shown in red indicating a successful measure

142 Measure Curved Wall *Arc is drawn by first locating the Apex, and then the endpoint of the arc Step1: Measure from one end of arc to a point on the arc. Step 2: Measure from the same point on arc to the other end of arc Step 3: select Mode->Convert to Arc. It will convert last two measurements to a curved wall.

143 16 How to Convert C++ Database and Projects to.net Convert C++ Database to.net There are two ways to import the MeasureSquare 2015 database to MeasureSquare 2017: 1. On MeasureSquare 2017, Go to File -> Product Database -> Import MeasureSquare 2015 Products. (or on the Takeoff tab, open product catalog window as shown below) Select saved 2015 product database (fepmaterial7.mdb) from Open pop-up window, and click Open. After the database is imported, left click on the database that just imported and click OK on the Product Catalogs window.

144 2. Save 2015 product database as XML database file: On MeasureSquare 2015, go to File -> Database. In the Product/Services Database window that appears, click on Database Management and select Backup Database as XML File. Type in file name in Save As window and click Save. Then on MeasureSquare 2017, Go to File -> Product Database -> Product Catalogs. Click on black triangle icon and select Import MeasureSquare 2015 XML Database File from drop-down menu. In the Open window, select the 2015 XML file saved from earlier and click Open. Then click OK on the Product Catalogs window.

145 Convert C++ Projects to.net Make sure your MeasureSquare 2015 projects are saved as fepx files on your computer. Open the MeasureSquare 2015 project file on MeasureSquare 2017.