CostX 6.6 Release Notes

Transcription

1 CostX 6.6 Release Notes CostX 6.6 is the latest release in the Exactal range of world-class digital measurement and BIM-enabled estimating software. This release comes with a host of exciting new features that will significantly improve your productivity. The following sections provide important information about the new features and changes implemented in version 6.6. It is recommended that you read these sections carefully before starting work so that you can take full advantage of all of the enhancements. You may also wish to review our CostX 6.6 webinar here which provides an in depth demonstration of the new features. Headline Features Support for Multiple Zone Categories. Dimensions can now be classified into up to 8 different zone categories at the same time instead of the single zone previously available. For example, dimensions may have a values set for their Floor Level, Location, Apartment, Function, Classification Codes, Start and End Phases etc. Multiple Dimension selection on 2D drawings is now possible. Click to select Dimensions one by one, or draw a box around a region on the drawing to select all the Dimensions in the box at once. With multiple dimensions selected, it is now possible to apply various actions to the selection directly from the drawing. For example, select all of the Dimensions on the Level 7 floor plan and set their zone to Level 7. Selected 2D Dimensions can now be edited as a set with the ability to move, rotate and mirror the selected dimensions. It is now possible to Copy and Paste Dimensions both on same drawing and to other drawings. The system supports copying a single dimension and pasting multiple times, or copying multiple selected dimensions and pasting (even to other drawings or pasting multiple times). When the dimensions are pasted, the Edit Controls are provided to move, rotate and mirror the selected dimensions. Standard Reports can now be converted to a Custom Report. User can start with a standard report which is easy, and covers most things required such as columns, levels, titles, footers and formatting. If those options aren t enough for a certain report, then the standard report can be converted to a custom report where it is editable in the report designer without starting from scratch. Automatic Screen Pan now supported while measuring or revising lengths and areas, as well in Calibration mode. On the drawing, the Dimension labels can now optionally show quantity information for the Dimension in addition to or instead of the Dimension name. Page 1 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

2 Using Zones Dimensions can now be assigned to multiple zones instead of only a single zone in previous versions. Zones are now grouped by zone categories. CostX 6.6 provides eight zone categories named Zone Category 1 (ZC1) through Zone Category 8 (ZC8). You can add zones to any of the eight categories. Each dimension can be assigned to one zone in each category, thus being associated with up to eight different zones at the same time. Multi-zone Takeoff As before, you can add standard zones in System Administration and project specific zones in Project Properties. The difference is that to add a zone, you must select a category to act as its parent container. Once added, project zones will become available through the zone selection lists in the Zone Selection Bar above the drawing window which works very much like the previous Zone drop-down box and Zone Filter button on the Dimensions ribbon, with the difference that it allows dimensions to be extracted to or filtered by multiple zones. The example below shows the Zone Selection Bar in a project that has zones in ZC1 and ZC2. All dimensions extracted from a drawing are set to the current zones specified in the Zone Selection Bar at the time of creation. Zoned dimensions can be re-allocated if necessary. Using Multiple Zones in Workbooks Workbooks now support multiple Default Zones, either in the same zone category or from multiple zone categories. When multiple default zones are specified, zones in the same zone category are treated as filters connected with the logical OR operator, while zones from different zone categories are treated as filters connected with the logical AND operator. These two filter rules also apply when using multiple zones from one or more zone categories in individual functions in the workbook. Use Blank Zone Permission The Allow/Use Blank Zone option is no longer available in CostX Options for standalone version or in CostX Server Admin for network version. If you ve disabled this option to prevent the <blank> zone from being used, the restriction will be removed after upgrading to 6.6. You can add the restriction back using the Required option in Zone Category Properties. To require a zone to be selected when adding dimensions to a specific zone category, select the category from the zones list and click Edit, then in the Zone Category Properties dialog, tick the Required box. NOTE: After you upgrade to 6.6, all zones created in previous versions of CostX will be placed into Zone Category 1 (ZC1). Page 2 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

3 Working with Dimensions This release introduces an entirely new way to work with dimensions on 2D drawings. You can now select, copy, paste and edit one or multiple dimensions directly on your drawing. Selecting Dimensions Previously it was only possible to select one dimension from the drawing. In CostX 6.6, multiple dimensions can be selected from a 2D drawing, allowing you to perform various actions in bulk directly from the drawing, such as changing the zone(s) or height of several dimensions at once. As before, you can select a single dimension by simply moving the mouse over the dimension on the drawing. However, the dimension will be deselected once you move the mouse away. To select a dimension such that it stays selected even if you move the mouse away, use the Ctrl key as described in the table below. The following table summarizes the various new methods for selecting dimensions. To Select individual dimensions one by one Select all dimensions within a rectangular area Select all currently displayed dimensions Do this In the drawing window, hold down the Ctrl key and click each of the dimensions you want to select. TIPS: Ctrl-clicking acts as a toggle between selecting and deselecting. To remove a dimension from the current selection, Ctrl-click on it again. Ctrl-clicking can be used in combination with any of the methods outlined below to add or remove dimensions from the selection. 1. On the Dimensions ribbon, click (Select in Area). 2. Drag a box that completely encloses the dimensions you want to select. TIP: To select every dimension in the box, including dimensions that are only partially enclosed by the box, hold down the Shift key while dragging. Press Ctrl-A. To clear the selection, press Esc. Once all required dimensions are selected, right-click one of the selected dimensions to view the actions that can be applied. Selected dimensions can also be moved, rotated or mirrored. For details, see the Manipulating Dimension Geometry section below. Page 3 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

4 Copying and Pasting Dimensions To make your take-off process even faster, we ve added support for copying and pasting dimensions on 2D drawings. You can copy one or more dimensions at a time and paste your selection multiple times on the same drawing or another drawing. Dimensions can be copied and pasted using either of the following two methods, each of which gives you control over the placement of the pasted dimensions in a different way. Copy and paste to the mouse position Copy and paste to the same relative position to the centre of the drawing This requires you to specify a base point when copying dimensions. The base point is then used as the reference point for positioning the pasted dimensions. This is useful for copying between similar drawings. For example, you can copy a dimension from Level 1 floor plan to the same position on Level 2 floor plan. To copy the selected dimension(s): Right-click to set the base point, and select Copy Dimensions from the context menu; or Position the cursor at the base point, and press Ctrl-C. To copy the selected dimension(s): Select Copy Dimensions from the context menu; or Press Ctrl-C; or On the Dimensions ribbon, click (Copy) > Copy Dimensions. To paste the selected dimension(s): Right-click to specify the insertion point, and select Paste Dimensions from the context menu; or Position the cursor at the insertion point, and press Ctrl-V. To paste the selected dimension(s): On the Dimensions ribbon, click (Paste). TIP: If you only need to copy one dimension, simply move the mouse over the dimension to select it, then copy the dimension using Ctrl-C or the Copy Dimensions option on the drawing context menu. When a dimension is pasted on the drawing, it automatically becomes selected and dimension edit controls are displayed, allowing you to adjust it as needed. For details, see the Manipulating Dimension Geometry section below. Page 4 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

5 Manipulating Dimension Geometry The following shortcut key functions, which were previously available when revising area and length dimensions, have been replaced with easier on-screen edit controls. R: Rotate a selected dimension. Ctrl-R: Rotate multiple selected dimensions. Ctrl-M: Mirror a selected dimension horizontally. Ctrl-Shift-M: Mirror a selected dimension vertically. The Ctrl-A keyboard shortcut that was previously used to select an entire area or length dimension so its geometry can be adjusted, is now replaced by Ctrl-click. The dimension selected using Ctrl-click can then be adjusted using the methods outlined below. To adjust the geometry of a dimension, you no longer need to memorize the above keyboard shortcuts. You can now use the new button (Edit Controls) on the Dimensions ribbon or press F2 to enable edit controls for selected dimensions. (Note: Edit controls for a single dimension can be quickly enabled by moving the mouse over the dimension and press F2.) Once edit controls are enabled, dimensions can be moved, rotated and mirrored as below. To Move Do this Place your cursor inside the edit controls box. When the cursor changes to the four headed arrow, click and drag the dimension to the new location. Rotate Click the rotation handle at the top of the dimension, and then drag the mouse horizontally. Mirror Click one of the yellow mirror points on the sides of the edit controls box. To exit Edit mode and hide the edit controls, press Esc. NOTE: Hiding the edit controls does not clear the selection. To clear the selection, press Esc again. Page 5 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

6 Tweaks to Existing Features Due to the introduction of the new functionalities, some existing features have been tweaked to avoid confusion or conflict with the new ones. Previously the four-pointed cursor ( ) was only used to indicate that a line segment or selection point could be moved. In CostX 6.6, it is also used to indicate the ability to move an entire dimension in Edit mode. To avoid confusion when performing these actions, the cursor behaviour has been changed slightly and described in detail below. o Moving an entire dimension in Edit mode In Edit mode, the cursor changes to the four-headed arrow ( ) when it is over the selected dimension, indicating that the entire dimension can be moved. When dragging the dimension to the new location, the cursor remains as four-headed arrow (see Manipulating Dimension Geometry for details). o Moving a line segment or selection point when measuring or revising dimensions When measuring or revising dimensions, the cursor changes to when a line segment or selection point is selected (outlines in blue), indicating that the selected line or point can be moved. Once you click the left mouse button to grab the line segment or selection point, the cursor changes to the four-headed arrow, indicating that the line segment or selection point is now ready to be moved. Moving a line segment Moving a selection point Page 6 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

7 You can now use the Ctrl key either to join several lines together to create a single length dimension, or to select an existing length dimension. Follow the appropriate procedure below according to the action you wish to perform. o Adding a multi-segment length Line Mode - Click the first line, keep the cursor over the measured length so it stays selected (outlines in blue), then hold down the Ctrl key. With the Ctrl key pressed, move the cursor away and click to capture each additional segment. Point Mode - Click the first point, then hold down the Ctrl key and click the additional points. o Adding segments to an existing length dimension Line Mode - Move the cursor over the existing length dimension so it is selected (outlines in blue), then hold down the Ctrl key. With the Ctrl key pressed, move the cursor away and click the additional lines. Point Mode - Move the cursor over the end point of the existing length dimension so the end point is selected (outlines in blue), then hold down the Ctrl key. With the Ctrl key pressed, move the cursor away and click the additional points. o Selecting a length dimension Press the Ctrl key while the cursor is not over the dimension. With the Ctrl key pressed, move the cursor over the dimension and click to select it. The previous Copy Dimension(s) context menu item has been renamed to Copy Dimension(s) to Another Dimension Group. In CostX 6.6, the Copy Dimensions option on the drawing context menu refers to copying dimensions for pasting on the same drawing or another drawing. In earlier versions, when taking count dimensions in line mode, you can manually create a block by joining several lines together to create a single count dimension using the Ctrl key. This is still available in CostX 6.6 but needs to be done in a slightly different way as follows: a) Click the first line. b) Move the mouse cursor over the selected line, then press the Ctrl key. c) With the Ctrl key pressed, click the additional lines. There is a small change to the way CostX works when joining 3D QuickPoint measurements using the SHIFT and CTRL keys. In previous versions, CostX would add to the last dimension that had been selected even if the mouse was no longer selecting it when SHIFT and CTRL were pressed. With the changes to dimension selection in CostX 6.6, the SHIFT and CTRL keys must be pressed while over the dimension you wish to join to, then with SHIFT and CTRL keys still pressed, click additional surfaces to add them to the original dimension. Page 7 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

8 Drawings & Take-off Automatic Screen Pan Automatic screen pan is now supported while measuring or revising lengths and areas, as well as in Calibration mode. This saves you the trouble of having to manually zoom or pan the drawing when the line being measured extends beyond the viewing area. When auto-pan is enabled, a translucent light blue frame appears around the drawing window as shown below. The drawing automatically moves up-down or sideways when the cursor reaches the edge of the blue frame, and moves diagonally when the cursor is over any corner of the frame. PDF Drawings PDF drawings now display page titles instead of just page numbers. CostX 6.5 CostX 6.6 Page 8 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

9 Dimension Groups and Dimensions Dimension labels on the drawing can now optionally show quantity information for the dimension in addition to or instead of the dimension name. This can be configured in CostX Options. Legend changed to show only quantities from the current drawing, not all drawings. NOTE: o The quantity displayed against each dimension group in the legend is the sum of each dimension for the current drawing multiplied by the Effective Multiplier. o If the current drawing is a 2D drawing that is part of a Drawing Set and has highlighted dimensions which are actually BIM dimensions from a 3D drawing within the same Set, these highlighted dimensions will also be included in the quantity. o The full quantity of any BIM dimensions on the drawing is included in the total, even if only part of the BIM dimension is shown. Dimension groups now support editing of formulas after dimensions have been taken. Dimensions in that dimension group are automatically recalculated and updated. Count dimensions can now be negative. Page 9 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

10 On the right-click menus and Dimensions ribbon, there is a new option for moving one or more dimensions to another dimension group. When a dimension is moved, it inherits the properties of the target dimension group. Each value of the dimension is recalculated unless the target dimension group does not contain any value or formula in the corresponding field, in which case the original value is retained. Changing Colours of Comparison Drawing Layers It is now possible to change the colours of the New, Deleted, Same, Different Before, and Different After layers of comparison drawings. You can select your preferred colours in CostX Options. This also applies to overlay drawings which were previously only available in Red and Green. When comparing two drawings in the drawings list using an overlay, use the New colour picker to specify the colour for the currently selected drawing, and use the Deleted colour picker to specify the colour for the drawing it is compared to. When comparing drawing revisions using an overlay, use the New colour picker to specify the colour for the current revision of the drawing, and use the Deleted colour picker to specify the colour for the selected previous revision of the drawing. Page 10 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

11 BIM Miscellaneous Improvements Improvements to Transparency in 3D drawings, and in Ghost View. Speed improvements loading BIM Dimensions onto a 2D view which were taken off on the 3D view in the same Drawing Set. Speed improvements in the Check BIM Objects feature especially on large models. Auto-centre 3D Pivot Point In earlier versions of CostX, 3D objects always rotated around the centre of the drawing. When rotating an individual object, this would sometimes cause the object to go off screen. To prevent this issue and make it easier to rotate individual objects, there is now a new option for automatically setting the pivot point to the centre of the currently displayed object(s) after a model is filtered. This feature can be enabled by ticking the Auto-Centre 3D Pivot Point box in CostX Options. BIM Schedule BIM Schedule now closes automatically when loading a new drawing which saves the user waiting extra time for it to load if it is not required. BIM Schedule now handles duplicate object properties better allowing the same data to be displayed in less columns, thus improving the loading speed of object data. When a duplicate property is detected, CostX creates a new column for the property in the BIM Schedule using a unique name as the column heading (such as the path of the property) so that the user can still access the property value that they require. This means for each duplicate property, a separate column is added. On occasions when many objects in a model contain duplicate properties, Page 11 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

12 this will result in a significant number of columns being created, making it much slower to open the schedule window. CostX 6.6 brings down the number of columns required by reducing the number of duplicate property names. For example, the Name and PredefinedType properties shown on the left below exist in both the category related to the Instance (IfcSlab) and the category related to the Type (A6D-6 AAC; 7/8 MF; NO SKIN 7 ½ ). In CostX 6.5, the duplicates in the Relating Type category are displayed in columns which are named by adding the relevant category name to the property name (as shown on the right below). In CostX 6.6, all duplicates in the Relating Type category are renamed by adding the prefix RelatingType to the original property name. In other words, if any object contains a duplicate Name or PredefinedType property in the Relating Type category, the duplicate Name will be placed in the RelatingType.Name column, and the duplicate PredefinedType will be placed in the RelatingType.PredefinedType column (as shown in the example below). IMPORTANT: Due to the change of the column headings, model maps that use properties in the Relating Type category will need to be updated. Page 12 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

13 Workbooks Subcontractor Workbooks The subcontractor short name has been increased from 4 to 5 characters. In subcontractor comparison workbooks, the full name of the subcontractor now shows in a pop-up hint when the mouse is held over subcontractor column headings. There is a new button on the Subcontractors ribbon to generate a Subcontractor Comparison workbook or a Standard Workbook from a Subcontractor Comparison. Rates and Rate Libraries UOM column now shown in the rates list. New rates can now be inserted from the Rates drag and drop tab in the workbook, instead of having to go into System Administration. Users can add an entirely new rate or copy an existing rate. Editing a rate is also now available on the right click menu instead of only by double click. NOTE: This item was released under CostX 6.5 R2. Page 13 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

14 Spell Checker Spell checker dialog now shows the entire contents of the cell giving context to the spelling error. Spell checker now has new options whether or not to search in Rate, Qty, and Calc sheets. This can be configured in CostX Options. Exporting to Primavera The settings chosen when exporting a workbook to Primavera can now be saved. In the Primavera export settings, fields from a single line in the CostX workbook can be mapped to up to 5 lines in the Primavera export file. When exporting a Workbook to Primavera, it now supports 5 codes to include. Page 14 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

15 Exporting to Excel Export Workbook to Excel has been enhanced to support formulas in Subtotal and Total columns as well as totals for trades and the entire estimate. Updating rates in the exported spreadsheet now automatically updates the totals. NOTE: o If any formula cannot be converted (i.e. the formula does not have an equivalent in Excel), then only the result of the formula is preserved and the relevant cell is highlighted in yellow in the exported spreadsheet. o Static values in the Subtotal and Total columns are exported as is and not highlighted. Export Trades to Excel is also updated to include formulas that multiply the quantity and rate in the Total column, then total up the trade and entire estimate. NOTE: If the rates and totals from the workbook are included in the export, and the formula "Qty*Rate" gives a different item total to the workbook, then the value in the workbook is preserved and the relevant cell is highlighted in yellow in the exported spreadsheet. Automatic Refresh of Workbook Data Workbooks changes on lower levels now automatically update the top summary level at regular intervals even if the user doesn t return up to the top. Page 15 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

16 Reports Converting Standard Reports to Custom Reports Standard reports can now be easily converted to Custom reports. You can start with a standard report which is easy and covers most things required such as columns, levels, titles, footers and formatting. If those options aren t enough for a certain report, then use the Convert button on the reports list dialog to convert the standard report to a custom report where it is editable in the report designer without starting from scratch. NOTE: Standard Reports with Qty and Rate subsheets cannot be converted. As part of the change to support Standard reports being converted to Custom reports, the underlying reporting engines were aligned and therefore the preview window for Standard reports is now the same as Custom reports providing additional options for exporting the report as shown below. To save to PDF, a convenient button is provided directly on the menu. Page 16 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

17 Comparison Reports There is now a new option in workbook comparison reports to show the rows in the previous revision which are not in the current revision. When using a Standard report template to create comparison reports, this option can be configured in the Data tab of Report Properties. When using a Custom report template, this option can be configured in the Insert Report dialog. Additional Functions Provided in Custom Reports CostX 6.6 includes additional functions in custom reports. If you have a custom report created with a prior version of CostX, you may encounter an error running reports that define identifiers in the report scripts with the same name. For example, if the script for your report in CostX 6.5 declares a function called Power, you will receive this error when running the report with CostX 6.6. The conflicting function name is shown in the message. If you encounter this error: If the new function performs the same operation as the function you have declared in your script, you can remove your function and use the built-in one instead. If the identifier isn t a function, or if it is a function but gives a different result, you will need to rename the identifier in your script. Page 17 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

18 CostX API CostX API now provides new calls for updating the drawings paths. NOTE: This item was released under CostX 6.5 R2. Other Speed and stability improvements on multi-user network configurations, particularly on slower networks. Improved error messages throughout CostX to better explain the issue. Improved Database Restore functionality. Updated the underlying database version to the latest point release for improved stability. Restricted- Not to be reproduced without the express written authority of Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd Page 18 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)

19 The CostX Range of Estimating Solutions Our range of CostX products recognise that different companies estimating requirements are not all the same. CostX is now in wide-spread use amongst commercial and residential builders, large and small sized quantity surveying firms, subcontractors in all trades and government departments. The product range available allows each customer to choose a cost-effective estimating solution to suit their needs now and in the future. Our innovative CostX product range includes: FEATURE CostX CostX 2D CostX Takeoff CostX Takeoff 2D BIM models / 3D drawings 2D drawings (incl. PDFs) Auto-Revisioning Workbooks Subcontractor Comparison CostXL CostXL allows you to link CostX data directly into your Excel spreadsheets CostX Viewer CostX Viewer makes it easy to freely share your CostX projects with anyone. Contact Us Exactal welcomes your feedback on this document. If you have any queries, comments or suggestions please use one of the contacts below in your local region. INTERNATIONAL sales@exactal.com Australia Hong Kong New Zealand Malaysia BRISBANE/MELBOURNE AUCKLAND KUALA LUMPUR Singapore United Kingdom United States LONDON/MANCHESTER AUSTIN (512) Page 19 of 19 Copyright Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd, 2017 (NOT TO BE REPRODUCED)