Takeoff Menu Commands
GENERAL DISCUSSION
The Takeoff Sheet provides a place for you to enter and calculate a number of project’s quantitative measurements, which are essentially the project’s size and area dimensions. Many of the Takeoff Sheet’s are automatically calculated using formulas from other numbers you entered. For example, when you enter the length and height of the exterior walls and the interior partitions, and the square footage of the roof structure, the Takeoff Sheet will calculate the square footage and board count of drywall for the project.
When you have finished entering the basic measurements into the Takeoff and you have reviewed the resulting calculations, you may use the Lookup function from within the Estimate to copy any number into the Estimate.
The Lookup Function operates as follows:
- The Lookup Function operates only when you are in the Estimate, and only if you are in the Count Column.
- To activate the Lookup Function, press Control – L, which will open a window in the middle of the page that gives you a view of the Takeoff page.
- You may scroll up and down the screen to review the Takeoff’s numbers
- You may also press the first letter of the section of the Takeoff you wish to review. For example, if you press the D key on the keyboard, the cursor will move immediately to the Drywall section.
- Once you have identified and clicked on a Takeoff number you wish to copy into the Estimate, you can select the OK button to copy the number into the Estimate, on the same line as the cursor.
- You may also Double-Click the number to copy in into the Estimate.
- You may copy any Takeoff number into the Estimate in as many places as you desire.
- When you select a Takeoff Number to be copied into the Estimate, the Lookup window will close automatically.
The Takeoff Sheet performs a quantitative takeoff, not a material takeoff, which means that is does not calculate the number of 2×4’s or sheets of plywood. It is solely focused of calculating the size and dimensions of the project, with the specific intent of assisting you in performing unit cost estimates.
Some SpecWriter users use the Takeoff Sheet for every project, and some users completely ignore it. The choice is entirely up to you, but SpecWriter will operate properly regardless of which strategy you employ.
These are the menu commands under the Takeoff Menu.
| Takeoff Menu Commands | |
| Menu | Description |
| Insert New Row | This command will insert a new row in the Takeoff underneath where the cursor is located.
The function will insert the new row by pushing the row currently under the cursor down, with the new row then inserted directly above it. If you use the mouse to drag a range of several several rows, the function will insert as many rows as you’ve included in your range. This function is used to add new rows to the Takeoff Sheet, either for a specific project, or as permanent additions to your SpecWriter Master File. Before actually inserting the rows, SpecWriter will highlight them in their entirety and ask you to confirm the insertion. |
| Delete Rows | This command will delete the Takeoff row directly under the cursor.
If you use the mouse to drag multiple rows, the function will delete all the rows in your range. This function is used to permanently delete rows from the Takeoff, typically because you are eliminating rows you inadvertently added to the Takeoff. Before actually deleting the rows, SpecWriter will highlight them in their entirety and ask you to confirm the deletion. |
| Insert New Section | This command will insert an entirely new, blank Takeoff Section AT WHATEVER ROW the cursor is on.
SpecWriter will prompt you to confirm your intent before actually adding the blank Takeoff Section. When you insert a new blank Takeoff Section, the program will insert new rows and thus will not copy over any existing Takeoff rows. The new Takeoff Section is 5 rows. The layout of the new Takeoff Section is identical to the Takeoff Section already included in many areas of the Takeoff Sheet. The idea is to allow you to add a new Takeoff Section to the Takeoff Sheet, perhaps to address something that is not already included in the Takeoff. Once you’ve inserted the new Takeoff Section, you will obviously need to enter the specifications and units. If you need more rows to correctly describe the takeoff, use Insert New Row. If you inadvertently inserted a blank Takeoff Section, you may use Delete Rows to remove them. |
| Page Break Preview On/Off | This option toggles the Page Break View on and off, which simply gives you the option of whatever view you prefer.
The Page Break View draws bold blue lines on the Takeoff Sheet representing the actual pages that will be printed, and ghost-writes the page number in grey lettering across each page. (it doesn’t get printed that way) The only reason we’ve included this function here is because the Takeoff Sheet does not actually have designated page footers like the Specifications, and thus when printed the pages will break naturally with the length of the page itself, something you can’t actually see on the page itself. The default setting in SpecWriter is with the Page Break View off. You can switch between the two options as often as you wish, so give it a try and see if you like it. |
| Preview Takeoff | This command will open the Print Preview function, which will present the Takeoff Sheet on the screen exactly as it will be printed.
In the Preview mode you can use the menu bar at the top of the page to move between the pages and to zoom in on any portion of a page for a closer view. You can also use the Margins menu to change the page margins, by we strongly suggest that you leave our default settings as they are. Use the Close menu button to close the Print Preview function when you are finished reviewing the Estimate. It’s always a good idea to preview the Takeoff Sheet before printing it. |
Print Takeoff Sheet  |
This command will print the entire Takeoff Sheet on your default printer.
If you need to send the print job to another printer, or if you only want to print a page or specific pages of the Takeoff Sheet, then you should use File | Print Dialog Box instead. |