Phases

Rooms can be assigned to a type of group known as a "phase." When the project is complete, Worksheet reports and custom forms may be generated for individual phases, specific groups of phases, or for the project as a whole.

Phases can be implemented at the beginning of a project or at any point during the takeoff. They may be used to designate areas of the job that require separate management, or for the post-bid process of assigning products to match the installation schedule.

Rooms that are on the same sheet, share the same material, and are grouped into the same phase will be allocated together. Rooms that utilize the same material but are assigned to a different phase will not allocate together and thus will not share waste even if they are on the same sheet.

How to Create Phases

1.  While in Drawing mode, click the Phases button under the Tools tab of the Ribbon Bar.
2.  Click on Manage Phases and a new window will appear.
3.  Click the Add button.
4.  Enter a name for the phase in the text field and click OK.
5.  Repeat steps 3-4 until all required phases have been created.

Assign Rooms to a Phase

1. While in Drawing mode, select one or more rooms.
2. Click the Phases button.
3. Click the name of the phase to which the room(s) should be applied.  Tip: To remove the selected room(s) from all phases, click the "No phase" option.

The "Manage Phases" Window

Click the "Manage Phases" button in the Phases drop-down box to access a set of options associated with this feature.

1.  Phase List Click on a phase to select it from the list. A selected phase can be renamed, deleted, or reordered. See points 3, 4, and 5 respectively.

2.  Add Phase Create a new phase for the project. A window will appear in which a name for the new phase must be provided.

3.  Rename Phase Change the name of the selected phase. A window will appear in which a new name for the phase may be entered.

4.  Delete Phase Remove the selected phase from the project. Tip: Deleting a phase will not erase rooms belonging to that phase. These will simply be placed back to a "No phase" status.

5.  Reorder Phases A selected phase can be reordered by clicking one of the arrow buttons to move it up or down. Changing the order of phases in this window only affects the order in which they are listed in the Phases drop-down box.

6.  Show Rooms for All Phases on Sheet If this box is checked, all rooms will be visible on the drawing regardless of which phase is active. Turning this feature off will cause rooms to disappear when their phase is not active.

7.  Color for Rooms in Other Phases Choose a color for rooms in phases that are not active. The default color is dark grey.

Phases in Drawing Mode

When a room is selected, the name of the phase it belongs to is displayed in the Phase button on the ribbon bar. The active phase's rooms are visually distinguished on the drawing by rendering rooms in other phases in a different color whereas the selected room and all other rooms belonging to the same phase retain their regular product color(s). This default behavior can be adjusted in the "Manage Phases" window as described in the section above.

The Explorer window offers a view in which each phase is given a collapsible heading. Rooms are then listed below the phase they belong to. Select an individual room or an entire phase by left-clicking it.

Phase Options in the Worksheet and on Custom Forms

Rooms on different sheets can belong to the same phase. As such, there are options on the Worksheet and in the Forms dialog to allow for custom filtering.

Worksheet Options

Active Sheet Only Display data from the sheet and phase that was active when the worksheet was opened.
All Sheets Generate individual lines for each combination of sheets and phases.
Selected Sheets When this option is activated, a button will appear at the top of the Worksheet. Click it to open a checklist with all possible combinations of sheets and phases. Check the boxes next to the lines that should be included on the Worksheet and click OK.
Phase Choosing this option will place a drop-down box with a list of all phases at the top of the worksheet. Left-click it and choose a single phase. All products used in the selected phase will be included on the worksheet. If a product is used on multiple sheets, a separate line will be generated for each sheet.

Custom Form Options

Organize By Phases Each phase is given a full page on the form with its name placed as a heading at the top. A line for each product used in the phase is shown under the heading and a grand total is generated at the bottom.  Note: Each product utilized in a phase will get a single line on the form, even if the product is used on multiple sheets.
Phases & Sheets This drop-down box works similarly to the "Selected Sheets" option on the Worksheet. When it is selected, a checklist with all possible combinations of sheets and phases is shown. Check the boxes next to the lines that should be included in the form, or click the "Select All" button to automatically check all boxes. Click the Phases & Sheets drop-down box again to close the checklist.