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Column Widths Saved in Column Format

Generating a SoftList material report, will now display the columns with a width that you can pre-determine. As the contents of your material list can vary, you often need to adjust the widths of your columns to allow all the information to fit on the page and also make the report appear neatly. The column width can be adjusted once the report is generated; but now that you can re-set their widths, you will no longer have to manually adjust them every time you create a report.

Not only does this save you time in producing your SoftList material report, but it also ensures a consistant appearance for each report generated.

Go to Build>Material List.
Select Setup, and this will open the Material List setup screen.
Click on the Report Styles pull down menu.
Select the Material Definition that you will be generating the report with.
Select Column Format.
To adjust the column widths, place your cursor on the division between each column name. You will notice the cursor change to a double sided arrow.
Hold down the From button on the mouse and drag the mouse to adjust the column width.
Once you have set the columns as desired, press OK to close the menu. Future reports will now generate with your new column widths.

Speed Note ID Numbers

SoftPlan Version 11 has added the ability to link costs to Speed Notes that have been placed on a drawing. Previously, only available to other library items such as Symbols and Openings, the Speed Notes ID field will allow the addition of ID numbers to any note that has been saved into a Speed Note library.

This will allow items to be counted that would otherwise never be drawn on a drawing, but may be noted on a drawing.

For Example, there may be a need for a smoke alarm for each bedroom within a house. Although the smoke alarm can be drawn as a symbol on the drawing and counted that way, it could also be counted through the use of an ID number. By simply assigning an ID number to all Bedroom Speed Notes in the Room Names library, a material can be set-up for smoke alarms. The material will check for the appropriate Speed Notes ID number and count a smoke alarm for each one it finds.

To assign an ID number to a speed note or a group of speed notes, select Build>Material List>Setup. From the SoftList setup screen, select Libraries>Speed Note.
This will open the Speed Note library pricing catalog. Select the library that contains the speed notes that will receive ID numbers. Select Room Names from the library list.
In the ID column place a number that has not already been used, such as 5, beside the speed notes Bedroom #1 through Bedroom #4. There are also two Master Bedroom Speed Notes further down the list to assign the ID number to. Select Okay to exit the dialog.
With the ID numbers assigned, there now needs to be a material setup to check for the Speed Note ID numbers. To create a material, select Material Definitions>Standard Detailed>Edit Material.
Under Miscellaneous and near the bottom of the list of materials is a material that counts smoke alarms for each floor called Smoke Alarm. Highlight this material and select Insert from the bottom left of the dialog to insert a new material below it.
A small dialog appears called New Material. Select Speed Note>Okay.
This will open a Material Setup dialog for the group Speed Note. Type a name into the Material Name field such as Bedroom Smoke Alarm.
If only Speed Notes from a specific library are to be checked, select the appropriate library from the library list. Otherwise, leave this set to All so that an ID number can be checked across all Speed Note libraries.
In the Selection Limits area select the down arrow for the first box and select ID. In the next box to the right select Equal. In the third box type the ID number (in this case the number 5).
Change the Calculate Quantity = 1.
Select the Accounting button in the bottom right corner. Type in an appropriate price. In the Sequence number field type 5710 to ensure that these smoke alarms will list with the other smoke alarms.
Now, by simply adding the regular Bedroom Speed Notes to a floor plan, a smoke alarm will be counted in SoftList for each one found. Note: It is possible to combine the two smoke alarm counts if needed through the use of an Accumulate Material Calculation method, which is outlined in the SoftList manual.

SoftList Properties of Symbols

Version 11 has included several tracking numbers and taxes to the SoftList Properties of the Configure Symbol dialog. This new addition allows the user to more accurately count and cost all Library based items including Speed Notes, Electrical, Posts, Cabinets and Openings. Tracking numbers now include Account, Order, Part and Item numbers. Tracking numbers also include up to 3 different tax rates, which were previously only available in material formulas.

It is no longer necessary to create a separate material formula for symbols to include these items as they are now directly available when configuring the symbol. You can also continue to modify SoftList properties of existing symbols as changes occur, which can be accessed by one of two ways.

Method #1

Select File>System Library.
Select the desired Library Type and choose a predefined symbol.
With the desired symbol highlighted, select the Edit button from the Configure Library dialog.
From the configure Symbol dialog, check the SoftList option and then select the SoftList Properties button.

Method #2

Select Build>Material List>Setup.
From the SoftList Setup screen select Library and then choose the desired Library Type.
All SoftList properties of Symbols are now available in the Symbol Library Pricing menu.

Maximum Number of Materials Increased

In Version 11 SoftList has increased the maximum number of allowable Material formulas within a Material Definition from 1,000 to 1,500. This increase should aid in allowing those users who's requirements for complete Material listings exceeded the previous limit.

Material formulas are numbered along the left hand column of the Material Definition menu for easy reference. SoftList still allows for 10 different Material Definitions, each containing 1,500 different Material formulas. This adds up to a total of 15,000 different Materials in all!

Select Build>Material List>Setup to access the SoftList Setup screen.
In the SoftList Setup screen, choose Material Definitions, then the desired definition you wish to modify and add to. Select the Edit Materials option.
In the Material Definition menu, you can now insert up to a maximum of 1,500 different Material formulas.

Electrical Group Added

Electrical has now been added as a new Group in SoftList Version 11. This addition will allow material formulas to be written that can link to Electrical Symbols in a drawing, as has been possible with Symbols and Openings in previous versions.

A custom material can be setup with the Group>Electrical to count the number of electrical outlets using a specific ID number. This new feature allows you to list a cost on the report separate from the actual outlets to account for the installation labor. There is also the ability to detect Electrical Symbols of different sizes to apply costs based on their sizes.

To assign an ID number to an Electrical Symbol or a group of Electrical Symbols, select Build>Material List>Setup. From the SoftList Setup screen, select Libraries>Electrical Symbol.
The Electrical Library Pricing dialog will open. Select the Electrical Symbols that will receive the ID numbers. Select Standard from the library list.
In the ID column place a number that has not already been used such as 5 beside the Electrical Symbols Outlet and Outlet gfi. Select OK to exit the dialog.
There now needs to be a material setup to check for the Electrical Symbol ID numbers. To create a material, select Material Definitions>Standard Detailed> Edit Material.
Highlight a material where the new material should be located in this list and select Insert from the bottom left of the dialog.
A small dialog called New Material showing the different SoftList Groups appears. Select Electrical from this list by highlighting it and select OK.
This will open a Material Setup dialog for the Group Electrical. Type a name into the Material Name field such as Electrical Outlet Installation.
If only Electrical Symbols from a specific library such as Standard are to be checked, select the appropriate library from the library list. Otherwise, leave this set to All so that an ID number can be checked across all Electrical Symbol libraries.
In the Selection Limits area, select the down arrow for the first box and select ID. In the next box to the right, select Equal. In the third box, type the ID number (in this case type the number 5).
Change the Calculate Quantity to Quantity = 1.
Select the Accounting button at the bottom right corner. Type in an appropriate price and in the Sequence number field, type 5710 to ensure that the labor costs will list with the costs of the actual outlets.
Now, by simply adding the regular Electrical Outlet Symbols to a floor plan, a labor cost will be counted in SoftList for each one found and will total all costs in the Total column. Note: It is possible to combine the labor costs for different electrical items if needed through the use of an Accumulate Material Calculation method, which is outlined in the SoftList manual.

Dashes in Account Field

In the release of SoftPlan Version 11, many new features and improvements have been made to the SoftList module. Among these new features is the ability to add account numbers with dashes from the Material Definition dialogue. In previous versions you would have to go to each material's Setup to achieve this.

This feature allows you quick access to insert these account numbers for use in exporting these materials.

Select Build>Material List>Setup.
Select Material Definitions>By Floor>Edit Materials. Note: Select the Material Definition you require.
In the Account field, insert the proper numbers and dashes you require for exporting purposes.

SoftList New Page Action

SoftPlan Version 11 has improved the ability to create page breaks in a generated SoftList Report when it is printed. This will allow a report to have forced page breaks to start selected headings in the report at the top of a page.

The modification is made in the SoftList set-up for the Listing Format. New Page is an Action that can be set to cause the generated report to print the next item following the New Page Action at the top of a new page. The page break will be marked on the saved report with "(Page)" when the report is viewed on-screen.

Select Build>Material List>Setup.
From the SoftList Setup screen, select Report Styles> Listing Format and select the Listing Format to change.
On the Listing Format dialog, highlight the last action field prior to the desired new page start.
Select the Insert button to place a new Action below the selected line. The highlight will move to the new Action field.
Select the highlighted Action field and select New Page from the list of Actions.
Select OK to accept the change and answer Yes to the Save Changes dialog.
A printed report will now force a page break where "(Page)" appears on the saved report. The "(Page)" can be removed to cancel the page break or added elsewhere in the saved report to create a new page break.

Item Number Added

Version 11 SoftList has included another Tracking field to the current list of Tracking numbers available to all material formulas and symbol libraries. The item number can be used as another way to keep track of materials when exporting Material Estimates to other programs such as accounting software. The Item Number can be used to represent a materials SKU number, catalogue number or any such number required to identify the material in the other program.

Select Build>Material List>Setup from within SoftPlan.
From the SoftList Setup screen, select Material Definitions. Choose the Definition you wish to modify and select Edit Material.
To include an Item number in a material formula, highlight the desired material and select the Edit button.
From within the Material Setup dialog, select the Accounting button.
Enter the material's identifying number (SKU, catalogue number, etc.) in the Item field under Tracking. Select OK and save your changes. Finally, OK out of the Material Definition menu.
Before the Item number can be exported from a generated material estimate, you will need to include it as a column of the generated report. To do this, select Report Styles from the SoftList Setup screen.
Select the Report Style used by the current Material Definition, and then select Column Format.
Select a current column Heading, and then select the Insert button. A new column is inserted to the left of the previously selected column.
Enter a column Heading for the newly created column. The Heading should reflect the identifying number you are using in your accounting software.
In the column Content field, choose Item Number from the list of available selections. This will allow the Item number included in all material formulas to list in a generated report. Select OK to save your changes.
Select File>Exit to exit the SoftList Setup screen and return back to SoftPlan.
To generate a Material Report, select Build>Assemble Floors and assemble the drawings you wish to run a material estimate on.
Select Build>Material List. Then select the modified Material Definition. The SoftList screen will then open and start estimating the materials in the drawings included in the Assemble Floors menu.
Once SoftList has finished generating the Material Report, select File>Export.
Choose an export format from the Select Export Format menu that is compatible with your accounting program. Most programs use the Comma Delimited Format, which separates each column's information by a comma. Select the OK button.
Enter a name for the exported material report. A *.txt file extension will be automatically applied to the file. This is a standard Text file which can be viewed by any text editor, such as Windows WordPad. The file can then be imported into your accounting software.

Component Slab Edge and Variables Added

In Version 11 under the Group Slab Material Definition, a Slab Edge slab component has now been added for SoftList purposes. This addition now allows the formula to look at each individual edge of the slab since they can be specified differently (different footing thickness for example). Because this feature does not just look at the slab as a whole, more accurate material reports can be created.

If a recess is specified for a slab edge, for the purposes of creating a shelf for example, then this recess will now be calculated for subtraction from the material list. When the Slab Edge component is on, there will be related selection limit variables of slab_recess_depth and slab_recess_width. As with all selection limits, these allow the ability to isolate even further and specify what and how material is to be counted. These features allow for more flexibility as to how this material will count and thus provide more accuracy.

Once the slab has been drawn and the drawing has been saved, go to Build>Material List>Setup.
Once in SoftList, go to Material Definition and choose the appropriate one.
In Material Definition, choose one of the formulas that are Group Slab and Edit.
Under Slab Component, select Slab Edge.
Under Calculate Quantity, specify length x slab_recess_depth x slab_recess_width.
Click OK out of the menus. Go to File>Generate Report and select the appropriate report.