on the Main Toolbar (Digital Takeoff will
start in Takeoff Mode by default).Takeoff mode is where you will spend most of your time while using Digital Takeoff. In this mode, you can digitize images and send the data to Standard Takeoff. Digitizing is the process by which you are able to calculate the quantities required by your plans. It mainly involves using the mouse to trace over the Sheets used by Digital Takeoff, though there is a bit more to it than that.
To enter Takeoff mode, click
on the Main Toolbar (Digital Takeoff will
start in Takeoff Mode by default).
The Sub-Toolbar will then display options relating to Takeoff Mode:
CONNECTED/NOT CONNECTED: This display indicates whether Digital Takeoff is connected to Standard Takeoff.
Select: Allows you to click on and select one or more annotations in the Main window.
Deselect: De-selects all annotations that are currently highlighted.
Delete: Use to delete selected annotations from the Main window. You will receive a confirmation window, noting the number of annotations you are about to delete.
Marker: Allows you to draw Marker lines on your Sheet image. Marker lines are not linked to takeoff items and will not be shown in the Notepad. To use the tool, click the icon or select Takeoff >> Marker. Next, left-click on your Sheet and hold down the mouse button while you draw your Marker lines. You can adjust the style and color of line in the Preferences window under the Colors & Tools tab.
Area: Allows you to highlight a rectangular area of the Sheet image. This area highlight is not linked to any annotation nor is it displayed in the Notepad. The total Sq ft (or Sq M) of the highlighted area is displayed in the left panel of the Status Bar.
Trace Area: Similar to the area marker. Trace Areaallows you to outline (or trace) an odd shape in your drawing by clicking from point to point. Choose the tool and left-click from point to point surrounding the object, and then end with a right click at the final point. This will color-fill the full area to help you identify it on the drawing.
TAKEOFF DRAWING TOOLS: These tools (Count, Line, 90, Seg. Line, Curve, Trace, SLT, and Text) are used to create annotations on your Sheet image. The number of available tools will vary depending on the estimating program you are using (Mechanical, Electrical, or HVAC). For more information see Takeoff Drawing Tools and Takeoff Drawing Tools Descriptions.
Add: This Digital Takeoff function can be used to add to an item (or group of items) already taken off. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Select desired Digital Takeoff annotation using the Select function.
2. Click Add.
3. Increase the annotation, for example, for a Line, draw additional lines. For Count, simply add more symbols.
4. When finished, click Add again (or Finish).
5. Switch back to Standard Takeoff to verify the change to the item.
Break: The Break function allows you to combine multiple Segmented Line annotations. For example, you could start a takeoff run and instead of pressing Finish and ending the takeoff run, the Break option is used. Now you are free to draw another run in a different section of the image, which will still be considered the same item in Standard Takeoff. Break is only used with the Segmented Line tool.
Finish: Use to end the takeoff methods of Line and Single Line Takeoff. When using any of these methods, the program will continuously take off new points when the mouse is clicked. Using Finish will end the run, allowing you to takeoff the item in Standard Takeoff.
Display Quality: The options in this drop-down menu are for correcting and enhancing the quality of the imported Sheet image.This field defaults to "scale to gray".
Added Drop: This field allows you to adjust the Drop Length and whether to add Elbows during SLT.