QuickEye Main Page / Help Topic List / Quick-Library

• Transform a Summed Quantity into a Quantity Item
• Create Quick-Library Entries

Quick Tips:

• From "Item Creator", press the "Create Item" button next to the correct Summed Quantity.
• Enter code and/or description for item (one or the other is required).
• Modifiers transform quantity (very flexible).
• Press "Square" to change units to represent area.
• Change input Summed Quantity for item.
• Change Measurement Group attributes: color, symbol, line-width.
• If modifiers are used to convert units, change output units to match.
• Quick-Library entry can be created now or later.

Detailed Instructions:

The "Create Item" dialog is used to take a "Summed Quantity" and create a properly specified "Quantity Item" from it. This is done from the "Item Creator" dialog, by pressing the "Create Item" button which is directly to the right of the Summed Quantity you are starting with, Length for example.

You then enter an item Code and/or Description. When you use Codes, the "Item Summary" dialog will give you the option of automatically summing together items which have identical codes. A Code or a Description is required.

Quantity Modifiers:

The modifier options consist of two Multipliers, two Divisors, and an Addend. The default value is set to ones and a zero, so that the output result equals the input until you change one or more of them. A whole or decimal number may be entered into each field to transform the input units to different output units. The only value that is invalid for these fields is to have a "0" for a Multiplier or a Divisor.

Here are some examples of what can be done with these:

• Set Divisor to 3 to convert Feet into Yards.
• Set Multiplier to 10 to convert length of 10 foot high wall into Sq. Feet of wall.
• Set Divisor to 40 to convert Sq. Feet of wall into sheets of 4 x 10 sheet rock.
• Multiply by inches of slab thickness, divide by 12 and divide by 27 to convert Sq. Feet into Cubic Yards.
• Set Multiplier to Pitch Factor (eg. 1.2) to convert Sq. Feet straight down into Sq. Feet of roof.
• Set Divisor to 100 to convert Sq. Feet into squares of roofing material.
• Use -1 to create deduct item.
• Set Addend, of a non-zero measurement, to add a fixed number (eg. to account for waste).
• Set Addend, of a zero measurement, to add a fixed number, to account for a parameter that isn't associated with a measurement (eg. equipment rental).

Please do not use this list as a reference. The values above are not guaranteed. They are given to illustrate the flexibility of this system and to spur your imagination. Many other transformations may be accomplished with these modifiers.

The Addend field is a very useful tool, as it allows you to account for all aspects of the bid, even if there is nothing that needs to be quantified from the drawing. It allows you to include rentals and fees as part of your Item Summary, so the list you take out of QuickEye Estimator is ready to price and no excess tweaking will be necessary.

Output Units:

Make sure that you modify the Output Units appropriately whenever you enter a modifier. If the modifiers convert a length or area to a count of items, change the output units to Each or the name of the item (Squares, Yards, Studs, etc.) If a length or count is being converted into Square Feet, simply press Square to turn this Feet into Sq. Feet.

Input Quantity:

To change the input Quantity, use the drop down menu to the right of the Summed Quantity to select a different one. This can help you build your Quick-Library by saving multiple entries without leaving the Create Item dialog.

Precision and Rounding:

The other tools, provided to tailor the output result, are a Precision selection and a "Round Up" check box. The Precision selection controls the number of digits beyond the decimal point that the output displays. The decimal number of the input, after the modifiers are applied, is rounded up or down to the specified precision. Setting the Precision to zero results in the value being rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. With any setting of precision, the standard "round to nearest" mathematical method is used.

The "Round Up" checkbox, if checked, will override the Precision selection and round up to the next higher whole number (never rounds down).

Building your Quick-Library:

The "Save to Library" button will create an entry in your Quick-Library, for use later when recreating this item. This is optional and it is recommended that you create a few items first and see how they work on the Item Summary before commencing with the library building. After you are confident that all is well, you can revisit these items and press the "Save to Library" button for each.

Measurement Attributes:

The Measurement Group attributes: Color, Symbol and Line-Width, are a second place to adjust the attributes for the current Measurement Group (the primary place is on "Item Creator"). It is here to facilitate rapidly entering a series of similar Quick-Library entries.

For example, if you need to enter several entries for calculating wall areas and the only difference between them is the wall height, you can enter the shortest one, press "Save to Library" and then change the wall height in the Multiplier and in the Description, to the next height and repeat until done (an advanced feature is Variables which avoids multiple entries like this). And if you were entering a set of pipe Item entries, where the only difference was the Code, the pipe diameter in the Description, and the Color, you could work down your list and enter them.

-Color:

Pressing the Color button opens the "Pick a Color" dialog. Here you select a new color using the standard dialog on your computer.

-Symbol:

You also have the ability to change the symbol for the count items. Just press the symbol to open the Select symbol dialog.

The Quick-Library options dialog is where you turn on different symbol collection libraries to control your choices here.

The checkboxes below the color and symbol icons control whether or not the current settings will be saved with the Quick-Library entry.

"Item Creator" is the core of the creation of priceable Quantity Items which will be exported from QuickEye. A good understanding of how it works and what it can do is recommended. Also, please see the QuickEye Measuring and Estimating Overview help topic, for a discussion on the importance of, and recommendations on, using Codes.

Also, reading the Quick-Library help topic is recommended, before starting to add entries to your Quick-Library. A little planning and understanding of how it works before you start building your Quick-Library, will make it very effective.

-Line-Width:

The last component of the Create Item dialog is the Line-Width function.

This function is an important accelerator for creating Area measurements from Lines. A practical use of this is for sidewalks. Set the width of the sidewalk, draw the line down center for it's entire length, and now you have the surface area which can be changed to cubic volume of concrete, as well as the length of the forms (when multiplying by two). Here you can also save this to your Quick-Library.

Other examples for using Line-Width is tracing pipes or laying out flooring material which comes from rolls.

Tags:

Along with these parameters, you can also set the Quick-Library Tags when you save the entries as you make them.

These Tags help keep your Library organized and makes finding the items you need easy. The Library Tag fields are category tags which are used to organize and filter the display of entries in the Quick-Library. You can leave these blank to start, they are easy to change later. See the Quick-Library help topic for a full description.

To add new tags, simply type what you want in the correct box. You can also use the drop down menu to select Tags you have used previously.