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QuickEye Estimator Help Topic:

Design Grid

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Detailed Instructions:

To start using the Design Grid, go through the Item Creator to get to the Measure Tool dialog. Before measuring, check the Design Grid checkbox.

You may utilize the Grid Counting feature when using the Count tool. It allows super fast counts of evenly spaced symbols in a row or a grid. After you start measuring, you should see the grid over top the plan sheet. From here, you can adjust the grid using the arrows on the upper right and lower left corners.

The first of the three arrows adjusts the area of the grid that is displayed; drag this arrow to the right or downward. The grid area is automatically adjusted as you pan and zoom but the button allows fine tuning.

The middle arrow adjusts the spacing of the grid crosshair. You can adjust the spacing by dragging with the left mouse, or you can set an exact value by entering it in the Design Grid dialog. The last arrow will adjust the rotation of the grid. The rotation is limited to just over 45 degrees. If you need it rotated more than that, just rotate it the other direction.

You move the origin of the design grid by dragging the Control Handle (the little square on the top left). Place the bottom right corner of the Control Handle on your starting point. For example, if you need to use the Design Grid to space out sprinkler heads at even intervals, place the origin of the grid at the first head. Or if you are counting light fixtures, place it on the first fixture.

After adjusting the grid to your design or layout on the sheet, click on the Control Handle to open the Design Grid dialog. Here you can review and verify the grid spacing or turn on grid counting. You can also turn on or off the grid at any time while measuring this way. The grid can be used as a spacing reference while using the line tool, or with the Grid Counting feature, you can use it to quickly and accurately layout count symbols.

To use the counting feature, press the Grid Counting button. Simply draw a rectangle around the grid crossings you need to count. Start up and left of the first grid crossing and click. Then as you move the mouse you will see your options for how many grid crossings to include in your count. You may select several in a row or several rows and columns. You may even draw around a single grid crossing at a time to precisely place the count symbol.

Once the selection is finalized, click again, and there will be a count symbol for each of the grid crossings selected. It may take a few tries to get the hang of it, just press the undo key ("3" on your keyboard) to reverse the count if you need to.

If you notice that the symbols are the incorrect size, simply press the "+" or "-" keys (on the right end of your keyboard) to increase or decrease the size so they are displayed properly.

In the Design Grid dialog, you can specify the spacing of the grid. Clicking the "echo" checkbox causes the vertical grid spacing to be equal to what the horizontal spacing is set to. The Mark Spacing field controls the reference marks in between the Grid Crossings. For example if you have a Grid Crossing every 10 feet, you can set the Mark Spacing at 5 feet to show a tick mark at the halfway point. Or you can set it to 2 feet to have 4 tick marks in between, one every two feet. This allows the grid to act as a ruler on the sheet. Setting this equal to "0" will eliminate the Marks on the grid, and you will only see the main Grid Crossing points.

The color selection function on the dialog is to change the color of the grid, to increase visibility if it is overlapping a markup of the same color, or to just change it to your preference. The two buttons on the bottom allow you to turn the grid on or off. Once you make a selection the dialog will close, and even if you have turned the grid off, you will still see the small square in the upper left corner, in the color selected, which you can click to reopen the dialog.