Tutorial
Welcome
This section will briefly explain the Estimating Workbook & What it does
Explaining the Workbook
Usage
The workbook is used to estimate a Construction Project
Custom Ribbons
A Ribbon is a toolbar that appears at the top of the Excel file (Ex. File, Edit, View ect.) and has many buttons and menus to choose from
Three Custom Ribbons will appear when using an Estimating File/Workbook
- EstToolTab --> The Main Ribbon, Used for basically Everything
- Est To VP --> Contains Consolidation Page Features and Export to Viewpoint buttons
- Report and Others --> Contains Features and buttons that didn't fit on the EstToolTab Ribbon
More In-depth info on these Ribbons can be found at the bottom of this Section or throughout the Help Manual
How Does the Program Know to Show or Not Show the Ribbons?
Each Excel file has something known as 'Custom Document Properties'. If this is the first time hearing of this, you don't really need to worry about it.
Its kind of like a pocket dictionary that each Excel file carries with it. Excel knows to show the Ribbons if the current Excel file's pocket dictionary says 'IsEstimatingFile'.
Click here To See how to view & access the Custom Document Properties if you are interested (you should never change them)
Pages & Purpose
Main Pages
There are 3 Main Pages that Each Estimating Template Operates with
- Tender Evaluation --> Page contains Project Name, Dates & other project Info
- Summary --> Sums Up and Contains Totals Info based on Div's
- Div's --> Pages that Contain the Costs & Numbers
These Pages Cannot be deleting and shouldn't be deleted as they are vital to the programs functionality
Other Pages
There are Several Other Pages that can be Created & Deleted which can help with the Estimating Process
- Recoverable --> Recovers the Selected Pages
- Consolidation --> Consolidates the Selected Pages
- Breakdown --> Totals Alpha'd rows and allows for some Calculation
- Div Copies --> Copies of Div's that are edit-able
The explanation for these pages aren't very good but they kind of act as their name suggests
Div Structure
99% of the time you will spend on an Estimating File will be spent on Div's so its important to know their Structure & Purpose
Beginning Rows
Each Div Initially starts off with 5 rows which act as a title and Column Headers for the Page
These should never be edited as shown below in the Editing Area Section
Rows
After the beginning rows, every row is one of the rows as described in the table below
Each row serves their own purpose and should be used together to get a cleaner template
| Indicator | Expected Actions | Name | Examples | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DV | Static | Division | Div 1 - General Conditions | Summary |
| SD | Add/Delete | SubDivision | Testing, Temp services | Summary |
| HD | Add/Delete | Header | Millwork Subtrade Scope | Summary |
| ST | Add/Delete | Staff | PM, Superintendent | Cost |
| CL | Add/Delete | CostLine | Millwork, Wood Doors | Cost or Summary |
| CD | Add/Delete | CostDetail | Counter tops, each wood door type | Cost |
| CM | Add/Delete | Comment | Comment | Comment |
| SPC | Add/Delete | Space | Space | Space |
I know this table doesn't really make anything clear but it is just used as a reference
Along with these Rows lies a hierarchy as shown in the photo below
Where the Structure is DV -> SD -> HD -> ST or CL -> CD
- A Division is Always at the top followed by a Subdivision followed by a header
- Once a Header is Placed, a ST Line or a CL may be placed
- The CL can stand alone or it can have CD's attached to it
- If the CL stands alone it operates identically to a ST Line
- If it has CD's attached, it operates like a HD Line (i.e holds the sum of the CD's)
- Comments & Spaces can fit anywhere in the structure
Its hard to explain with words how the structure exactly exists but the more examples you see the more comfortable you'll be with it
Colors
To help with the Structure, Colors have been used to show the difference and hierarchal position of each row type
The more dark the Row, the higher in position it is and the lighter the lower in position
The Actual Color Scheme being shown depends on the Theme Selected (i.e the colors won't always be purple)
CL/ST
The Text of each ST and CL will either be black or red in color.
Red Indicates that the Line has an actual value while black means there is none being calculated
The Quantity Cell may also be colored yellow indicating that there is an error in the line
Hidden Columns (or Rows)
Columns
Currently there are 5 hidden Columns that exist in a Div Page
- Bond --> (O Column) contains info on bond of CostLine (can be activated in the Report & Others Ribbon)
- Equipment Unit --> (R Column) *Deactivated* should not be seen or used
- Equipment Total --> (S Column) *Deactivated* should not be seen or used
- SubForm Label --> (U Column) Can place letter for a row to be used in Breakdown Sheet (activated with Enable B.D. Checkbox)
- TagLine --> (V Column) Used as a place to mark tagged lines
The User does have the ability to Hide Current Columns or Force Open hidden ones but this action is not recommended and may corrupt the workbook
Rows
By default no rows should be hidden and all should be visible
There are two checkboxes that can hide and unhide rows
- Comments --> Hides/Unhides all Comments
- Zeros --> Hides/Unhides all Zeros
The User has the ability to Hide Current Rows or Force Open hidden ones but this action is not recommended as it may corrupt the workbook
Editing Area
This Photo is blurry because it is resized
The photo above is an example Div with highlighting on it
Basically the areas highlighted in red are what I would call 'Red-Zones' aka don't touch.
The user should never edit these zones however if they do, there is some error correction but it is not guaranteed
Closing Notes
See Also
After reading or skimming through this tutorial, you might want to Check out:
- EstToolTab --> The Main Ribbon, Used for basically Everything
- Est To VP --> Contains Consolidation Page Features and Export to Viewpoint buttons
- Report and Others --> Contains Features and buttons that didn't fit on the EstToolTab Ribbon
However the best way to learn the program is to just use it!