Components

Components are more complex units than Items. They are comprised of individual Items and form a single entity for estimating.

Every Component has a unique identifier which looks like an alphanumeric sequence of up to 10 characters.

The system uses the following patterns for differentiating between Items and Components:

• Identifiers of Items look like 4 alpha and 4 numeric characters (for example, APPL9160).
• Identifiers of Components look like ‘COMP’ followed by 4 numeric characters (for example, COMP5260).

How to view the components list

1. To manage Components, on the navigational sidebar, select Setup.
2. Once the Setup section expands, select Estimating.
3. On the tabbed menu, select Components.

Here you can see the list of Components registered in the system. For each Component the following information is available:

Code	A unique identifier of a Component.
Description	Description of a Component.
Cost, $	Cost in dollars per one Component.
UoM	Unit of measure of a Component.
UoM Description	Description of a unit of measure.
Last Updated	Date and time of the last Cost update in a Component.
Fml	Mark that there is a formula attached to a Component.
Pic	Mark that a Component has an image attached.

You can perform the following operations on Components:

• add new Components
• manage Items within Components
• edit the existing Components
• delete the no longer needed Components
• undelete the deleted Components
• view the usage of specific Components

To view deleted Components

1. Above the list with Components, locate the Show deleted toggle.
2. Move the toggle right.

You can search for Components by Component code and its description. Enter the search query into the search box and press Enter.

Adding a Component

1. Above the list with Components, click the Add  icon.
2. On the Create Component page, specify information about a Component, as follows:
   

   Code	Enter a unique identifier of a Component according to the pattern.
   Description	Enter description of a Component.
   Cost	Cost of a Component is calculated on the basis of costs of individual Items that it is comprised of.
   UoM	Select the unit of measure of a Component. UoM description is automatically pre-populated by the system.

3. When complete, click Process.

While creating a new Component or editing the existing Component, you can add a formula, attach an image of a Component, or leave a memo.

Managing Items within the Component

You can add individual Items into the Component while creating a new one or edit the existing one. The system will automatically calculate the cost of the Component on the basis of costs of individual Items within it.

For each Item the following information is available:

Code	A unique identifier of an Item.
Description	Description of an Item.
Cost, $	Cost in dollars per one Item.
Cost Cen.	Number of the Cost Center which the Item at the current cost attributes to.
Qty	Quantity of Items used within the Component.
UoM	Unit of measure of an Item.
Extension	The calculated cost of Items within the Component (Item cost multiplied by Quantity).
Deleted	Mark that the Item has been deleted.

You can manage Items within Components, as follows:

• add new Items
• remove the no longer needed Items

To add a new Item:

You can add multiple instances of the same Item into the Component. In this case, you can set different quantities for each instance and associate each instance with a different Cost Center.

1. Above the list with Items, click the Find  button.
2. In the Find Items & Components form, look up for specific Items or scroll down through the list.
3. Select the required Items or Components for adding.
4. Click Add Selected.
5. Once you have added Items, you need to associate them with specific Cost Centers.
6. Click the dropdown box for each newly added Item and browse through the list of Cost Centers. You can start typing the number or name of the Cost Center and the system will suggest possible matches.
7. Select the Cost Center.
8. Once all the associations are added, click Recalculate. It locates in the header (next to the Process icon).

The system will recalculate the cost of the Component on the basis of extensions of Items within it.

To save modifications in the Component, click Process.

To remove Items from the Component:

1. Edit the Component.
2. On the list with Items, locate the one you want to remove from the Component.
3. Hover over the Item until the action icon appears.
4. Click the Remove  icon.
5. Click Recalculate.
6. To save modifications, click Process.

Adding a Formula

You can add a Formula and define Take Off Parameters within it. Such Formula will be carried over to the House Plan’s Items and Components where it may be further modified without affecting the base Item Formula. The defined formula will be used to calculate the Quantity.

You can construct a formula from the following sets of elements:

Math functions	Mathematical functions.
Operators	Mathematical operators.
Take Off Params	Take Off Parameters.
Trig functions	Trigonometric functions.

To construct a formula:

1. Select the appropriate element set and then drag an individual function or parameter to the Formula box.
2. Add the appropriate operator into the function.
3. To verify the formula, click Test.
4. When complete, click Save.

To clear the constructed formula, click Clear.

For the details on constructing the formulas, please see Expression Builder.

Note

You cannot save the incorrect formula. The system will position the cursor where an error in the formula occurs.

Note

If you change the formula of an existing Item or Component, you will be prompted to propagate the modified formula to all or to specific House Plans which used the original formula.

To propagate the formula to House Plans:

1. Modify the original formula.
2. Click Process. The Propagate Formula form opens. Alternatively, you can click the Propagate   icon under the Formula box.
3. Select the way of propagating the modified formula to House Plans:
   

   All House Plans	The modified formula will be propagated to all the House Plans where this formula was used.
   Selected House Plans	The modified formula will be propagated to the selected House Plans only. You will need to select the specific House Plans.

4. Click Propagate.

Note

If you do not want to propagate the modified formula to House Plans, click Cancel.

Note

Please consider that the modified formula will not be updated in all the estimated Jobs.

Note

The modified formula will be propagated to House Plans which contain the Component with the prior formula (before modifications were made). All the House Plans with the Component having formulas different from the originally modified formula will not be affected.

Attaching an Image

You can attach an image or visualization while adding or editing the Item. The following images formats are supported:

• *.jpg
• *.gif
• *.bmp
• *.png

To attach an image:

1. Create a new Component or edit the existing one.
2. On the pane, select Picture.
3. Click the  button and select the image on your computer.
4. When complete, click Process.

Alternatively, you attach an image by dropping it on the   button.

To delete the attached image:

1. Click the  icon.
2. When complete, click Process.

To download the attached image:

Click the   icon.

Adding a Memo

You can add optional notes or remarks for Component while adding or editing them.

To add a memo:

1. Create a new Component or edit the existing one.
2. On the pane, select Memo.
3. Leave your notes in the text area.
4. When complete, click Process.

Cloning the Component

1. On the list with Components, locate the one you want to clone.
2. Hover over the Component, until the action icons appear.
3. Click the Clone  icon. The Create Component page with the pre-filled data fields opens.
4. Specify the missing information for the cloned Component.
5. When complete, click Process.

Editing the Component

1. On the list with Components, locate the one you want to edit.
2. Hover over the Component, until the action icons appear.
3. Click the Edit  icon.
4. On the Edit Component page, make the appropriate modifications.
5. When complete, click Process.

Note

If you change the code of the Component, it will be automatically updated in all the entities where it was already in use.

Viewing Usage of the Component

1. On the list with Components, locate the one which usage you are interested in.
2. Hover over the Component, until the action icons appear.
3. Click the Display Usage  icon.
4. In the Component Use form, you can see all the entities where the Item is used.
5. When complete, close the form.

Deleting the Component

1. On the list with Components, locate the one you want to delete.
2. Hover over the Item, until the action icons appear.
3. Click the Delete  icon.
4. In the appeared form, confirm the operation.

Note

If you delete the Component, it will be preserved in all the entities where it was already in use. But this Component will be no longer available for adding into new entities after the deletion.

Undeleting the Component

You can undelete the deleted Component and further use it in the system.

1. Enable display of deleted Items.
2. On the list with Items, locate the one you want to undelete.
3. Hover over the Item, until the action icons appear.
4. Click the Undelete  icon.
5. In the appeared form, confirm the operation.