Just a reminder, QuickPen Technical Support will be closed on Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th in observance of the US Thanksgiving.

Have a wonderful holiday!

It's that time again - we're almost ready for Beta testers for AutoBid SheetMetal 2011 v2.  We anticipate going to Beta around September 26, 2011.  Beta will conclude on October 21, 2011.

This release of AutoBid SheetMetal 2011 v2 will include the Trimble Quick Link License manager.  This new licensing manager will allow you to better administration of your QuickPen licenses.  However, you will need to have a non-production machine to do Beta testing on.

This release will include features from the last version of AutoBid Mechanical such as the ability to compare two PDF drawings and see the differences, place commands on the mouse menus, and quickly offset elevation in 1' increments.  As well as some functionality that we'll disclose next week!
Beta testers must own QuickPen AutoBid SheetMetal and be current on their Customer Care agreements.  If you are interested in participating, please contact me.

Happy Estimating!
Stacy

After several months of slowly shipping out AutoBid® Mechanical 2011 v1, we're ready to flip it over to general release and ship it to the masses. So, if you haven't received your copy yet - don't worry, it's coming soon! But, if you just can't wait, contact us and we'll send it out to you right away.

This release continues to build on our OnScreen View TakeOff - although we've added features and functionality that will benefit all of our users.

So, what's in this release? Here's a brief rundown:

• Compare background PDF drawings in OSV and see the differences
• Multiple add drop/rise function (similar to multi-branch pairs, but it will be in a rise or a drop)
• Quickly add a + / - 1 elevation change to your OnScreen View (OSV) or Graphical TakeOff (GTO)
• Duplicate an entire fitting set at one time – all labor links and material multipliers will copy with the fitting set
• Copy an area in OSV multiple times
• Calculate Coordination and Layout labor
• Add commands to the Mouse Menu
• Set a default master project
• Ability to duplicate a project (including all takeoff, calculations, and reports)
• And more!

If you have any questions or concerns about this release, please shoot me an e-mail so that I can address them.

Happy Estimating!
Stacy

Holy cow – there went summer! Sorry for my silence – it's been a very busy summer both personally & professionally. Unfortunately, the blog posts were one of the items that fell off my to do list. But, it's back to school time (my kids just started 2^nd grade) – and it's time to get back in a better routine.

So, how many of you are using AutoBid's Multi-Branch Pairs function? It's been around for a long time – but I find that many people don't use it. It's available for both AutoBid® Mechanical and AutoBid® SheetMetal – and it's available in OnScreen View (OSV) or Graphical TakeOff (GTO). Multi-Branch Pairs is a fast way to add run-outs to different pieces of equipment, floor drains, or runouts to diffusers.

Here are a few quick tips to make Multi-Branch Pairs Takeoff even faster:

1. 1. Multi-branch pairs can be used for more than just inserting a tee into the run. It can also be used to "turn the corner" and convert a hot spot into an elbow (90 or 45). To do that, you just have to click on the elbow twice
   2. Just because you are changing size doesn't mean that you have to cancel out of your Multi-Branch pair command and start over. This one is a little trickier – all you have to do is just go and click on the new size in the "Start new run or Change Dims in run" window.
   3. Newer AutoBid® Touchmenus (for the digitizer) have this command on them. If yours doesn't, you can add this to your touchmenu.
   4. You can "branch" off different systems. AutoBid® is smart enough to know which system you are branching off of – we'll change to the appropriate fittings / systems.
   5. You can still have branches with different settings from the main when using this command. Recent versions of Multi-Branch pairs have added a toggle that controls whether or not we use the settings from the main or from the Next Item Settings Window. The toggle is at the top of the "Branch from (Multi-Pairs)" window when you start the command. Having the toggle "on" will grab the settings from the main – while having the toggle off will grab it from the Next Item Settings window.

If you have any questions or comments, please add them to the Comments section of the blog. And, check back frequently for more news. We've got some exciting stuff coming up soon –including information for the next version of AutoBid® SheetMetal Estimating. You won't want to miss it!

Happy Estimating!

Trimble proudly announces the release of QuickPen PipeDesigner® 3D 2012 v2. This release provides each user with the following updates and enhancements.

• New! Trimble Field Link export and support
• The Restore functionality now allows you to restore over an existing database. Keep in mind that all existing data is replaced in this procedure. Note: You still have the option of restoring to a new database if desired.
• When you create Field Points within a block, these points are included in the Field Point Export file.
• The Spool Manager sequencing functionality now displays only the incrementing character, rather than the full name of the spool and the incremental character.
• The Orient BOM in spool template now works as expected.
• In paper space, you can now place a BOM at the desired location.
• You now have the ability to merge Metric databases.
• Swivel Traps are now placed according to how you orient them. You are no longer required to specify an end angle.