Creating a Project
Toolbox provides users with the ability to quickly create and organize projects. You will find the steps to create your first project outlined below...
To access the Projects Tree, click on the Project tab, and then click on the Projects icon on the Toolbox palette.
To edit the Projects Tree, select a category and right-click. This will display the Projects menu. When a category has been selected, the following options will be available:
- Add New Category allows you to add a new category or sub-category under the selected parent category.
- Rename Selected Category allows you to rename the selected category.
- Delete Selected Category allows you to delete a category.
- Add New Project allows you to add a new project under the selected parent category.
It is important to create a standard naming convention for your company’s projects. An example could be something like: <Project #> - <Project Name> or "12345 - County Medical Plaza".
When a project is selected, the following options will be available:
- Copy Project allows you to copy the selected project.
- Rename Selected Project allows you to rename the selected project.
- Delete Selected Project allows you to delete the selected project.
- Move Selection to Another Category allows you to move the selected project to another category.
- Project Properties allows you to change the status of the project from ACTIVE to INACTIVE – for ERP software solutions.
Setting Up the Project Properties (Inside of a Project)
Upon the initial creation of a project, the Project Properties interface will be displayed. Project Properties will allow you to set up information and specification groups (project specification groups are covered in the Project Specification Groups section). This section will include using the first three tabs: Project Properties, User Defined Project Properties, and Correspondence.
The Project Properties tab contains fields that can be filled out for the project. Some of these fields are linked to the Microvellum title block attributes – using the Update Title Block feature will populate the title blocks with this information.
To utilize the General Contact, Contractor, Architect, Estimator, Project Manager, and Draftsman fields, you must enter their information in the Employees and General Contacts databases – accessible through the Company Setup menu.
The User Defined Project Properties, by default, contains fields that are used for estimating reports. These fields can be edited, deleted, or new fields can be added. These fields can be set up to populate fields in title block attributes. User-defined properties can be set up to look to specific variables (Project Properties, Global Variables, Project Wizards). You can set these up by using Edit Project Level Property. Once fields have been set up to reference a variable, you can use the Update Database function to have those fields automatically populated. To access these options right-click on a field.
The Correspondence tab allows you to keep a record of any communication related to the project. This is a simple table record – documents, emails, or other files cannot be uploaded.