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Adding User Properties to Takeoff Palette Items

User Takeoff Properties are user-defined variables that can be added to a takeoff palette item to declare a property above and beyond the standard parametric properties.

This article will show the simple process of adding User Properties, and will offer an example of how custom User Properties built into estimate templates can greatly enhances the capability and utility of Automatic Pricing in Estimator. 

The Value of Adding User Properties to Takeoff Items

Custom User Properties are a powerful and incredibly versatile tool. One of the most common uses is to allow you to create a grouping structure to arrange takeoff items by a desired WBS Property structure. 

User properties can also be formulaic, which makes them an especially powerful tool for calculating and providing additional metrics beyond that of the standard, such as the tonnage for steel takeoff, for example. 

Two Ways to Add User Properties

In Estimator, there are two ways to add User Properties to Takeoff Palette Items:

1. One-Off User Properties Via the CIV

Adding user properties via the Cost Information View (AKA the CIV) is quick and convenient for adding one-off user properties to a single takeoff item, but since this will only affect a single palette item, it's not the best way to utilize custom properties across your entire estimate. 

Adding a one-off user property to a takeoff palette item is easy: 

  1. Select the takeoff item in the Takeoff View or Takeoff Palette View to show its information in the Cost Information View. 
  2. In the Cost Information View, make sure the QTO Prop widget is enabled.
  3. Switch to the Properties tab.
  4. Click on the green '+' button to generate a new 'User Property' at the bottom of the table (you may need to scroll down to see it).
  5. Edit the Name, Value, and Unit of Measure fields to your liking.
  6. Save your Estimate

2. Powerful User Properties via 'Manage Takeoff Templates' 

The real power of User Properties is unlocked when building them into estimate templates. This is best done via the Manage Takeoff Templates window. 

The Manage Takeoff Templates option is useful for working on template estimates because allows you to create a Takeoff Palette table and add (or import) takeoff palette items without having to open a PDF drawing (which is good since you wouldn't want a PDF to be included in an estimate template). 

  1. Go to the Takeoff View.
  2. Click on the Load button in the top ribbon.
  3. Hover over PDF and Images and select Manage Takeoff Templates.
  4. If you don't have any pallet items, click 'Create Item' to create one, or 'Import Items' to import a Takeoff Template from a spreadsheet (You can learn more about importing Takeoff Templates in this Training Course on How to Build an Estimate Template). 
  5. Click the Edit pencil button on the right of a palette item. 
  6. Switch to the User Properties tab.
  7. Click on the green '+' button to generate a new 'User Property' at the bottom of the table (you may need to scroll down to see it).
  8. Edit the Name, Value, and Unit of Measure fields to your liking.
  9. Click OK

Building User Properties Into Template Estimates

User Properties are at their most powerful when incorporated into estimate templates, where custom properties for WBS structures, or properties that calculate additional useful formulaic metrics like tonnage, can be built out once, and then utilized by your team in all future projects. 

Filter Grouping: On the Beck Technology Training Platform, you can access a lesson that goes in depth on building a great estimate template. In Section 14 of this lesson, you can learn how to incorporate User Properties into your template. See under the headline 'Exercise 3: Set Groups for the Takeoff Palette', where you will create a User Property that can be used to group takeoff palette items.

Formulaic User Properties: Here is an example of a formulaic User Property:

In this example, we are going to create a formulaic User Property that will enable Estimator to automatically calculate the weight (in tons) of wide flange steel beams takeoff.

  1. First we enter the Manage Takeoff Templates window as described above. 
  2. You can see in the Manage Takeoff Templates window below that we have a selection of palette items for wide flange steel beams (WF Beam). We will Edit the W5x19 example. 
  3. In the User Properties tab, you see here that we have multiple custom User Properties. First, note the LbsPerLF property, which delineates the weight in lbs. of each linear foot of the steel beam. 
  4. Now observe the formulaic User Property called 'Steel Weight Tons Property'. It is a formulaic property with the formula (Length*LbsPerLF)/2000. This gets the total weight in lbs. based on length, and then converts that sum to tons.

This is just one example of how User Properties can be a very powerful tool. With properties like this built into an estimate template, you can effectively enrich the data that is automatically produced by takeoff in all future estimates.