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Home Tab: AutoCount Takeoff Tool
- Daniel Wal
The Auto Count tool allows PlanSwift to search for and automatically apply count items on your job based on the symbols in the drawings. Auto count can potentially save you a lot of time and clicks when taking off items such as switches, fixtures, windows, and more!
Enable the Auto Count tool
By default, this tool is hidden, so the first thing you need to do is enable (show) it.
Click on the Settings Tab
Select the Interface option from the menu on the left.
Click the check box next to "Show Auto Count Tool."
When you return to the Home tab, the Auto Count button displays in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
Setting Up an Auto Count
To perform an Auto Count,
Click the
or
button, the Auto Count wizard then displays.
Item Properties
"New Count" is the default option; this checkbox creates a new item when you run the Auto Count process. If you want to use an existing takeoff item, just select it from the list.
Click on the color box to assign a color to the item to be created,
Click the
button to determine which shape the new count item will take.
Give this new takeoff item a name.
Click the Scaled checkbox to indicate if you want to give this item a measurement based on the shape you selected, and the scale assigned to this page. If you choose this, you will indicate the actual measurements later.
Defining Sample to Search For
Next you need to tell the system which symbol it is supposed to look for within the plan.
Click the
button on the right to return to your plan image so you can locate the symbol on the plan.
Once you've found the symbol you want the system to search for, click and drag a box around it.
The Auto Count window displays again, with a sample image of the symbol you selected displayed in the box on the right.
Use the buttons next to the preview to it to clean up the Sample Image a bit, if necessary.
Once the image looks the way you want it, press the Next button at the bottom of the window.
Set/Select Regions to Search
Next you indicate which region(s) of the Page you want PlanSwift to scan (or just click Next to search the entire Page).
Drag the corner of the green overlay to define the first region.
For example, you can eliminate a bunch of white space, areas where you know the counts you want don't exist on the plan, and areas dominated by text, such as title blocks.
By reducing the area of the page the tool has to scan, you speed up the scanning and auto count process.
You can break a large Page into Regions to make it easier to scan for the specific symbols you are trying to count.
Right-click to see the context menu where you can edit Regions.
You can add up to 9 different scan regions if necessary. When first reviewing an image, only one region displays. You can use the grip points around the edge of that region to resize it as needed. To add a new region, simply right-click and select New Region. Repeat this process until you have all your regions set up how you want them.
Once you've established your regions, click the one you want to scan. The selected region appears in green.
Once you have selected the region to search, click the Next button at the bottom of the window.
Auto Count Running
The system scans the image within your selected region to find matches for your indicated symbol.
Auto Count Results
Once the scan is complete, the results then display.
The results will likely include some items that don't perfectly match the symbol you indicated. So, you need to spend a little time now indicating which matches you want to count and which ones you want to discard.
Click on the individual results to change their status.
The tool counts all Results highlighted in green.
The tool ignores all Results highlighted in red or non-highlighted at all (the red highlighting only shows while that particular result is still selected)
Use the Shift key to select/deselect an adjacent range of results, the Ctrl key to select non-adjacent, or the Select All button to select all Results.
Once you've indicated which results you want to keep and which you want to discard,
Click the Place button along the bottom of the window to place the selected count items on your plan, or
Click the Pick, to place the selected items on your plan, and immediately enter Record mode with the selected Count item. This option is helpful if there are matching symbols on the image that the Auto Count scan didn't pick up.
Once you select either Place or Pick, the count items appear on the image, and your total count for the item increases accordingly.
Repeat for Other Region(s)
Select the Auto Count button, and the same window pops up.
Choose the item from your list area in the middle of the window to use the same Count Item or click the "New Item" checkmark if you want the results in this region associated with a different Count Item.
This section displays all Count Items in this project. So, in this case, select the same symbol you just used and click Next.
Click on one of the other regions and press Next again.
Select the appropriate results and place them on the Page.
Repeat this process across all your regions and images as needed.
Tutorial Video:
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