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You must keep your On-Screen Takeoff up to date with the latest release to continue to use Takeoff Boost. See On-Screen Takeoff's Product Information and Downloads Page for the current release.

Please review the previous article for important requirements for using Takeoff Boost.

Running Takeoff Boost is very straight-forward. You set your scale, tell Takeoff Boost the results you want to receive back, and click a button - that’s it!

Set Scale

It is critical that you set and verify your Page Scale before running Takeoff Boost on a Page. Incorrect Scale will cause takeoff errors because Takeoff Boost relies on correct Page scale to identify objects on the Plan. See What is Scale and Why is it so Important? for a refresher.

Start Takeoff Boost

After you set the Page Scale and verifying you have met all the requirements listed in the previous article, click the Takeoff Boost button.

On-Screen Takeoff indicating Takeoff Boost button on a page with no takeoff

Set Options

The Takeoff Boost pop-up displays...

Takeoff Boost dialog box allows you to select which results you want returned to On-Screen Takeoff

Select Results and Set Wall Type Shape

The first thing you'll want to do is decide which Results you want Takeoff Boost to return. By default, all Results are selected (Footprint Area, Net Area, Walls, and all Counts).

  • Uncheck whatever you don't need (don't worry, if you change your mind, you can re-run Takeoff Boost and pull down additional Results).
  • Next, if you select "Walls", you can check "Wall Types" and set the shape of the callout.
    • Takeoff Boost identifies the different Wall Types (based on a shape you select), and then creates Conditions and draws takeoff objects for each different Wall Type identified on the plan - this is a huge timesaver!
  • If you’re counting Windows, set the Window Type shape also (v.3.98.18.03 and newer).

If you want Takeoff Boost to identify different Wall Types, check the box and then select the symbol your plan uses to define Wall Types. If you don't check the "Wall Types" box and define the shape, all your linear takeoffs return associated with a single "Walls" Condition.

The Conditions you select are "remembered" for your next Takeoff Boost session.

Verify on the Wall or Partition schedule/detail how Wall Types are defined on your plans; same for Window Types.

Select the shape in the Takeoff Boost dialog box that matches wall type and window type callouts on the plan

Run Takeoff Boost

Next, assuming you have set and verified your Scale, click Run Takeoff Boost. If you haven't set and verified Scale, click Cancel, set and verify Page Scale, and then click the Takeoff Boost button again.

Set and Verify Scale

We know, it sounds like we keep harping about setting Scale. There are two good reasons:

  1. Changing Scale after takeoff is drawn is not a guaranteed process. Some objects may not fit on the Page, some cannot be properly re-scaled, sometimes there are unforeseen issues.
  2. Takeoff Boost relies on the Scale of a drawing during processing to correctly identify objects to be taken off, incorrect Scale can cause incorrect results.

Always set and verify Scale before drawing any takeoff.

After a few moments, you'll see a blue "Processing..." banner along the top of the Image Window.

This indicates the Plan was uploaded successfully and the Takeoff Boost service is analyzing it.

While Takeoff Boost is processing a Page, the "Takeoff Boost" button changes to "Stop Takeoff Boost":

Takeoff Boost Processing banner displays while the service is processing the Plan

You can run Takeoff Boost on up to five Pages at the same time.

It takes about 10-30 seconds or so for the Takeoff Boost Results to be returned by the service.

When Takeoff Boost returns Results, On-Screen Takeoff displays a blue banner along the top of the Image Window (on the Page that is being updated) to let you that the Page is being updated with Takeoff Boost results. This banner disappears as soon as the results are written, so if you don't see it, just check back on your Page, most likely, the results will be there.

Review Results

In the next few articles, we'll cover reviewing and manipulating the Results that Takeoff Boost returns.

Before you start editing the Conditions that Takeoff Boost creates, run Takeoff Boost on every Page in your Project you need taken off (we explain why in the next article).

Stop Takeoff Boost

You can stop a running Boost process anytime before results start to get written to database, by clicking the Stop Takeoff Boost button (the Takeoff Boost button changes to Stop Boost during processing). You can restart Takeoff Boost anytime on any Page, as long as there is not takeoff associated with the "Boost" Conditions (next article).

Canceling Takeoff Boost

If you close/exit On-Screen Takeoff or close this database, you receive a caution message alerting you that Takeoff Boost will be canceled on whichever Page it is running. If you cancel, it's not big deal: you can always run Takeoff Boost again after you reopen On-Screen Takeoff or the database.

If Takeoff Boost was in the process of writing results to the database, those result will be saved and you'll see the Boost Conditions and takeoff on the Page next time you open On-Screen Takeoff or the database.

 

click here to view the previous article Takeoff Boost Overview and Requirements Boost Conditions and Takeoff (Boost Results) click here to view the next article

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