Sometimes, you’ve already created and taken off an existing Project that is close enough to what you need for a new Project that it can be used as a template of sorts for a new Project. Duplicating a Project creates an exact copy of the original - only the No. (number) is changed. Duplicating Projects is very handy if a company bids a lot of similar type jobs where just the takeoff Quantity information changes. Duplicating is literally a two-click process.
Check out Creating Template Projects to standardize your “getting started” process to make it easier for your estimating team be consistent.
To duplicate an existing Project,
- On the Project Tab, select the Project(s) you want to duplicate,
- Right-click on the Project and select Duplicate, or click the Duplicate button on the Main Toolbar
, or simply press "CTRL" + "D" on your keyboard - Click Yes in the Duplicate Bid dialog - the duplicated Project appears in the Project list with the same name as the original.
Open the Cover Sheet of the copy and change the name and any other necessary information and add / replace images as appropriate.
Tips for Duplicate Bids
- Use a duplicate copy of a Project to perform "What If" scenarios without affecting the original Project. Especially handy for Projects that are interactively connected to Quick Bid Estimating - you can run numerous pricing scenarios.
- You can duplicate multiple Projects in the same database - just hold down <Ctrl> or <Shift> key and click on the Projects to duplicate, then click the duplicate button .
- Duplicate Projects are pointed to the same set of plans as the original, update/replace as necessary.
- Some clients create a template Project (or several) that has the Cover Sheet, Page Folders, Bid Preferences, Areas, Typical Areas, etc. filled out, including Bid layers, Annotation, Conditions, etc., that they then duplicate when they need to create a new Project. You can even create multiple "template" Projects for the various types of projects you work on (see the link above).
- If you are using On-Screen Takeoff and Quick Bid interactively, when you duplicate a Project in OST, you are prompted to duplicate the Quick Bid side of the project - we suggest you do this because the duplicated Quick Bid job retains the pricing from the original - a huge timesaver! If you want to start with fresh, blank Quick Bid pricing, select "No" and then set the bid to "Price Using Quick Bid" - a new project is created in Quick Bid with no pricing.
 Copying and Pasting Bids from One Database to Another | Deleting and Restoring Bids  |
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