NEWSLETTER

New Updating Features in BSD SpecLink

BSD’s goal is to encourage updating at every turn because the latest information makes a safer and more accurate specification. To do this we strive to make the updating process as fast and as easy as possible. This quarter BSD SpecLink incorporates several enhancements to the process intended to further simplify updating and to reduce the time spent reviewing updates.

As you probably know, the updating process does not touch user text or user edits to master text. When you edit a master paragraph an entirely separate user version of the text is stored in the project and the master remains intact. This is what allows toggling back and forth between master and project versions of a paragraph. Even the old master text is not overwritten during the update process. The new version of a master paragraph is simply added to the master database alongside the old. This allows some projects to continue to use old master data while others can adopt the new language.

New features that will help you reduce the amount of time devoted to reviewing updated paragraphs include options to partially update a project. You can now elect to automatically update reference standards (citations tagged “RS”) while leaving other updated paragraphs untouched (see Figure A). You can separately choose to update all tagged manufacturer listings (“ML”), again leaving other paragraphs untouched. These new options will greatly reduce the number of paragraphs that must be reviewed for possible updating in a typical office master project, since a significant percentage of the updates each quarter are devoted to revising reference standards and the names or website addresses of building product manufacturers.

Figure A

Of course, there are legitimate reasons for not updating a particular project. However, any office master project or a project that is being re-used really should be updated each quarter, because hundreds of sections typically have some changes with each new master database. To aid in the updating decision, one of the new enhancements to SpecLink is manifested each time a nonupdated project is opened. A new dialog box appears, reminding you that the project has not been completely updated and displaying the number of paragraphs that would be affected by the updating process. The dialog can be easily disabled for a given project if you so choose.

BSD SpecLink has by far the most up-to-date master database of any master specification system, but to take full advantage of our comprehensive updating process, you should be certain to consistently update those project files that will be used to start new projects. The update enhancements that have been delivered this quarter should make it much easier for our subscribers to accomplish that goal and to keep their individual project specifications fully up-to-date.