Product Q&A

All Products

Q. Is there a way I can have the software always open the last project I worked on?
A. Yes, click on Start, Programs, BSD SoftLink Products and then right click on the application. (Alternatively right click on your shortcut.) Choose Properties and then click on the Shortcut tab. Add a space and /OLP to the end of the Target line. Click on Apply and then OK. Now your last project will be opened automatically when you open the application. This saves time when you are working on only one project for a long time.

Q. When I create new projects, I always want to save them in a certain folder on my server. Is there a way to make the software save to that folder automatically?
A. Yes, you can specify a default folder where projects should be saved. To specify a default folder, open the software and close any open projects. From the File menu, choose Registration and Settings or Permissions. Click on the System Settings tab. The fourth field down is called Project Database Location. Click the yellow folder icon to the right of that field and navigate to the folder where you want your new projects to be saved by default. Click OK. The next time you create a new project, if you type the name in the New Project line, the project will save to the specified folder. If you want to save the new project to a different location, click the yellow folder icon to the right of the New Project line and navigate to the correct location.

Q. I just got a Windows XP computer and I want to install BSD SoftLink products. Do I have to be the Administrator to install?
A. Yes, for Windows 2000, XP and NT, you must have Administrator rights to install.

Q. I want to move the software from one computer to another, but the access key won’t work. Why is that?
A. The access key you received when you installed the software is specific to the computer on which it was installed. To move the software to another computer, call Technical Support at 800-266-7732 for an Unpermit code before you remove the software from the first computer. Before you call, you can have the software already installed on the new computer, and then after you report the Unpermit code, you can get the new key for the new computer.

BSD SpecLink & PerSpective

Q. We are trying to run SpecLink with the key on our Wide Area Network (WAN) and it is very slow. What can we do to speed it up?
A. With the Fall release, we have made a change to greatly improve the speed of SpecLink when your access key is on a WAN. Your projects still need to be on your local drive or your Local Area Network, rather than the WAN, but this change will allow you more flexibility in sharing the access key among remote offices that are connected via a WAN. For instructions on the setup, see the Release Notes for this quarter. They are available on the BSD SoftLink Products CD, as well as on our Download Center web page.

Q. How will the upcoming proposed changes in the CSI SectionFormat affect my SpecLink projects?
A. We have been involved in the discussions on the proposed changes. The final version is not expected for at least another 6 months, possibly considerably later. When the new document is finalized, we will begin updating SpecLink to correspond. All changes will be accomplished through the normal project updating process -- you get to decide which projects you want to update and to what degree -- and we would expect to complete the changes over 2 or 3 quarters. In addition, we will sequence the changes to cause as little disruption to your projects as possible and provide a detailed description of the changes so that you can coordinate your user-added text. For more information on the proposed changes go to www.csinet.org/sputt.

Q. Is there an easy way to print out a whole section with notes?
A. Yes, in the Print dialog box, from the Report to Print drop-down list, choose either Draft Copy or Master Text Copy, and under Report options, select to print Project and/or Master Notes. Both Master Text Copy and Draft Copy print all paragraphs whether selected or not. Draft Copy will also print any user-added or edited paragraphs. For user-added sections, only Draft Copy is available.

Q. I'm considering making a checklist document that the project manager will go through to select what is included in a particular job. I will create links from those selections that will activate the appropriate sections in the job. The only problem I have is that the checklist will print when I print the whole project, and it will be listed in my automatic table of contents report. Is there any way to get around this?
A. You can do this using Non-Printing Text. To add Non-Printing text to your project, just add new paragraphs and apply the NP (non-printing) or NS (non-selectable) tag to the paragraphs that should not print. You can apply the tags to individual paragraphs within sections to keep them from printing. Or, to keep an entire section from printing or being listed in SpecLink's automatic table of contents, apply the NP tag to the title of the section in the Document panel. The NP tags will be applied automatically to the whole section.

BSD Costlink AE and CostLink CM

Q. I just purchased CostLink/AE. Is there a tutorial?
A. Chapter 2 of the User’s Manual (available on the CD or on our website), includes a step by step tutorial to get you acquainted with the basics of building an estimate. If you have additional questions, call 800-266-7732 and ask Technical Support.

Q. I have completed my estimate in CostLink/CM and now I want to send it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. How do I do that?
A. First read the document called Export to MCACES Format.doc, which is in the CM_Doc folder of the CD. After making sure the estimate is formatted to suit the MCACES format, choose Export to MCACES Format on the LinkMan menu. It is a good idea to check the MCACES estimate before submitting it.

Q. When I drag and drop tasks from the CostBook into my project, it takes too long. How can I speed that up?
A. There are several ways to make building your estimate faster. One is to be sure you don't have Auto Recalculate Markups on. When this is on, all of your markups get recalculated each time you drop a task into your project. This is turned on and off on the Tools menu.

A second way to speed up the process is to have your Project and CostBook databases on your local drive, rather than on a file server. If more than one person needs to work in the estimate at the same time, then this is not feasible.

A third way to speed up drag and drop is to use a "referenced" database. This choice is made in the Summary Info Dialog Box, under the Select Database Methodology area, and should be made before you start adding costs to the estimate. It is possible to use a referenced database while building the estimate and then, when the estimate is complete, you can choose to copy all the resources into your project at one time.

Q. I have a client that requires Uniformat to start with but then later he wants it in CSI Masterformat? Can I do that?
A. CostLink CM can do that for you automatically. Start your project using one of the Uniformat templates and complete the estimate. When you need to see the project in CSI Masterformat, change your view drop down to Project CSI view. Go to the LinkMan menu to assign tasks by hierarchy. Use the default setting and your tasks will be sorted into the appropriate CSI folder (assuming that their Source Tag starts with the appropriate two character CSI code.) After this, you can choose to print your reports by either Uniformat or CSI.

More questions? Contact BSD Technical Support:

• Toll Free: 800-266-7732
• In Atlanta: 404-365-9226
• Email: support@bsdsoftlink.com