Product Q&A

All Products

Q. Does your website have anywhere to search for information about use of your products or to learn more about an error code, for example?
A. We have a knowledge base for our users that includes common usage and installation questions and common errors for SpecLink+, CostLink/AE and CostLink/CM. You can search by application or by type of question. To view, go to www.bsdsoftlink.com/support_qa.

BSD SpecLink & PerSpective

Q. I am getting the error “BSDSheetView generated Error 339: Component ‘DWSBC36.ocx or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid.” What can I do about this?
A. This error is occurring because your anti-spyware software has removed or quarantined an essential BSD file as a threat. The BSD file is not a threat. It is an intermediary between SpecLink and Windows and is necessary for SpecLink to open a project. You need to remove the file from quarantine so SpecLink will run correctly. If you need more information about this error, contact Technical Support.

Q. I would like to create a link within the same paragraph, so that if I select a choice near the beginning of the paragraph, it automatically selects a choice later in the paragraph.
A. This cannot be done in SpecLink. A couple of solutions would be to create two different paragraphs and select the one that is appropriate, or to create a long choice field that includes both desired clauses. With both of these options, it is actually easier for the user to see what the whole choice is.

Q. I accidentally added a word to my SpecLink dictionary that was misspelled. How do I remove it?
A. Words commonly used by you that are not found in the standard SpecLink dictionary can be added to the custom dictionary. This is a text file named CUSTOM.DIC and it is found in the SpecLink+\System folder either on the local drive or on the server. (If you are running over a network the software usually uses the CUSTOM.DIC on the server.). This file can be edited using a text editor such as Notepad, and you can add and delete words to and from it directly. To edit the CUSTOM.DIC, close SpecLink, open CUSTOM.DIC in Notepad, and make any necessary edits. Be sure to type a return after the last item so that there is a blank line at the end of the file.

Q. The names of several section titles are appearing in pink or magenta text in my Tree panel. What does that mean?
A. In short, it means the project has not been completely updated. The software automatically identifies any section that has not been completely updated to the latest master by turning the document title magenta. To update the whole project, go to the Tools menu, select Update to Master, then select Update Project and click the Update button. You can also update only certain sections by selecting Update Section, selecting the section you want to update, and clicking the Update button. Once the sections are updated, the titles in the tree panel turn back to their normal colors — black or blue.

Note that SpecLink does not require that you update a project; there can be many legitimate reasons for not updating. The magenta titles simply act as reminders that those sections may contain obsolete data. You can open any of those sections at any time to see which paragraphs have updated versions available, and you can view the individual paragraph changes before updating them. You can also print a report that lists every paragraph in your project affected by updates. For more detail on updating, see Chapter 11 in the updated User Manual on the latest BSD SoftLink CDROM or from our website at www.bsdsoftlink.com/support/sl_manual.htm.

BSD Costlink AE and CostLink CM

Q. I want to have both a junior high school and an elementary school within the same CostLink/AE estimate. Is there a way to do that?
A. Yes. Basically you will create one model first, copy it to a different level one folder, disconnect it from the model and then create your next model. When you have included all the models that you need and have copied them all to new level one folders, change the first level one folder to No model. At this point you can input the total SF for the entire project so that the reports will display a square foot cost for the entire project. For more detailed instructions, see the Knowledge Base on our web page at www.bsdsoftlink.com/support_qa.

BSD CostLink AE

Q. I finished my estimate and then switched to the CSI View and Assigned Tasks to Hierarchy to get a CSI summary. I then had to add some additional cost items and they ended up in the Unassigned folder. Why?
A. Whenever you add costs to your estimate, they are placed in the Unassigned folders in all of the Primary Views until you assign them. There are two ways you can assign them: by dragging the cost items from the Unassigned folder to the appropriate folder, or if the tasks’ source tags match the folder IDs, you can use Assign Tasks to Hierarchy to assign the cost items to the appropriate folders automatically.

More questions? Contact BSD Technical Support:

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