What kinds of formatting options does the software have?

Formatting options fall into 3 categories:

• Style sets, which include paragraph numbering and indentation, fonts, and line spacing. There are 4 built-in styles, plus one user-defined style can be saved.
• Page layout, which includes margins, one- or two-column layout, and paper orientation.
• Headers and footers, which include keywords for the section number and title, the project name and number, the page number, and other items.

What if the built-in formatting options don't satisfy my client?

We'd be pretty surprised if they don't, but it could happen. Before giving up, we encourage you to review the User Manual chapter on Printing for details on how to create a custom style. If you don't find a solution there, you can fax us a copy of what you're trying to accomplish—maybe we can figure it out. If all else fails, you can export the specs to RTF and edit them in word processing.

What if my client wants to change the headers and footers at the last minute?

Many of us have had that nightmare: the specs are all printed and the official name of the project, as the Owner wants it to be known on the street, is changed. Using this software, all you have to do is change the header and/or footer in one place and then reprint the sections. You can print all the sections in the project with one command.

What do I do if my client needs to refer to himself as the "Contracting Officer" instead of the "Owner"?

The software manages 5 different "replaceable keywords" to refer to the Owner, the Design Professional, the Contractor, the State in which the project is located, and the Design-Builder (if appropriate). Each of these terms is represented by a coded symbol in the specification text, which is automatically replaced by the text you specify. To change the text from the defaults, you just pull down the File menu, select Summary Info, and change the settings. In this example, in every location the specification would have referred to the Owner, it will now refer to the Contracting Officer instead.