FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

SETUP/GENERAL

1. How do you set the scale on the sheet if you have various scales on one sheet?

You will need to copy the sheet and takeoff the different areas at each scale drawn.  Click on the cover sheet.  Select the page you need to duplicate.  Click on the duplicate page icon - it has a 1,2 on it. 
Set the scale for the first area you will be taking off on the first sheet.  Do all take off that is at that scale selected.  Then move on to the duplicated sheet.  Set the scale for the other area you will be taking off.  Take off that area at that set scale. 
Always check your scale by pulling a known dimension.  Another indicator that the scale might be wrong is if your condition markers come in too large or too small.

2. What has an effect on the speed of flipping though PDFs?

All PDFs are converted to TIF files.  The items that may have an effect on the speed would be the amount of takeoff data on each sheet.  If your personal computer is struggling, you may want to check and make sure you don't have any other application open that might be interfering with the performance of OST.  So far, we haven't had any issues.

3.  My takeoff button is grayed out - why?
Check the bottom right corner of your screen.  If it says No License, you need to get the activation code and activate your account.  Without an activation code, you can only view the takeoff.  Once you have an activation code you should see TKO in the bottom right corner and the takeoff button should no longer be grayed out.
Once you have a license you need to have a condition set up.  Without a condition to takeoff the button will remain grayed out.  Insert the standard style set should be one of the first things done when starting a new project.

4.  What do I do when the PDF is too large to download and open in OST?
You will need to extract the pages you need to view from the large PDF file. 
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO TUTORIAL

5.  Why is my colored PDF showing up in black & white?
Go to Tools drop down and select Options.  In the General tab, select the box that says Enable colored DWF, DWG, and PDFs.  Click OK.  You may need to import the PDFs again to get them to appear in color.

6.  What can I do without the license installed?
You can view the entire takeoff that was done on the file and view the images and the takeoff.  You can also print without a license.  You cannot modify the takeoff at all.

7.  I can't find the toolbar I was using - how do I get my toolbars back?
Click on the View drop down menu.  Select Toolbars.  Select the toolbar you want visible.

 

NAVIGATION/VIEW

1.  Why does the enlarged zoom cursor not show up all the time? 
It only appears when doing an area takeoff.  If you are zoomed in too close, it will not appear.  Zoom further out and the cursor should appear.  To adjust this setting, click on the Tools drop down menu.  Select Options.  In the general tab, set the Default Auto Zoom Level percentage to what you want.  If you want it to appear more when you are zoomed out, increase the percentage.  If you want it to appear more when you are zoomed in, decrease the percentage.

2.  How do I get the legend to appear?
There is an image legend button on the view toolbar.  Or from the View drop down menu, select Image Legend. The legend by default is inserted in the upper left corner of the sheet.  If you are zoomed in or panned too far to the right, you may not see it.  Zoom out to see the legend in the upper left corner.

3.  Can I highlight without actually taking off anything?
Yes.  Use the highlight tool.  Highlights are not free hand shapes - lines are limited to being straight.  You can rotate the highlight after you have it drawn on your sheet.  The highlight is treated as a rectangle - thus you can adjust the thickness, width, and height. 

4.  How do I change the name of the pages?
Click on the cover sheet.  On the list of pages, double click on the page you want the change.  The cursor should appear.  Type in the desired name of the page.

5.  Why can't I take off anything in my second view window?
The view window is strictly a view window.  You can only actively takeoff from the main page.  You cannot pull dimensions nor highlight in the second view window.  You can only pan and zoom.   This is a suggestion given to OST to have the ability to highlight and pull dimensions from this view window, but for now it cannot be done.

TAKEOFF

1.  On the takeoff tab, how do I filter and sort the data by area?
Simply right click anywhere within the takeoff list.  A drop down menu will appear where you can select your sorting options: by area, zone, type, or page.  Multiple options can be selected to refine the way the data is sorted.

2. Can the takeoff list show what page each item is on?
Yes!  Simply right click anywhere within the takeoff data and a menu will appear.  Select the option to sort by page.

3.  Can I modify the columns in the takeoff tab?
Columns can be dragged left to right to be placed in a different place.  Unfortunately when printed, the columns will print in the order they defaulted to, even though on your screen you may have changed the order.
You can click on the columns to adjust the order of the data in ascending or descending order. 
The intent from OST is, if you need more customization of the data, they assume you will export into excel and use excel to modify and make the data look good. 
The takeoff data can be cut and pasted into excel templates or word as needed.
Unfortunately, the takeoff data table modification is limited.  You cannot change the font, font size, zoom, nor delete columns.