CostX 6.5 Release Notes - Exactal® 6.5 maintains Exactal’s tradition of continual product...

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CostX® 6.5 Release Notes

Overview

CostX® version 6.5 is an exciting new development in the Exactal range of world-class digital measurement

and estimating software. In addition to many new features and improvements across the entire product

feature set, 6.5 introduces a major change to the user interface which will dramatically improve productivity

and make CostX® even easier to use. The CostX® ROI just got even better!

This change is the introduction in full version CostX® of multiple drawing and workbook tabs. Multiple tabs

enable a user to open and view multiple drawings and workbooks side by side, in the same building at the

same time, on single or multiple screens! Tab navigation is incredibly easy. You can open and close as many

tabs as you like, with the parent window clearly tagged at all times so you always know where you are.

CostX® 6.5 maintains Exactal’s tradition of continual product development to keep our products at the

forefront of industry technology and position our users at the leading edge of world-class on-screen

measurement and BIM-enabled estimating systems.

Headline Features

Support for Multiple Workbook and Drawing tabs.

Extended Dimension Group Properties. A new “Measured Dimensions” tab in Dimension Group

Properties will allow formula expressions to be entered in a selection of fields to calculate additional

quantities derived from the measured dimensions. This is similar to the existing “BIM Dimensions” tab

but will be available for non-BIM dimensions measured in line or point mode.

Now possible to measure from drawings in Comparison View.

New feature to show mapping definitions in nodes that are not on the current drawing, greyed out in

the Model Tree. This allows mapping definitions to be copied and pasted from a previous drawing

when the Model Tree levels don’t line up after an update or between revisions.

Optional columns in the Drawings List for scale, calibration and multiplier.

New button to auto-detect the best graphics driver settings for the user’s computer hardware and

configuration as well as whether to turn on Optimise Images or not.

Dimension Group colors can now be selected from the Windows Color Palette and a color Indicator

icon has been added to the Dimension Groups List.

Columns can now be sorted on the BIM Schedule.

Many other useful new features and improvements as listed below.



Multiple Tabs

In earlier versions of CostX®, only one Costing View and Dimension View tab were supported. Although either

could be detached by double-clicking on the tab, only one workbook and one drawing could be open at the

same time. In CostX® 6.5, multiple drawing and workbook tabs can be opened and detached simultaneously

for viewing and interactive working either on the same or separate screens.

When a building is first opened, the Dimension View and Costing View tabs will be shown with no drawing or

workbook selected. When the first drawing or workbook is opened by clicking on its name, it will open in the

Dimension View/Costing View tab and the caption of the tab will change to show the drawing

name/workbook name. When a subsequent drawing/workbook is opened by clicking on its name in the list, it

will open in a new tab to the right of the existing tabs and the caption of the new tab shows the selected

drawing name/ workbook name. The full name and other details can be viewed in a hint box by hovering the

cursor over the tab caption.

To switch between tabs, click on the tab caption. To close a tab, hold the cursor over the X to the right

of the caption until it turns red, and then click to close the tab. When the number of currently open

drawing/workbook tabs gets down to one each, the X button is not shown.

Tabs can be detached by double clicking the tab and they will open in a separate window. The tab that

is double clicked is the detached window, and the original view is the “Home” window. If you have

two screens you can drag one or more of the windows to the second screen.

When a tab is detached, it disappears from the tab row in the Home window. Closing the detached

window by clicking the X in the top right will re-attach it to the Home window and the tab will re-

appear in the tab row.

Closing the Home window by clicking the X in the top right will close the program. When the program

or building is closed, all tabs are closed.

Hardware limitations might cause performance issues if too many tabs are open at once. By default,

the maximum number of drawing and workbook tabs which can be open simultaneously is set to four

each. This number can be adjusted in CostX© Options.



Extended Dimension Group Properties

Multipliers

The existing Drawing Multiplier field previously named “No of Floors” has been re-named “Drawing

Multiplier”.

A new Multiplier Field has been added to Dimension Group and Dimension Properties. A factor can be

entered into this field to multiply the measured dimensions. The Drawing and Dimension Multipliers are

linked to calculate an “Effective” multiplier.



The right-click menu on Dimension groups now includes a Change Multiplier option. Tick the “Update

dimensions that use the Default Multiplier” checkbox to re-calculate all existing dimensions by the amended

multiplier. If the box is unticked, existing values will remain unchanged and will no longer use the default

multiplier. The new default will only be applied to subsequent measurements.

The Effective Multiplier can be displayed in a column under the Dimensions tab.

Dimension Group and Standard Dimension Group imports via CSV now need to include a field for Default

Offset and Default Multiplier in columns F and G (after “Default Height” and before “Add to GFA”). If these

fields are missing, the values will default to Default Offset: 0 and Default Multiplier: 1.

Each Dimension stores its own value for multiplier and offset. These values can be edited in the Dimension

Properties dialog.



Measured Dimensions Tab

In earlier versions of CostX©, derived quantity values such as volume or wall area were automatically

calculated as a product of the area or length measurements multiplied by the default height entered as a

Dimension Group property. These calculations could not be edited by the user, nor could the user create

additional derived quantity calculations.

In CostX© 6.5, a new “Measured Dimensions” tab has been added to the Dimension Group Properties dialog.

This tab provides fields in which expressions and values can be entered to calculate additional quantities

derived from measured or manually entered properties. Refer to “Dimension Group Expressions Editor”

below which assists this process.

The Measured Dimensions tab is very similar to the existing BIM Dimensions tab, except that it specifies the

expressions that will be used for non-BIM dimensions measured using line or point mode take-off and for

manual dimensions. The BIM Dimensions tab continues to specify the expressions that will be used for object

(BIM) dimensions.

When a Dimension Group is created, certain available fields will be pre-populated with default expressions,

determined by the measurement mode of the Dimension Group.

Refer to Section 7 of the CostX© Advanced Manual for details on default and user-defined expressions and the

supported functions and operators.

Model Map Editor

Default Expressions

To simplify the creation of Model Maps, a new option has been added to the Mapping Definition pane: Use

default expressions for blank fields.

When this box is checked, if no formula has been entered into the relevant fields by the user, then certain

derived quantities will be automatically calculated from default expressions.

Refer to Section 6.9.4 of the CostX© Advanced Manual for more details on Default Expressions.



Dimension Group Expression Editor

For ease of entry of expressions, an Expression Editor dialog can be opened by clicking on the ellipsis button

to the right of each Field in the BIM Dimensions and Measured Dimensions tabs of the Dimension Group

Properties. The dialog will open ready to enter expressions for the selected Field. Alternate Fields can also be

selected from the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog.

The tabs in the lower section of the dialog contain all the data that can be referenced in an expression. To

select an item in one of the tabs, double click on it and it will be inserted into the current expression at the

current cursor position. Enter the required operator between each of the items to complete the expression

formula.

If the expression entered into the editor is invalid owing to the absence of an operator or similar, a red border

will display around the expression box.

Refer to Section 7 of the CostX© Advanced Manual for more details on the Expressions Editor.



Drawings & Take-off

BIM

Mapping Filter and Show Mapping Definitions

Model Maps can now show nodes that contain mapping definitions but don’t exist in the current drawing.

This allows mapping definitions that were done on other drawings or previous revisions to be easily copied to

the appropriate nodes on the current drawing.

The Model Map screen now contains a Filter button. Click to open the filter. The Search field allows text

strings to be entered to filter the model tree by. The Nodes field has a drop-down menu to select whether to

show nodes from only the current or from other drawings. Select and then click Go.

If the “other drawings” option is selected, definitions added to the Model Map in other drawings which do not

have a corresponding node on the current drawing will be shown in grey, from where they can be opened,

copied and pasted into nodes in the new drawing. This is particularly useful when the node heading structure

in drawing revisions changes owing to linked files.



BIM Schedule now allows sorting of columns. Click on the column heading to sort the column. Click on

the arrow head to invert the sort. To sort by additional columns, hold the SHIFT key and click

additional column headings.

The set of columns that are currently hidden / shown are now saved against the node in the Model

tree.

Measure Distance and Ghost View buttons added to the Model Maps ribbon.

IFC improvements to reduce potential for duplicate properties.

IFC Models now show properties in the units specified by IfcUnitAssignment. This means that if the

units were specified as English Imperial (e.g. inches for lengths, square feet for areas etc.), the

quantities shown in the schedule will be shown in those units.

New Hide Column, Hide All, Show All, and Invert Columns options on the right click menu of the BIM

Schedule.1

New XTEXT() function in model maps which forces the BIM property value to be evaluated as text in

the formula even if the formula is on a numeric field.1

Improved IFC drawing load speed.1

Improvements to object colours in IFC files.1



Drawings

When setting the scale for the drawing on the Drawing Properties, there is now a convenient drop

down list of scales in imperial or metric depending upon the selected Base UOM.

New Scale, Calibration and Multiplier columns are now available in the Drawings list. Click on the *

button to select the desired columns from the drop-down menu.

The Calibration dialog now supports imperial notation so drawings can be calibrated in

inches/feet/yards including fractional notation.

Automatic detection of the optimal graphics driver setting for best performance is now available in

CostX© Options.

Improved display and speed on some PDF files.

Support for Sketchup 2016 file format.

Improved DWG and DGN file support.

Improved 12D file support including full support for Unicode 12D files and support for 12DAZ files.

Improved support for DWG/DXF lines styles.1



Take-off

Measurement in Comparison View

Point Mode can be used to measure whilst in the Comparison View when comparing 2D drawings by objects, lines or overlay. Open the Comparison then click the Measure button. Normal measurement functionality is enabled, existing dimensions are loaded, and new dimensions can be taken.

Dimensions taken on the comparison drawing are saved against the current drawing, not the comparison

drawing.

Other New Features

User defined Dimension Group colors now available using the Windows color palette. Choose the

“Custom…” option at the bottom of the standard colors to open the Windows color palette.

CostX© Option to allow setting of the default colors for positive and negative dimensions.

Color Indicator in Dimension Groups List showing the color, hatching and count symbol used for

Dimensions in that Dimension Group. Click on the * button to display the color icon and date added in

the list.

New filtering option in the Dimension Groups list allowing the list to be filtered to show empty or

non-empty Dimension Groups.



New filtering options on the Dimensions and Dimension Groups lists allowing users to filter by Date

Added. The user can specify a start and/or end date and they can filter by both dates and times.

The number of decimal places to show in the Quantity column of the Dimension Groups list in the

Dimension View is now configurable as an option to show either 0, 1 or 2 decimal places.

It is now possible on the Dimensions list to select multiple dimensions and toggle between

positive/negative at once instead of changing each dimension individually.

New Angle Snap option to snap the angle to the nearest 15 degrees in point mode.

The previous Snap button has been renamed Geometry.

Measure Distance and Current Line Info labels now stay on screen when zooming

or panning to the end of a line, instead of remaining in the centre of the line.

Export Dimensions To Excel now provides the option to include only the Displayed or Selected

Dimension Groups in the export file.

Decimal places shown on Measure Distance and Current Line Info labels now set to 3 decimals.

Standard Dimension Groups now support Default Height, Default Offset and Default Multiplier.

The Dimension Groups and Standard Dimension Groups excel templates that users can use to import

from CSV are now included in the installer.

Speed improvement checking overlaps with complex blocks on DWG files.1

Improvement to Area tracing on curves to reduce the chance of a crossed line segment which would

prevent the area being completed.1



Workbooks

Mark up rates by a factor now supports up to 6 decimal places.

Better support for copy and paste from Excel especially when cells contain large amounts of data.

Optimised memory usage for generate workbook by code especially when sorting by multiple levels

with large code libraries.1

Improvements to workbooks when being used by multiple users at the same time.1

Invalid workbook formulas are now preserved and shown as a string to allow the mistake to be

corrected.1

Subcontractor Comparison

Subcontractors Ribbon Tab now available at all times.

Trade Properties window is now available at all levels of subcontractor workbook instead of only the

top level.

Trade Properties in subcontractor comparison workbooks can now be modified by multiple users

concurrently as long as the users are changing different trades.1

Trade Properties now supports the Tab key to move between fields.1

Improvements to subcontractor workbook locking to improve concurrency with multiple users editing

at the same time.1

In subcontractor comparison workbooks the Fill to Lump Sum feature is now available on all levels.1

Significant speed improvements when doing a Fill to Lump Sum in subcontractor workbooks.1

When generating a standard workbook from a subcontractor comparison workbook, a new option is

provided to retain the rate breakdowns and distribute the preferred rate from the subcontractor

comparison across the rate breakdowns pro-rata to give the required totals.1

Various other minor improvements in subcontractor comparison workbooks.1

Reports

The CostX custom report writer now supports Cross-tab reports.

The option to require recalculation of the workbook prior to printing a report now has an additional

option to Prompt, in addition to the existing options to require recalculation Always or Never.

CostXL

New “Default Display” option for Quantity Type when doing a multiple drag and drop of dimension

groups.

CostXL has full support for Excel 2016 in addition to the existing support for Excel 2007, 2010, 2013.1



CostX API

CostX API now provides new calls for bulk rate management along with other speed improvements to

rate and worksheet API calls.1

Other

Windows Server 2016 is now a supported operating system for CostX Server.

New codes are now inserted below the currently selected code when inserting codes in a code library.

The advanced Open Building selection dialog is now also used to select the Building for Export

Building, Copy Building, Delete Building and Merge Buildings.

Authentication Audit Logging can now be enabled in CostX Server Admin.

An Excel template to show summary statistical data from CostX Server Authentication Audit Log files

is now provided with the installers.

The CostX “About” box has been improved to make it easier to understand how to close it.

The File Open dialogs have been updated to use a modern style and layout. This includes support for

folder browsing on the left and easy access to locations such as favorites.

Improvements to CostX Server stability.

New user permissions to control which users can delete Projects, Buildings, Workbooks, Drawings and

Dimension Groups.1

Added a new option to the silent installers to allow bypass of the required runtime library checks.1

New TranslateX utility to allow users to create their own translations of the CostX user interface.1

New Copy User feature in CostX Server Admin allowing new users to be created based on another

user or a template user.1

Notes

Note1 items were released under an earlier revision of CostX© version 6.

Restricted - Not to be reproduced without the express written authority of Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd

Restricted- Not to be reproduced without the express written authority of Exactal Technologies Pty Ltd



The CostX® Range of Estimating Solutions

Our range of CostX® products recognise that different companies’ estimating requirements are not all the

same. CostX® is now in wide-spread use amongst commercial and residential builders, large and small sized

quantity surveying firms, subcontractors in all trades and government departments. The product range

available allows each customer to choose a cost-effective estimating solution to suit their needs now and in

the future. Our innovative CostX® product range includes:

FEATURE CostX® CostX® 2D CostX®

Takeoff

CostX®

Takeoff 2D

BIM models / 3D drawings ● ●

2D drawings (incl. PDFs) ● ● ● ●

Auto-Revisioning ● ●

Workbooks ● ●

Subcontractor Comparison ● ●

Contact Us

Exactal welcomes your feedback on this document. If you have any queries, comments or suggestions please

use one of the contacts below in your local region.

Australia Hong Kong New Zealand Malaysia

BRISBANE/MELBOURNE AUCKLAND KUALA LUMPUR

+61 7 3300 6222 +852 5804 4622 +64 9 309 2026 +60 3 2630 6222

Singapore United Kingdom United States

LONDON/MANCHESTER AUSTIN

+65 3159 0466 +44 203 597 7566 +1 (512) 768 8111

INTERNATIONAL | www.exactal.com | [email protected]

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