Custom Components and Custom Categories
Custom components allow you to add additional data to a master plan, location plan, or home plan in Estimate without modifying the Studio file. This feature can be used to capture information that is not modeled in Studio but is still necessary for estimating.
Adding custom components to existing categories
When to add custom components to existing categories
You may want to add custom components to add or subtract things from a model.
Example:
Adding an extra footing that was not modeled
Removing a length of wall that was erroneously placed
How to add custom components to a plan
With a plan loaded, navigate to the Components tab and click on any category.
Click on the + Add Custom Component button.
Define Attributes
Example: If you need to add an extra door at the bottom of the stairs in the basement, you can specify the following attributes:
Class: Interior
Tag: 26/68
Panels: Single
Swing side: Left
Floor: Basement
Count: 1
Note: You don’t need to fill in every attribute. Only complete the fields relevant to your use case.
Click on the Save Custom Component button to save the component
Once saved, the new custom component will appear in the components list for that category and will be automatically included in measure groups.
Example: If you had a measure group that aggregated all the interior doors, you will see the count increase by 1 due to the custom component that was just added.
Note: if a custom component is added to a masterplan, it will be inherited in all downstream location and home plans. You can also add additional custom components to downstream plans and it will not affect the upstream plans.
Conditioning Custom Components
Custom components can be conditioned to specific plan options. This ensures that additional components are only applied when certain options are selected.
Example:
A custom foundation segment could be conditioned to appear only when a basement option is chosen.
An extra appliance could be tied to a premium kitchen package.
To condition a custom component, select apply this component to specific options after defining the attributes and select which options you want this component to be applied to.
Note: If you are viewing an option state where the component does not apply, the row will appear italicized and will not be aggregated in the measures
Creating Custom Categories
In addition to working with existing categories, you can create entirely new custom categories. Custom categories behave like regular categories with both a components tab (which contains a list of all the components) and a measures tab (which contains all the measure groups that query the components).
Unlike regular categories, custom categories do not pull data from the building model; instead, all data in the category comes from the custom components you create.
Creating a Custom Category
At the bottom of the Categories side bar, you will see a section named Custom Categories.
Click on the + button to create a custom category.
Fill in the name of this category and all the attributes you want associated with this category.
For example, if you wanted to add shutters, you can define the following
Name: Shutters
Attributes:
Type (Single or Double)
Height (measured in feet)
Note: The Count output is always available by default, so you do not have to input it
Save the Custom Category. This new category now works just like the other categories. It includes a Components tab where you can add custom components and a Measures tab where you can add measure groups.
Note: Custom categories are defined on a builder level, but the custom components are defined on a plan level. That means that once you create a custom category, that same category can be used across all plans and workbooks.