The "Bill of quantities" tab now includes a status bar at the bottom of the main window that displays contextual information about what is being carried out in the application.
Update history
- Solutions
- CYPE Lightning
- Update history
CYPE Lightning
As of version 2023.g, the bill of quantities data can now be displayed graphically. For this purpose, the "Graphs" window has been added to the "Bill of quantities" tab. This window contains a drop-down list for selecting the graph to be displayed. In this version, the graphical representations (columns, circles, lines, etc.) of the following concepts are available:
- Bill of quantities
- Breakdown
- Breakdown (with/without BIM link)
- Energy cost
- CO2 emissions
- Waste mass (Type)
- Waste volume (Type)
- Waste mass (Code)
- Waste volume (Code)
- Certificates (Amount)
- Certificates (Quantity)
The graph generated depends on the component of the bill of quantities table that has been selected. It is important to note that the available graphs depend on the type of element (work section, item or quantity detail line). By hovering the cursor over a section of the graph, a box will appear with the parameter reference and its value, allowing users to have a better understanding of the data shown.
Graphs with a key allow data sets to be hidden by left-clicking on their reference. When a set is not visible, its reference is crossed out and can be reactivated by clicking on it.
The "Breakdown" tab has been included in the "Data" window for the work sections of the bill of quantities. In previous versions, the "Breakdown" tab was only available for the items, where a table with their breakdown into resources is shown.
Now, the work sub-sections or items that are part of a work section can be displayed in this table.
Within the "Edit" group of the application toolbar, the following options have been added to modify the geometry of the grounding conductors:
- Add points
Allows new vertices to be added to the polyline describing the geometry of the conductors. - Delete points
Allows vertices to be deleted in the polyline describing the geometry of the conductors. - Join
Allows two conductors to be joined together. The reference of the unified conductor will be the one corresponding to the first conductor selected in the operation. - Divide
Allows a conductor to be divided into two conductors. The reference of both conductors will be the one corresponding to the original conductor. - Extend/trim element
Allows a conductor to be extended or trimmed to the outline or projection of another conductor. First, select the element to be used as an outline and then the conductor to be modified. If the second conductor extends beyond the contour, the clicked segment will remain. - Extend/trim to corner
Allows the ends of two conductors to be extended or trimmed to make a corner. When selecting the second conductor, the part of the element to be retained must be specified.
The "Price increment" option has been added to the editing window of the "Project database" or a "Cost database. With this tool, the prices of the concepts contained in the database can now be adjusted according to a "Factor". Furthermore, the application allows users to indicate the nature of the concepts ("Unclassified", "Labour", "Machinery and auxiliary resources" and "Materials") on which the operation is to be applied.
The following improvements have been made to the "Filter" option, available in the "View" group of the toolbar:
- A list of filters can now be defined for the project. The selected element will be the one to be applied to the bill of quantities.
- The "Filter" option has been added to the editing window of the "Project database" or a "Cost database".
- Filters can be exported as a file (".bib767") to be used in multiple projects.
- In the list of conditions of a filter, the "Cut", "Copy" and "Paste" tools have been added. These allow conditions to be moved or copied from one filter to another.
- The "Search text in" and "Parameter" fields have been added to the window for inserting a condition within a filter. This way, the program now allows users to filter by parameters other than the "tag" of the "quantity detail lines", as was the case up to now. In this version, the following options are available for these fields:
- Search text in: Item
- Parameter: Code
- Parameter: Summary
- Parameter: Type
- Parameter: Key terms
- Parameter: Amount
- Search text in: Breakdown concept
- Parameter: Code
- Parameter: Summary
- Parameter: Type
- Parameter: Key terms
- Search text in: Quantity detail line
- Parameter: Tags
- Search text in: Item
As of version 2023.f, the character set to be used when exporting the bill of quantities in the standard FIEBDC-3 format (.bc3) can be selected from the "Bill of quantities" tab in the applications that have it. For this purpose, the "Character set" field has been included in the export configuration window and has three options:
- Automatic selection
The ANSI character set shall be used whenever possible. If the application detects characters that are not compatible with ANSI encoding, the UTF-8 character set shall be used. - ANSI
This is the character set defined for Windows and the default character set used in previous versions. Not all Unicode characters can be represented by this encoding format. - UTF-8
Through this standard encoding format (RFC 3629) all Unicode characters can be represented. However, the current FIEBDC-3 standard specification (3/2020) does not support UFT-8 encoding, so the ANSI character set should be used where possible (Automatic selection).
Thanks to the possibility of exporting and importing the bill of quantities in UTF-8 encoding, applications can now share bills of quantities that include Unicode characters. This establishes a fully multilingual environment for managing the project’s bills of quantities.
In the FIEBDC-3 standard, the character set is specified in the CHARACTER_SET field of the V record.
As of version 2023.e, applications with a "Bill of quantities" tab can map their model's elements to an item's resource. For this purpose, in the editing of a mapping file, the "Resource code" option has been added when components are modified in the "Classification" list. By activating this option, users can specify the resource code on which the quantity of the model element will be mapped. This will be added to the breakdown of the concept described by means of the "Concept code" and "Concept reference" fields.
When the resource indicated in the mapping file is a cost breakdown in the associated cost database, only the unit components of this breakdown shall be assigned to the concept.
The predefined work section structure "France - UNTEC Method" has been added when creating a new "Set of measurement rules" (Open BIM Quantities) or a "Mapping file" (applications with a "Bill of quantities" tab).
As of version 2023.e, some CYPE applications have a new dockable window system that replaces the main screen user interface. As a result, users can now customise the workspace to suit their needs.
The list of applications that have this dockable window system appears at the end of this new feature. In future versions, the number of applications with this window system will be increased.
Dockable windows can be moved and resized. They can be either floating windows, pinned to a location within the application's main dialogue box, dragged outside of it, or even moved to another monitor.
- Move windows
A docked window can be moved by clicking on the title bar at the top of the window and dragging it.
When dragging a dockable window, several visual aids are displayed to make its relocation easier. Next to the cursor, a text box appears containing the title of the dockable window being moved. Whenever the cursor approaches the edge of another window, a box appears showing a preview of the space it would occupy.
It is possible to leave a window as a floating window without docking it to another window, and it is also possible to dock windows within a floating window. Holding down the CTRL key can prevent a floating window from being docked while it is being moved.
- Group windows
It is possible to group several windows in the same space by dragging one window to the top left-hand corner or to the bottom left-hand corner of another window. When this is carried out, tabs will appear at the bottom or top of the group, allowing users to alternate between the grouped windows. If the tabs are at the bottom, the title of the group of windows corresponds to the active window. On the other hand, if the tabs are at the top, they will be used as the title.
- Show/Hide windows
The icon to close the window can be found in the top right-hand corner of each dockable window.
To manage the display of the dockable windows in the user interface, a "Window" button () has been added to the application environment, next to the "General Settings" button (icons on the top right-hand side of the program). By clicking on it, a drop-down menu appears with the available dockable windows and users are able to change their status. In addition, there is the "Reset Window Layout" option which allows users to restore the default workspace.
In some cases, such as the "Work area" of applications with a 3D environment, the window cannot be hidden. In these cases, the icon for closing the window is not displayed and, in the "Window" menu (
- Collapse windows
When several dockable windows are arranged vertically, an icon is displayed, next to the close icon, which allows each window to be expanded or collapsed. When the window is collapsed, it will return to its previous size.
The window layout and display settings are saved when closing the application.
It is important to note that not all floating windows in an application are dockable windows. In order to tell them apart, the
The following applications now include the new floating window environment in version 2023.e:
- AcouBAT by CYPE
- CYPE Architecture
- CYPE Connect
- CYPEFIRE
- CYPEHVAC 3D
- CYPEPLUMBING Water Systems
- CYPESOUND
- CYPETHERM LOADS
- Open BIM Analytical Model
- CYPE Construction Systems
- Open BIM COVID-19
- Open BIM Layout
- CYPE Lightning
- Open BIM Quantities
- Open BIM Site
- StruBIM Steel
- The floating window environment also includes the "Bill of Quantities" tab in all applications that have this tab.
Since version 2022.a, the applications integrated within the Open BIM workflow via the BIMserver.center platform include a tool for managing project reference systems. This option is available from the configuration window that appears when linking or updating a BIMserver.center project via the "Geographic location and reference system" option. As of version 2023.d, the applications now allow users to run a graphical environment where they can visually define a reference system for their model. To do this, the "Geographic location and reference system" window now contains the "Visual editing of the local reference system of the model" option.
From the "Visual editing of the local reference system of the model" window, the origin and orientation of the reference system of the model can be indicated in the workspace with the "Define the reference system of the partial model" tool. Both the axes of the reference system of the model, which we have just entered and the axes of the reference system of the site can be viewed in the workspace. The latter appears with a "Site" tag.
To make it easier to define the reference system, the 3D models corresponding to the BIMserver.center project contributions selected during the linking process are displayed. The management of the visibility and object snaps of these models is carried out from the "Elements read" menu in the left sidebar of the window. The "Views" menu can also be found in the same options bar, from which different types of 2D and 3D views of the model can be generated. These tools can already be found in several CYPE applications. For more information on how they work, please refer to the User’s Manual for the 3D work environment tools available in CYPE applications.
Apart from 3D models, 2D drawings or plans can also be imported from CAD files (".dxf", ".dwg", ".dwf") or images (".jpeg", ".jpg", ".bmp", ".png", ".wmf", ".emf", ".pcx"). These files and object snaps are managed through the "DXF-DWG Template" and "Template object snaps" options accordingly.
Once the editing is complete, the coordinates and orientation of the reference system of the model with respect to the reference system of the site are moved to the corresponding fields in the "Geographic location and reference system" window.
As of version 2023.d, all applications with a "Bill of quantities" tab now have a new set of tools that allow users to measure the work area. More specifically, the following options have been added:
- Measure length
The distance between points inserted in the work area can be measured. Several segments can be entered and the application will calculate the sum of the lengths of each one. - Measure area
The area of a polygon defined by points inserted in the work area can be measured. Several polygons can be entered and the application will calculate the sum of the areas of each one. - Measure angle
The three-point angle inserted in the work area can be measured. Several angles can be defined and the application will calculate the sum of them. - Count the number of objects
The number of selected 3D model objects can be counted. - Measure the area of objects
The total area of the selected 3D model objects can be measured. - Measure the volume of objects
The total volume of the selected 3D model objects can be measured.
In order to make it easier to measure the quantities of the model, the work area has been modified to incorporate the 3D work environment tools that are already available in other CYPE Open BIM applications:
- Defining views
Different types of 2D and 3D views of the model can be generated from the "Views" panel in the sidebar of the work area. - Elements read
The visibility and object snaps of model components can be controlled from the "Elements read" panel in the sidebar of the work area. - Inserting components
When entering a measurement in the work area, the application provides a toolbar to make it easier for users to interact with the environment.
As well as measuring the 3D model, this new set of tools can be used to take measurements on plans or 2D drawings imported from CAD files (".dxf", ".dwg", ".dwf") or images (".jpeg", ".jpg", ".bmp", ".png", ".wmf", ".emf", ".pcx"). These files and the object snaps are managed through the "DXF-DWG Templates" and "Template object snaps" options respectively.
In order to use the measurements in the project's bill of quantities in a simple way, a button with a blue arrow has been added to the editing panel of the detail lines next to the editing window of each variable (A, B, C and D). Clicking it will assign the value of the measurement made on the work area to the variable.
