Managed Defines

Genesis and Express editions only.

Managed Defines provide you with the re-usability of a Local Define but with the spreadsheet linking power of a Global Define. These can be utilised in all of your Cost Estimates and also the Resource Calculation Template – Calculation Sheet for all base resources.

Managed Defines window

The list of Managed Defines associated with an item or group resource is accessed by clicking the Managed Defines button in the ribbon menu of a Cost Estimate.

Managed Defines, like Global Defines, are named variables that can be derived and updated from an attached spreadsheet. The difference is that Managed Defines can use the same name across multiple Cost Estimates and can have a different value in each as the values are associated with the Cost Estimate they are created in. Managed Defines are prioritised over a Global Define with a common name. This is a similar behaviour to that of a Local Define on a Cost Estimate line in the sense that they will override a Global Define with the same name.

Note: The name of a Managed Define must be unique within each Cost Estimate.

As with all the Define types, Managed Defines can be referenced in the Formula column of a Cost Estimate by typing the define name starting with the # character.

Linking A Managed Define

Using the Link button will allow you to link the currently selected Managed Define to the named cell within a spreadsheet. When the Managed Define is for a Direct / Overhead Cost Estimate you also have the ability to create a tokenised name cell so that the value of this Managed Define can be dynamically updated based on a number of different fields.

Note: The { } brackets surrounding each variable are necessary and work as delimiters between the variables and normal text to be shown.

variable

DESCRIPTION

{LineNumber}

The Line number of the Direct / Overhead Cost Schedule item.

{ItemNumber}

The Item number of the Direct / Overhead Cost Schedule item.

{Unit}

The Unit of Measure that is set on the Direct / Overhead Cost Schedule.

{User Defined Reference}

The value in the User Defined column with the matching Reference on this particular Direct / Overhead Cost Schedule item.

You can also hover your mouse over the Information icon to see a full list of the available variables and preview information.

Link Managed Defines dialogue showing the available variables

For example, if you have a Direct / Overhead Cost Schedule item with an User Defined Column value of Dry and Day in the Unit column, using the above Tokenised Named Cell will search the selected spreadsheet for the following Named Cell: DryHire - Day  and use this as the value for the Managed Define.

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