Managing Projects
Contents
1. Section Check Out Results When a project with checked out sections is opened by another user if you have a multi user license or by the same user in a new window the section s that are checked out display in gray type in the Tree panel with a red key instead of a status box and a message identifying who has the section checked out 02300 Earthwork On 02310 GRADING BSD in use by CATHI2Z4 CATHI Display of checked out section in Tree panel SpecLink User Manual Chapter 9 Managing Projects With a multi user license other users can click on the name of the section to view it in the Document panel The text of the checked out section will display on a gray background and the other users will not be able to edit the section while it is checked out NOTE A section displaying in gray with the in use information as above but without the red key is being edited or viewed by you or another user but is not checked out Opening Another Section While Working in a Checked Out Section To open another section in the same project use the list of open windows at the bottom of the Window menu to toggle between the checked out section and the project You can also choose one of the Tile or Cascade options in the Window menu to display all open windows at the same time You will not be able to check out an additional section however you will be able to copy information from one section to another If the2. Chapter 9 Managing Projects In this chapter you learn how to e understand naming conventions e compact projects e save a project to a zip file e archive projects e use the section check out check in feature SpecLink User Manual 231 Chapter 9 Managing Projects Overview When you create a project using SpecLink you have invested a significant effort in customizing the master data for your needs Therefore you want to make sure that you manage the files to maintain their integrity and have them available for future use and reference The system resources you need as you continue to create specification projects may limit the number of projects that can be active on your system Therefore SpecLink provides compacting zipping and archiving tools Using the section check out feature will significantly increase editing speed Project Maintenance Tools 232 This section describes some of SpecLink s project management tools including compacting compressing and archiving projects Naming Conventions The file name of the project the name you enter in the New Project dialog box when you first create the project should be a meaningful name that is easily recognized by other team members Once the project is created you can enter the official Project Name and any ID for the project in the Summary Information dialog box The Project Name and Project ID are keywords that are available for use in headers and foote
3. Save in drop down box to navigate to another folder 6 Click Save SpecLink compresses the database and informs you when process is complete NOTE The Save to Compressed function will automatically span multiple floppy disks If you select a 3 5 floppy disk as the destination usually the A drive in step 5 SpecLink will prompt you to insert a disk and when the disk is full it will ask for another To extract a compressed database 1 Choose File gt Load from Zip File The Select Compressed File Path dialog box opens 2 Use the dialog box to select the compressed database you want to extract Click Open The Select Destination directory for Project Database dialog box opens 3 Use the dialog box to navigate to the drive and path where the file should be placed and then click OK SpecLink extracts the compressed database to the selected drive and path and then opens it NOTE If a database of the same name exists in the folder SoecLink prompts you to confirm overwriting it You can overwrite the file place the new file in a new location or Cancel Section Check Out Check In SpecLink includes a Section Check Out Check In feature to increase the speed of the editing process When you check out a section the links to and from other sections are temporarily suspended increasing the processing speed of your edits Those links will be implemented when you check it back in While checked out a temporary
4. copy of the section is stored on your local drive separate from the project file Any other users who open the project see a red key indicating that you have the section checked out Other users can edit and or check out other sections in the same project SpecLink User Manual 237 238 Chapter 9 Managing Projects Use with Local Installations Checking out sections increases editing speed even when the project is stored on the local drive While the section is checked out SpecLink is only processing links within the checked out section which increases editing speed How to Check Out a Section To check out a section 1 Open the project that contains the section that you want to check out In the Tree panel click on the name of the section to be checked out On the Document menu point to Check Out Check In and then choose Check Out Document Aconfirmation message opens Check Out Section 02310BSD F x This will create a temporary copy of Section 0231085D on your local computer and prevent others From changing it while you are using it When you choose Check In or close the window containing the document your changes will replace the document in this project Click OK to check out the document or Cancel to quit this command Cancel Check Out Section confirmation message 4 Click OK to check out the section SpecLink makes a temporary copy of the section on your local drive The Tree Panel closes
5. he backup instead of the current file SpecLink User Manual Chapter 9 Managing Projects e Read only property of CDs When files are copied to a CD they inherit a read only property except when using Windows XP When they are copied back to a hard drive they keep the read only property Read only files cannot be opened in SpecLink In order to access a project on a CD it must be copied to the hard drive whether it is zipped or not And if it is not zipped the read only property must be turned off This means unzipped files require two steps in order to access them while zipped files only require one extracting to the hard drive Zipped files are also usually small enough to be emailed and with the latest version of WinZip you can break a larger zipped file into multiple smaller zipped files which can be emailed separately If you are working on a specification with another company that also has SpecLink you can zip the project file and email it Automatic Backup Utilities Microsoft XCOPY or BACKUP Microsoft provides backup routines with its operating systems but they typically are not compression type utilities and are not adequate for BSD SpecLink project files Third Party Backup Software Other companies produce commercial backup software capable of making archive copies of your data files Backups to Tape A magnetic tape drive is an ideal method for making archive copies of your files Tapes are typically inexpensive
6. hold a large amount of data and provide a medium that can be stored easily Save to Zip File and Load from Zip File Use these commands on the File menu when you want to zip a SpecLink project in compressed format or to retrieve a previously zipped database To save a project to a zip file 1 Close the project you wish to compress 2 Choose File gt Save to Zip File The Select Unopened Project Database to be Compressed dialog box opens SpecLink User Manual 235 Chapter 9 Managing Projects Select Unopened Project Database to be Compressed 2 x Look in a projects x e a profbldg spp Eg History My Computer mac File name 7 Files of type Project Databases SPP PRS Cancel My Network P Select Unopened Project Database to be Compressed dialog box 3 If desired click on the drop down arrow in the Look in field to navigate to another folder on your hard drive or file server 4 Click on the project to be compressed and then click Open The Select Compressed File Path dialog box opens Select Compressed File Path 2 x Save in Sy projects J ex Eee project 1 zip History Dekap PN My Documents leme m z My Network P Save as type zP Compressed Files ZIP 7 Cancel A 236 SpecLink User Manual Chapter 9 Managing Projects Select Compressed File Path dialog box 5 If desired click on the down arrow in the
7. hoose OK the checked out copy is deleted and the copy in the project is made available again in the same state as it was before being checked out SpecLink User Manual
8. ion confirmation message e You can also check in a section by closing If you close SpecLink while you have a section checked out or if you close the window containing the checked out section SpecLink will prompt you to check the section in Choose OK to check in the section and close Check In 02310BSD E x ra The Section 02310B5D GRADING is currently checked out from C S5pecLink projects sample spp and must be checked in prior to closing Click OK to check in this Section and close its window or click cancel to continue editing the document Cancel Check In information message NOTE If SpecLink or your computer crashes while you have a section checked out reboot your computer open the project click on the name of the checked out section it will still have a red key icon and on the Document menu point to Check Out Check In and then choose Check In Document Undo Document Check Out Use the Undo Document Check Out command available in the Document menu under Check Out Check In to discard all edits made in a checked out section If selected while a section is checked out a confirmation message opens Undo Section 08110BSD xj This will Undo and discard any changes you have made to this document while Checked Out and and will close the document editing window Click OK to Undo or Cancel to keep the window open for editing Cancel Undo Section check out confirmation message If you c
9. rs The file name does not appear anywhere in the project SpecLink automatically assigns the extension SPP to projects that you create Three other extensions are recognized by SpecLink PRS which is the extension of previous PerSpective project files SPT which is the extension on the BSD master template the default Project Source when you install the software and SPM which is the extension of the BSD master database which you cannot edit and which is the underlying basis of every project For your office master you may choose to change the extension to SPT in Windows Explorer This way other users would be able to select it as their Project Source but would not be able to open and edit the file without first changing the extension back to SPP NOTE For more information on creating an office master see Chapter 10 SpecLink User Manual Chapter 9 Managing Projects Compacting Projects Because SpecLink uses a sophisticated relational database considerable system resources are required to provide comprehensive information At times it may make sense to compact a project You can save disk space by eliminating the system space resources used to maintain deletions This is particularly useful if you have removed whole sections of a project For example if you use the SpecLink master to create a Master Project File containing limited sections you can compact the project to reduce the system space used 1 From the File men
10. s with your computer can serve to make your databases unusable Recreating the project files can require a significant amount of work even if hard copy printouts exist You can avoid losing the files by making frequent backup copies that can be used to restore the data NOTE When you update a project you are offered the opportunity to make a backup copy of your project automatically which we strongly recommend you do in addition to your other backup procedures See Make Project Backup Before Update in Chapter 11 Updating Ideally backup copies should be created each day that work is done on your specification files It may even be desirable to keep backups at a site other than the one where you normally work You can create backups manually or purchase utilities that will create backups automatically Manual Backups You create manual backups by storing copies of your project files on your server CDs other drives or any data storage device you choose We recommend that you use Save to Zip File on the File menu to create zip files of your project and then save the zipped files as your backup This is for several reasons e File size Zipped files are much smaller than unzipped files so the backups will take up less space e Reduced chance of editing wrong file Zipped files must be unzipped in order for SpecLink to recognize and open them In a multi user environment this will aid in keeping users from accidentally editing t
11. section you want to copy from is in use or checked out by another user you will not be able to copy from it NOTE Many SpecLink functions are unavailable while you are in a checked out section Check the section back in to use these commands Unavailable commands include Summary Info Show Header Footer all commands for working with the Tree Panel commands for managing sections on the Document menu Customize Styles Import From Project Rebuild Project Links Compare Projects and New Window although you can click on the Window menu to open the Project Tree and can then select another section for viewing and or editing while you have a section checked out How to Check In a Document When you have finished editing a checked out section you will need to check the section in before anyone else can access it There are a couple ways to check in a section e While viewing the checked out section on the Document menu point to Check Out Check In and then choose Check In Document A message will open to confirm that you want to check in the section Choose OK to check in the section SpecLink User Manual 239 240 Chapter 9 Managing Projects Check In Section 02310BSD S xi This will replace the version of this document that you started from with the checked out version and will close the current editing window Click OK to continue check in or Cancel to keep the window open for editing Cancel Check In Sect
12. u choose Repair Compact Project Be sure the project you want to compact is not in use or you will receive an error message The Repair and Compact Database dialog box opens Repair and Compact Database ax Look in a projects ex Fe 8 profbldg spp History Desktop My Documents My Computer File name I gt Open Files of type Project Databases SPP PRS Cancel My Network P Repair and Compact Database Dialog Box 2 Choose the file name of the project you want to compact You may have to choose a different drive or directory if the project you want is stored there 3 Click Open The selected project is repaired and compacted You receive a confirming message that the repair compact process was successful SpecLink User Manual 233 Chapter 9 Managing Projects 234 Archiving Projects There are two ways to archive project work e Export it See the Exporting to a Word Processor section in Chapter 8 Printing for instructions e Back it up Making Backups of SpecLink Projects One of the most important things you can do to safeguard the work you have put into creating specification projects is to make regular backups of the project database files While the SpecLink software and master database files can be replaced the only copies of the project files you create are the ones you make Be aware that files can be deleted accidentally or hardware problem
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