Create a new template with a fixed record

  1. Open a job in the Manage Estimates screen.
  2. Click Estimating > Tools > Estimating Import/Export Tool from All Tasks pane.
  3. On the Import tab, select Estimate ASCII or Database ASCII.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click Template.
  6. Click New.
  7. In the Template Name field, enter a name for the new template.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Under Record Format, select Fixed.
    Note: You can specify the width of each column. However, if a column has more characters than the column width, the extra characters are removed.
  10. If you want to include the field names when exporting or importing, select the Include Header checkbox.
  11. Select the 2 Char EOL checkbox if the template will be used to work with files that use a standard, 2-character end-of-line tag.
    Note: The end-of-line tags simply represent the end of a single line of data. Most programs use 2-character end-of-line tags, so don't uncheck this box unless instructed to do so by Viewpoint Customer Support.
  12. Under Field Information, click Insert to add fields to your template.
  13. On the Select Field window, click on the fields to include.
  14. Click OK.
  15. Arrange the fields in the Field Names list in the order you want to import or export by selecting the field to move and clicking the Up or Down arrows.
  16. To concatenate (merge) two fields of information into a single field, select the checkbox to the left of the field to merge it with the field below it.
    CAUTION: Do not concatenate columns when importing data. The information contained in any merged columns will be unusable.
  17. If you want to roll up cost items based on a certain criteria, click Insert in the Roll-Up Information area.
  18. On the Select Field popup window, click on the fields to include.
  19. Click OK. The columns are imported into the Roll-Up On field.
  20. Arrange the fields in the Roll-Up On list in the order on which to roll up by selecting the field to move and clicking the Up or Down arrows.
  21. Usually, all fields are unique. Occasionally, an export file must show certain fields more than once. To import or export data containing duplicate field names, select the Allow Duplicates checkbox.
  22. When you have finished selecting the export options, click OK.
  23. Click Close.
  24. Click Cancel.