I know that this is a little early to be trumpeting the great new features of the FREE BS Estimator 2.6, but there are simply too many for one introductory post. Version 2.6 is currently in late beta testing and includes many bug fixes and several notable new tools. Since there are over 38,000 lines of VBA code to check, this is a long process.

During the year much work has been put into refining and updating the “User Interface”. Forms and dialogs have been cleaned of non-essential elements, and spelling and grammar corrections are everywhere. Speaking of non-essential, many message boxes have been removed or now have more concise and understandable language (with fewer annoying beeps.)

The Move/Copy tool

The Move tool which was introduced in the last version release (2.1) has been extended to not only move lines, but to copy and paste them. This new feature allows a user to move line items while saving the original lines in their current position. As you can see from the following image there is not much to the Move/Copy dialog box. This makes it easier and more natural to use. But, if you ever wonder what a button or other element does Control Tooltips are everywhere and always available.

CSV import/Export

Another addition of which we are proud, is the Export from, or Import to Comma-separated Values (CSV) files. These tools allow you to save the line item or the BidSheet header data to easy to read and use text files. The main purpose of this feature is to provide another way to backup and restore your data. Like many of the Estimator’s features, the CSV Import/Export tools can be accessed from the Context Menu as shown in the following screenshot:

Most every backup prompt in the Estimator also asks to export to a CSV file as a secondary backup for enhanced protection. You can also see the menu option to show the line item Move or Copy dialog a few options above the CSV ones (circled in red).

Another issue addressed was the streamlining of these context menus. Each worksheet, the BidSheet, Detail View, Costs Database or the Dashboard has its own distinct menu. These menus appear when you right-click over a worksheet. Each one only displays the options which are pertinent to the specific worksheet. For example, the BidSheet menu offers the option to Open the Costs Database, but not to Optimize or Sort it.

Other Export Options

And, finally for this preview post, we have the redesigned Export tools. Accessed from the Estimator’s Ribbon menu the following dialog appears:

This dialog has been reworked for, what we believe, is a cleaner more intuitive appearance. The new export choices have been limited to only one document at a time. Batching several together into one PDF or JPEG file did not seem to be useful for most users. In fact, it was seldom used. This specific dialog only addresses the export to PDF or JPEG options, but the Estimator offers more. Options also exist within the Estimator to export your data in various forms to Microsoft Word and Excel files.

That’s it for now. However, this is simply a small preview of the changes in the BidSmart Estimator version 2.6. And, these are not the most significant changes. Those new features and fixes are saved for another post which will soon follow. Hopefully version 2.6 will emerge from beta testing in sometime in November.