Start-Up Screen

Before a project spreadsheet is open, Spec will display a start-up screen with various tools to help you begin. As you move through Spec, it will be helpful to understand the different areas of this screen and the spreadsheet screen. 

1. Quick Access Toolbar - Frequently used tools. Users can customize this by right clicking on a tool on the ribbon to "Add to Quick Access Toolbar". To remove an item, right click on the icon and select "Remove from Quick Access Toolbar". By default, the Quick Access Toolbar will show:
   • New - Creates a new PMX file in the Spreadsheet View.
   • Open - Opens the file explorer to load a saved PMX file.
   • Save - Saves changes to the selected PMX file.
   • Print - Opens the Print dialog to begin printing the current spreadsheet through Print Templates. 
   • Hide/Move- Click the down-arrow to either move the Quick Access Toolbar above or below the ribbon, or minimize the ribbon.
2. File Name - Displays the name of the current file, either a default temporary name or the saved file name.

3. Function Tabs - Individual ribbon tabs for tools grouped by function.

    

   

    

4. Account - Pop up display of user information and provides account links and functions to MyConfigura.
5. Notifications - Pop up display of notifications from Configura, your company, and any briefcases the user is a member of.
6. Color - Options to change the accent color of the Spec window.
7. Collapse Ribbon - Click to minimize or show the ribbon.

8. Condense Ribbon - Click to show a condensed version of the ribbon.

    

   

    

9. Ribbon - Row of tools, corresponding to the Function tab.
10. Recent Documents - Filename, Project Title, Created and Modified date and time of the 10 most recently accessed files.
11. Getting Started - Three ways to start a project; Quick Quote (a blank spreadsheet), Import (a SIF or other file type), and Open Existing (project started in Spec or imported once and converted to a PMX file).
12. Notifications - Notifications from Configura, your company, and any briefcases the user is a member of from MyConfigura.

 

Tab Views

Once a project has been started, the screen will now show the spreadsheet tab views. This view can also be accessed from the ribbon on the View tab.

Main Spreadsheet View

 

1. New Spreadsheet - Opens a new blank spreadsheet.

2. Spreadsheet tabs - Spec can have multiple tabs open for different projects at the same time. The file name will display on the tab. A temporary file name will show if the spreadsheet has not yet been saved.

    

   

3. Reporting - Displays several internal reports and cutsheets generated from the items in the spreadsheet. Select a Report type from the drop-down list and print to or export from the quick access icons. Additional tools can be found by expanding the tools ribbon. See the Printing & Exporting article for more details. Reporting can also be accessed from the ribbon of the View tab.
4. Details - Provides a full screen view of the details for each record line. This can also be docked to various locations by using keyboard shortcut Alt + F12. Details can also be accessed from the ribbon of the View tab. Clicking the Details icon will toggle through the common docked locations.

 

Catalog Information Panel

The Catalog Information Panel displays tools related to accessing products in the catalogs currently activated in the Catalog Manager.

This panel is pinned to remain expanded by default. Click the pin to have this collapse to the side. When the panel is collapsed, hovering your cursor over the tabs will temporarily expand the panel for use.

Catalog Information

The Browse Tab

The Browse tab shows the active catalogs in a folder view.

The Filter by drop-down allows you to filter this list by a single manufacturer.

Double click through the folders and sections to browse to the products you wish to select. This folder structure will vary by manufacturer.

Legacy catalogs will show in red.

On this tab, a right click menu provides additional options to ease navigation.

Collapse Selected - Collapses the selected manufacturer catalog folder.

Collapse All - Collapses all the manufacturer catalog folders.

Copy Path Information - With the part number or catalog folder selected, will copy the location of the part in the manufacturer's catalog as text, listing the part number, part description, catalog description etc.

Expand All - Expands the folders for all manufacturers shown to display their full list of catalogs.

The Search Tab

On the Search tab, you can search the active catalogs by Part Number or Part Description.

When searching by Part Number, at least 3 characters need to be entered to view results below. An asterisk can be used as a wildcard for one of the characters. The wildcard cannot be the first character of the search.

When searching by Part Description, at least 3 characters need to be entered to view results below and an asterisk can be used as a wildcard. Description search characters must match the product description exactly as entered by the manufacturer so be mindful of abbreviations, spaces, quotation marks etc.

The Custom Tab

Custom catalogs can be created for frequently used items when there is no manufacturer catalog available to download. This could be the case for charges, fees, or items from retail companies. A Default Custom Sample is provided for some common fees.

A spreadsheet must be saved in the ProjectSpec > Custom folder that is created when Spec is installed to become a Custom catalog. When a new Custom catalog is created, the tab may need to be refreshed to display the new file. Right click in the white space of the Catalog Information menu to select the Refresh option.

See the Customs article for more details on created custom lines and catalogs.

Gear

The gear icon provides additional menu options for:

Catalog Manager - Opens the Catalog Manager.

Data Location - Shows green status indicator when connected. Click to display and modify the Data Path.

View - Tools for the Configura Support team for Log File and Exported Data.

Search Limits - Provides options to limit the number of search results displayed.

Search By - Select searching by Part Number or Part Description.

Custom Catalog Location - Click to view and modify the Custom Catalog Location. By default, the location will be the ProjectSpec > Custom folder.

Preview

In addition to the main Catalog Information tab, a Preview tab is provided to display the part symbol before it's added to the spreadsheet. This can help ensure the correct product is being selected. First, click on the part on the Browse tab or the line in the spreadsheet, then click the Preview tab to view the symbol.

Pricing Totals

The bottom status bar includes the project totals of List, Customer, Dealer, and Margin on the left side. On the right side, Subtotals are displayed for List, Customer, Dealer, and Margin as well as the number of Total Records. The Subtotals will update based on the record lines selected.

These will also be shown when using Spreadsheet Print. However, each total can be hidden from the screen and the Spreadsheet Print.

To show or hide the Pricing totals and Subtotals:

1. On the Tools tab, click Settings to open the Settings dialog.
2. Click the Price Information tab.
3. In the Hide Pricing Tools on Status bar section, click each checkbox to select the totals to hide or show.
4. Click OK to save and apply the changes.