Exercise 1: Loading and Navigating a Pay Item List

In this exercise, you will open a sample file that contains a pay item list and examine the contents.

A pay item file contains a listing of the pay item codes, descriptions, and units of measure.

An optional pay item categorization file categorizes the pay items into manageable groups. A pay item categorization file groups similar pay items by common pay item code prefixes.

You will learn how to create a custom pay item file and categorization file in Exercise 7: Creating a Pay Item List.

Load a pay item file

1. Open Quantities-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorials drawings folder.

   This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building footprint, a parking lot, and access roads.

2. Click Analyze tab QTO panel QTO Manager.
3. In the QTO Manager vista, click Open Pay Item File.
4. In the Open Pay Item File dialog box, specify the following parameters:
   Note:

   The Pay Item File and Pay Item Categorization File are located in the Data\Pay Item Data\Getting Started folder.

   • Pay Item File Format: CSV (Comma Delimited)
   • Pay Item File: Getting Started.csv
   • Pay Item Categorization File: Getting Started Categories.xml
5. Click OK.

   The pay item categories are displayed in the QTO Manager vista. The Pay Item ID column lists the categories that are specified in the pay item categorization file. The Description column identifies the contents of each category.

Search for pay items

1. In the Pay Item ID column, expand several Pay Item ID categories.

   Notice that any material or unit of work can be classified as a pay item. The Unit Type column identifies the unit of measure assigned to each pay item.

2. Click Turn Off Categorization.

   The categories specified by the pay item categorization file are removed. The QTO Manager displays all pay items in the pay item file.

3. In the Enter Text To Filter Pay Items field, enter Asphalt. Click .

   The filtered pay item list displays only pay items that have a description that contains the word “asphalt”.

4. In the Enter Text To Filter Pay Items field, enter 60902-0800. Click .

   A single pay item is displayed. This method of filtering searches in both the pay item ID and description, and is helpful if you know the pay item number.

5. In the Pay Item ID column, right-click the pay item number. Click Add To Favorites List.
6. Expand the Favorites collection.

   The specified pay item is displayed in the Favorites list, which is a convenient location to save frequently used pay items.

   Note:

   The contents of the Favorites category are saved with the drawing. To save time during this tutorial, the pay items you will use are saved as Favorites in subsequent drawings.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to AutoCAD Objects.