Author Archives: Dennis Gascoigne

How to use Civil Pro’s saved views

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Civil Pro 8 has always supported customisation of the grids in which register are viewed, and now from Civil Pro 8.8.55, users can save their layout as the default or as a named layout. This applies to the lot, test request, ATP and NCR registers.

Saving the current view

To save the current layout, simply activate the context menu by right clicking on the register grid, and select “Save Layout” from the “Views” sub menu.

menuaddview

You will be prompted to enter a name for the view. If you leave the name as “Default” then this view will be the view shown when the register is opened. Alternately, you can enter a name that describes the view (alphanumeric, no spaces. Underscore is allowed) and the view will be saved as a named view.

savenamed

Loading a View

To load a view, simply select it from the same context menu location used to save the view. Your named views will be listed under the standard civil pro views. If a default view has been made, the default view will also be listed. If there is no custom default view, civil pro defaults to its normal view layout. You can see in the below screenshot that the lot register has two named views, Extended_Data and Perc_Comp. It also has a custom Default view.

namedViewList

Deleting a View

If you no longer want a view in your list, simply right click on it. You will be prompted to delete it. If you need to change a view, delete the original view and re-save it.

Civil Pro Release 8.8.55

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Civil Pro Release 8.8.55 is now available.

IMPORTANT: If you have any version lower than 8.8.45 this version will make changes to your database if. If you are using a central database then all users will need to update to this version of Civil Pro.

This release is available from the normal download link in the notification email. It is best practice to remove all versions of civil pro prior to installation of a new version. With previous versions of civil pro, not doing so could create problems. With this version we believe such issues should not be a problem, but recommend a complete uninstall first anyway.

Updated manual is available from www.blueskycivil.com/CivilPro.zip

New Features

  • Saved Views – Users can now save the layout of their views in the lot register, test request register, ATP register and NCR register. Options to save as the default (on loading) view, or make named views. Refer to this “How To”

Changes/Tweaks

  • Added “Has Docs” column to test request register. Similar to the column in the lot register of the same name.
  • Added Collapse All and Expand All (+/-) buttons to the progress claim register. Same functionality as the equivalent buttons in the Schedule Register.

 

SQL Databases for MYOB – Compact, Query and Modify

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Recent versions of MYOB have changed databases to utilise and SQL Compact database. There are often many cases where you need to access this data directly, or perform administrative functions – most notable compaction to reduce file size.

There are a number of tools available to manage SQL compact files, however most of them either;

  • Don’t support older SQLCE versions
  • Don’t allow opening of non-sdf format files

The SQL Compact Query Analyzer (https://sqlcequery.codeplex.com/) can access MYOB files, but will not allow you to open them with their standard extension. We created a modified version that will handle the MYOB (.myox) extension. Simply select your MYOB database and you can see the datatables.

Our modified version for accessing and compacting MYOB SQL Files can be accessed here: http://www.blueskycont.com/MYOBSQLAnalyzer.zip

It is important to note, that we make no claim to the product, we have only modified the code to support MYOB extensions. We make no representations regarding the software and it is entirely at the users risk. We use this program ourselves to reduce the size of databases for ourselves and our clients, but that does not come as any kind of warranty. We have made our modification available to the community and provide no support. All credit for the application belongs to the original authors at https://sqlcequery.codeplex.com.

The most common use for this application is reducing the size of MYOX files. Remember to backup your database before doing anything. This application can reduce file sizes by more than 90%.

  1. Install the software (it is a basic Microsoft .NET application, source code available at https://sqlcequery.codeplex.com/SourceControl/latest)
  2. Select your file at the dialog which is presented when the application runs, or use the ‘File=>Open Database’ option. Please note, the default file type is for .sdf files, you will need to change this to MYOB (.myox) or all files.
  3. When the file is open, select ‘Database => Compact’
  4. Your database will be compacted ready for emailing, or just less bandwidth for backup.

We hope this is of assistance.

 

Cost and Forecasting Module

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We have had a couple of questions about recent release of Civil Pro and why there hasn’t been a lot of new features added. This is due to a couple of things. First, Civil Pro is now quite a mature piece of software, and within its core market, it does most of the things we need it to. Secondly, and most importantly, we are developing our application across new platforms as a priority to extending our functionality. We will release more information regarding our mobile platform, but it will be released before the end of 2015.

All this aside though, we have also been working on a pet project of ours for a couple of years off and on, and we are happy to advise of the alpha release of our new cost and forecasting module for Civil Pro. This is not included with the standard release, but if you are interested in using it in alpha release, then please contact us.

This module allows recording of project costs and production, and forecasting on a monthly basis for the purposes of reporting performance against budget and cashflow.

It isn’t meant to be a substitute for a corporate accounting system, it is a replacement for the daily cost spreadsheets, and forecast spreadsheets that seem to drown project engineers and project managers on most well run projects.  We have designed our system to be quick and easy to use. It provides whole of project forecasting and ties into the schedule, all without the formulaic and other referential issues that are found in nearly every spreadsheet of any complexity.

Civil Pro Release 8.8.54

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Civil Pro Release 8.8.54 is now available.

IMPORTANT: If you have any version lower than 8.8.45 this version will make changes to your database if. If you are using a central database then all users will need to update to this version of Civil Pro.

This release is available from the normal download link in the notification email. It is best practice to remove all versions of civil pro prior to installation of a new version. With previous versions of civil pro, not doing so could create problems. With this version we believe such issues should not be a problem, but recommend a complete uninstall first anyway.

Updated manual is available from www.blueskycivil.com/CivilPro.zip

Changes/Tweaks

  • added function to include description with snapshot in progress claim and reports

Bug Fixes

  • fixed exception when no current lot selected and geometry tab selected (fringe case)
  • fixed issue with resizing of connection pane with scaled displays

Civil Pro Release 8.8.53

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Civil Pro Release 8.8.53 is now available. This is a maintenance release and is not recommended unless you have specific issues addressed in this release as listed below

IMPORTANT: If you have any version lower than 8.8.45 this version will make changes to your database if. If you are using a central database then all users will need to update to this version of Civil Pro.

This release is available from the normal download link in the notification email. It is best practice to remove all versions of civil pro prior to installation of a new version. With previous versions of civil pro, not doing so could create problems. With this version we believe such issues should not be a problem, but recommend a complete uninstall first anyway.

Updated manual is available from www.blueskycivil.com/CivilPro.zip

New Features

Changes/Tweaks

  • Update UI Platform to 14.2.4

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed bug in all registers whereby double click on an empty register caused exception
  • Fixed error in Test Request register which caused an exception when no test requests were available

Civil Pro Release 8.8.52

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Civil Pro Release 8.8.52 is now available. This is a relatively minor release and an update is not recommended unless you specifically require the listed features.

IMPORTANT: If you have any version lower than 8.8.45 this version will make changes to your database if. If you are using a central database then all users will need to update to this version of Civil Pro.

This release is available from the normal download link in the notification email. It is best practice to remove all versions of civil pro prior to installation of a new version. With previous versions of civil pro, not doing so could create problems. With this version we believe such issues should not be a problem, but recommend a complete uninstall first anyway.

Updated manual is available from www.blueskycivil.com/CivilPro.zip

New Features

  • New NCR export to csv available from projects register. Allows NCR update across projects.

Changes/Tweaks

  • UI Platform upgraded to v.14.1
  • Added validation of end date and fixed grammar in message for date range selector.
  • New column added to NCR register with a list of lots. Use grid column selector to add to grid.
  • testdocs separated out from lotdocs in global stats report.

Civil Pro Release 8.8.51

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Civil Pro Release 8.8.51 is now available.

IMPORTANT: If you have any version lower than 8.8.45 this version will make changes to your database if. If you are using a central database then all users will need to update to this version of Civil Pro.

This release is available from the normal download link in the notification email. It is best practice to remove all versions of civil pro prior to installation of a new version. With previous versions of civil pro, not doing so could create problems. With this version we believe such issues should not be a problem, but recommend a complete uninstall first anyway.

Updated manual is available from www.blueskycivil.com/CivilPro.zip

New Features

  • The cost vs. production module has been added. This is an alpha release and is not ready to be used in anger, but try it out and provide your feedback.
  • Created new constants qvcVerBy, qvcAppBy, qvcChkBy which when set change the headings on the QVCs allowing users to specify the responsible party for each stage.
  • Added column to the lot grid which is marked if a lot has documents attached. Not visible by default, select using the column chooser from the column header context menu.

Changes/Tweaks

  • Updated manual available at www.blueskycivil.com/CivilPro.zip
  • Improved delete for schedule items and lots. Civil Pro now automatically detects related test requests when deleting lots and sets their referenced lot to null, allowing the lot to be deleted independently of the test request. Similarly for deletion of schedule items.
  • Schedule items can now be added from the variation register.

Bug Fixes

  • The ‘Conform selected’ and ‘Guarantee selected’ functions did not work as expected when the lot register was sorted by a date or a filter was applied. This is now fixed and these functions are independent of sorting and filtering.
  • Schedule Items were not committed to the database prior to loss of focus (i.e. printing a report). This is now fixed.
  • Username column (hidden by default) in user register did not display data. This is now fixed.
  • Edit Lot Number function in the lot register failed in fringe cases. This is now fixed.

Civil Pro Release 8.8.48

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Civil Pro Release 8.8.48 is now available.

Manual is available from www.blueskycivil.com/CivilPro.zip

IMPORTANT: This version will make changes to your database if you have any version lower than 8.8.45. If you are using a central database then all users will need to update to this version of Civil Pro.

This release is available from the normal download link in the notification email. It is best practice to remove all versions of civil pro prior to installation of a new version. With previous versions of civil pro, not doing so could create problems. With this version we believe such issues should not be a problem, but recommend a complete uninstall first anyway.

New Features

  • Added NCR Value and NCR Root Cause – required addition of new constant and two new fields.
  • Added NCR Root Cause (with option to exclude) from NCR Report
  • Added Test Reason (control or compliance) required two new fields
  • Added notes and Test Reason to Test Req Report

Changes/Tweaks

  • Added information and retest options to test request types
  • Added context menu item to show test results pane after closing
  • Corrected references to TMR specs in concrete test screen
  • Added f’c and f’t and st dev. to concrete test report
  • Added tags to tests on checklist and ITP reports that are optional or part of an ‘Or Set’
  • Comparison progress report now shows title of claims being compared in the columns
  • Correction to suggested numbering on conflict for NCR, ATP and Test request
  • Sum added to value of NCR Cost
  • Changed NCR and Checklist format slightly
  • schedule relationship report – first relationship hidden for work type
  • notes didn’t persist from test req wizard
  • export of schedule relationships caused exception

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed problem with context menu allowing for update of NCR Number
  • Bug fix to prevent problems with display after deleted claim
  • Fixed ITPChanged trigger
  • Fixed pagebreak problem in checklist
  • Fixed problem with checklist import – all fields
  • Fixed problem with context menu allowing for update of NCR Number