Rapid Estimate gets real. Columns, by hand.

This update rolls up the August 25 and August 26 production releases.

Rapid Estimate is now a real conceptual-pricing tool

Price a job before you draw a line. Rapid Estimate now opens with a short set of conceptual questions, and the answers feed the result directly. From there the estimate is yours to shape: adjustable material prices in $/ton for each material, a separate joist rate, a per-square-foot metal-deck rate, and miscellaneous items collapsed to a single rate. Paint and shipping cross-checks keep the number honest, and Buy Items flow straight into the takeoff.

Everything in one view. Detected tonnage and the live takeoff overlay now share the same view, so the estimate and the drawing it came from sit side by side. Detected tonnage folds connection weight in automatically, and the deck-edge perimeter comes from the actual geometry rather than a guess. One-click toggles switch misc metals and erection in or out of the price, source links open the cited sheet directly, and a malformed misc item no longer takes the estimate down with it.

Measure columns by hand from a schedule sheet

When detection isn't enough, trace it. A new guided, picker-first flow lets you trace or measure columns directly off the column schedule sheet. A snap-to-vector "trace" mode clicks onto the real drawing lines — no freehand required.

Foundation-only columns get real numbers

No more zero-until-you-drag. Columns that only appear on the foundation plan now show a real length and weight in Takeoff. Top of steel is inferred automatically, and the value is marked with an amber EST chip so you always know which numbers are estimated.

Reusable libraries

Set it up once, use it everywhere. Markup templates can now be saved to a reusable library and re-applied across projects, and roof-splice cap-plate configurations can be saved as presets.

Metric units throughout

Metric, end to end. Counts, measurements, column, brace, and joist takeoff, base-plate dimensions, stock lengths, and CSV export all now respect metric units.

Takeoff accuracy & editing

Deeper CSV exports. Per-piece base-plate and cap-plate weights get their own CSV columns, with a connection-aware hole breakout. Custom CSV formats can now be edited and reordered after creation.

Notes where you need them. Beams, columns, joists, and braces all get a Notes field.

Smoother editing. Collinear endpoint drags no longer need the Shift key, clicking selects the nearest beam, and a unified side rail keeps the tools in one place. Total Tons can no longer read less than Tons-this-Floor, and stock lengths respect metric.

Columns & schedule

Bulk edits you can trust. Undo now reverts bulk material changes, including unspliced columns. Column resizes persist across floors, and the column editing tools work in stitched Split Mode.

Jump from plan to schedule. Multi-select columns on the plan and jump straight to the schedule. Every column shows its provenance, with View schedules a click away, and the Suggestions tabs are consolidated. Channel (C/MC) schedule cells now fill correctly, and a single-type base plate broadcasts to all columns at once.

Cleaner detection. Recovered marks center on their glyph, false hits from lattice, text, and piers are rejected, and cross-floor joins are more reliable.

Markup library

Faster markup, fewer clicks. Alongside the new template library: custom colors for count and measure tools, plates added by manual quantity without drawing, and box "Opening" deck cutouts that net out of the measured area. Deleting a count group now works cleanly, and Finish Count persists when you click away.

Beams, joists & braces

Catches what drawings actually say. Detection now handles "W UNSIZED" callouts, long-span girders with camber, and curved arch beams in elevation. Braces support metric units and can be placed on unscaled plans, SJI joist labels no longer leak into callouts, and beam detection is better across mixed scales.

Grids

Grids that stay put. Grid duplication on replace, resize, and move is fixed. Local-only grids and name edits get undo/redo, and both are now instant. Renames no longer leave a stale name behind, grid lines copy onto stitched floors, and the overlay stays hidden while you're editing grids.

Documents, stitching & 3D

Crisp at any zoom. Stitched combined sheets stay sharp at every zoom level, with bounded memory use, and stitched finalization is faster with safer reprocess rollbacks.

A 3D model that keeps up. The 3D view syncs faithfully after 2D column edits, renders metric HSS at catalog scale, and recovers cleanly from a failed catalog load. IFC exports align with the 3D frame, which now includes the grid and metric sections.

Reliability fixes

• A corrupted record can no longer block beam and column saves.
• Fixed the revision-compare "Loading sheet…" hang.
• The Bid Summary evidence viewer shows a clear error instead of an endless spinner.
• Fixed a credential issue in the Analyst assistant.