All windows in alphabetical order

3D Window

Overview

From: Process menu; Show 3D Drawing

The 3D Window allows you to view your design from a 3D perspective. There must be a design containing a stair and/or balcony to open this window. Note that for now strings and stair balustrading are not been drawn (coming soon).

Using controls that are analogous to lights and cameras, you can control the angle you view your design from, and the way the surfaces appear. Due to the fact that rendering a drawing in 3D can be very processor intensive, the 3D Window uses a low quality for presenting the initial drawing while you adjust the lights and camera. This low quality setting allows the best combination of speed and quality for quick screen updates. After you have positioned your cameras and adjusted your lights to your liking, you can then render a high quality drawing of your design in realistic 3D.

3D Toolbar

From the 3D Toolbar, you can control all aspects of the 3D Window. The following diagram illustrates the action of each tool on the toolbar. See below for a detailed explanation of each.

Camera Sweeping

Sweeping the camera allows you to change the location from which you view your virtual stair. There are two types of sweeps that can be performed: A Radial Sweep causes your camera to orbit the object you are viewing. If you radial sweep from side to side, it will appear as if you are walking around your stair.

A Straight Sweep causes your camera to move in a straight line from side to side, or up and down.

Depending on the mode you choose, you can also choose to constrain your movement in the horizontal or vertical directions. Or if you choose both directions you have the ability to sweep without constraint.

For example, if you click on Radial Sweep – Vertical and then click anywhere on the 3D drawing, while holding the mouse down your vertical movements will cause the camera to rotate up and down around the object you are viewing.

Camera Centring

If at any time your view becomes difficult to adjust and you wish to return to a home position, you have the option of clicking on a Centre button. For example, clicking on Centre – Vertical will return your camera to the level position as it was when the window was first opened.

Focal Length

Adjusting your focal length allows you to move closer or further away from the stair. Click on Focal Length tool to set that mode. Then click-drag either up or down anywhere on the 3D drawing - your vertical mouse movements will cause the camera to move closer to or further from the stair.

Lights

The Lights tool will open a panel where you can adjust the lights in your scene. You can determine which lights are enabled, how high they are positioned, and how intense they shine on your scene. An explanation of the lights panel will follow below.

Textures / Colours

The Textures / Colours tool allows you to determine the colours that are used for various components of your 3D design. The textures for high quality renderings can also be selected from the Textures Window. An explanation of this window can be found below.

Snapshots

The Snapshots tool opens another row of toolbar that allows you to memorize various lights, textures, and camera settings. An explanation of this tool will follow below.

Turbo

If you find that your 3D Drawing is too slow when moving the camera or adjusting the lights, click on the Turbo tool to speed this process up. When Turbo mode is enabled, the detail and accuracy of the drawing are diminished, however the speed is greatly enhanced.

High Quality Render

When you have positioned your camera and adjusted your lights to your liking, you can click on the High Quality Render tool to cause StairBiz to begin creating a much more accurate 3D drawing. The final 3D drawing will contain accurate shadows, reflections and textures according to the settings that you’ve established.

High quality rendering is slow. How quickly it renders will depend on the speed of your computer and the complexity of the stair. If you like you may return to your other work (including in StairBiz) while this window renders in the background.

Lights Panel

In the Lights Panel you will see a mock stair surrounded by nine lights. From here you can control the intensity of those light sources. By clicking on a Light Icon, you can turn it on or off.

When a light source is illuminated, two corresponding sliders will appear below the light map. The yellow slider allows you to vary the intensity of the specified light source. The green slider allows you to control the elevation of each light source. With the slider set to maximum (100%), the elevation is roughly equivalent to the height of the upper ceiling. With the slider set to minimum (0%), the elevation is the same as the lowest floor level in the design.

You also have control over three additional light sources. The S (Skylight) light source is directly overhead and cannot be moved. The Ambient light source controls how much light falls on surfaces that are in the shadows. The Camera light source controls how much light shines from the location of the camera.

As you add more light sources to the scene, the scene becomes brighter. The true results of the light settings can be seen on a High Quality Render where shadows are cast and lighting effects are rendered.

Send the 3D drawing to a Custom sheet

You can include a 3D stair drawing in a Custom sheet, as follows: To set up the relevant Custom sheet(s), open the sheet (probably your Quote sheet) in the Custom Editor. Select the Set Field tool and click on the boundary rectangle of the relevant stair drawing. In the drawing properties window that opens, set the DrawId = 99. Close and save.

In a job, design the stair, open the 3D window, and position and light the stair to your liking. Click the “Capture to Custom sheet” toolbar button (far right) – the cursor will change to a cross-hair (just like when you press the F3 key). Click-Drag a rectangle around the 3D image. This captured image will now automatically override the standard (plan) drawing in all custom sheet drawings with a DrawId = 99.

To revert the image to the standard (plan) drawing you can right-click the drawing in the Custom sheet and select “Revert”. If your Custom Sheet drawing does not have a Drawing ID of “99” (such that the above process does not automatically insert the 3D drawing), you can still override an existing stair drawing in any Custom sheet – right-click the drawing and select Override with Clipboard. You may also need to select Centre and Scale.

Snapshot Tools

When the snapshot toolbar is displayed, you have the ability to memorize various settings of the 3D Window. These saved settings are referred to as a snapshot.

Saving a snapshot captures the following attributes of your current 3D View: • Camera Angle • Light Settings • Textures Settings (Override settings only)

To use the snapshot tools, first position your camera using the Camera Sweeping tools described above. If desired, adjust your lights and your textures. Then click on the snapshot button to display the Snapshot Toolbar (pictured above). Next click on the Save or Save As buttons. Clicking Save will overwrite the current snapshot if one is selected. Clicking Save As will allow you to create a new snapshot with a new name.

When you have multiple snapshots with different names, you can use the Snapshots pull-down on the left side of the toolbar to select the snapshot you wish to view. You also have the option of clicking Delete to remove any unwanted snapshots.

Snapshots are specific to a job and are saved with that job (i.e. with snapshots you can open a job an go straight to a saved snapshot).

3D Textures window

The Textures/Colours tool in the 3D window opens the 3D Textures window.

A colour (in this context) is a simple painted surface. A texture is a finish to a surface other than just a colour (for example, a wood texture shown grain, or a colour but with certain reflective qualities such as gloss).

Here you can define default colours and textures for all timbers and parts for all jobs, and you can override those defaults just for this job. There are two main sections to this window.

Defaults

The list on the top half of the window shows all timbers existing in the Timbers window. This list (at the top) is divided into 2 sections: Room: Lists the 3 components that create rooms. Timbers: Lists of all timbers current in your Timbers window. Any changes made in this section apply to the default settings for all future jobs, and all non-overridden default settings for all past jobs.

This Job

Lists all components in the current job.

By default, the colour/texture for each component will be “Default”, meaning that the colour/texture for this timber is whatever is defined for this timber in the list at the top.

Any changes made in this section will override the default settings just for this job..

Defining colours and textures

To defining a colour or texture in either list:

1. Click on the appropriate cell in the column labelled Texture. A pull-down icon will appear in this cell allowing you to change the setting.
2. Click the down icon to pull down a list of options. Inside this list, you will find a list of predefined textures, as well as a Colour option. There will also be a Default option if you are editing the This Job list.
3. Selecting Default causes this component to obtain its colour setting from the Defaults list above.
4. Selecting [Colour] allows you to specify a solid non-textured colour.
5. Selecting a texture causes this item to be rendered in an approximate representation of the chosen texture (e.g. DkWalnut). Note: These textures will only show up in the High Quality Renderings.

Building Codes window

Overview

Here you set maximums and minimums which, if exceeded in the stair design, will trigger an alert in the Alerts sheet. Note that StairBiz does not stop you exceeding these limits – it simply advises you if you do.

NOTE that there are other ways of generating alerts in the Alerts sheet beside violating the following settings – see Parts and Labour Filters. Note also that if alerts are current for a job the Alerts Current field of the Job Directory window will indicate such.

You can create as many different sets of Building Codes as you require (using the Save As button). You can then select the applicable code for a particular location in the job’s Site window.

Note that the values of the Building Codes selected in the Site window are not saved with each job (but the selected name is). This means that if you subsequently change the selected building codes, previously saved jobs will be affected by those changes. This probably wouldn’t matter much, except for the Walkline settings if you use the “B: Building Code” dimension tag in the Design window (curved stairs in particular may be affected by this).

Export/Import

Exports the current window to a file or imports a previously exported file to the current window (overwriting the current settings). This is useful only for moving settings from one computer to another where you don’t wish to move the entire defaults database.

Clearance

Legal head clearance

Usually the statutory minimum head clearance between a line drawn down the nosings of the treads and the face of any bulkhead above.

You can see head-height clearance for the current design in the Well Design pane of the Design window (if there is a problem), or at any time in the Elevations Pane (right-click a blank space and select "Show Head-height")..

Default stair to well min

The default gap between the outside face of a wallstring and an adjacent wall. This allows for any irregularities in the wall. StairBiz accounts for this gap when proposing a new stair where a well is involved. This gap can be changed for a particular job (if necessary) in the job’s Design; Stair Design window.

If you violate this clearance StairBiz does not alert you..

Min rail clearance

The minimum gap between a stair handrail and the face of the well as the rail passes through the well. StairBiz uses this when calculating the proposed stair design.

If you violate this clearance StairBiz does not alert you..

Going Straight

Minimum going

The minimum going (nose to nose) along the walk-line of a straight flight.

Maximum going

The maximum going (nose to nose) along the walk-line of a straight flight.

Maximum going variation

The maximum difference between goings (nose to nose) of all straight flights in the design.

Minimum going at string

The minimum going measured at the inside string of the straight flight

Going Winder at String

Minimum going at string

The minimum going measured at the inside string of the corner unit.

String Position Box

Sets where the going is measured along (box strings). Options are 0=outside string, 1=inside string;

String Position Sawtooth

Sets where the going is measured along (sawtooth strings). Options are 0=outside string, 1=inside string, 2=TreadEnd;

Calc Method

Sets the line (as per “String Position” settings) along which the going is measured, as follows: 0=Follow the string; 1=Follow the string, but use shortest straight line distance (i.e. cut corners and arcs); 2=Follow fullest radius.

Going Winder at Walkline

Calc right angles to nose

Will calc the goings at right-angles with the nosing consistent with many building codes. To see the effect select “Winder Setout” mode in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window.

Note: Calc right-angles to nose should be used in conjunction with At landings use fullest arc (see Walkline category), and even then if the distances from the corner up to the top nosing/riser and down to the bottom nosing/riser are not the same then the method is inherently flawed. We include these options not because they produce a well designed stair, but because that’s what a lot of building codes require.

Minimum going

The minimum going (nose to nose) along the walk-line of a corner unit.

Maximum going

The maximum going (nose to nose) along the walk-line of a corner unit.

Maximum going variation

The maximum difference between goings (nose to nose) of all corner units in the design.

Rake

Steepest rake angle / Shallowest rake angle

This relates to the rake (angle in degrees), measured at the walkline. Applies to straight flights only. Set both to zero if you don’t use this. StairBiz can set the going of a stair based on the steepest or shallowest rake specified here: right-click a straight unit in the Design window (Stair Setout pane) and select “Set Minimum Going” (maximum if you hold down the Shift key).

Min/Max 2xRise+Run

Some codes have a ‘twice the rise plus one run’ rule. StairBiz calculates the value at the walkline and alerts if it is outside your minimum and maximum values. Applies to straight flights only. Set both to zero if you don’t use this.

Risers

Minimum rise

Minimum rise, tread to tread, for all units.

Maximum rise

Maximum rise, tread to tread, for all units.

Maximum rise variation

The maximum difference between risers of all units in the design.

Treads

Max straight treads in a line

The maximum number of treads in any straight unit.

Max treads without landing

The maximum number of contiguous treads or winders (not including a quarter or half-spaced landing).

Max landing treads

The maximum number of treads in any corner unit.

Walkline

Walkline override (box)

Applies only when the walkline dimension (Design window, Tread Setout pane) has the “B: Building Codes” tag set, and the top tenon string of the unit is not sawtooth. This sets the value of the walkline dimension tag. Note that you can enter a value of “-1” to tag that the walkline is down the middle of the unit. If a different setting applies to units over a certain width, see below.

Walkline override (sawtooth)

Applies only when the walkline dimension (Design window, Tread Setout pane) has the “B: Building Codes” tag set, and the top tenon string of unit is sawtooth. This sets the value of the walkline dimension tag. Note that you can enter a value of “-1” to tag that the walkline is down the middle of the unit. If a different setting applies to units over a certain width, see below.

Walkline override (wide stair)

Same as above, but applies when the stair is over a certain width (see next setting). Ignored if setting is zero. Applies to both box and sawtooth.

Wide stair width

Holds the width of the unit above which the previous setting applies (e.g. if the previous setting applies to flights over 1000mm, set this to “1000”).

Walkline starts at (box)

Determines where the walkline dimension is measured from. Applies only when the top tenon string of unit is not sawtooth. 0 = outside of string 1 = inside of string NOTE: If the walkline is tagged to be the centre of the flight, the centre is always deemed to be the mid-point between the outside faces of the strings

Walkline starts at (sawtooth)

Determines where the walkline dimension is measured from. Applies only when the top tenon string of unit is sawtooth. 0 = outside of string 1 = inside of string 2 = end of sawtooth treads NOTE: If the walkline is tagged to be the centre of the flight, the centre is always deemed to be the mid-point between the outside faces of the strings

At Landings Use Fullest Arc

Deletes (as much as possible) any straight parts of the walkline within the landing (as per the first illustration below).

Client Contacts window

Overview

From : Client List window ; Contacts button Also see Client window (Contacts tab) Contacts are people in the clients organization that may relate to a particular job (e.g. supervisors). Here you can create a list of contacts for each client, and set the details for each (phone, fax, email etc.). In a job’s Client window, you can assign a job contact from this list. In the Client List window, you can assign a default Contact for each new job using that client.

Buttons

New

Creates a new contact. The Contact Name can’t remain as “New”.

Delete

Delete’s the current contact. If one or more jobs are using this contact, StairBiz will advise you and abort the delete.

Paste to Job

If the client for the currently open job is the client relating to the Contact currently displayed in this window, you can paste this contact to the job’s Client window (Contact tab).

Close

Closes the Client Contacts window.

Export

Exports all contacts for all clients (not just the current client) to Excel. The client name for each contact will be shown in the first column.

To export all contacts just for the single currently selected client (as opposed to all clients), hold the CONTROL key while clicking the Export button. When you export contacts, the last column contains a large number (the Contact Key). Never enter a new number for new contacts you create in the spreadsheet. A contact key is used by StairBiz to try and recreate (if possible) the exact same table when importing as that which was exported. This may be useful for some things too technical to mention here, but it is not absolutely critical.

Import

Imports all contacts in your spreadsheet. You will be given the option to delete all existing contacts prior to import (if any contact is being used by a job, StairBiz will advise you and will not delete that contact).

If an imported contact already exists in your contacts list, it’s data will be overwritten with the imported data. If not, a new contact will be created. To see the correct column format for importing, do an export and check the spreadsheet.

Fields

Field Lengths

Field lengths (i.e. maximum characters) for each field are much the same as the similar fields in the Client List window.

Contact Name

Contact names for any one client have to be unique (i.e. no duplicates).

Tag

Any text up to 8 characters. For your use only. It can be used to do finds and sorts on the client database table for mail merges etc. (this can be done by an external application).

Spare

Use this any way you like (you can change the name in the Language window).

Notes

There is no limit to the length text in this field.

All others

Use these fields any way you like.

Client List window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Client List menu-item

The Client List window holds details about your regular clients. The details for any client can be pasted from here into the Client window of a job. To delete all existing clients (something you would probably only do at the start of setting up for your business) click the Delete button which holding down both the CONTROL and SHIFT keys.

There are three ways to enter client information into this window:

1. After you input client information in the Client window as part of new project, if that client is a regular, or you suspect that he might become a regular, you can save those details in the Client List window (where they will available to you next time). In the Client window, after entering all the details, click the Paste to Client List button.
2. Type them in directly. To create a new client, click the New button.
3. Use the Import button – see Client Import window.

Fields

Fields in this window are the same as the Client window, so refer to that window. Exceptions are as follows:

Discount

This is the amount to discount from the before-tax sub-total shown in the Quote Calculation window for a job for this regular client. There is no corresponding field in the Client window for the job – it is shown only in the Quote Calculation window.

Contacts button

Click this to open the Client Contacts window for this client.

Default Contact

If you have created any contacts in the Client Contacts window for this client, you can select a default contact to be used for each new job that uses this client. This contact goes in the Contacts tab of the job’s Client window.

The List

The list of clients is automatically sorted.

To put the clients details into the left of the window, click the client’s name in the list.

If you resize or maximize the window, the list is resized – you could see hundreds of clients at one time if the screen was large.

This list can be speed searched – see Speed Search Lists

If this list seems to misbehave while scrolling through the clients, see Miscellaneous Defaults window, Miscellaneous category, Client List Delay.

Buttons

Show in List

This is the button adjacent to Customer ID field. Converts the client list (on the right) to Customer IDs rather than Business Names. If a client does not have a Customer ID (they are not required) then “[NoID_##]" will be shown (where ## is an incrementing number set by StairBiz) – in which case that client cannot be selected from the list; un-tick the checkbox and select by Business Name.

New

Creates a new (empty) record at the end of the existing list. Type in the details for your new client.

Delete

Permanently removes the client currently displayed.

If you hold down both the Control and Shift keys while clicking the Delete button, StairBiz will delete all clients in the list. If a client in the list is currently being used by any job, it will not be deleted.

Export

Allows you to export the current StairBiz client list to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. See Export Clients below.

Import

Allows you to import an existing client list from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the StairBiz client list. See Import Clients below.

Paste to Project

Pastes the details of the currently selected client into the Client window of the current project. This creates a “live connection” between the project and the client in the client list – see Client window.

Update Local

Only applies when connected to StairBiz server. It downloads from the server to your local database all clients not already in your local database (so that you have access to these clients when not connected).

Your Contacts are also synchronized. Note that Contacts are not synchronized in reverse (Update Server) - best always to create Contacts when connected to the server.

For the technically minded, following is a summary of what happens: Note that a "key" is a number which uniquely identifies a record (in this case a client record in the database). No two client records can have the same key in the same database. Jobs in StairBiz use keys (rather than names) to point to a particular client. If the client KEY on the server exists in the local database, the existing local record will be updated, otherwise ... If the client NAME on the server exists in the local database ... If the contents are different, and the keys are different, but the name is same ... You will be asked if you want to update the local If Yes, the local key will change to the server key, and the local record will be updated If No, the record will be skipped (no action) If the client KEY on the server does NOT exists on the local database ... If the server key does not exist on the local, the client will be added with that key, otherwise the client will be added with a new key

Update Server

Only applies when connected to StairBiz server. It uploads from your local database to the server database all clients not already in your server database (i.e. clients you have created while not connected). Contacts are not synchronized in this case - best always to create Contacts when connected to the server.

For the technically minded, following is a summary of what happens: See the previous heading for the definition of a "key".

If client name in the local database exists on the server, it will be skipped (no action). Otherwise it will be added to the server ...

If the local client key does not exist on the server the client will be added with that key, otherwise the client will be added with a new key.

Inactive Clients

You can set a client as “Inactive” (tick the “Inactive” checkbox just below the Related Files button). After you close the Client List window such clients won’t show in any client list, including in the Client List window. To see them in the Client List window tick the “Show Inactive” checkbox (to the right of the Update Server button). Making a client inactive won’t affect any jobs using that client.

Export Clients

Click the Export button to export all clients in the current StairBiz client list to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

1. First you are presented with the Save As dialog box. Enter a name for the Excel file, or choose an existing file to overwrite. Click the Save button.
2. If you select an existing file name, you will be asked if the file is currently closed. If it not, click No, close the file, and try again.
3. Wait until you get the message “Export Completed”. When you open the Excel spreadsheet, if you get a message that starts "The file you are trying to open", simply click "Yes" to continue opening it. The first row in the spreadsheet is a “header” row, showing labels for the columns. For an explanation of non-obvious labels (columns/fields), see Import Clients below. NOTE: If you are exporting while connected to the StairBiz server, and you have a lot of clients, and the export is not successful (i.e. some kind of error), try temporarily bringing your server jobs database across to your local computer and try it from there.

Single Client Export:

To export just a single client, select that client in the list and, while holding the CONTROL key down click the Export button.

Import Clients

If you are importing to a local computer the clients on the server computer, we suggest you use the Synchronize feature instead (see elsewhere in this chapter). The main difference is that a synchronize will apply to both clients and client contacts (whereas for import/export you have to do contacts in a separate process - see Client Contacts window).

Click the Import button to import a list of clients from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the current StairBiz client list (study the following before doing anything).

Creating the Spreadsheet

To set up such a spreadsheet (PRIOR to attempting an import), do as follows:

1. Most databases allow you to export to an Excel spreadsheet, so if your clients are in a database you will need to do this first.
2. It is CRITICAL that the spreadsheet contains at least 30 columns in a very specific order. To see what columns are required and in what order they are required, do an Export as discussed above. Open the exported file and study the column headings. There is a discussion below about each of the fields/columns.
3. If the spreadsheet contains more than 30 columns, that’s OK (the extra columns will be ignored, even if they contain data).
4. Even if a required column contains no data (i.e. you do not have that field/column in your existing client database/spreadsheet), you must still include it in the spreadsheet to be imported.
5. The spread-sheet may contain a header row (i.e. the very first row being a row of labels describing the contents of the column). When importing, you will be asked if it does or does not. If there is a header row, your list of clients must start from row 2, otherwise they must start from row 1.
6. Numerical fields can be formatted as text or left as any type of numerical – it doesn’t matter.
7. There must be no empty rows. When StairBiz finds a row without any text in the first column, it assumes there are no more clients.
8. When you export clients from StairBiz into a spreadsheet, columns 29 and 30 contain long numbers (called "keys"). Do not delete or change these keys. However, if you add extra clients to a spreadsheet (or create a spreadsheet from scratch) do NOT enter anything is these columns for the clients that you add.

Column Explanations

Note that the following columns/fields correspond to those in the Client List window. For a description of the field, see Client window. Text Fields In the following list, text fields are indicated by a number following the field name. This number is the maximum characters allowed for the text in this field. If you exceed the maximum, StairBiz will advise you. Text fields can be formatted in the spreadsheet as General or Text (or simply left unformatted). Numeric Fields In the following list, numeric fields are indicated by NOT having a number following the field name. However, even if a field is numeric, it may still contain text (see explanations). Numeric fields can be formatted in the spreadsheet as General or Integer (or simply left unformatted). Do not format columns which contain anything other than numbers as Integer. Field Name Chars

1. Client ID 8 Any or no text
2. Business Name 30 It should be unique (no two clients can have the same client name). Note that on import you will be given the opportunity to first delete all existing clients in the StairBiz database (although it is NOT required that you do so). When you import, if an imported client name if the same as a client name existing in your database, StairBiz will alert you and give you the option to abort the import, or skip over the duplicate client, or allow updating of existing records using the imported values.
3. Contact Name 30 Any or no text
4. Salutation 30 Any or no text
5. Street 25 Any or no text
6. Suburb 20 Any or no text
7. City 20 Any or no text
8. State 10 Any or no text
9. Zip 12 Any or no text
10. Tax Number 20 Any or no text
11. Referred By 20 Any or no text
12. Is Owner - If the client is a builder, allowable is “False”, “F”, “0” (zero) or empty. If the client is an owner, allowable is “True”, “T” or “-1” (minus one).
13. Phone 21 Any or no text
14. Mobile 21 Any or no text
15. Fax 21 Any or no text
16. Email 40 Any or no text
17. Client Notes 00 Unlimited characters. Any or no text
18. Discount - An integer from -50 to 80.
19. Pay1 Percent - An integer from 0 to 100
20. Pay2 Percent - An integer from 0 to 100, providing that Pay1Percent + Pay2Percent does not exceed 100
21. Pay2 Days - An integer from 0 to 150
22. Terms 2 - Allowable is “BeforeStart” or “1”; “BeforeEnd” or “2”; “AfterStart” or “3”, “AfterEnd” or “4”
23. Pay3 Days - An integer from 0 to 150
24. Terms 3 - Allowable is “Account” or “0” (zero); “Net” or “1”
25. Tag 8 Any or no text
26. Show Critical - “True”, “T”, or nothing
27. Critical Note 50 Any or no text
28. Default Contact 30 If (and only if) you allow updating of existing database clients using data from your import, and some or all of those existing clients have Contacts, this is the name of the default contact. Leave blank for no default contact.
29. Client Key - Never change any existing number in this column. Never enter a new number for new clients you create in the spreadsheet. A client key (and a contact key - see next column) is used to try and recreate (if possible) the exact same table when importing as that which was exported. This may be useful for some things too technical to mention here, but it is not absolutely critical.
30. Contact Key - See for 29 above.

Don’t be overly worried about your fields. StairBiz does a test run on the entire imported list before it commits anything to the StairBiz database. If something is wrong in such a way as to cause a major problem, StairBiz will advise you and give you the opportunity to abort the import before anything is committed.

Importing

After your spreadsheet is set up correctly and populated with clients, do as follows:

1. If any existing clients have contacts in the Contacts window, and you intend to import those clients, we suggest that first you export the Contacts. This is not really necessary if during the import you allow updating of existing clients, but better safe than sorry.
2. Click the Import button
3. In the Open File dialog window, navigate to the spreadsheet, select it and click Open.
4. If there are clients existing in your StairBiz Client List, you will be asked if you want to delete them first. You do not have to. If you say yes, and a client in the list is currently being used by any job, that client will not be deleted. We suggest you do NOT delete existing clients in your database if any of those clients have contacts in the Contacts window, otherwise you will lose your contacts (contacts are not imported with clients, although they can be exported and imported separately).
5. You will be asked if there is a header row in your spreadsheet (i.e. containing column headings). If there is, your first client in the spreadsheet should start at row 2 (otherwise it should start at row 1).
6. StairBiz will do a primary test run on the Business Name, vetting its length and whether or not there are any duplicates in the spreadsheet. If there is a problem, you will be alerted and the import may be aborted. StairBiz will place a list of the problem names on the Windows clipboard, which you can paste into Notepad or any similar program. Each problem name will be prefixed with the row number, for example "[127]". Over-length names will be suffixed, in brackets, with the number of characters you will need to remove.
7. StairBiz will do a secondary test run on the entire import. If there is a problem, you will be alerted and the import may be aborted (so that you can fix the problem and try again). StairBiz will give you some information about the problem, including the row and column of the problem cell. Note that StairBiz uses numeric columns references (i.e. 1, 2, 3 rather than A, B, C). To show numeric column references in your spreadsheet, go to Tools/ Options/General, and select “R1C1 Reference Style”.
8. When the import is done, you will get the message “Import completed”.

NOTE: If you are importing while connected to the StairBiz server, and you have a lot of clients, and the export is not successful (i.e. some kind of error), try temporarily bringing your server jobs database across to your local computer and try it from there.

Backing up your clients

It's imperative to have a back-up of your jobs database (where the clients are saved). However, it might also be good to have a backup of just your clients and contacts, so that you could restore one or all in case of a database corruption.

The easiest way is to periodically export both clients and contacts.

If you lose a client due to accidental deletion or a database corruption, make of copy of the exported spreadsheet, and in that copy delete all clients except the relevant client. Then import that spreadsheet (being sure, when prompted, NOT to delete all existing clients during the import). Do the same with contacts (if necessary).

Client window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Client menu-item The Client window holds information about the client (the person who orders the job) for the current Project. You can manually enter the client's details, or you can select an existing client from the Client List window by either:

1. Clicking the Client Names or Client IDs button and selecting from the list.
2. Opening the Client List window and clicking the Send to Project button.

Live Connections

When you start a new project and type information into the Client window for that job, it does not affect your Client List in any way (i.e. there is no relationship between the client in your job and any client in your Client List). If you delete the project, you delete the client with it. However, there are three ways to create a “live” connection between a client in your Client List and the client for a particular job (meaning that the two are linked).

1. If you start a new project, type the client details into its Client window, then click the Send To Client List button in that window, this client becomes part of your permanent Client List (if you open the Client List window, you will see this client now listed there). A live connection has been created.
2. If you start a new project, open the Client window for that job, and select a client using the Show Client List button in that window, details for the selected client are sent to the Client window for the job. A live connection has been created.
3. If you start a new project, open the Client List window, select a client, and click the Paste To Job button, details for the selected client are sent to the Client window for the job. A live connection has been created.

Characteristics of a “live” connection:

 Any changes you make to the client’s name or details in the Client List will be reflected in the Client window of all jobs using that client.  Any changes you make to the client’s name or details in a project’s Client window will be reflected in the Client List window, and in the Client window of all projects using that client.  If you delete the project, the client is not deleted (the only way to delete the client is in the Client List window, and you won’t be able to do this if the client is used by any other project).

Breaking a “live” connection:

If a client is "live", and you do not want changes you make in the Client window to affect a corresponding client record in the Client List window, click the Disconnect from Client List button.

Tab: Client Details

Customer Id

The customer identification number (if used – it is not required).

Business Name

The company name or business name of the client, or, where this is not relevant, the name of the client.

Contact Name

The name of your contact within the above business, or, where the business name is also your contact name, you can leave it empty.

Salutation

How you want the contact person to be addressed in quotes etc. In other words, what will come after the “Dear ... “. (For John Smith, the salutation would be either “John” or “Mr. Smith”.)

No. and Street, Suburb, Zip, City, State

The address of the client

Tax Number

Tax number or company number

Tag

Any text up to 8 characters. For your use only. It can be used to do finds and sorts on the client database table for mail merges etc. (this can be done by an external application).

Referred By

How was the client referred to your organization

Owner/Builder

Whether the client is the owner or the builder

Phone, Mobile (Cell), Fax, Email

Contact information

Clients Notes

Any information you wish to keep on this client. The text field can expand to become a separate window (click the Expand button).

Critical Note

Intended for a critical note relating to a particular client (e.g. “Legal Action Pending – see Geoff”, or “Add 20% to all quotes”.). Max 50 characters.

If you want this note to be “in the face” of any user who selects this client for a new job, or opens and existing job using this client, tick the check-box adjacent to this field. With this check-box ticked the Critical Note will pop-up as an alert whenever anybody selects this client for a new job or opens any of this client’s existing jobs. Remember that when the client in the job’s Client window is “live”, any changes you make in that window affects that client in the Client List window (and vice versa).

Tab: Terms of Trade

Pay 1

The percentage of the quote total which is required as a deposit upon acceptance of the quote. The default comes from item ~1 (Client Terms) in the Miscellaneous Defaults window. You can change it here for the current job if you like.

Pay 2

The percentage of the quote total which is required as an interim payment (if required), and the number of days before/after the start/finish of the job when this payment is due. The defaults comes from items ~2, ~3 and ~4 (Client Terms) in the Miscellaneous Defaults window. You can change them here for the current job if you like.

Pay 3

The number of days after completion of the job when the final payment is due, and whether this is Net or Account. The best way to explain this is with 3 examples ... 0 days Net: The client is required to settle the account in full on the date of the invoice (i.e. completion). This is the default setting. 14 days Net: The client is required to settle the account in full within 14 days of the date of the invoice. 30 days Account: The client is required to settle the account in full by the end of the month following the date of the invoice. The defaults comes from items ~36, and ~37 (Client Terms) in the Miscellaneous Defaults window. You can change them here for the current job if you like.

Tab: Contact

Holds the client’s contact details for this job. If the current client is from (and still connected to) the Client List window, click the Contact Names button to get a list of contacts for this client, from which you can choose. If you select a contact this way, it is ‘live’ (if you change information here it will also be changed back in the Client List window). If you don’t want this, click Disconnect from Contact List. If you don’t or can’t select a contact from the Client List window, you can simply type any details for the job’s contact. If the current client is from the Client List window, you can click Send to Contact List to add the new contact to the Client List window. Whereas clients are saved with the project, Contacts are saved with the job, so you can have different contacts for different jobs in a project (un-tick the ‘Shared’ button in the Contacts tab).

Paste to Client

This button will take a copy of the contents of the Client window and place it in a new record in the Client List window, creating a live connection.

Client Names

This button will open a summary list of the clients (by Business Name) in the Client List window, from which you can select a client for this job.

Client IDs

This button will open a summary list of the clients (by Customer ID) in the Client List window, from which you can select a client for this job.

Colours window

From : Defaults menu ; Colours menu-item

The Colours window sets colours of the Design window.

For each category of colour there is a setting for the colour shown in the Design window and another for the colour when you print the relevant sheet. Left-click a colour to change it, or right-click a colour to change it, copy it, or paste a copied colour. The most recently copied colour is shown at the bottom-left of the window.

You can have different saved colour scheme - set colours then click "Save As". You can then select a scheme (to be shown or printed) by selecting from the pull-down list of saved schemes.

Click "Revert to Defaults" to revert to the StairBiz recommended colours.

The colour of your stair in the Design window is set in the Colours window (Defaults menu). Stair, handrail and wallrail use a "timber" colour which at times can look very yellow. To try our new suggestion for timber colour, right-click on the colour for these categories (for both DESIGN and PRINT) and select "Set Colour" while holding down the SHIFT key. Our suggested new colour will be set. If you don't like it, close the window without saving it or set a different colour.

In this window you can also set the background colour of the main StairBiz window (the full screen window that is always open).

Components window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Components menu-item The Components window is one of the Process windows and relates to a specific project. This window lists the components of the stair/balustrade and allows you to change the styles, sizes and timber for each. The defaults selections for each new project come from the current Components Selection Template. The settings shown are used by StairBiz in the Design window, and all windows relating to costing and quoting. The window is divided into:

1. Components; which included newels, balusters, treads etc.
2. Part Filters; each category mentioned above has a corresponding Parts tab. Selecting “None” from any of the pull-down lists instructs StairBiz ignores that item completely. Selecting “As Above” from any of the pull-down lists instructs StairBiz to assume that the item is identical to the first item above it which is not “As Above”. You can speed search in the pull-down lists – see Speed Search Lists.

Components

The items in the pull-down lists come from the Style Defaults window.

To change the default selection, click and select from the pull-down list.

This list can be speed searched – see Speed Search Lists.

Each style has further information in its associated Style window which can be opened by clicking the button to the left of the relevant title (see Style Windows).

If you want to create a style, size or specification which is not shown in the list (i.e. not in the Style Defaults window), select “Other” – the relevant Style window will open. Change the details in the Style window to reflect what you want (your default Style settings will not be affected by this change).

Newels and Fillets

For most components, a “style” is the combination of style-name and size. In other words, you can have multiple styles with the same style-name so long as the sizes are different. However, for newels and fillets a style also includes the position in the stair of that newel or fillet (see the Style Defaults window).

In the Components window there are five categories for newels depending on the position of the newel in the stair. For each category, only newels that are allowed in that position are included in that list. For example, a “Colonial 90x90” newel in the Style Defaults window with only the “Top” button ticked will not show up in the list for bottom newels in the Components window. Note also that because there can be more than one “Colonial 90x90” newel listed in the Style Defaults window (so long as their positions don’t overlap), it may appear that the same newel is appearing in different newel categories (whereas in reality they are different newels).

The same thing applies to Fillets.

Baskets

The items in this list are balusters (from the Styles window, Balusters category) that have the Combo Bals field set (see Chapter 11/ Combo Balusters). To specify baskets or panels in a job, select something from the list, otherwise select [None]. Baskets and panels do not have their own category in Parts, Part Filters or Labour Filters windows – they use the regular baluster’s category.

WallBrackets

Obviously you can select “None” to turn off wallbrackets for all selected wallrail. To turn them off on a piece-by- piece basis, right-click the wallrail (in the Stair Balustrade pane or the Balc Balustrade pane) and select No Wallbrackets. This can be useful if you are using one or more (but not all) sections of wallrail as capping.

Lining

To specify lining you need a style in the Components window (Miscellaneous tab), and you also need to right-click the relevant unit(s) in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window and select "Lining Under".

Outstep – replacing it with balconyplate

In the Components window Use Balconyplate is an option in the list of Outsteps. It is not a style in itself – it is not listed in the Styles window. If selected, it works as follows:

The currently selected balconyplate is used for the outstep (if there is no balconyplate an alert will be generated). The Blank/Part settings in the Balconyplate’s style window will apply.

The Balconyplate Style window now has fields which correspond to those in the Outstep Style window; Floor Thickness and Overhang Outstep. These are applied to the outstep in the same way as the Floor Thickness and Overhang fields in the Outstep Style window.

If selected, the Balconyplate part filter is used to process the Outstep (which looks up balconyplate parts if an auto-filter). The Labour filter continues to use the Outstep filter.

See also Chapter 21 : Stair Components quick reference/ Balconyplate/ Marrying Balconyplate with Outstep

As Above

Some components (e.g. newels, fillets, landing treads, bullnose treads etc.) also have an “As Above” item in the list. Select this if you want this component to be the same style/size as that shown in the list box above (this can save you time in making selections – you make one selection and any relevant ‘As Above’ below it will follow).

When “As Above” is not really “As Above”

This discussion also applies to fillets, but here we’ll just refer to newels.

The following applies where your Styles window has more than one newel of the same name and size.

Each style within a particular category in the Styles window has to be unique (i.e. you can’t have two styles the same). For all components except newels, the uniqueness of a style is determined by its style name and size. For newels, uniqueness is also determined by its position (Top, Mid, Bottom etc. as ticked in the Style window). This is why in the Style window you can have two newels of the same name and size provided that their positions are different.

If, in the Styles window, you have multiple versions of the same newel (i.e. same name and size but different positions), in the Components window you will only see what appears to be one newel (i.e. just the name and size).

In the Components window, you can select this newel (name and size) in any newel category, and StairBiz will look in your Styles window and find the newel with this name and size AND appropriate position ticked. So if you select ‘Colonial 90x90’ for the bottom newel StairBiz goes to your Style window and finds a Colonial 90x90 with “Bottom” ticked. There may be many Colonial 90x90 newels in your Styles window, but only ONE can have “Bottom” ticked.

The same applies to “As Above”. “As Above” simply points to a name and size. For each “As Above” shown, StairBiz will still find and use the appropriate newel for that position. So even if (let’s take the extreme example) you have five Colonial 90x90 newels in your Styles window, each with a different position ticked, back in your Components window you could select ‘Colonial 90x90’ as your Balcony newel and select “As Above” for all the others, and StairBiz will resolve this situation correctly so that the appropriate newel is used for each category.

This is all meant to make life easy for you.

The only complication can be as follows:

For example, you select ‘Bevel 88x88’ for Balcony. You select “As Above” for Inside Landing, but the ‘Bevel 88x88’ for Balcony does not have the ‘Inside Landing’ position ticked. In this case StairBiz goes to your Styles window to find a ‘Bevel 88x88’ newel with the ‘Inside Landing’ position ticked, and uses that.

This is fine until you come along and change the name or size (i.e. the Style) of the Balcony newel in the job’s Components window (by clicking the little Edit button to the left of the style name), let’s say to ‘Bevel 92x92’. The Inside Landing newel still says “As Above”, so StairBiz goes to your Styles window to find a ‘Bevel 92x92’ newel with the ‘Inside Landing’ position ticked, and can’t find it.

It’s not possible for StairBiz to resolve this situation. You will be alerted, and for the affected newel(s) you will need to select something other than “As Above”.

Parts Filters

Parts are items shown in your Parts window. Part filters (created in the Part Filters window) can replace a blank item with a part (see Blank items and Parts), or add extra parts to your Bill Of Materials. With part filters you can specify and cost materials for a job down to the exact number and type of nails, wedges and glue blocks needed (if you want to).

Here you can select Part filters for each category.

This list can be speed searched – see Speed Search Lists.

The items in the pull-down lists come from the Part Filters window.

To change the default selection, click and select from the pull-down list.

The filters selected will be run during the calculation of the Bill Of Materials and materials cost for the job. Any “hits” will be added to your Bill Of Materials. See Part and Labour Filters.

Also see the relevant section in Labour window – there is a more comprehensive discussion, and Labour filters work in exactly the same way as Part filters.

Part filters selected for a job are not saved with the job – it is assumed that individual filters are not something that would need to change on a job-by-job basis.

You can modify any part filter in the job by clicking the button to the left of the relevant part filter selection. Any changes you make will change the defaults – they do not just affect this job.

Buttons

Side Nose

Determines if there are side nosings on the ends of sawtooth string treads. This setting can be overridden by right-clicking on specific strings.

Open Rise

Tick if your normal treads are open rise (have no riser board).

This does not apply to the riser under your outstep or the riser under your landings (see Setout window), and it does not apply to risers under bullnose treads (in which case set the Bullnose Riser category of this window "None").

If this check-box is not ticked, you can still have open rise on a unit-by-unit basis - see Open Rise Override.

Install

Applies to WallTrim and BalconyTrim. It determines whether the component is too be installed (for the purposes of costing labour in the Labour Filters). If the item is “None”, or is not part of the design, the button becomes irrelevant.

Extra Lengths

Opens a window showing the extra lengths to be added to each component for the purposes of the cutting list and costing for this job. Default extra lengths for each new job come from your Extra Length Defaults window. They can be changed here just for this job if required.

Shared

This window can be shared amongst multiple jobs in a project. If this job is the only job in the current project, this button will be disabled. If there are multiple jobs in this project, this button will be enabled and ticked by default. If you do not want this window shared with other jobs in the project, un-tick this button – the window will be disconnected from the project and any changes you make to it will only affect this one job. See Shared Windows.

Done

Simply places a tick against the Components window menu-item under the Process menu.

All Filters ‘None’

Sets all Part Filters to ‘None’. You can reselect them by re-selecting the appropriate Selection Templates.

Refresh

Each time you select a style, or assign a new timber to a style, StairBiz pulls the relevant settings and pricing from your defaults (for that one style or timber). Otherwise, all setting and pricing for components are as they were the last time you made the style/timber selection.

One way to update every item (especially if the original selections were done using a selection template) is to re-select the selection template.

Alternatively you can click the Refresh button in the Components window – See Chapter 14: Pricing Refresh

Note that if you have the Quote Calculation window in Lock mode, you may need to (even just temporarily) un-tick this mode to regenerate the quotation.

Timber

To select a timber for any component, click on the timber label to the right of the component. A pop-menu will appear listing all timbers currently in the Timbers window. Make your selection.

To change a timber and have that change apply to all components of the same timber, hold the Shift key down while you make your selection. After you make a selection, if you want to apply that selection to another component, click that component’s timber field while holding the Control key down.

Note that if a style type is set to “Part”, its timber field will be disabled. This is because the timber for all Parts can only be specified in that part’s description.

Timber fields are also disabled for “As Above” items (the timber is the same as above).

Layers: Multiple Component windows

There is the capacity to create different Component windows for different stairs and/or balconies. By default, a single Components window applies to all stairs/balconies. To create a different Component window for a particular stair and/or balcony, click the Manage Layers button in the Components window.

In the Manage Layers window that opens, if there is more than one stair or balcony, each will be listed on the left, with the name of the current Components window (“Main” is the default window) on the right. You can rename this “Main” window, but you can’t delete it – at least one stair/well must use it.

You can create a new Components window for a stair/balcony by selecting the relevant layer/level and clicking the “Create New” button – it will allow you to name the new window and will then duplicate the original window.

When there is more than one Components window, you can double click the name of the Components window at the right and select a different Components window for this layer/level.

Back in the Components window, if there are multiple Component windows they will be listed in the Layer drop-down list. Select the relevant components window and make your selections as usual.

Currently the Part Filter selections are shared between component windows, but everything else is unique to its window. Currently each stair and balcony is listed separately – soon there will be the option to group them automatically which will save a few seconds of work.

Note that currently non-list fields in Custom sheets are not handling multiple Component windows. For example, the non-list field for BalusterStyle can only show one baluster style, and this will be the one selected in the default (Main) components window. Shortly we will be upgrading all these fields to be list-fields. If you do not use multiple component windows then your existing Custom sheets will not be affected by this upgrade. If you do use multiple Component windows, you may decide to take advantage of the new feature.

Style Override (Create Override button)

The following applies where you want to override the style/size of individual newels, treads, landing treads and strings within a single stair. There is a button called Create Override. It creates a new component window (similar to creating a new layer) called Style Override. You can toggle between this component window and others using the Layers drop-down list.

By default, all component styles in this freshly created window are set to ‘None’, which (in this case) means ‘not overridden’. You can make selections in the Style Override components window as normal, however these selections won’t apply to anything until you take the next step.

In the Design window you can right-click individual treads, landings and strings and select ‘Style Override’ from the bottom of the menu. Such overridden components will now get their Style/Size from the Style Override components window (rather than the normal one).

At the moment this only functions for newels, treads, landings and strings. If there is a need for other categories let us know and we can add them. Style Overrides are saved with the job (both the Style Override components window and the individual components tagged as ‘Style Override’). Components tagged as ‘Style Override’ (but not the components window) are also saved in stair and unit templates. Thus a unit template could include a permanently overridden component style. The trick is that this override will only apply where there is a Style Override components window, and there is a valid (not ‘None’) style selected in that window. Where no such window is available, StairBiz reverts to the normal Components window.

Note that if you have balustrade which continuously spans two or more in-line strings with different depths, there will be issues (there are now multiple centre-of-string).

Also, if you override the string, it’s then possible to adjust the design such that the string no longer exists. Even as an invisible string if it retains its override property it has the potential to cause problems, so StairBiz automatically turns it off.

Selection Templates

To see the button at the right of the above illustration, click the Manage Templates button.

Your current selections can be named and saved, so that next time you want to select all those same selections it requires only a single click. The selections are divided into stair items and balustrade items, and include all timber, components and part filter selections.

This list can be speed searched – see Speed Search Lists

To modify an existing selection template:

1. Select the template to be modified from the drop-down list to the right of “Selection Templates” (you can also modify the “Default” template).
2. Select appropriately for each category, including Parts.
3. Click the Save button.

To create one or more alternative templates:

2. Select the template which most closely resembles the template you wish to create.
3. Select components appropriately for each category.
4. Click the New button (if the current template has been changed, you will be asked if you want to save the current one BEFORE creating the new one).
5. Type the name of the new template at the top
6. Click OK.

To delete a template:

1. Select the template.
2. Click the Delete button. To delete all selection templates except for the one named “Default”, hold the Shift and Control keys down while you delete one template.

To make a template the default template for each new job:

1. Select the template.
2. Tick the little check-box to the right of the pull-down list.

Show Colours checkbox

When using selection templates there may be some confusion as to what is “stair” and what is “balustrade” (the Stair template only affects stair items and the Balustrade template only affects balustrade items. The Show Colours checkbox shows you by way of colours which is which.

Custom Tags window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Custom Tags menu-item StairBiz uses “tags” in various ways. For example, if you right-click a string, there is a “Sand” tag. You can select (or de-select) this tag to indicate whether or not the string should be sanded. StairBiz doesn’t use this tag in any direct way, however the value of the tag can be displayed in a Custom sheet, and can be intercepted in a filter to spec parts and labour.

Creating Custom Tags

You can create your own “tags” for various components of a job using the Custom Tags window. These tags can be used for all jobs (even jobs that existed before you created the tags), and the values of the tags are saved with the job. See also Chapter 22 : Miscellaneous topics/ Custom tags and part labels in drawings

Category

The tag in the above example was a “String” category tag (because the tag was selectable by right-clicking a string, and could be intercepted in a strings filter). Select the required category for the new tag by clicking it in the list at the left of the window.

Add

Creates a new tag for that category.

Name

Enter the name for the tag. StairBiz will not allow duplicates within the same category. If you have duplicates across categories (e.g. the same tag name in both "Newels Rake" and "Newels Balcony", StairBiz will vet that the case is the same in both (i.e. if they are duplicate in name, they must also be duplicate in upper/lower case).

Type

There are two types of tags: Yes/No: Holds a True or False value. Number: Holds an integer number. Double click the cell to select the type.

Move Up/Down

Allows you to order the tags to your liking.

End Group

Adds a separator line after the current selection (which also appears in the menu when you right-click the relevant component.

Setting custom tags in a job

When you right-click a component of a stair or balustrade, the menu shows a “Tags” item at the bottom of the list of usual menu-items. Click this to display the list of custom tags for the category of the component clicked, as follows:

Balustrade Balcony:

Right-click a section of selected balustrade in the Balc Balustrade pane of the Design window. Tags are saved on a section-by-section basis.

Balustrade Rake:

Right-click a section of selected balustrade in the Rake Balustrade pane of the Design window. Tags are saved on a section-by-section basis.

Bullnose:

Right-click the unit of the bullnose tread. Tags are saved on a unit basis (and thus apply to all bullnoses in the unit.

Newels Balcony:

Right-click a selected newel in the Balc Balustrade pane of the Design window. Tags are saved on a newel-by-newel basis.

Newels Rake:

Right-click a selected newel in the Rake Balustrade pane of the Design window. Tags are saved on a newel-by-newel basis.

Stair:

Right-click any unit of the stair in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window. Tags are saved on a stair-by-stair basis.

Strings:

Right-click any string in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window. Tags are saved on a string-by-string basis.

Unit:

Right-click any unit in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window. Tags are saved on a unit-by-unit basis.

Yes/No Tags:

Selecting this tag sets the tag to “Yes” (and gives the menu-item a tick). Selecting it again sets the tag to “No”, and deletes the tick.

Number Tags:

Selecting this tag opens a small window where you can enter a number. If the number is non-zero, this number will be shown appended to the menu-item.

Using custom tags in parts and labour filters

The tags you create become properties (columns) you can add to Parts and Labour Filters of the appropriate categories. These properties can be used to direct the flow of the filter (i.e. to spec parts and labour based on the value of the tags in the job). Tags for the specific category of the filter, plus tags which is “broader” than the specific category of the filter, are generally available to the filter. For example, in the ShoeRail filter, the categories of Custom Tags available are: Balustrade Rake, Unit and Stair. In other words, any tags you have for Stair and Unit are also available to you in the ShoeRail filter. This means that you can create a “Stair” custom tag that affects all sections of shoerail (if that’s what you need).

Which tags are available to which filters

Tag Category:	Filter Category:
Bullnose	BullTreads, BullRisers
Newels Balcony	NewelsAll, NewelBalcony, Acorns, Fittings
Newels Rake	All newel categories except NewelBalcony, plus Acorns, Fittings
Balustrade Balcony	Balusters, Handrail, Wallrail, WallBrackets, Fillets, Balconyplate, Balconytrim
Balustrade Rake	Balusters, Handrail, Wallrail, WallBrackets, Fillets, Shoerail, WallTrim
Strings	Frets, Strings
Unit	Treads, Landings, Risers, Bearers, Lining, Cove, Outstep, Skirt, Unit, Strings, CarriageString, BullTreads, BullRisers
Stair	Same categories as for Unit, plus Stair

Note that the Fittings filter cannot see the balustrade tags (because a single fitting can relate to two adjacent sections of balustrade). If you want the Fittings filter to intercept a tag it’s best to create the tag in the newel category (which can be seen by the Fittings filter). Note that a newel tag can be valid even if the newel is not selected (although you would need to select it temporarily so that you can set the tag).

Using custom tags in Custom sheets

The tags you create become fields you can add to Custom Sheets in the Custom Editor window. By nature they are all LIST fields (i.e. they are listed with other list items of the category in which they were selected.

For example:

First create two Custom Tags in the Custom Tags window – one in the Balustrade Rake category and one in the Stair category.

Create three lists of fields (i.e. three columns of fields, each column with, say 4 fields); Using the Selection tool, click-drag a rectangle around the first column to select all in that column; Select the Set Field tool, and click any of the selected fields to open the Set Field window; select the Handrail category; double click the LIST ID (All) field. Do the same again with the second column, but this time double click the custom tag you created in the Balustrade Rake category (yes, it will be an option in the list). Do the same again with the third column, but this time double click the custom tag you created in the Stair category (yes, it will be an option in the list).

Save the custom sheet, add it to your Custom menu using the Custom Menus window, create a job, and open the custom sheet. Set tags for the stair and some of the rake balustrade sections and see the results in your custom sheet.

See also Chapter 22 : Miscellaneous topics/ Custom tags and part labels in drawings

Custom Drawing window

Overview

From : Custom menu ; Custom Drawing menu-item Draws whatever elements of the current stair/well are selected from the list on the left. Note that a very similar window is used to select elements to be draw in your Custom Sheet stair drawings – see the Custom Editor User’s Manual.

Zoom

Click the Zoom button and drag a rectangle bounding the area of the drawing you want to expand – that part of the drawing will expand to fill the page (perhaps with some adjustment if the dragged rectangle is not the same proportion as the page). Click it again to revert to normal scale. Note you can also use the centre mouse button for zooming.

Print

Prints the drawing.

Print Preview

Changes the proportions of the page as seen on the screen to match the printed page.

Landscape

Changes the proportions of the page to landscape, rather than portrait.

Position

Click the Position button and drag a rectangle representing the boundaries of the stair/well as you would like it positioned on the page - the stair/well will relocate to fill the dragged rectangle (perhaps with some adjustment if the dragged rectangle is not the same proportion as the drawing). When the stair is positioned/scaled in this way, the stair will not auto-resize to suit the size of the window. To revert the drawing to its normal (centred, auto-scaled) position, click the Position button then simply left-click (without dragging) anywhere in the drawing window.

Separation

Allows you to show temporary separations (spacings) of stairs and wells – useful when you have a stair-over-stair situation. See Chapter 11/ Temporary Separations.

Dimension size

Changes the size of the font used for dimensions.

Templates

The settings shown in the list can be saved as templates. Create or delete templates using the Save, Save As and Delete buttons. Select (previously saved) templates from the drop-down list.

Custom Editor window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Custom Editor menu-item The Custom Editor window is used to create Custom sheets (sheets or forms that look exactly as you want them to look and contain exactly what you want them to contain). These Custom sheets can be used for quotes, invoices, receipts, cutting lists, specification and drawing sheets etc. Drawings and hundreds of different specifications can be laid out on a sheet any way you like, including graphics, logos, lines, boxes and shading.

The Custom Editor window has its own Help menu with on-screen help. It also has more recent documentation in the “Custom Editor Help” MS Word document in your StairBiz Program folder.

Custom Menus window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Custom Editor menu-item ; Set Menus button The Custom Menus window allows you to nominate which Custom sheets will be shown in the Custom menu, and in what order. When you launch StairBiz, if StairBiz can’t find a Custom Sheet that you have ticked as “include”, you will be alerted. You will need to either quit StairBiz and reinstate the file into the Custom sheets folder, or open this window and click Save.

The List

Shows a list of all the Custom sheets currently in your Custom sheets folder on disc, and shows whether each is currently included in the Custom menu.

Include / Exclude

Click this button to include/exclude the currently selected Custom sheet in your Custom menu.

Move Up / Move Down

Click this button to move the currently selected Custom sheet higher or lower in your Custom menu.

Save to Local

If ticked, this list of included Custom Sheets will be saved on your local computer, and therefore only available to you (otherwise it is saved to the Defaults database and, if this database should be posted to the server, will affect all users).

Custom Sheets window

From : Custom menu A Custom sheet is a sheet or form that looks exactly as you want it to look and contains exactly what you want it to contain. These Custom sheets can be used for quotes, invoices, receipts, cutting lists, specification and drawing sheets etc. Custom sheets are created in the Custom Editor window. You can have as many as you like.

Field override

Even though StairBiz automatically generates the contents of a field in a Custom sheet, you have the option to manually override any or all of them. In other words, there may be times when you want to have text that is DIFFERENT to that which StairBiz generates automatically. To override a field (including any user-fields), double- click the field in the Custom sheet. Edit the text as required. Fields that are overridden will show as red text on your Custom sheets when viewing them, but will be printed to your printer as the usual black. Overridden fields are saved with the job. To revert a field override (i.e. make it go back to its original, automatic state), simply delete all text from the field. If you want it to be overridden with nothing (i.e. no text), type a space (i.e. use the space key) so that StairBiz will think there is something there.

Draw override

You can override any StairBiz generated drawing, replacing it with any graphic that has been placed on the clipboard. This can be useful if the drawing StairBiz has generated needs to be modified manually in some way. Manually overriding a StairBiz drawing:

1. Copy the bitmapped image of the modified drawing to the clipboard (see Copying a drawing to the clipboard).
2. Open the Custom sheet where you want the modified drawing to go, and right-click on the current drawing.
3. Select Override with Clipboard menu-item (the Revert item will be gray if the drawing is not already overridden). See Manually modifying a StairBiz drawing. Also see Managing Images.

Centred

With this menu-item selected, StairBiz will centre your override graphic within the DRAW rectangle, otherwise it will position it top/left.

Scaled

With this menu-item selected, StairBiz will scale the override graphic to fit the DRAW rectangle. StairBiz keeps the horizontal and vertical scale always the same (so that the graphic does not distort). The graphic will scale to the full width, or the full height, whichever is the least. Note that scaled drawings might not look good on your monitor, but normally regain their quality when they are printed.

Including a 3D drawing in a Custom sheet

To set up the relevant Custom sheet(s), open the sheet (probably your Quote sheet) in the Custom Editor. Select the Set Field tool and click on the boundary rectangle of the relevant stair drawing. In the drawing properties window that opens, set the DrawId = 99. Close and save. In a job, design the stair, open the 3D window, and position and light the stair to your liking. Click the “Capture to Custom sheet” toolbar button (far right) – the cursor will change to a cross-hair (just like when you press the F3 key). Click-Drag a rectangle around the 3D image. This captured image will now automatically override the standard (plan) drawing in all custom sheet drawings with a DrawId = 99. Also see Managing Images.

Reverting to the normal (StairBiz) drawing

To revert the image (either a 3D image or an override image, which are essentially the same thing) to the standard (plan) drawing you can:

1. Right-click on the modified drawing.
2. Select the Revert menu-item.

Overriding many StairBiz drawings with the same graphic

When you override a DRAW with a graphic from the clipboard, any other DRAWS with the same DrawId (see Custom Editor window) will be overridden with that same graphic. This is true regardless of what they are actually drawing or in which Custom sheet they are drawing it. In other words, if a DRAW with a DrawId of "15" draws a stair, and another DRAW with a DrawId of "15" draws the balcony, if you override either of these two drawings with a picture of a dog, they will both get the dog. This is the only purpose for a DrawId.

Notes on scaling

When you override a DRAW with a graphic, StairBiz can auto scale it to suit the DRAW rectangle. Sometimes this scaled graphic does not look good in the window (a line one pixel thick scaled to 55% on your screen is still one pixel thick (screens can’t draw a line less than one pixel thick). However, when printed this should look fine (printers have a much higher resolution than screens). However, if for some reason you want an image to look good on the screen, you can turn the auto scaling off and manually scale the graphic before copying it to the clipboard, as follows: • If you are copying a drawing from the Design window itself, you can re-size the Design window to produce a larger of smaller drawing, or use the Zoom tool.

Image from File

In the Custom Editor you can use the Image From File tool to create a rectangle. In the Custom Sheet of a job, when you click within the rectangle to select an image from a file existing anywhere on your computer. StairBiz then fills the rectangle with that image. StairBiz does not save this image with the job, but it does save the file path to it. The next time you open that sheet of that job, StairBiz automatically inserts the image.

If you have since moved the image (such that StairBiz can’t find it), StairBiz will show (within the rectangle) the original path and file name of that image.

If you need to use photos in your custom sheets, this is a far better method than capturing the image and using it to override a Draw field.

Networking Custom Sheets

See Chapter 17 : Networking - Basics / Defaults Networking / Custom Sheets

Excluding Cents

If a custom sheet file-name ends with "NC" (upper case, being an acronym for "No Cents") then StairBiz will not display the cents in any currency field in that custom sheet. For example "QuoteNC.stx"

Custom Style Categories window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Custom Categories menu-item StairBiz has many pre-defined categories for Components. For example, “Balusters”, “Treads”, and all the others shown in the Components window. In the Styles window you then create styles for each of the pre-defined categories.

If you have components in a stair for which StairBiz does not provide a pre-defined category, you can create your own in this window (up to 20 categories). You can then create any number of styles for each category in the Styles window.

All your custom categories will show up in the Parts window (where you can create parts for them), in the Parts and Labour filters windows (where you can create filters for them), and in the job’s Components window (where you can select any particular style, including “None”, and select an associated timber).

Because StairBiz doesn’t know what your custom category is for, when you create the style you also specify which pre-defined category your custom category will “piggy-back” on. For example, if sometimes you run a piece of cove down the underside of the string you may want a category for “String Cove”. The piggy-back category in this case would be “Strings”, so that the lengths for your string cove would be based on the lengths of your strings, and this and other string properties are fed to any Parts or Labour filters you create under the “String Cove” category of the Part/Labour Filters window.

Creating Custom Style Categories

The following relates to the Custom Style Categories window.

Add

Creates a new category. Enter the name for the category (double click the cell if necessary to start the edit process). The new category is also automatically created in the Styles, Parts, Part Filters and Labour Filters windows, and the Components window for all jobs. You can change the name at any time by double clicking the name in the list and amending it (this will not impact previous jobs – categories are held internally as a number, and changing the name does not change this number, so previous jobs will simply open with the changed name).

Delete

Deletes the selected category, and deletes all styles, parts, part filters and labour filters associated with that category. Properties

Piggyback Component:

StairBiz needs to know which pre-defined category your custom category is based on, so that a style selected in the Custom tab of the Components window knows what information to feed your custom style. For example, a custom style for Tread Protection would probably have “Treads” as the piggyback category, a custom style for Balcony Cove would probably have “Balconytrim” as the piggyback category. [None]: If you set the Piggyback category to None; There will not be an entry in the Cutting List or BOM for the job for this category; and The item will appear in a Custom Sheet regardless of any other category. For example, you might create a User Category called "Nosing Radius". If you use a piggy back category of "Treads", the Component window selection will only appear in a Custom Sheet if there are some treads. If you want it to appear in a Custom Sheet whether or not there are some treads, set the piggy back category to "None".

Piggyback Timber:

The options are: [All]: In the Components window, you want to be able to choose a timber for the selected style in this category in the usual way. [None]: In the Components window, you do not want to be able to choose a timber for the selected style in this category. StairBiz will disable the timber selection list. [Same]: Means use the same timber as the Piggyback category. StairBiz will disable the timber selection list in the Components window. A limitation is that if the Piggyback category is Strings or Newels, StairBiz cannot know which specific string or newel, so will used the Tenon String or the Balcony Newel (respectively). Other items: In the Components window, you do not want to be able to choose a timber for the selected style in this category – you want the timber to always be the same as the timber of the piggyback timber category you specify here. Label Dimension 1/2/3/4:
In the Style window for items of this category, you may want to include some user-defined dimensions (up to four of them). These dimensions are not used by StairBiz but are available to filters and Custom Sheets. If a dimension label is entered here, StairBiz will make the dimension field available in the Style window, and will label it as entered here. Otherwise leave these empty. Label Checkbox 1/2/3/4:
In the Style window for items of this category, you may want to include some user-defined checkboxes (up to four of them). The values of checkboxes (True/False) are not used by StairBiz but are available to filters and Custom Sheets. If a checkbox label is entered here, StairBiz will make the check-box available in the Style window, and will label it as entered here. Otherwise leave these empty.

Creating custom styles

For each style category you create, the category is shown in the Styles window, and you can create any number of styles for it in the usual way.

Width and Depth

Unlike pre-defined categories (with the exception of WallBrackets), you do not need to enter a Width or Depth dimension if it is not needed (e.g. styles for a “Tread Protection” custom category probably don’t need a width and depth). If Width is zero and Depth is not, or vice versa, the zero dimension shows up as “N” (for Not Applicable). A Style with a width or depth of zero can be a blank or a part, but it does not show up in the Timbers window, so cannot be given a timber cost. As a blank you can still assign profiling cost. However, if a component has no timber size, but has a component cost, it would make more sense to make it a Part.

Parts for your custom styles

For each style category you create, the category is shown in the Parts window, and you can create any number of parts for it in the usual way.

Filters for your custom styles

For each style category you create, the category is shown in the Parts Filters window and Labour Filters window, and you can create any number of filters for it in the usual way.

When a job is processing labour and materials, each item in the piggyback category will go through its own filter (if one is selected), plus will go through the filter of your custom category (if one is selected). For example, if you have a custom category called “Tread Protection” and its piggyback category is “Treads” then each tread in the stair will go through the “Tread Protection” filter.

The properties available to the filter are as follows: Style, Style Class, Width and Depth properties come directly from the custom style selected in the Components window (as do the four user-defined dimensions and four check-box values). Timber and Timber Class come from the timber selected for the style (or the piggyback timber). All other properties (including Length) come from the piggyback category and their values during processing will be those of the items of the piggyback category.

Custom styles can be auto-filtered or manually filtered in the usual way.

Selecting custom styles in a job

All your custom categories will be shown in the Custom tab in the components window. All styles created in the Style window for the category will be available for selection, including “[None]”.

If the Piggyback Timber is “[All]” then a timber selection control will be adjacent to it.

All part filters will be available for selection in the Custom Filters tab of the Components window.

Kill Piggy:

Adjacent to the Filter selections in the Custom Filters tab of the Components window are check-boxes called “Kill Piggy”. With this checkbox selected, StairBiz will NOT process the items of the Piggyback category. In other words, your custom style components are REPLACING those of the piggyback category, rather than simply been based on them.

How StairBiz prices custom styles

StairBiz prices custom style components in exactly the same way it prices components of pre-defined categories, and all the usual pricing methods are available. The quantity and length of the custom category items will be the same as those for the items of the piggyback category.

Using custom categories in Custom sheets

The Categories you create become categories in the Set Field window (which opens which you click a field in the Custom Editor window using the Set Field Tool). All the standard style fields are available. Where possible, the values of those fields in your custom sheets will come directly from the custom style (e.g. Style, Size, Timber, etc.), otherwise they come from the item of the piggyback category (e.g. Length, Qty etc.).

Examples of custom categories

Custom categories can used for anything. Following are some examples: Tread Protection: The piggyback category would be Treads. Disable timber. Width and Depth would be zero. String Cove: The piggyback category would be Strings. Balcony Cove: The piggyback category would be Balcony Trim. False Stringer: The piggyback category would be Strings. Wallrail Spacer: (Runs full length of wallrail down the wall). The piggyback category would be Wallrail. Wallbracket Rosettes: The piggyback category would be WallBrackets. Posts under Landing: The piggyback category would be Landings.

Custom Tags: Custom Categories, when used in combination with Custom Tags where appropriate, can give you even more flexibility.

Database Repair window

See Chapter 23 : Database Problems and Repairs.

Design window

See Chapter 10 : The Design window.

Directory window

Overview

From : Project menu ; Project Directory menu-item

The Directory window helps you manage your jobs. It contains rows representing projects or jobs, and columns representing selected fields (bits of information) from those projects or jobs. Every time you save a job the Directory window is updated. It allows you to find, sort and view columns of information about all or selected jobs in the database, and to change much of that information without having to open the relevant job. The Directory window is often the most used window in StairBiz – used in conjunction with the Job Status field in the Process window it is at the heart of your business, especially useful for tracking measure-ups, installations, payments etc.

You can have multiple Directory windows (called Views). To create, edit or delete Views, see the Edit Views heading. Views can be “local” (only available to the current computer), or “shared” (available to all on the StairBiz network); see the Edit Views heading.

Buttons

Open

Having located a particular job in the Directory window, you can select the job’s row in the list, click the Open button, and the job will open (if another job is not currently open). You can also double click on a job in the listing to open the job. Also see Opening a saved project.

Add Foreign Job to Current Project

Any job in the Directory window (job template or otherwise) can be added to a project. With the project open, and the Directory window active, double-click on the job in the Directory window while holding the SHIFT key down. It will be added to the current project. See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous/ Add a Job to a Project

Add Foreign Scenario to Current Job

Any job in the Directory window (job template or otherwise) can be added to a job as a new scenario. With the job open, and the Directory window active, double-click on the job in the Directory window while holding the ALT key down. It will be added to the current job as a new scenario. See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous/ Add a Job to a Project

Delete

If there is only one job in the project, this deletes the entire project. If there is more than one job, you will be given the option of deleting the selected job, or the entire project. This button will also delete multiple jobs if there are multiple jobs selected. To learn about selecting multiple jobs, see the Miscellaneous topic below.

Archive Job

Sends the selected job to an archive database. You will have the option to create a new archive file or select and existing archive file. You will also have the option to delete the archived job from the current jobs database. To archive a project select all jobs for the project (they will save to the archive as a project, rather than as individual jobs). See Job Archive window.

Columns

You can add columns to your View by selecting this Columns button. Select from the list the required columns and adjust their order. Note that in the Available Columns list, categories of columns can be expanded or contracted using the “+” or “-“ buttons to the left of each category heading, or using the buttons at the bottom of the list. You can remove existing columns by doing the reverse of the above. You can change the width of columns by dragging the boundary in the Header row. You can change the order of the columns by dragging the heading. You can sort individual columns by clicking the sort arrow in the column header. Columns in a view survive both a window close and a StairBiz shutdown.

Group

Grouping means to group (sort) rows based on identical information from a certain field. For example, you could group jobs by their Project Folder, in which case all jobs are sorted by Project Folder and then grouped according to this. Select the Group button, then drag the column header of the field you wish to group by up into the gray grouping area above it. In the list, to see only the fields in a particular group, click the “+” at the left of the group header in the list. You can sort the groups by clicking the little arrow in the column header in the grouping area. You can also nest groups, by dragging more column headers up into the grouping area. To hide the grouping area, unselect the Groups button. Groups in a view survive a StairBiz quit. To ungroup, select the Groups button and then drag the column headers back to the column header row. Note that MyData field columns can be included in the Directory window, but they cannot be dragged into the Group panel.

Filter

Filters are a smart way of searching and displaying only the rows (jobs) you need to see. Literally we “filter” specific information in the jobs and only allow through those jobs we are interested in.

There are three types of filters: • Core filter • Column Filter • Relative Date Rage filter

Select the Filter button.

Core Filters

A core filter does not need to have the relevant column included in the Directory window (an advantage over the column filters - see below). A core filter works at the database level, meaning that only the relevant jobs are downloaded to the Directory window (another advantage over the column filters). With the Filter button selected, an empty core filter is created. You can select from list of columns (on the left), and specify what you want to find in that column (on the right).

Each time you add a core filter, a new (empty) one is created. Core filters are saved with the View (i.e. closing the window doesn't kill the filters - they will be there when you re-open). If the View is shared, then so will be its core filters (if the View is local, then so will be its core filters). Note that for the input of any dates into filters, you can omit the year (e.g. "4/4" means 4/4 of the current year). Core filters can filter by: • Client Name • CNC Schedule Date • Contact Name • Created By • Date Created • Dispatch Date • Flag Date • Flag User • Folder • Job Date • Job Name • Job Number • Job Status • Measure Date • Modified Date • Paid Date 1 • Paid Date 2 • Paid Date 3 • Production Date • Project Name • Quote Number • Sales Person • Schedule Date

Date Ranges in a Core Filter

A core filter can be used to filter by a date range. You can enter two dates separated by a comma (or a ">"), and StairBiz will find all dates within (and including) that range.

You can also make a Core filter act like a Relative Date Range filter (see that heading, below). For example, … You can enter a number, being the number of days from today. For example, you could enter "1" to find all with tomorrow's date, or "-2" to find all from the day before yesterday. You can enter two numbers, separated by a comma (or a ">"), to get a range. For example, "-7>7" will find all dates from a week ago to a week from now. "0>7" will find all dates for the next week. "2/2/12,14" will find all dates from 2/2/12 until two weeks from today.

Multiple Core Filters

Each time you enter some criteria into a core filter, StairBiz creates another core filter (to the right, or below), so that you can filter by multiple criteria. For example, you could filter "Job Status = Measure" and "Measure Date = 0>7" to have a Directory window which, at any particular time, displays all jobs needing a measure within the next week.

Column Filters

A column filter works at the column level – the relevant column must be displayed. It can filter only those jobs which are already downloaded from the database into the Directory window, so records already omitted by Core filters and Relative Date Range filters can never be included in the results. It works by hiding the records filtered.

With the Filter button selected, each column header has a pull-down list containing a summary of all the information contained in the column. To view only rows containing something in the pull-down list, select that item in the list. To find only blank fields in the column, select Blank from the pull-down list. To customize the filter (i.e. do a search a little more sophisticated than a simple “if this = that”, select Custom from the pull-down list.

To switch off the filter select All from the pull-down list. The column header will turn blue to indicate when its filter is in use. You can filter more than one column at a time, allowing very complex searching. Column filters do not survive changing Views or closing down StairBiz (although they will survive a window close and re-open).

Relative Date Range Filter (All-views)

This Relative Date Range filter permanently or temporarily confines all views of the Directory window to within certain time frames - days, weeks or months before and/or after the current (today’s) date.

Towards the end of the row of icon-buttons at the top of the Directory window is one with a red calendar with a funnel. It opens the Relative Date Range Filter window. Settings are: Date; Which type of date (they all relate to a job). Units; Days, weeks or months StartAt / EndAt; these are the number of days, weeks or months from today’s day, week or month. A negative number means before today’s date, a positive number means after today’s date, and negative numbers may be used in either field. Enable; Whether or not the filter is currently enabled. The shortcut key to toggle between enabled/disabled is CONTROL-D from within the Directory window.

In the following examples ‘DWM’ means day or week or month, depending on the Units selected. StartAt=0 means from the beginning of the current DWM StartAt=-1 means from the beginning of the previous DWM StartAt=1 means from the beginning of the next DWM … etc. EndAt=0 means to the end of the current DWM EndAt=-1 means to the end of the previous DWM EndAt=1 means to the end of the next DWM … etc. So if you wanted to see jobs booked for installation during the two months following the current month, set Date=SchedInstall, Units=Month, StartAt=1, EndAt=2 If you wanted to see jobs needing a measure this week, set Date=Measure, Units=Week, StartAt=0, EndAt=0 This global date filter works in conjunction with all other filters (except for local date filters – see next heading; so, for the previous example, you could, using other filters, also confine the jobs to only those with a Job Status = Measure, etc.). Your date filter settings are saved when you exit StairBiz, and will re-apply when you come back. This date filter is called “global” because it applies to all views (to apply to specific views, see the next heading – Local Date Filtering).

Relative Date Range Filter (One-view)

The previous topic relates to all views of the Directory window. However, you can also apply a relative date filter to a specific view, as follows: Click the “Choose Column” toolbar button while the relevant View is open, then click the Date Filter button. If an all-views filter applies, this one-view filter will not. Note that relative date filtering can be turned on/off with shortcut keys CONTROL-D.

Multi-Sort

You can sort individual columns by clicking the sort arrow in the column header. But what if you want to first sort by Job Status, and then sort by Measure Date within each Job Status category.

This is called a multi-column sort, and can be done as follows:

1. Click the Multi- Sort button
2. Click each column header you want sorted, in the order in which you want them sorted (you can click twice to change the direction of the sort).
3. Click the Multi- Sort button again – the sort is done.
4. Click the Multi- Sort button again to exit the sort. These sorts survive a quit.

Find

To find a specific piece of information in a column (e.g. a particular Quote Number), one way to do it is to sort the column and then scroll down to where that text should be in the sort. You can also use Group and Filter. A far easier way is as follows:

1. Click the Find button.
2. Click in any field within the column in which you are looking.
3. Start typing in what you are looking for – as you type, the list will scroll down to the first example of what you have typed in so far.

Edit

Some columns in the list can be edited without you having to open the job. Others can’t. If a field cannot be edited directly it is because some “resolving” is needed which can only be done while the job is open.

To edit the list, select the Edit button. Click the field to be edited – if it’s possible to edit, the text will become selected, otherwise not.

Views

The layout of this window is called a View. It shows certain fields (i.e. columns) in a particular order. It also may show certain groupings. From the View drop-down list at the top right of the window you can select an alternative view. To create, edit or delete Views, see next heading. Edit Views You can add, duplicate or remove views by clicking this button.

Add

Creates a new view. By default, a new view will have two fields – you can change them and add more (see Columns).

Local View (vs Shared View)

Views can be local or shared. A local View is available only to the computer that created it. A shared View is available to all on the StairBiz network. To keep Views local, tick the Local View checkbox. Local views are held in the file DirectoryWinCfg.DAT located in your Defaults folder. Shared views are held in the Defaults database.

Refresh

Will re-populate the contents of the Directory Window with more up-to-date information. This can be useful when connected to the network if you suspect that changes have been made from another computer.

Send to Excel

This will send the current contents of the Directory window to Microsoft Excel if you have it installed on your computer. Any current settings such as Sort order or Filtering along with your chosen column configurations will also be sent to the new spreadsheet. After clicking this button, Excel will open with the contents of the Directory window, at which time you can change the spreadsheet further, and print, save or discard the window.

Print

Prints the information currently displayed in the Directory window.

Help

Click this button to show a contextual help panel at the bottom of the window. This panel will display informational text about any icons you hover your mouse over.

Relative Date Range Filter

See under Filter (above).

Templates Database

If your jobs database is particularly large (i.e. over 1GB, which means you are saving lots of images – probably 3D images), and if you have lots of Job Templates (i.e. many hundreds or more), you have the option to save your job templates in a separate database. This system will work almost as if you are using a single database, as follows:

1. Create an archive (database) called “Templates”.
2. To get job templates into the “Templates” database, select them in the Directory window and send them to the Templates archive as if you were archiving them.
3. To show job templates in the Directory window, click the “T” (Templates) toolbar button. This button is the right-most of the toolbar buttons.
4. To open a job template, show the job templates by clicking the “T” (Templates) toolbar button, then double click the job (or select it and click the ‘Open Job’ toolbar button). The template will open as a new job (it will not give you the option of opening as a template), and the Templates database will automatically close.
5. If the Templates database is open from clicking the “T” (Templates) toolbar button, and you want to close it without opening a template, again click the “T” toolbar button.
6. If you want to open a template to edit it (rather than open it as a new job), open the Templates archive from Project menu > Open Archive (rather than from the “T” button), and open the job template from there (either by double-clicking it in the Directory window, or by selecting “Open Template” from the Project menu. Note that you are able to open such job templates only from the Directory window.

Unlock Job

This toolbar button is only visible when connected to the StairBiz server. If ever you can't open a job because, according to StairBiz, "SoAndSo has the job open", and you know that he does NOT have it open, probably that job crashed before it was able to close properly. Select the job in the Directory window and click this Unlock Job button.

Note: Financial Columns and Totals

If a job has a Split Quote (i.e. the Quote Calc and Payments windows are split into Stair and Balustrade, separately), note that financial columns and totals in the Directory window will only show figures for the stair (never the balustrade, even if it is marked as "Active").

Miscellaneous

If a column is too narrow to see the full amount of information contained in one of its fields, rather than widen the column you can hold your cursor over the information – in about a second the full text will appear. Columns containing currency amounts show (at the bottom of the column) a total amount for the column. The Job Name column shows (at the bottom of the column) the total number jobs in the current list. You can select multiple jobs in the Directory Window by clicking on each job you wish to select, while holding down the Control Key. You can also select a range of jobs by first selecting the top item, then holding down the Shift Key and clicking on the bottom item. All Jobs in between will be selected, and will allow you to perform an action on these jobs, such as Archive or Delete.

Example of filtering – Job Flags

The following is an example of how to use filters to create a directory view which shows only jobs that have a job flag that needs to be dealt with, sorted by date.

Click the schedule filter icon (red circle). Click the arrow on the column filter icon (blue circle – you may need to widen the column to see it) and set up as follows.

Click on the column header for the date field (green circle) to sort by date. You now have a directory window that shows only jobs that have a flag that needs to be dealt with, sorted by date. This window will persist (i.e. you don’t need to re-create the filters or sort each time you open it).

Example of a Directory View – Job Templates

Let’s imagine that you have various builders that you do a lot of work for, and that many of the stairs you do for these builders are the same over and over. You would probably use Job Templates, but what’s the best way to organise them so that you can find and open them easily.

1. Create your job templates, and assign a client to each (in the Client window of each job).
2. Create a new Directory window (called, for example, "Job Templates") and include the "Is Template" column.
3. Filter by this "Is Template" column so that you only ever see job templates in this Directory window.
4. Optionally (but a good idea) is to Group by Client. Now, whenever you want to open a job template, open the "Job Templates" Directory window, find the relevant client header and click it to see all the templates for this client. Double click the template to create a new job using this template (and client).

Directory window refresh speed

If you have thousands of jobs, it's possible that the refresh of the Directory window might be slow, or might even stall (time out). Apart from reducing the number of jobs in your database (e.g. by archiving), you can do as follows:

1. Reduce the number of columns; Changing from one view to another view causes a refresh (a download). The more columns being downloaded the more likely to be slow or stall.
2. Eliminate large columns; for example, "Notes" columns, or text MyData columns, can contain a lot of data.
3. Use Filters to restrict the number of jobs being downloaded from the server and displayed, as follows: a) Core filters and Relative Date Range filters (see above) restrict the number of jobs being downloaded. b) Column Filters (see above) do NOT restrict the size of the download – they operate only on what is already downloaded, so are not useful here. c) Quick Filters restrict the number of jobs being downloaded, and work regardless of any other current filters, as follows: First, if Cell-Edit mode is active, deactivate it. With the CONTROL key held down, press the following keys to limit what is shown: "A" show all. "T" only templates "P" only actual projects (no templates) "Y" only jobs with a Job Date more recent than one year ago "1" only jobs with Job Status = 1 (i.e. the 1st item in the Job Status list; "Measure") "2" only jobs with Job Status = 2 (i.e. the 2nd item in the Job Status list; "Quote") "3" etc. up to 10 For items 11 to 15 (i.e. User Items) you can use the Shift Key (e.g. Item 11 is CONTROL-SHIFT-1). Note that items 11 to 15 must be declared in the Miscellaneous Defaults window. Your option will be shown in the title bar of the window. Your option is saved when you close the Directory window and re-applies when you open it.

Draw window

Overview

From : Draw menu Scrap Pad windows and Draw windows are used to manually draw things, or to modify drawings that StairBiz has generated automatically. They function in the same way as a paint program. Scrap Pad windows and Draw windows all work in the same way. The difference is that the Draw windows relate only to the current job, and are saved with the current job, whereas Scrap Pad windows are global - whatever is drawn in them is available for all jobs. Any graphic (i.e. drawing) copied to the clipboard can be pasted into a Draw window or Scrap Pad for modification. See Copying a drawing to the clipboard. To paste the contents of the clipboard into an active Draw window or Scrap Pad, either: 5. Click the Paste tool. 6. Press Control-V. Drawings that have been manually created or modified in a Draw window can be used to annotation any sheet, or, in Custom sheets, can override drawings generated by StairBiz. See Custom Sheets for more information.

Delete

Deletes the current Scrap Pad or Draw window. It is disabled in a Scrap Pad window that is the only one (you must have at least one).

Name text field

This text field is to the right of the Delete button. It allows you to name each window – these names appear in the Draw menu.

Tools

To find out what each item in the Tool-bar (across the top of the Draw window) does, hold your cursor over it and read the tool-tip label which appears. Most tools have a control. Open the control window by clicking the Tool-bar icon on the far right (the hammer and spanner). The contents of the Control window change for each tool selected, and generally includes various modes and options for the tool and a more comprehensive description of the tool under the Tool Description tab.

Resizing the Canvas

The canvas is the white part of the window where you draw. It’s best to keep the size of this to not much more than what you actually need. This is designed to minimize the file size of jobs containing bitmap graphics. Draw windows open with a small canvas. To increase the size, click the resize rectangle at the bottom right corner of the canvas (only available in 100% scale) and drag to the desired size.

Using another paint program

If these Draw windows do not contain sufficient features for you, there is no reason why you can't use a third-party paint program. They work in much the same way as above, but may provide more power. The third-party program could remain open (at the same time as StairBiz) and you can simply switch between them as required. Note that the clipboard is universal. Something copied in one program can be pasted into another, and vice versa.

Email Support window

Overview

From : Help menu ; Email Support menu-item

Allows you to send an email to StairBiz support, and expedites most types of support request. Your computer must be currently connected to the internet. Your first support request for any one issue must be made from this window – thereafter you should reply to our reply (etc.) using your normal email browser (so that the thread continuity is maintained). The window is fairly self-explanatory. If you hold your cursor over any field, pull-down list or button the description will appear.

Setting up to use this window

You should have a valid User Account (Defaults menu/ Users & Networking) with your name and email address. This is the same window where you would have originally set up your private StairBiz password. Also, open the Miscellaneous window (Defaults menu), select the Support category, and enter your Company Name (i.e. business name). In the same section of the Miscellaneous window you have the option to ‘Save email on send’ (do you want StairBiz to save a copy of each email you send to support), and ‘Return copy of email to sender’ (do you want StairBiz to send you a copy of the email you send us – useful if you want all your emails in your usual email program). Generally you don’t need to do both.

Some of the buttons

Select from a list for previous subjects you have used when emailing support. Refresh the Users list (useful if at the time you created your email you hadn’t created your user account, but since have) Shows who to send the email to for the different kinds of support required. Shows the full text that will be sent to StairBiz (includes some header information not shown in the body of your email). Start a new email (clears any existing email) Opens a previously saved email. Copies the contents of the existing email to the Windows clip-board. Saves a copy of the current email (including the header) in your Support folder (in C:\StairBiz Program\Support). Sends the current email to support. If you have optioned to automatically save the email on ‘Send’ (see Miscellaneous window/ Support), you will be presented with a ‘Save’ dialog box. The default location is the Support folder. If you have optioned to automatically return a copy of the email to you (see Miscellaneous window/ Support), you will be sent the same email that you send us (with a list of any files you attached, but not the attachments themselves). StairBiz is not sent any information other than the information clearly indicated (there is nothing hidden in the email or in any attachments). If you send an email, then realize you didn’t need to, as soon as possible send another email with the Support Type “Ignore Previous” and the subject the same as the previous.

Show Status frame

Depending on the Support Type, this frame may become visible, and some or all of the following checkboxes may be shown. Relevant: Most recent ERROR MESSAGE: If you have had an error message, the most recent one will be shown here. If it is relevant to your enquiry, tick this box. Relevant: Most recent WINDOW: The window you were in just prior to opening this email window will be shown here. If it’s relevant to your enquiry, tick this box. I can REPLICATE the issue: If you can’t explain exactly the steps we need to take to see the problem, we probably can’t fix it. Things that are obvious to you are not obvious to us. I have researched the User's Manual and can find no reference: Depending on your contract you may be charged for a “Need Advice” support type. If you have checked the Uses Manual and genuinely can’t find a reference to your issue we will take this into account. If you tick this and it’s obvious you didn’t look, you get listed in our little black book (and NO WAY do you want that to happen).

Show Attachments frame

Depending on the Support Type, this frame may become visible, and some or all of the following checkboxes may be enabled. If you tick any checkboxes, the relevant files will automatically be attached to the email

Job (current):

The currently open job.

Job (exported):

A job that you have previously exported using the Export menu-item (Project menu).

Job I can’t open:

If you can’t open the job, tick this. StairBiz will present the Open Job window for you to select the job. StairBiz then archives the job into a temporary one-job database and attaches it. If the issue relates to a project containing multiple jobs (and the issue is about the project, rather than the individual jobs in the project) then you will need to manually send us an archive file containing the project – see Chapter 20/ What to do if there’s a problem/ Sending us a job archive.

Jobs Database

Only attach this if it is imperative that you do so (very rare – basically only if we instruct you to do so). There is a limit to the size of database that can be sent this way (you will be alerted). Before attaching a jobs database, go to the Project menu and select “Database Compact” to clean it up and therefore reduce its size. This applies the local jobs database only (whether you are connected or not) – we have no mechanism for sending the jobs database from the server – so be sure that the issues are replicable when not connected.

Custom sheet

If a particular Custom sheet is relevant, tick this (you’ll be presented with a list of custom sheets).

Defaults Database

Only attach this if you know it to be pertinent to the enquiry (otherwise wait for us to request it). All defaults relating to a particular job are saved with the job (except for filters), so unless it’s a filters issue or a unit/stair/bullnose template issue we generally don’t need it. There’s also a chance we already have a relevant copy of you defaults (from the last time you sent them), so keep this in mind.

CNC Current Prefs

If the issue relates to or is affected by your CNC Prefs, tick this. Note that CNC Prefs are not stored in your Defaults database (they are in fact stored in the Job’s database, but we can export them from this database so as not to send the whole database). This attachment does not include the g-code template.

Password Request

This Support Type must be used for all password requests (other than the very first request during the one-week grace period, which can be made from the Passwords button in the Passwords window). If your password has expired and you can’t get in to StairBiz, you can open this Email window by clicking the Passwords button in the Passwords window.

One password is for THIS computer:

If this is the case, tick this box. StairBiz will automatically insert this computer’s Software Code in the relevant section of the email body.

1. Please provide more evaluation time:

Tick this to request an extension to your first evaluation period (generally one month). The request is not automatically granted, so please indicate in the appropriate space in the body of the email the status of your evaluation so far (i.e. why you need more time).

2. I have made a payment – please remove evaluation notice

As soon as you make a payment on StairBiz (even if we have not yet received it) we are generally happy to supply a password that removes the “Evaluation Only” notice from windows and sheets in StairBiz.

3. I have paid in full at least two weeks ago – please provide full password.

When we’ve had a chance to verify receipt of payment, you are entitled to your full license passwords.

Email body

Include anything here that is relevant to your enquiry. You may capture images (with StairBiz capture) and paste them into the body. Do NOT do full-screen captures (they are never necessary and only bloat the email. If you include photos, be sure they are not excessive large or hi-resolution (about one MB would be considered a maximum (otherwise send it zipped in a normal email). You do not need to include your current version or whether you are currently networked (it is automatically inserted into the header). If you enquiry is a bug notification BE SURE to include the steps necessary for us to recreate the problem (i.e. for us to SEE the problem). Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words – if we have difficulty trying to figure out what you mean it’s only human nature that your enquiry will go to the bottom of the list (sorry – but that’s the way it works when we’re extremely busy, which is always).

Export Templates window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Export Templates menu-item

Allows you to create templates for exporting job data to an external application. These templates are then listed under the Export menu and can be used at any time during job processing.

Buttons: Templates

New: Creates a new template Save As: Saves the current new or existing template using the name you give in the Save As dialog window. Delete: Deletes the current template. Save: Saves changes to the current template.

Buttons: Fields

Add: Adds a field to the field list. The Set Field window will open where you can select any of hundreds of job fields. Select the field category from the list on the left. Select the field from the list on the right and click the Paste button (or simply double click the field). The Set Field window will close and the field will be added to the Field list. Change: Opens the Set Field window where you can change the currently selected field. Delete: Delete the currently selected field.

Buttons: Field Order

The order of the fields in the list is important – fields will be exported in the order shown. You can move fields up or down using these two buttons.

How to export fields

When a job is open, you can select an appropriate Export template from the main Export menu. The data contained in fields from the job (corresponding to the fields in your export template) are added to the Microsoft clipboard. If there is more than one field they will be separated by tabs. From here you can insert these tab delimited fields into any external application that will accept tab-delimited text pasted from the clipboard. All fields are formatted as text.

Extra Length Defaults window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Extra Lengths menu-item Allows you to specify how much extra length should be allocated to each component when listed in the Materials window, the Bill Of Materials sheet, and Custom sheets. Note that these extra lengths do not show in other specifications and drawings - they are for costing and cutting only. Also allows you to specify a wastage or round-up on a category-by-category basis. Note that there are settings in the “GLUE-UPS” category of the Setout window that affect how extra lengths are applied to glue-ups for strings, treads and landings. See: Chapter 22 Miscellaneous Topics / “Waste, Extra Length and Rounding Up”.

Fittings window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Fittings menu-item Here we set the default properties and dimensions (settings) for handrail fittings. These settings affect the way StairBiz draws these fittings, and in most cases also affects the calculation of the length of adjacent handrail sections. The settings should reflect the dimensions in the field (i.e. as installed), rather than the dimensions of the fittings as purchased. You can save multiple copies of the Fittings window, each containing different settings (for different styles of handrail). The appropriate settings are then linked to each handrail style in the Styles window (Handrail category). Which fittings are used in what situations as selected in the Elevations mode of the Design window (defaults are saved with the relevant newel in the Unit Templates and Stair Templates).

Amending

To amend a value, double-click the value, change it, then either press the Enter key or simply click somewhere else. See Editing. If you want changes to affect the current job, you need to reselect the fitting in the job’s Style window for Handrail (see Components window).

Buttons

Save

Saves changes made to the current Fittings window.

Save As

Saves the current Fittings window under a different name. You can then change values as required.

Open (pull down list)

Opens an alternative Fittings window and loads the values into the list. These settings were created using the Save As button.

Delete

Deletes the current Fittings window.

Print

Prints the current Fittings window.

Export/Import

Exports the current window to a file or imports a previously exported file to the current window (overwriting the current settings). This is useful only for moving settings from one computer to another where you don’t wish to move the entire defaults database.

Gooseneck

~1 Min horizontal

Minimum horizontal distance from the face of a newel flat to the inside of a gooseneck vertical. If the gooseneck ends at a wall (i.e. no newel and no rosette) this same distance would apply.

~2 Inside vert to pin (no cap)

Horizontal distance from the centre of a OTP newel (called the “pin”) to the inside of a gooseneck vertical.

~112 Inside vert to centre cap

Horizontal distance from the centre of tandem cap to the inside of a gooseneck vertical. See diagram ~2

~3 Inside vert to turn

Plan-view horizontal distance from the intersections of the centre of the rails (i.e. centre of the newel) to the inside of a gooseneck vertical. This is similar to ~2 (above).

~4 Pin to end

Horizontal distance from the centre of a OTP newel to the end (for return ends or any other termination other than a rosette).

~5 Tandem Length

Horizontal distance from the inside of a gooseneck vertical to the start of level rail above the gooseneck. The tandem has no cap. See also Inside vert to pin (~2)

~7 Default Vertical Drop

Vertical distance from the underside of the horizontal rail to the bottom of the vertical drop in all cases where the stair design is not dictating this distance (i.e. usually where there is no rail on the high side of the gooseneck).

~8 UpEase inside radius

The radius of the upease measured at the top of the rail.

~113 Overease inside radius

The inside radius of an overease used at the top of the vertical of a gooseneck. If you don’t use an overease (which you probably don’t – most people use a mitre), leave this at zero. For an overease to work, Min Horizontal (~1), Default vertical drop (~7) and Inside Vertical to turn (~112), all in this Gooseneck category, must be at least the amount of this radius.

Opening Cap

~9 Radius of cap

The plan-view radius of the opening cap.

~10 Pin to back

The distance from the centre of the cap to the end of the opening cap.

Tandem Cap

~110 Pin to level rail

The distance from the pin to the start of level rail.

~111 Radius of cap

The plan-view radius of the tandem cap.

OverEase

~11 Outside radius

The radius measured to the top of the rail.

OverEase ReturnEnd

~12 Pin to front

From the centre of the newel to the front of the return end.

~13 Pin to back

From the centre of the newel to the back of the return end.

ReturnEnd

~14 Total Length

Total length of the return end.

~15 Pin to front

From the centre of the newel to the front of the return end.

Rosette 1 and 2

Rosette 1 and Rosette 2 are not distinguished by any particular attribute, although probably one would be round and the other oval (the user chooses which in the Design/Elevations window).

~16 Horizontal width

From left edge to right edge.

~17 Vertical Height

From top to bottom.

~18 Thickness

Thickness (depth).

StartEase

~19 Pin to front

From the centre of the newel to the front of the return end.

~20 Pin to back

From the centre of the newel to the back of the return end.

~21 UpEase radius

The radius measured to the top of the rail.

Turn

~22 Inside radius

Radius of inside of turn.

~39 Centre to each end

Distance from the intersections of the centre of the rails (i.e. centre of the newel if there was one) to the ends of the turn.

TurnCap

~23 Pin to each end

Distance from the centre of the newel to the ends of the turn.

~24 Cap Radius

Radius of the cap.

Corner Wreath

~118 Inside corner; centreline radius

Used for a rake to rake transition at the inside corner of a landing. Imagine the wreath rail has a round profile (whether or not it has) so there is no twisting effect. If you lay the fitting on the floor, this value is the radius of the centreline.

~119 Outside corner; centreline radius

Same as above, but used for a rake to rake transition at the outside corner of a landing.

UpEase

~25 Inside radius

Radius measured at the top of the rail.

~57 UpEase max angle

The maximum angle of the upease before StairBiz will automatically revert to an UpEase90.

UpEase90

~58 Inside radius

Radius measured at the top of the rail – see ~25.

Shift

~115 Length end to end

The total length of the shift from end to end

~116 Inside radius

The smaller radius

~117 Outside radius

The larger radius (if zero, StairBiz will calculate it based on the smaller radius and the rail width)

Turn Into Wall

~76 Hoz length for 'Long'

Where a raked rail (usually wallrail) terminates without a newel, fitting options include TurnOverEaseLong, MitreLevelMitre, LevelMitre, LevelUpEase, ReturnEndLevelMitre, ReturnEndLevelUpEase. Each of these have a level section of rail (often required by building code for commercial environments). This setting determines the default length of this level section of rail.

~77 Extra wallbrackets turn-level end

For the level section of rail referred to in ~76 (above), this setting determines the number of extra wallrail brackets required (a number 0 to 4)

Volute

Volutes are measured along the centreline of the handrail.

When we calculate the edges of the volute by adding half a handrail around the outside of the polygon, we end up with a volute.

The centreline is made up of one straight section and six radii. Following is an exaggerated illustration of the first illustration.

The shape of the volute is determined by the following properties. Note that by far the easiest way to set these properties it by measuring an actual volute (or existing CAD drawing).

~40 Straight

Length of straight section from the bottom of the UpEase to start of volute radius (from 0 to 1).

~41 Radius 1

The radius of the first arc (1 to 2).

~42 Radius 2

The radius of the second arc (2 to 3).

~43 Radius 3

The radius of the third arc (3 to 4).

~44 Radius 4

The radius of the fourth arc (4 to 5).

~45 Radius 5

The radius of the fifth arc (5 to 6).

~46 Radius 1 sweep

The sweep in degrees of the first arc (1 to 2).

~47 Radius 2 sweep

The sweep in degrees of the second arc (2 to 3).

~48 Radius 3 sweep

The sweep in degrees of the third arc (3 to 4).

~49 Radius 4 sweep

The sweep in degrees of the fourth arc (4 to 5).

~50 Radius 5 sweep

The sweep in degrees of the fifth arc (5 to 6).

~51 Radius 6 sweep

As we move around the second arc from 2 to 3, at a certain point we jump off this second arc (at point 7) to form the arc from 7 to 6. Radius 6 sweep is the sweep in degrees from 2 to 7. It determines the location of point 7. Radius 6 sweep probably should not be less than Radius 2 sweep (otherwise there may be a distortion of the volute). The arc from 6 to 7 has a radius calculated by StairBiz. StairBiz attempts to join up arc 5-6 and arc 2-7 the best it can (which may require the addition of a small straight section).

~52 Nose to start X

The distance from the start of the straight section of volute (point 0 in the illustration) to the nose of the bottom tread. If you leave this dimension as zero, StairBiz will calculate it to balance the volute on the bullnose tread as best it can.

~53 Pin to start X

The distance from the start of the straight section of volute (at the centreline - point 0 in the illustration) to the centre of the newel (along the line of the straight section - positive is towards the bottom nosing).

~54 Pin to start Y

The distance from the start of the straight section of volute (at the centreline - point 0 in the illustration) to the centre of the newel (perpendicular to the line of the straight section - positive is away from the centre of the stair).

~59 Balusters for volute

The number of balusters positioned on the bullnose tread.

Turnout and Small Turnout

Turnouts are calculated (almost) identically to volutes (see above). The only difference is there whereas for a volute Radius sweep 6 is measured from point 2 along the arc towards point 3, for a turnout it is measured from point 1 along the arc towards point 2. In other words, point 7 is along the 1-2 arc. Radius 6 sweep probably should not be less than Radius 1 sweep (otherwise there may be a distortion of the turnout). Other than that the only difference is in the properties you set. Generally the sweeps would be less than for a volute, and the radii would need adjusting.

Disassemble

~33 Goosenecks

With this set to true (T), StairBiz will disassemble goosenecks into their individual components (upeases, vertical, turn, tandem etc) and send and these components to the Part Filters window one at a time. With this set to false (F) StairBiz will send the goosenecks to the Part Filters window as a single assembled unit.

~34 Start/End Easings

With this set to true (T), StairBiz will disassemble start and end easings into their individual components (upease/overease and return end/start cap) and send and these components to the Part Filters window one at a time. With this set to false (F) StairBiz will send them to the Part Filters window as a single assembled unit.

~35 Volutes

With this set to true (T), StairBiz will disassemble volutes and turnouts into their individual components (volute/turnout and upease) and send and these components to the Part Filters window one at a time. With this set to false (F) StairBiz will send them to the Part Filters window as a single assembled unit.

~114 Spec Vertical as Handrail

Applies only if Gooseneck parts are set to disassemble. If you want verticals to be processed as handrail, set this to True (the default setting is True). If there is a fitted mitre or overease at the top of gooseneck you may want it to go through the filter as a Vertical – set this to false (F).

Divert GNeck

~106 Parts; Block/Tandem to Terminate

The fitting types GNeckBlock, GNeckTandem and GNeckTerminate may all amount to the same thing in the Parts window. If you want each GNeckBlock and GNeckTandem to be sent to your Fittings part filter as a GNeckTerminate, set this to “Y” (yes), otherwise “N” (no). Note that this would be redundant if you disassemble goosenecks (see above).

~107 Labour; Block/Tandem to Terminate

Same as above, except relates to labour filters.

Folders window

From : Defaults menu ; Folders menu-item Projects, Stair Templates, Unit Templates, Well Templates and Bullnose Templates can be grouped in folders. When you view projects in the Open Project widow, you are viewing the projects from the current project folder. When you view stair templates in the Stair Templates section of the Design window, you are viewing templates in the current Stair Templates folder, etc.

Add

To create a new folder, select the appropriate category, click the Add button, type in a new name, then press the Enter key. The folder will be added to the list on the right. This list can be speed searched – see Speed Search Lists

Rename

Select the folder you wish to rename, click the Rename button, edit the name in the text box, then press the Return key.

Delete

Select the folder you wish to delete, then click the Delete button. If you delete a folder, you delete the entire contents of the folder, so be careful (you will be alerted).

Saving a job into a particular folder

Before saving the job, select the appropriate folder at the top/right of the Process window. After saving you can change folders the same way – select a different folder and then save the job. Setting or changing the folder of a job sets or changes that folder for all jobs in the project.

Opening a job from a particular folder

In the Open Project window, select the appropriate folder at the top of the window.

Saving a template into a particular folder

Stair Templates, Unit Templates, Well Templates and Bullnose Templates all operate the same way. When you save a template with the “Send To Templates” menu-item, it will save that template into the current folder. To change the current folder right-click the relevant pane button (e.g. Stair Templates, Stair Design, Well design or Bullnose) at the top/right of the Design window, and select the appropriate folder from the list.

Opening a template from a particular folder

Right-click the relevant pane button in the Design window as discussed in the previous paragraph.

Inventory window

From : Project menu ; Inventory menu-item

Overview

The Inventory Window is very similar to the Directory window, but it contains extra information that relates to item inventory. You will find that the window functions exactly the same as the Directory Window. Please see the section entitled Directory Window for an explanation of how to use the various toolbar buttons in this window. Like the Directory Window, you can also set up views which allow you to customize the column layout of the Directory Window. The Views you set up in this window are independent of the views set up in the Directory Window. When you click on the Choose Column toolbar button, you will notice that there is an additional category of columns called Inventory. These columns will display information about each part that was used in a job. In the Directory window you will see one row per Job. In the Inventory window however, you will see as many rows per job as there are inventory items in each job. This will allow you to see how much material and how many parts are required for any given period of time. By setting up your views and your column filters, you can create any type of Inventory usage report that is needed. You can then Print or Export these reports to Excel.

Inventory Active

All job items do not appear in the Inventory window, only those jobs that have been set to Inventory Active. To manually set a Job’s Inventory to active, open the Materials Window, and select Inventory Active. See Materials Window for more explanation of this.

Inventory Preferences

There are options that determine when a job will be included or excluded from the Inventory Window on the Inventory tab of the Preferences window. See the Preferences window section for more explanation of this.

Invoice window

From : Process menu ; Invoice menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. The Invoice window may be used to generate an invoice in the form of a letter for presentation to the client. All the features and functions available in the Quote window apply to this window.

Job Archive window

Overview

StairBiz allows you to create multiple Archive Database files that you can send jobs to when they are no longer needed. This allows you to keep a copy of your legacy job information without being required to sort through every job you have ever completed, each time you open the Directory Window.

Sending Jobs to an Archive

To send a job or multiple jobs to an archive, open the Directory Window and select the jobs you wish to archive (for projects containing multiple jobs, see next heading). Next, click on Send to Archive button on the toolbar. At this point, the Job Archive window will open, allowing you to select the archive you wish to send the job(s) to. Select the Archive from the list, or create a new Archive file to use. If you don’t wish for the jobs to be deleted from your main database as they are moved to the Archive, be sure to de-select the Delete Selected jobs after Archiving option. Next, click Archive to begin the process of moving the jobs to the archive file.

Sending Projects to an Archive

If you wish to send an entire project (i.e. containing multiple jobs) to an archive, be sure all jobs in the project are selected in the Directory window. You may send just some of the jobs in a project to an archive – StairBiz will recreate the project in the archive. If you send more jobs from that project to the archive, StairBiz will add them to the corresponding project in the archive. The same thing happens in reverse, when restoring jobs from an archive.

Creating a new Archive

You can create as many Archive files as you like and time you like. Open the Job Archive window and click on the New Archive button. Name the new archive file (with a name that has not already been used) and click Ok.

Opening an Archive

To open an Archive file to retrieve or check old jobs, click on the Project menu, then click Open Archive. StairBiz will present a list of existing Archive files. Select the Archive and click Open. The window will close and the title bar area of StairBiz will say Using Job Archive [Name] where [Name] is the name of the selected Archive. At this point, you can use StairBiz to Open and Close or even make changes to jobs. All of the Jobs you see listed in the Open Jobs window or Directory window will be jobs that are contained in the current Archive. Until you close the Archive (see below), you will not be able to access your regular jobs. At this point, you can also open the Directory Window and restore jobs back to the main database, much the same way you moved them into the Archive. When an Archive is open, the Directory Window displays a Restore from Archive button instead of a Send to Archive button.

Closing an Archive

Select Close Archive from the Project menu. You will be returned to the main database, and your normal jobs will be available. Note: You cannot Open or Close an Archive while jobs are active. You must first save and close any jobs before using this feature. If you attempt to do otherwise, StairBiz will notify you.

Backing up an Archive

An archive is held as a single database file (no different to the StairBiz Jobs.mdb database file that stores your normal jobs). These files are in the folder … Local (i.e. not networked): C:\StairBiz Program\Defaults\Job Archive
Networked: C:\StairBiz Program\Server\Job Archive Back up these files as required.

Deleting an Archive

You cannot delete an archive from within StairBiz, so navigate to the folder indicated in “Backing up an Archive” and send the relevant archive file to the recycle bin as required.

Job Details window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Details menu-item The Job Details window holds miscellaneous information about the job. The default settings for each new job come from the Job Details Defaults window (under the Defaults menu) NOTE: If "Not used by StairBiz" is noted with any of the following items, it means that StairBiz does not account for it in either materials or labour costing. If a cost allocation needs to be made, it must be done manually. StairBiz will, however, indicate these items in your Custom Sheets.

Fields and buttons

Dispatch

Choose between Pickup, Deliver Only, or Install.

Agreed Date

The date on which job completion is promised to the client.

Scheduled Date

The date on which job completion is currently scheduled according to the Schedule window.

Travel Time

Travel time settings used to be here - now they are in the Quote Calculation window. If you enter both minutes and dollars, StairBiz will calculate labour cost using only the dollars, but will include the minutes in the total time calculation (for scheduling purposes only).

Weights

Tick if you want weights and volumes calculated for this job. See Chapter 22 : Miscellaneous topics / Weights and Volumes.

Schedule Colours

These set or reflect colours in the Schedule window for this job. See Schedule window.

Schedule Icons

An icon is a small image. This setting sets or reflects icons in the Schedule window (and also the Directory window) for this job. See Schedule window.

Job requires CNC

Tick this is the job requires CNC. If you do not tick this button, and you export a CNC session from this job, StairBiz will automatically tick it. This setting can be seen in the Directory window and, more importantly, the CNC Sessions List window.

CNC Scheduled Date

The date the job is scheduled for the CNC machine. This setting can be seen in the Directory window and, more importantly, the CNC Sessions List window.

Upper Floor

Select the upper floor material (not used by StairBiz - your record only), and the tongue length and rebate for the top outstep (the tongue length is used by StairBiz to calculate the width of the nosing blank). The default settings are from Dimensions 22 and 24 in the Setout Defaults window.

Lower Floor

Select the lower floor material (not used by StairBiz).

Finish

Select the finish. If By Us is selected, it is assumed that the finish is your responsibility (not used by StairBiz).

Quote From Plan

The quote has been done without a site inspection. There is a custom field which checks this prior to nominating a head-height, and will show the head-height as "?".

Remeasure

A re-measure is required (not used by StairBiz).

Job Briefing

Staff need to be briefed - don't rely entirely on StairBiz sheets (not used by StairBiz).

No Site Power

There is no electricity on site (not used by StairBiz).

Brick Wall Upper

The walls of the upper floor are brick (not used by StairBiz).

Brick Wall Lower

The walls of the lower floor are brick (not used by StairBiz).

Trim Upper Floor

Do you need to create or trim the well (not used by StairBiz).

Trim Centre Wall

Do you need to trim any existing walls (not used by StairBiz).

Tread Protection

Do you need to include tread protectors for the treads. This setting can feed into the Parts and Labour filters as a property (treads category).

Cupboard From/To

The units of the stair under which cupboards will be built (counting from the bottom up). For example, if there are cupboards under units 2 and 3, type “23”. If there is a cupboard under only unit 2, you can type “2” or “22”. (Not used by StairBiz.)

Site Note

Any text you like.

Critical

Tick this to turn the Site Note into a Critical Job Note, which means that when any user opens the job, this note will come up as an alert, and the user will have to click OK to get rid of it.

Job Details Defaults window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Job Details menu-item The Job Details Defaults window is where we set the default settings for the Job Details window for each new job.

Clearing fields on ‘Save Job As’

Save Job As – Prompt to reset Details window

When you do a ‘Save Job As’ (from the Project menu), some like to reset the Job Details window back to the default settings set in this window. In the Miscellaneous Defaults window (Miscellaneous category) there is a setting for Reset Details window on 'Save Job As': “0” = never; “1” = Prompt me first; “2” = Just do it.

Save Job As – Prompt to clear schedule dates

When you do a ‘Save Job As’ (from the Project menu), some like to always clear any existing schedule dates, others like to be prompted first. “T” means prompt first; “F” means just clear them.

Job Flag window

Overview

From : Click the field to the right of the small flag icon in the Process window.
This Allows you to flag a job. In other words, you are alerting either yourself or someone else for a certain reason and (optionally) on a certain date. Most people monitor these flags in a Directory window (often created just for this purpose). Use the flag fields under the Job category. You can change the flag (including to “Complete”) by clicking the flag icon in the Process window.

Labour Filters window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Labour Filters menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. See How StairBiz Costs Labour. In this window you can create filters that generate labour cost transactions for any job. To see how filters work and how to create them, see Chapter 15 : Parts and Labour Filters. The list at the left shows the Filter Categories. These categories correspond to each drop-down list in the Labour window. Essentially there is one for each possible component for a job, plus one for Job, Stair and Unit. Rates List To the right of the Filter Categories is a Rates List. It allows you to set default rates for each category of labour (only relevant for items that use the “Staff” method of labour costing), and set a default loading for labour times for new jobs (see Labour window). Minimum Installation Charges The last three items in the Rates List (see above) are minimum charges for Installation. They only apply if the Dispatch mode (see Details window) is “Install”. If a minimum charge is greater than zero, and the total installation labour for a job is greater than zero but less than this amount, then an adjustment for labour will be included to bring the total installation up to this amount, as follows: If the quote is not split: Even if you have no stair or no balustrade, the minimum charge for Both will apply. This is the case even if the Active checkbox is set to show only one or the other (in which case the charge will show for Active = Stair. If the quote is split: The minimum charge for Stair will apply to the stair quote. The minimum charge for Balustrade will apply to the balustrade quote. Labour Cost Methods To the right of the Rates List are buttons which determine the default settings (for new jobs) for how you want the labour to be costed. Select the button if that category of labour is (by default) to be costed based on the Contract Method. Leave it unselected if that category of labour is to be costed based on Staff Method (time in minutes). Your setting can be changed on a job-by-job basis in that job’s Labour window. If a contract button is NOT ticked for any category, only “Time” result columns (TimePrepare, TimeAssemble, TimeInstall etc.) in the filter are processed for that category when StairBiz calculates labour for the job. If a contract button IS ticked for any category, only “Contract” result columns in the filter are processed for that category (in this case StairBiz still collects any Time data to use for working out total times for the job, but does not use it to cost labour).
Include Parts Labour You have the option of including an allocation for labour with each part in your Parts window. For any one job, you can enable or disable any such labour items. This button is the default setting for each new job (see the corresponding button in the Labour window for the current job).

Labour window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Labour menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. See How StairBiz Costs Labour. This window shows, for this job, the results of the labour cost filters you selected in the Filters and Rates section of this window. (These filters were created in the Labour Filters window). This window shows all labour items for the current job. These labour items can come from:

1. The labour filters selected in the Filter and Rates tab of this window.
2. Labour items specified in the Style window for various components.
3. Labour items shown in the Parts window for various parts.
4. Loose items created in the Loose mode of this window
5. Minimum install labour shown in the Rates list in the Filters and Rates tab of this window.
6. Labour generated from the Special Labour category of the Miscellaneous Defaults window. To see how filters work and how to create them, see Parts and Labour Filters. Note that the Don’t Process menu-item when you right-click a stair unit in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window can force StairBiz to ignore certain units of a stair for the purposes of spec’ing and costing labour and materials. There are two window tabs, as follows:

List Labour

Show

This confines the list to show only the labour category selected. Also, the labour categories shown in the Labour sheet will correspond with those shown here. This can be useful for things like printing an invoice for contract installers (select show Installation, then print the Labour sheet). Preparation will shown both Prep (preparation) and Mach (machining/turning) categories. When you close the Labour window, the Show setting will revert to "Show All".

Loose

Loose allows you to add or delete labour items additional to those generated automatically by your labour filters. In Loose mode there is an Add and Delete button above the list. Loose items costs are added to the job labour calculation.

Calculation

Shows the totals for the list (when not is Loose mode). The Load Times% comes directly from your Labour Filters window (a defaults window) and can be changed here just for this job. It is used only to adjust labour times (minutes) under circumstances that may have impacted labour productivity across the board, and is not intended to be used as a profit margin. It does not impact contract labour values. Done simply puts a tick against the Labour menu-item under the Process menu.

The list

Stage: indicates the five labour stages – Prep (preparation), Mach (machining/turning), Assm (assembly), Delv (delivery) and Inst (installation). Mach items (if any) come directly from styles selected in the Components window for the job which (in the related Style window for that component – click the button on the left of that component) has the style-type set to Blank; Staff Profile. In other words there is a labour component for turning or machining that component. Category: corresponds to the filter category – which filter did this labour cost item come from. Description: comes from the most recent .Caption setting in this filter. Ref: comes from the most recent .Ref setting in this filter and is just a reference to help you track items and debug your filters. Qty: is calculated by StairBiz from the design. It can be the number (count) of this item, or total length of this item, depending on the unit type (see next line) U: is the unit type for this quantity- “m” is per meter, “f” is per foot, otherwise it is per number of items. Method: is the labour cost method used to calculate each item. Staff means the item is being costed as Time (minutes, from the filter or the Style window) times Rate (from the Staff Rates list shown in the Filters and Rates tab of this window). Contract means the item is being costed at a fixed value (as specified in the filter or Style window). Time: is the number of minutes (set in your filter) allocated to each item, meter or foot. It will only be applied to the labour cost calculation if the relevant labour stage is not set to Contract (unless this has been overridden in the filter) – see Filters and Rates (below). Also see Staff Method. Profile stage items are an exception – see Stage (above). When entering minutes in Loose Items, there is a limit of 32000 minutes (about 540 hours) for any single labour stage. You can enter the minutes in an “hour” format (e.g. “2:45” is 2 hours 45 mins). Without a colon separator, any entry is treated as minutes only. Rate: If Method is Staff, this is the staff labour rate per hour for this labour stage. The default comes from the Labour Filters window, and can be overridden for this job in the Filters and Rates tab of this window. If the Method is Contract, this is the contract fixed dollar amount per item or per length for this item. Total: shows the total dollar allocation for this item. If Time (i.e. Staff method) is used, it will show the Time (minutes) divided by 60 (to get hours) multiplied by Rate multiplied by Qty. If Contract is used (i.e. Contract Method) it will show Rate multiplied by Qty. The sum of these totals is shown next to the Labour As Shown heading at the top of the window.

Done

Simply places a tick against the Labour menu-item under the Process menu.

Include Parts Labour

Instructs StairBiz to include installation labour shown in the Parts window. For example, you may have labour in the Parts window and want it to be used only under certain circumstances. The default setting for this button (for each new job) comes from the corresponding button in the Labour Filters window.

Include Extra Lengths

Instructs StairBiz to include extra lengths and rounding-up in the lengths used for the purposes of costing labour. The default setting for this button (for each new job) comes from the corresponding button in the Labour Filters window. See: Chapter 22 Miscellaneous Topics / “Waste, Extra Length and Rounding Up”.

Manual Mode

This adds all (non-loose) labour items to the Loose category of the window. This allows you to manually delete or amend any or all items generated automatically by StairBiz. You do not need to be in Manual Mode to add items – simply go to the Loose category of the window. To amend Staff Rates, you do not need to be in Manual Mode – simply edit the staff rates in the list shown in the Filters and Rates tab of this window.

Include in Inventory

Instructs StairBiz to include labour items when exporting inventory.

Refresh

In the same way that there is a Refresh button in the job's Components window, this button updates all values in this window to those from your current Defaults database (e.g. labour rates, minimum charges etc.) - see Chapter 14: Pricing Refresh

Sort by Category

For both the Labour Cost window and the Labour Cost sheet, you can optionally swap the Stage and Category columns. This might be useful to group items by their category, rather than by their stage (e.g. all “Tread” items would be grouped, regardless of Prep, Build, Install, etc. stages). See the Labour window sort by Category setting in the Miscellaneous Defaults window, View Sheets category.

Manual Sorting

In the Labour Cost list, for both the Stage and Category columns, if the text in a cell is identical to the text in the cell above, StairBiz leaves the cell blank (for the sake of clarity). This is fine, except if you want to manually sort one or other of these two columns (by clicking on the column header), in which case you really need all cells to contain their actual text. To achieve this, you can click the For Sort checkbox at the top of the window.

Filters and Rates

Labour Category (Rates)

Shows the default staff rates for each labour stage (they come from the Labour Filters window). It is only relevant is there are any Staff Method items (i.e. based on Time) in the list. They can be amended just for this job by double clicking a rate and changing it. The list will update to reflect any changes. Minimum Installation Charge See this heading in the Labour Filters window.

Contract

Shows the default Contract settings for each labour stage (they come from the Labour Filters window). It is only relevant is there are any Contract Method items in the list. You can change these settings just for this job here. The list will update to reflect any changes.

Shared

This window can be shared amongst multiple jobs in a project. If this job is the only job in the current project, this button will be disabled. If there are multiple jobs in this project, this button will be enabled and ticked by default. If you do not want this window shared with other jobs in the project, un-tick this button – the window will be disconnected from the project and any changes you make to it will only affect this one job. See Shared Windows.

Newels, Stair, Balustrade etc.

Opens the relevant tab showing current filter selections.

Filter selections

Click the down-arrow to the right of each filter category to select from the list of filters available for this category (i.e. filters you have created in the Labour Filters window). You can select a filter, or select “None”. This list can be speed searched – see Speed Search Lists. You can modify the contents of any filter by clicking the button to the right of the filter selection. You can even modify a “None” filter (a “None” filter is actually a filter with no current contents.) All filters for this job (and any changes you make to them) are saved with the job. To see how filters work and how to create or modify them, see Parts and Labour Filters.

Selection Templates

Your current filter selections can be named and saved, so that next time you want to select all those same selections required only a single click. By defaults, the “Default” selection template is selected for each new job.

To modify an existing selection template, do as follows:

1. Select the template to be modified from the drop-down list to the right of “Selection Templates” (you can also modify the “Default” template).
2. Select the appropriate filters for each category.
3. Click the Save button.

To create one or more alternative templates, do as follows:

1. Select the template which most closely resembles the template you wish to create.
2. Select the appropriate filters for each category.
3. Click the Save As button.
4. Type the name of the new template at the top
5. Click OK.

To delete a template:

1. Select the template.
2. Click the Delete button

Regenerating default labour costs

The contents of labour cost filters selected for a job are not saved with that job (although the names of the filters for each category are). If you make changes to a labour filter (either from the defaults window or from within the Labour Cost window of a job), those changes apply immediately to the current job, and all other jobs when you open them. This is one of the reasons why it’s important to put the Quote Calculation window in Lock mode prior to issuing a quotation for that job – it ensures that the quoted amounts do not change.

Language window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Language menu-item The Language window allows you to

1. Modify some of the terminology used in the StairBiz program (e.g. change “Bullnose” to “Starter Step”),
2. Modify the functionality of some buttons and text fields. For example, in the Details window there is a check button for “No Site Power”. This is just for you – StairBiz does not use it in the design or costing of stairs. If you don’t need such a button, but do need a “Poor Access” button, you can change it here (be sure that the functionality of a button or text field is not used directly by StairBiz before changing it – if in doubt check with support).
3. Change the shortcut keys for buttons and menus.
4. Completely translate into a different language. This window operates in the same way for all three tasks, so when I use the term “translate” in the following discussion, I’m referring to any of these things. Every piece of text ever shown in the StairBiz program (menus, buttons, labels, reports, alert messages etc.) can be translated (with a few minor exceptions). This includes single words, phrases and sentences – for the sake of simplicity I will refer to all these as “phrases”.

Language

Select your local language here. None – You do not intend to modify any existing terminology or language. With this selected, there is no second column in the main list in the tabs of this window. English – Your local language is English, but you wish to change some of the terminology Anything else - There may or may not be a translation if your language is other than English – contact StairBiz Support.

The list

Has the same function as the list under the Translate tab, so we’ll discuss it there.

Translate

Translate From:

Select the language from which you wish to translate. In most cases this should be Base English. The language you select will be shown in the Left hand column of the list below.

In-cell editing

Determines whether you will be translating directly in the list (i.e. typing in the right-hand column) or translating from the two text boxes directly below this button. The difference is that with in-cell editing, the text is side by side, otherwise it is vertically aligned. Whatever you prefer is OK.

Group By Context

Phrases can be (and probably should be) organized according to their context (in most cases this context is the window in which the phrase would be seen). If this button is selected, the blue rows in the list below show the context headings. Each context can be expanded to show all the phrases used in that context by clicking the “+” at the left of the context heading. If this button is not selected, there is no context grouping. The problem with this is that there may be a word that is used more than once and has a different meaning (and therefore translation) depending on the context.

Move All >>

Copies all text in the left hand column across to the right hand column. Note that in most cases this is not necessary – read on.

Clear

Deletes the contents of the right-hand column.

The list

The column on the left shows the language you are translating from. The column on the right shows the translation. If any field in the right-hand column is empty, StairBiz will use the phrase in the left-hand column (i.e. none, some or all fields on the right can hold a translation – it’s up to you). If there is no second column (i.e. no column on the right), it is because you have "None" set as your language in the Language tab of the Language window. You probably need to set it to "English".

Translating

Click the row you wish to translate. Either in the right-hand column (same row), or in the lower of the two text fields at the top of the window, type your translation. In many cases there will be a vertical red line some way along the text field. This indicates the maximum length of the translation. This is, in most cases, because that translated text will go into a button or label etc. which has a specific length. If the text is longer than the button or label, it will wrap – any words after the maximum length will probably disappear, and if it is a single word phrase being translated the entire contents of the button or label could disappear, leading you to think there is some bug in the translator. Do NOT exceed maximum length if the red line indicator appears. Once again – you do not need any text in the right hand column for phrases which do not need a translation. If nothing is in the right-hand column StairBiz will use what’s in the left-hand column. To copy a left hand column text field to the clipboard, copy it from the text field at the top of the window.

Shortcut keys

Some phrases (only those for buttons and main menus) can have a “&” inserted at some point along the phrase (usually at the beginning, but not necessarily). The letter after the “&” is the short cut key to enact that button or menu using the keyboard. On your screen, the letter after the “&” is underlined (i.e. you won’t see the “&” – you will only see the underlined letter). For example … In the translation; “&Done” Will show in that button as “Done” With the window containing this button is active, pressing Alt-D is the same as clicking this button. In the translation; “Ne&w” Will show in that button as “New” Here, pressing Alt-W is the same as clicking this button. You can completely customize your shortcut keys for all main menus, main menu-items and buttons by making a translation of the appropriate phrases and changing, deleting or adding the “&”. Be sure you don’t use the same shortcut key for multiple buttons in the same window or main menu heading (for the purposes of shortcut keys, main menu headings are treated the same as buttons in the active window) – StairBiz will obviously only enact the first menu or button it finds associated with that shortcut.

Sorts

To sort a column, click its header row (at the top). To reverse sort, click it again. When you sort columns with the Group By Context button selected, the Miscellaneous context heading will expand (I don’t know why, and we can’t seem to stop it – simply collapse it again after the sort).

Find and Replace

Before attempting any replacements in this section of the window, note the Terminology tab in the window (and the discussion of it below) – it provides a quick and easy way to make all the most common replacements. If you have the Group By Context button selected, selecting the Find and Replace tab will unselect it (finds and replaces operate on all phrases in the list.

Find

Enter the text you wish to find.

Replace

Enter the text which will replace what is found.

Search (Base English)

The language shown in the brackets will be the language selected for your first column (i.e. the language you are translating from).

Search (English)

The language shown in the brackets will be the language selected for your second column (i.e. the language you are translating to).

Whole word search

With this selected only whole words will be found (e.g. when searching for “cat”, it won’t be found in “catch the ball” but it will be found in “the cat lives here”)

Find Next

Will find the next occurrence of the word you are looking for. Searches are case sensitive – a search on “Newel” will not find “newel” (this is deliberate, and can be changed – see Case Sensitive below).

Replace

When there is a “find”, you can replace the relevant word by clicking this Replace button. If the search is on the first column, it will copy the contents of the first column for the row and insert it into the second column for the row, but with the change according to your Replace text. If the search is on the second column, it will change the second column text according to your Replace text.

Replace All

This is the same as clicking Find and then Replace multiple times until there are no more finds.

Mixed Case

Find/Replace on a single word can be mixed case (i.e. a search on “newel” will also find “Newel” and the replacement will be sensitive to the case). To do this, select the Mixed Case checkbox prior to clicking the Find/Replace buttons.

Singular/Plural

Find/Replace on a single word in the singular case can also find and replace the plural of that word (i.e. a search on “newel” will also find “newels” and the replacement will be appropriate). To do this, select the Singular/Plural checkbox prior to clicking the Find/Replace buttons.

Terminology

This section of the window provides a quick and easy way to make all the most common terminology replacements (i.e. it is an easier alternative to using Find and Replace for the most common terminology changes). The wording of our common terminology as shown here is specially chosen to facilitate this process – no term shown here is used in any other context within StairBiz, or within this User’s Manual, so that you can safely do a global find/replace without worrying about unintended consequences. The terms on the left are what we call things. Click on any term you do not understand to read its definition in box at the top of the window. Type your replacement term in the box on the right of the original term. (If you are happy with the original term and don’t need to change it, leave the box on the right empty.) Do not use any upper case letters – StairBiz will resolve all that appropriately for you. When you've typed in all your changes you want, click the Go button at the top/right of the window – StairBiz will update all terminology in one hit. To change terminology you have already changed using this utility (e.g. you made a mistake), simply type in the alternative replacement phrase(s) and click Go. If you want to revert a change to its original StairBiz terminology, you cannot simply delete the replacement terminology from the column on the right and click Go (StairBiz ignores any empty replacements) . You can either type the original terminology into the column on the right, or you can go back to the Translate tab and either manually delete the relevant items in the column on the right, or click the Clear button to clear all translations (StairBiz uses Base English for items that do not have a translation).

Updating StairBiz with the changes

After you have completed any translations, close the Language window. Windows already open will not update until you close those windows and re-open them. The Components window will not update until you quit StairBiz and re-launch. The main menus will not update until you quit StairBiz and re-launch. All else will update immediately.

Special Note

In the Set Field category, the word “LIST” is important. You can change it, so long as every instance of it is changed in an identical way.

Layers window

You can open the Layers window by clicking the button located just above the dimension tools in the Design window. The Layers window shows all layers and levels which have any stair and/or well associated with them. It gives very precise control over what is shown, outlined or hidden and is very useful when working in stacked stairs and/or wells (i.e. one over the other). For example, if you want to marry the well on the second level with the bottom of a stair going from second to third, you can hide everything except that stair and that well – it makes it much easier to work with stacked stairs.

The easiest way to learn about the Layers window is to create a design with multiple stairs/wells and just start clicking on the buttons. The Layers window applies to all panes of the Design window (including the Elevations pane). The Layers window hovers over the Design window when not active, otherwise you can close it by clicking its Close box, or clicking again the same button used to open it. The layers window also impacts the spec’ing and pricing or materials. Balconies, stairs and/or units that are hidden are not included in any Cutting List, BOM or pricing. This may be useful (for example) where you have multiple stairs and want to restrict output to Custom Sheets etc. to one stair at a time.

Materials window

Overview From : Process menu ; Material Cost menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. The Materials window is where StairBiz calculates the cost of materials for the job. Every piece of material in the stair and/or balcony is accounted for, including both blank items and parts. All items of the same timber/part and size are grouped together and a summary is made. Note that the Don’t Process menu-item when you right-click a stair unit in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window can force StairBiz to ignore certain units of a stair for the purposes of spec’ing and costing labour and materials. Costs for blanks and parts can be amended here. In this window you can also create “Loose” items (style, part or line items additional to the items created automatically by StairBiz or your part filters for the current design). See How StairBiz Costs Materials.

Buttons

Part Price

Buy, Sell 1, Sell 2

These buttons specify which price column in your Parts window you want StairBiz to use to cost any parts that show up in this window (in all Show modes). The default setting comes from the corresponding buttons in the Parts window. You can change it here just for the current job if required.

Show

Blank Summary

In this mode StairBiz displays a summary of all sizes and timbers for blank items (i.e. components not converted to parts), and shows the unit cost and total cost for each. The “Cost” fields are generally amendable (see below).

Blank Items

Show a full (non-summarized) list of all blank items for the current job.

Parts from Filter

Shows all parts generated from part filters selected in the Components window.

Loose Items

Loose items are extra items created manually by you for the job – StairBiz has no automatic control over loose items. Loose items can include blank items, parts and line items. You can create loose items even if there is no current design (for example, a client walks in and wants to buy some balusters and handrail). In this mode you can create, amend or delete loose items. When you select Manual Mode, all Blank items and Parts as shown as Loose Items (see below).

Include

Blank Items

Only show (in this window and the cutting list, BOM and Material Cost sheets) items that are generated from blank timber.

Parts

Only show (in this window and the cutting list, BOM and Material Cost sheets) parts that are generated from your part filters.

Line Items

Only show (in this window and the cutting list, BOM and Material Cost sheets) line items that are generated from your part filters.

Inventory Active

When this button is selected, StairBiz will add all items in the Materials window to the Inventory table in the Jobs database. It does this at the time the job is saved. Inventory items for all or any jobs can be viewed in the Inventory window (Project menu). Note that the materials for the job are always saved with the job (whether or not the Inventory Active button is checked), so only use this button if you have a specific reason to maintain a global inventory. This button can be triggered by an event other than the user manually selecting it – see the Archive tab in the Preferences window.

Roundup only for pricing

Normally roundup (a special kind of wastage set in your Timbers window and your Extra Lengths window) applies to both your pricing and to the cutting list. Now, if you want it to apply to pricing but not to the cutting list (and BOM etc.), this is the setting (for the default setting see Roundup only for pricing in the Quote Calc category of the Miscellaneous Defaults window.

Tabs

Blank Summary

Although the total lengths in the summary may be rounded, all calculations for costing are done using exact lengths. If any field in the list is empty, assume that this field has the same information as the first non-empty field above it. Description: The description of the item. BLANKS include all components that need a piece of blank timber pulled from the rack (that piece may or may not subsequently need machining/turning). If the blank is for a style that needs machining/turning, there will be a cost for that machining/turning shown under the “MACHINING” heading at the bottom of the summary – see Style window. STYLE PARTS are parts specified by the Styles window of a component (Style Type = “Part Is …”; they do not include parts specified by a part filter – see below). These parts are costed according to the price and UOM (unit of measurement) in the Parts window, and the Part Price category shown at the top of this Materials window). Timber/Part: The timber type if the item is not a part, or Part Id if the item is a part. Width/Depth: Size of the blank or item Length/Qty: The total length of the item(s), rounded, or the total number of items. These lengths do not include waste. UOM: (Unit of measurement); “m” for per metre; “f” for per foot; “e” for per each. Waste: The waste allocation as derived from the Timbers window or the Parts window. It is amendable where appropriate (see below).This waste is factored into the Total for the item, but is not factored into the Length. Cost: Cost per UOM, from the Timbers window or Parts window. It is generally amendable (see below). Total: Total cost for this summary line. This includes waste (if any – see above).

Amending Cost

This cost (either for a part or a blank) can be amended by double-clicking the cost and editing it (this will not impact your defaults). In other words you can override the default prices for any particular summary item. If an item is based on another item’s cost, it is not amendable (you will be alerted if you try) - for example, landing nose (which is the pro-rata cost of a tread), skirting (which is the pro-rata cost of a string), plus any item whose size has been changed from that shown in the Components window (which is the pro-rata cost of that item). Amending a cost will automatically change the cost of any other identical item in the list.

Amending Waste

The waste can be amended where appropriate (this will not impact your defaults). Amending a waste will automatically change the waste of any other identical item in the list.

Blank Items

Quantities and lengths are amendable in Manual mode.

Parts from Filter

Shows a list of all parts generated by the part filters selected in the Components window for the job. To see how filters work and how to create them, see Parts and Labour Filters. Category: corresponds to the filter category – which filter did this part come from. Part Id: the Id of the part (in your Parts window) which has been specified by the filter. Description: comes from the most recent .Caption setting in this filter. Ref: comes from the most recent .Ref setting in this filter and is just a reference to help you track items and debug your filters. Qty: is calculated by StairBiz from the design. It is the number (count) of this part. $Sell: is the sell price of this part (from your Parts window). UOM: (Unit of measurement); “m” for per metre; “f” for per foot; “e” for per each (from your Parts window). Total: If UOM is “e” - $Sell x Qty. If UOM is “m”/”f” - $Sell x Qty x Lth.

Loose Items

Loose items are extra items created manually by you for the job. You can create loose items even if there is no current design. Click the Add button to create a loose item (short-cut is Alt-A). Click the Delete button to delete a selected item.

Types of Loose Items:

Select the type of loose item by clicking the Type field (in the first column) for the new item. Note that you can preselect the Type by right-clicking the Add button. StairBiz remembers your previous Type selection and will set it as the default type for the next item. You can also set the default Type in the Preferences window (Inventory tab). There are four types: Blank; A "Style" item (from your Styles window) comprising a blank piece of timber from your timber rack plus (optionally) some profiling cost (as per the Style window). StairBiz will attempt to auto-price this item based on your selections. Filtered Blank; Same as a blank, but will also run through the Part and Labour filters as selected in your Components and Labour windows. Part; A part from your Parts window. Line Item; Anything you want to make it - basically anything that doesn't lend itself to a blank or part.

Blank

Category; Select a category from the Category field. The remaining fields (except for length) will automatically fill based on your current selections for the job in the Components window (change them if necessary). Style; If necessary you can select a style other than the one selected in the Components window. Styles shown in the pop-up list come from the selected category in your Styles window (Defaults menu). When you select one, the Width, Depth and $Sell fields will auto-fill to correspond to your selection. Timber; If necessary you can select a timber other than the one selected in the Components window. Timber items shown in the pop-up list come from the Timbers window (Defaults menu). When you select one, the $Sell field will auto-fill to correspond to your selection Description; Enter any text you like. Width and Depth; These cannot be manually edited – they always correspond to the selected style. If you need to manually change them it may be more appropriate to use a Line Item type. Qty; Enter any amount you like. The Total field will recalculate. Lth; Enter any amount you like (millimetres or feet/inches). The Total field will recalculate. $Sell; Whenever you select a style, timber, length or quantity, the $Sell field auto-recalculates based on the information about the style and timber in your defaults. You can override this calculation (directly edit the field), but if you then change any of the abovementioned fields the $Sell field will recalculate. Note that the auto-calc by StairBiz can be a little confusing in some cases. For example, depending on your setting in the Style window, a baluster may have the blank cost based on length and the turning cost per baluster (i.e. per each). In these cases the UOM (unit of measurement) is set by StairBiz as “each”, but StairBiz will factor the length into the calculation for blank cost and the turning cost will be per each. U; The unit of measure. It is set by StairBiz based on your Style information and cannot be overridden. Total; The total cost for this item (accounting for quantity, $Sell, length and UOM) is calculated by StairBiz and cannot be overridden. All changes in Total are accounted for in the Materials As Shown field at the top of the window. Total is recalculated whenever Type, Category, Style, Timber, Length or Qty change. If you don't want this behaviour, use a Line Item instead. Note; Enter any text you like.

Filtered Blank

This is identical to the Blank type, except that this item will processed by your Parts and Labour filters (if either is selected for this style category in the Components or Labour window). Thus you can apply labour etc to the blank item. These items can be identified in your filters using the "IsLoose" property (it will be True only for Filtered Blank Loose Items). A Filtered Blank ignores that the Style window might show "Part" and relies instead on the "Revert" setting of the style. If you want a part, set the Loose Type to "Part". A Filtered Blank will not calc a price until you key in a Length. However, if it has a profile cost it will show this profile cost.

Part

All fields; Same as for Blank (above), except for the following: Style; Optional. The main purpose of selecting a style for a 'part' loose item is that the list of parts shown for selection (when you click the 'Timber/Part' cell) will be limited to those in the Parts window of the same style (as shown in the Style column of the Parts window). So it makes the part selection process easier. If you select a style and that style is set to "Part Is" (as opposed to "Part From Filters") in the Style window, then StairBiz will now put only that specific part in the Parts pull-down list for selection. If you do not want this behaviour, hold the SHIFT key down while clicking in the 'Timber/Part' field. Timber/Part; Select the part from the pop-up list (which shows all parts for the selected category and the General category from the Parts window). The $Sell field auto-recalculates based on the part’s cost in your defaults, and uses the current Part Price column shown in this Materials window (you have to switch the Show mode to see this) . Hold down Control key when selecting a PartId and you get a list of Descriptions instead (they are only used for the purposes of selection - once you have selected you will see only the Part ID). Under all circumstances, if you select a part, the description is automatically inserted in the Description column. Delete it if you don't want it. The parts in the pull-down list are limited to the current style and size; to see a full list hold the SHIFT key down when first clicking the field. Width and Depth; N/A. Length: If this part has its UOM (from the Parts window and shown here in the UOM field) set as “each”, then length is not applicable, otherwise set it (the $Sell field will recalculate).

Line Item

Category; N/A. Style; Any text you like. Timber; Any text you like. Width and Depth; Any dimensions you like. Position; Any text you like. Qty; Enter any amount you like. The Total field will recalculate. Lth; Enter any amount you like (millimetres or feet/inches). The Total field will recalculate. $Sell; Any amount you like. The Total field will recalculate. UOM; Select from the pop-up list. Total Cost will recalculate. Total; Same as for Blank (above).

All Types

The following columns are visible only when the Show Loose Item Group Columns checkbox is ticked in the Inventory tab of the Preference window. They are relevant only if you want to categorise your loose items into Stair, Unit, and/or Balustrade/Stair. Stair; The number (index) of the relevant stair (generally the first stair is the first stair you create in the design, and they increment upwards as you add further stairs). You can see the stair number by right-clicking in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window and selecting “Show Stair Id”. Stair; The number (index) of the relevant unit within the stair (generally the first unit is the top unit and they increment upwards as you move down the stair). Group; Stair or Balustrade. Only relevant if you use the Split Quote or Active Stair features in the Process window.

Changing a value to the same value does not trigger a recalculation; Be sure to change to something different then change back again if you want to pick up on new defaults, etc.

Total

Shows the sum of all items in all Show modes.

Miscellaneous Defaults window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Miscellaneous Defaults menu-item Here we set the default terms of trade for new clients, and miscellaneous information that affects the way stairs are costed. To amend a setting, double-click the setting, change the value, then either press the Enter key or simply click somewhere else. See Editing.

Applies to

Much of the discussion that follows relates to settings above, the Quote Calculation window and the Quote Breakdown window. By way of introduction, total labour and materials as shown in the Quote Calculation window can be broken down (see Quote Breakdown window) as follows: P Parts total (sell price) L Line-Items total (sell price) M Timber total (sell price) B Labour Build (includes Preparation, Turning/Machining and Assembly) D Labour Deliver I Labour Install T Truck In your business, each of Overhead, Profit, Discount, Tax 1 and Tax 2 may apply to none, some or all the above categories. Here you get to choose. For example, look at the line “Overhead applies to”: If overhead applies to Parts, type a “P”. If it applies to Line-Items, add an “L”. If it applies to Timber, add an “M”, etc. For example, if “Profit Applies To” = “PLMT” this means that the profit percent (shown in the Quote Calculation window) will apply to the totals for Parts, LineItems, Timber and Truck (and profit will not be applied to anything else). These values can be overridden on a job to job basis in the job’s Quote Breakdown window.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you set that overheads do not apply to some categories, be sure to also remove those categories from the Total Lab & Materials pw setting in the Overheads tab of this window. See note under that heading.

Tax 2 ignores Tax 1

When set to False, Tax1 is calculated based on the SubTotal and Tax2 is calculated based on the SubTotal plus Tax1. When set to True, Tax1 is calculated based on the SubTotal and Tax2 is also calculated based only on the SubTotal.

Batching Materials

See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous Topics/ Materials: Batching & Descriptions/ Batch settings in the Miscellaneous window.

Client Terms

The four items below set the default terms of trade shown in a job’s Client window (where it is amendable for that job), and for a new client in the Client List window. The following shows the relevant part of the job’s Client window.

Due 1 as % of quote

The percentage of the total quote price that the client is expected to pay as a deposit (i.e. Payment #1). If it is unusual for you to request a deposit, set this to zero.

Due 2 as % of quote

The percentage of the total quote price that the client is expected to pay sometime after the deposit but before the final payment (i.e. Payment #2). If it is unusual for you to request an interim payment, set this to zero.

Due 2 Days before/after

The number of days before or after the start or finish of the job that Payment #2 is expected. If this is set to zero, then the Before and After buttons shown above become irrelevant (only the Start and Finish buttons would be relevant).

Due 2 Before/After

The code for when Payment #2 is expected. Use a 1, 2, 3 or 4 as follows: Before start of job = 1 Before finish of job = 2 After start of job = 3 After finish of job = 4

Due 3 Days after

The number of days after the finish of the job that Payment #3 is expected.

Due 3 Days Is account

If there terms are Net set to “N” (no); for Account set to “Y” (yes).

CNC

Item Labels

Set True to display these labels on each item on the CNC Bed in StairBiz.

Session CSV path

A CSV file is a file with “comma separated values”. In this case, StairBiz can write a file to this path on your disc containing information about the export.

Set winder risers back

For the purposes of strings on the CNC bed only, StairBiz will move the angled risers of a split or kite landing back (away from the nosing) by this amount. This may be useful if you want to behave as if these risers are not trenched (i.e. the riser will now butt up to the face of the string). This feature is not supported – we do not vet that the value you use is appropriate for any particular job.

Design

Show Sawtooth Width

In the Design window (Setout pane) you can right-click a white space and select “Show Sawtooth Widths” to set the width dimensions to extend to the end of sawtooth treads (as opposed to the outside of the strings). Here you can set this as the default mode (Y/N).

Arrow on each unit

If you want the “UP” arrow (shown at the bottom or top of each stair) to show on every unit of the stair, in the Miscellaneous Defaults window (from the Defaults menu), set "Arrow on each unit" = “Y”.

Default Wall Thickness

Sets the default wall thickness (used when you right-click a well line and select “Draw Wall”).

Active Stair/Balustrade alert

When Stair or Balustrade (but not both) are Active (checkboxes in the Process window), an alert indicates such in the Alerts window. This setting enables/disables these alerts.

Dogleg dim relative to straight unit (Y/N)

When a dog-leg is on the wall side of a straight flight with a landing above, the dimension determining the position of the dog-leg is currently from the back of the landing. If you want it to always be from the zero point of the straight flight (usually the front of the top riser), set this to ‘Y’.

Filters

Suffix PartId with description

In the Part Filters window, in the PartId column, there is a drop-down list of parts from your Parts window. Normally the PartId’s in this list include a suffix showing the Style and Description from your Parts window. If your descriptions are long this can be unwieldy. To turn off these suffixes set this to “No”.

Is This Balustrade

When you use the Split Quote feature (split into stair and balustrade separately - see Process window), StairBiz needs to know which components are stair and which are balustrade. In many cases this is obvious (e.g. treads, strings etc.). In some cases it is not obvious. In such non-obvious cases you can specify which is which here. NOTE: These Is this Balustrade settings apply in all cases to the Cutting List view window. However, for the Bill of Materials and Materials Cost view windows, these settings apply only to components that are blanks (i.e. not parts from a filter, in which case the Result Type setting in the Filter Properties window determines whether the component is stair or balustrade). This may be inconvenient in some cases, but the reason is that the Cutting List completely ignores the filters, and thus cannot know what the Result Type setting in the Filter Properties window is.

Import Job from Text

See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous Topics/ Import Job from Text.

Images Save to Job

StairBiz saves images in a job (3D captures from the 3D window, draw field overrides in Custom sheets, Draw windows and picture annotations). In most cases these images are relatively small, and don’t take up too much room in the database (e.g. a stair plan drawing might take about 60K). However … some of our clients are using photos to override Draw fields (these are extremely large – up to 2000K) , and as monitors get larger and have higher resolutions 3D captures are getting larger and larger (up to 1000K). StairBiz is not designed to handle these very large images, from two points of view: 1) When saving and opening jobs across a network, slower or busy networks can “time-out”, and you could lose the image, and 2) The Microsoft Access database that StairBiz uses was never designed to store lots of large images (it gets bloated rather quickly). There are things your can do to manage this situation (also see Managing Images). The following relates to Custom Sheet drawing overrides (which includes 3D capture) and Draw windows (under the Draw menu, not including Scrap Pads). It does not apply to images used in annotations – simply try to keep the size of these under control yourself (i.e. use them only for drawings – not photos or 3D captures). It does not apply to Style Photo images (which are never saved with the job).

3D capture Save Type:

This relates to the functionality of the 3D Capture tool in the 3D window. A setting of “0” means always save the resultant image with the job (this is how it’s been working until now, and is still the default mode, but probably shouldn’t be); “1” means never save this image with the job (however, the image is available to the Custom sheets until the job is actually closed), and; “2” means each time you use the capture, prompt the user for whether or not he wants to save it with the job. Note that you are far better setting this to “1” (never save), and, if you want to save the image, instead save a “snap-shot” of it using the Snapshot tool in the 3D window. This requires less than 1K instead of up to 2000K for the actual image, and allows you to recreate that exact image at any time with a single click (it’s just that you have to wait a few seconds for the 3D to render). Note that you can also manually delete the image after using the Capture tool (click the Capture tool while holding the Control key down) – the image will be available while the job is open but will not save with the job. You can also delete the image (immediately) by reverting the drawing override in the Custom Sheet.

On Compress delete all images older than (weeks):

If you enter a number of weeks here (for example “12”), when you do a database compact (see Project menu) StairBiz will delete all images from all jobs which are older than this many weeks. Note that the weeks are from the creation of the job (i.e. usually the same as the Job Date, but not necessarily). Note that Job Templates are not affected.

On Compress delete all images with Job Status set to:

You can also tell StairBiz to (upon a database compact) delete all images from all jobs that have a Job Status (see Process window) set to one or more specific status items. Because you can change the names of the status items, and add your own, we use the index of the item in the list to specify which item. Separate multiple indexes with a comma. For example … For status = Done (the 8th item in the Status list), set “8”. For status = Payable or Done (the 7th and 8th items in the Status list), set “7,8”. You can include any user-defined Status items. For example, you made have created a “Job Lost” item being item 10 in the list – you could set “7,8,10”. If you change any user-defined items in the “Job Status User Items” category of this window, be sure to fix the indexes here if necessary. Note that Job Templates are not affected.

Alert if image size more than (thousand):

You can tell StairBiz to alert you if you create an image more than a certain size. For example, for 100K set to “100”. There is no consequence to this alert – it’s just to let you know. What you set it to depends on how often you save images with a job and how many jobs you keep in the database. It probably doesn’t matter if you save the occasional large image (e.g. 1000K), but if you save these for almost every job and you have lots of jobs, this would be way too much (we would recommend around 100K max). Set to “0” for no alerts.

Save job images to file if more than

Large images can be saved to files rather than in the jobs database. This is recommended where there are many jobs with images. See Chapter 23; Database Problems and Repairs / Saving Images to File

3D snapshot on capture

In the 3D window, you can automatically take a Snapshot of the current 3D settings. It will be saved in the current Snapshot (if you haven't yet created one, one will be created called "Default"). This is ideal if you save your 3D to a Snapshot rather than to a Custom sheet (to seriously cut down on your database size) - also see other settings above.

Job Status User Items

You can add up to five “User Defined” job status items (to appear in the Job Status pull-down in the Process window).
Enter the names of your items here (otherwise leave blank). Items are added to the end of the current list (they can’t be inserted mid-way through the current list). If you delete (clear) an item in the Miscellaneous window, and you have jobs that currently use that item, when you open the job it will show “Undefined” as the Job Status. We suggest you think carefully about the items you wish to add and in what order before you go selecting them in the Process window for specific jobs.

Miscellaneous

Client List Delay

Advanced: In the Client List window, as you scroll through the clients (using either the arrow key, or speed search) as each client is selected in the list StairBiz tries to fill the main window with that client's details. With slower connections to the server this can overload the connection and cause problems. This setting allows StairBiz to only try and load the client's details every 'x' tenths of a second (during which time multiple clients may have been selected in the list).

Default Job Flag Colour

Sets a default Flag Colour in the Process window for each new job (the Flag Colour is the colour you select from the far right of the Process window where it normally says "No Flags Set"). Enter a number from zero to six, as follows: None=0; Red=1; Orange=2; Yellow=3; Green=4; Blue=5; Purple=6

Save Job As – Reset Job Details window

When you do a ‘Save Job As’ (from the Project menu), some like to reset the Job Details window back to the default settings. In the Miscellaneous Defaults window (Miscellaneous category) there is a setting for Reset Details window on 'Save Job As': “0” = never; “1” = Prompt me first; “2” = Just do it.

Save Job As – Prompt to clear schedule dates

When you do a ‘Save Job As’ (from the Project menu), some like to always clear any existing schedule dates, others like to be prompted first. “T” means prompt first; “F” means just clear them.

Overheads

These settings control how StairBiz calculates overheads. They are used in the Quote Calculation window, and can be seen in the Quote Calculation sheet. For a description of overheads see How StairBiz Allocates Overheads.

~106 The Period (months)

This is your record (StairBiz doesn’t actually need it) of the number of months you are using for deriving the labour, materials and overheads totals used here. It would generally be 1, 3, 6 or 12 (but doesn’t matter). It would generally be an historical period (i.e. in the immediate past), but then the figures (see below) could be adjusted to predict the situation over the time ahead.

~107 Total Labour per period

The total amount you spent on labour for all jobs during the Period. Include only labour associated with preparation, turning, assembly, delivery and installation of jobs. Include both staff and contract labour (unless you have specifically excluded contract labour under the Applies To heading). Costs associated with those categories of labour (i.e. overtime, holiday pay, sick leave, superannuation, PAYE tax, etc.) can be handled in one of two ways. If they are included in your staff rates as entered in the Labour Filters window, then they must be included in this labour, otherwise they should be treated as an overhead and go in with the overheads total (see below). Do NOT include labour costs for sales, administration or management staff.

~108 Total Materials per period

The total amount you spend on materials for all jobs during the Period. Include timber wastage.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you set that overheads do not apply to some categories of labour and/or materials (see Applies To tab in this window), be sure to also remove those categories from the above Total Labour and Total Materials figures. For example, if you set that overheads do not apply to Parts, then do not include parts in the Total Materials. If overheads do not apply to parts, when StairBiz calculates (for a job) the total materials for the purposes of calculating overhead, it removes parts from the equation. You must do the same with the totals mentioned above, otherwise the proportion will be wrong and your total overheads will not be allocated fully across your total jobs. See a similar note under the Materials Factor (next heading).

~52 Materials Factor as %

Sets the percentage of both the Total Materials per period (above) and the materials total for a job which should be used to calculate overheads for the job. This is used where you want to “weight” the materials content of a job (relative to the labour) for the purposes of calculating overhead. For a neutral weight, set this to “100” (i.e. 100%). For example, let’s say that for a pine stair your labour is $500 and your materials are $500. For the purposes of calculating overhead, your labour and materials are $1000. Let’s say for the same stair in mahogany, your labour is $500 and your materials are $1500. For the purposes of calculating overhead, your labour and materials are $2000. One could argue that the mahogany job should not be allocated double the overhead of the pine job (it simply doesn’t use double the business’ resources). One could also argue that if your did allocate double the overhead to the mahogany stair, it would be overpriced relative to the market and you simply wouldn’t win these jobs (and because StairBiz allocates all overheads over all jobs, this would mean that your pine stairs are allocated too little overhead relative to the market and you would start winning too many of these jobs). The solution (if this is either a logical or a market driven issue for you) is to devalue the materials (relative to labour) for the purposes of calculating overhead. For example, if you set this value to “50” (50%), this means that for the purposes of calculating overhead, StairBiz considers 100% your labour plus 50% of your materials. In the above example, for the purposes of calculating overhead the pine stair’s labour and materials would be $750 and the mahogany’s would be $1250 (167% of the pine, rather than the original 200%). SPECIAL NOTE If you set a percentage other than “100”, StairBiz still allocates all overheads across all jobs. It’s just that it does this ON AVERAGE. The proportion of overheads to labour and materials might change from job to job (to reflect business logic and reflect market reality), but at the end of the day all your overheads are covered (to the extent that your values in this window are accurate).

~51 Average Overheads per period

Your figure doesn’t have to be exact. For example, if the overhead component of a job is about 20%, and you are 10% out on your average overheads, then the costing of each job will be out by 2% (i.e. 20% of 10%) – significant, but probably not lethal.

Quote Calc

These settings control some of the calculations involved in quoting a job. They are used in the Quote Calculation window.

Profit as Percentage

In the Quote Calc window, the Profit Percentage used can be a 'markup' or a 'margin'. A markup is where profit is calculated as a percentage of cost (labour, materials, overhead and truck). A margin is where profit is calculated as a percentage of the sale price. Markup is probably a more intuitive way to calculate profit and sale price (i.e. predicatively), but you have the choice. Either way, that percentage is set here. The method used is set in the Setout window (Quote Calc category).

Tax 1

The percentage amount to add to the total for job, being state and/or federal tax. It is the default value shown in the Quote Calculation window for each new job.

Tax 2

The percentage amount to add to the total for job, being state and/or federal tax. It is the default value shown in the Quote Calculation window for each new job. It is applied to the total amount for the job after Tax 1 has been applied.

Split Quote by default

The Split Quote feature (see Process window) can be set by default for all new jobs.

Use roundup only for pricing

Normally roundup (a special kind of wastage set in your Timbers window and your Extra Lengths window) applies to both your pricing and to the cutting list. Now, if you want it to apply to pricing but not to the cutting list (and BOM etc.), this is the default setting (see also the Materials Cost window for a job ('Roundup only for pricing')

Default charge for Truck

In the Quote Calc window there is provision for a truck charge. Here you can set a default value for each new job. Note that this setting applies to all new jobs regardless of the Dispatch setting in the Job Details window.

Treat Discount as Commission

The Discount field in the Quote Calculation window can alternatively be used as a Commission field. When used as a commission field, the amount is ADDED to the quotation (rather than deducted). This setting sets the default behaviour for all new jobs. To change it in an existing job double-click the Discount label in this Quote Calculation window.

Special Labour

Although not the usual, some companies calculate labour as a percentage of materials. Because the labour filters have no provision for this, provision is made here. There are two categories; Build (which adds a labour item to the Assembly labour category) and Install (which adds a labour item to the Install labour category). To add a labour item to either or both, first type the percentage (e.g. “35%”) followed by which materials category you want the percentage based on (see codes in Applies to above). For example “35%PM” would create a labour item calculated as 35% of total parts and timber, and “20%L” would create a labour item calculated as 20% of total line items. You can also use this is add a percentage adjustment to labour (i.e. the labour items added do not replace labour items generated by the labour filters). There is nowhere in any single job where these percentages can be adjusted (they are defaults only), so to adjust them on a job by job basis you will need to select “Manual Mode” in the Labour Cost window and make the adjustment manually.

View Sheets

Space Between Running Dims

Sometimes the space between horizontal running dimensions in View sheets (e.g. Treads) varies from computer to computer. If the space between these dimensions is such that the dimensions seem to run in to each other, you can add extra space here. The value is in pixels.

Mat Cost; Don't show $0.00 items

If you don’t want to see materials or parts with a zero dollar value in the Materials Cost sheet, set this to Y (yes).

Sheets with lists orient landscape

The Cutting List, BOM, Materials Cost and Labour Cost View sheets normally have a landscape orientation (i.e. they print sideways). If you prefer the portrait orientation then set this to “N” (no). When you print, StairBiz automatically sets these orientations in your printer – you do not have to.

Sheet Header

View sheets by default include the Job Name, Job Number and Job Date at the top right. You can control this header by entering one or more of the following letters (upper caps); J=JobName C=ClientName A=Site Number & Street S=SiteSuburb Z=Site Zip Q=QuoteNum N=JobNum D=JobDate. You can enter other characters and they will be printed. If you don’t use spaces, spaces will be inserted. If you leave this setting blank the above default is used (“JND”).

Hide Profit Column in Project Info Sheet

The Project Info view sheet normally shows a Profit column (unless the user's permissions doesn't allow it). This setting hides this column.

Weights

Determines what is shown in the Weights sheet. See Chapter 22 : Miscellaneous topics / Weights and Volumes. Note that the Weight checkbox must be ticked in the job's Details window.

Labour window sort by Category

For both the Labour Cost window and the Labour Cost sheet, you can optionally swap the Stage and Category columns. This might be useful to group items by their category, rather than by their stage (e.g. all “Tread” items would be grouped, regardless of Prep, Build, Install, etc. stages).

My Data Defaults window

From : Defaults menu ; My Data menu-item Imagine that for every job, you need to save certain information that StairBiz does not provide for (e.g. “Stair Is Carpeted”). In this window you can create as many “user” fields as you like. Any fields you create in this window will show up in the My Data window for every job (and information you enter in that window will be saved with the job). My Data fields can ultimately contain anything (i.e. numbers, currency, dates, text). MyData field columns can be included in the Directory window. Editing these fields in the Directory window directly changes the field values. MyData fields can be included in Custom sheets. Editing these fields in the Custom sheets directly changes the field values (i.e. it is not the same as an override).

Advanced Management license

Some of the features shown below might not be applicable to standard StairBiz licence and are only available to the "Advanced management" license. The standard license only contains provision for up to 20 MyData fields, and does not have provision for the setting of Macros. The Advanced Management license allows unlimited fields, and allows for Macros.

Add Field

Opens the MyData Field window for creation of a new field. You are allowed twenty fields. If you need more fields than twenty, please contact StairBiz.

Modify Field

Opens the MyData Field window for amending the currently selected field.

Delete Field

Deletes the currently selected field. Note that when you delete a field, you also delete the information contained in this field in every job saved in your database.

Move Up

Moves the currently selected field higher in the list.

Move Down

Moves the currently selected field lower in the list.

The grid

The grid shown on the left of the window lists your current MyData fields. For a description of the columns, see the next heading.

MyData Field window

Field Name

Enter a Field Name to uniquely identify the field (duplicate names are not allowed). The name can be up to 25 characters long. The following characters are safe to use in a Field Name; A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and the underscore "_". You can use other characters ("+", "-", "/" etc), but if you do you will not be able to use this field as a column in the Directory window (you will be alerted when you create/amend the Field Name). We do not recommend you use such characters. You can subsequently change the field name without losing any data associated with this field in existing jobs (including jobs in external databases (e.g. Archives).

Field Type

There are six types of fields. The type will determine what StairBiz allows you to enter as a field value in a job, and determines how StairBiz can process the data (for example, in a macro).

Text

Can hold any text of any length.

Currency

Can hold a currency amount. StairBiz will correctly format this value when it is displayed.

Check

Can hold 'Yes' or 'No'. If you need to provide for a "[Blank]" (simply meaning "not yet set") value in a Check field, change it to a pick-list (containing, for example, items "Yes and "No". "[Blank]" is always an option in a check-list. Note that you are able to convert from a "Check" to a "Pick-list" type safely without affecting existing jobs (see below).

Date

Can hold a date and time. StairBiz will correctly format this value when it is displayed, and will correctly sort the date values where appropriate (date types sort differently to a date held as text)

Pick-list

Allows you to select one of a list of predetermined values. Enter your predetermined values in the list on the right. You can change these at any time.

Macro

A Macro allows you to manipulate data held in StairBiz jobs (including but not limited to data held in MyData fields), plus a whole range of other possibilities. It's like being able to do your own programming. Advanced - contact support.

Changing Types

After you create a new field and set the 'Type' of field, you can only subsequently change the type as follows: You cannot change a Macro type. Apart from a Macro, you can change ANY type to a Text or a Pick-List. You cannot change any other type.

Default Value

All fields can have a Default value. This is the value of the field when you create a new job. A default value is optional (if you don't really need it, do not enter a default value). However, you cannot set a Default Value for a "Check" field (the default is always "No"). This is because StairBiz does not save MyData values in a job where the value is empty (contains no text) or the value is the Default value. This stops the jobs database from bloating. In a job's MyData window, if a field has a Default value you need to be aware that if you set the value to nothing (i.e. if you remove all text from the value) the value will revert to the Default value. For example, if the Default value for a "Text" field is "Needs Measure", and you delete the text from this field, when you re-open the MyData window for the job the value will show "Needs Measure". This is because StairBiz does not save empty MyData values in a job (to stop the database from bloating). If there is no record, StairBiz assumes it should use the Default value. The exception to this is a "Pick-List" (where you can always select the "[Blank]" value, and this value will save with the job if that field has a Default value). Note that you cannot use a space character to try and fool StairBiz that there is nothing in the field (StairBiz strips leading or trailing spaces). If you want to override a Default value, you have to set another value (if you want to indicate that the field contains no value you could use something like "-"). You can change this Default value at any time, but be aware that Default values are not saved with a job (if a job contains no value for field, StairBiz assumes the Default value, if any). Which means that if you change or delete a Default value for a field, all existing jobs previously saved with this Default value (in reality, not saved with any value for this field) will now have the NEW default value. In the case of Pick-List, it's more efficient to have a Default value, rather than most times select the value most used. This is because a Default selection is not saved in the job, whereas all other selections are, so it saves space in your database.

Group Name

Fields can be arranged in groups. You can optionally enter a group name here.

Use in Filters

If ticked, this field can be used in the Filters window.

Clear during Job Save As

If ticked, this field will be cleared when you do a 'Save As' on a job. If the field contains a Default Value, it will not be cleared.

Description

You can optionally enter a description of this field. It is simply to help you note anything about this field or how it is used.

Macro

If the Field Type is 'Macro', this is where you write your macro. Advanced - contact support.

Expand

Expands the Macro field.

OK

Saves your changes and closes the window.

Cancel

Cancels your changes and closes the window.

My Data window

From : Process menu ; My Data menu-item This window is specific to any one job. It contains the names of all fields you have created in the My Data Defaults window (i.e. fields that are additional to all the standard job fields that StairBiz provides). Information you enter into this window will be saved with the job. These fields can be included in Custom Sheets, and are shown and can be edited in the Directory window.

Notes window

From : Process menu ; Notes menu-item Use the Notes window at any time to jot down anything about the job you wish to record, or any notes, memos or reminders for your staff. All the features of the Quote window apply to this window.

Open Project window

Overview

From : Project menu ; Open Project menu-item, and Process window; Open button. Select the project folder from the folder list – a list of projects in that folder displays on the list on the left. Select the project from the list – a list of jobs in that project displays on the list on the right. If you double-click the project name, the first (or only) job in the list on the right (i.e. the one selected) will open, otherwise double click the required job in the list on the right. Note that all jobs in a project will be shown (and can be opened from) the Jobs menu.

Default Project Folders:

The project folder selected in this window when it first opens is the same as the last folder used to open or save a project. If you want to change this behaviour click the D button to the right of the folders list. To make the currently selected folder the default folder when this window opens, click Open. To make the currently selected folder the default folder when you start a new job, click New. To revert to the default behaviour (i.e. the default folder is the last folder used) for either, hold the Control key down while clicking the button.

Part Filters window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Part Filters menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. The Part Filters window is optional. You do not need to use it unless you have a specific reason to do so. Without any reference to parts whatsoever, StairBiz can very accurately specify the blank items (including timber, width, depth, length and quantity) for every component (except for hardware) in the stair/balustrade as designed. This will show in the Cutting List sheet for the job. However, some companies need to take that Cutting List and cross reference those items against particular Part Codes (SKU numbers) to come up with a list of specific parts. This process if sometimes called a “take-off”. You may also want to add items to the job which are not specified in the Cutting List (hardware etc.) In this window you can create filters that will automatically do this. These filters can then be selected in the Components window of a job. StairBiz pushes every component of the design through the appropriate filter. Based on the various properties of each item, and the criteria you present in the filter, parts are added to the Bill Of Materials (note that these parts must have previously been loaded in the Parts window). Two examples …

1. For each stair baluster on a sawtooth string specify a dowel with part id DW842
2. If a tread is less than 275mm wide, is between 900mm and 1000mm long, and is Oak, then specify part TDK725 for this tread

How parts are costed

When a part is specified by a filter, the cost of that part is multiplied by the quantity for the part and added to the total cost for the job. The costs for parts can be seen in the Materials window for the job. Parts in the Newels, Balusters, Frets, Wallbrackets, Acorns, Fittings and General categories are always costed per each (with no regard to length). Other categories are costed on a per each or per metre/foot basis, depending on the UOM specified for that part in the Parts window.

Part Filters Window Layout

For a full discussion about the use of the Part Filters Window, please see Chapter 15 : Parts and Labour Filters.

Also see: How StairBiz Costs Materials Parts window Components window

Parts window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Parts menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. See Materials and Parts, Part Filters window, Part and Labour Filters, Components window, and Style windows. The Parts window is where you list all the parts you use to build stairs and balustrading. Before we begin, it’s important to know the difference between a part and a blank item. A blank item is a component of the stair or balustrade that has been created from a piece of timber (a blank) that has been pulled from your timber rack. In some cases it is simply cut to length (e.g. strings); in other cases it must be cut and profiled. Every component of a stair can be treated as a blank item (with the exception of wallbrackets, and hardware). A part, on the other hand, is a finished component purchased (normally) from a supplier in its finished state. It may need trimming to length. It has a fixed price. It always has a PartId (SKU), whether this PartId has been assigned by the supplier or by you. Parts are what you enter into the Parts window. Without any reference to parts whatsoever (i.e. even if you do not use this Parts window, and do not use the Part Filters window), StairBiz can very accurately specify the blank items (including timber, width, depth, length and quantity) of every component (except for hardware) in the stair/balustrading as designed. This will show in the Cutting List sheet for the job. However, StairBiz cannot automatically allocate specific Part Id’s to these blank items, and for some companies that’s important. Parts can be allocated to a job in three ways:

1. The part is specified in the Style window of a component used in the job using the Part Is field.
2. The part is specified by a part filter (the filter must be first created in the Part Filters window and then selected in the Components window of the job)
3. The part is specified in the Materials window of a job in the Loose Items tab (i.e. extras for the job as specified by you). Either way, that part must first be created in this Parts window.

Category List

At the left is a list of all relevant parts categories. Plus there is an All category. Click the relevant category to view, amend or create parts for that category. Newels are broken down into their locations, however there is also a Newels All category for parts that apply to all newels regardless of location. There is also a General category for parts that may apply to any category (i.e. parts in the General category will show up in lists of parts for every category).

Parts List

Shows the parts previously created for the relevant category. To edit the existing fields, click the field or tab into it, make the required changes, then press the Return key. To delete all parts in the database and start fresh, hold down both the Shift and Control keys and click the Delete button. Parts in the parts list are can be sorted by column – simply click the column heading. For an explanation of why the Style, Timber, Width, Depth, Length, Flat, Turn, Sidenose and Radius Type columns might be more useful that it initially appears, see Parts and Labour Filters / Auto Filtering. For an explanation of how dimension columns work (e.g. Width, Depth, Length etc.) see Parts and Labour Filters / Auto Filtering / How to auto-filter dimensions. An explanation of each column follows:

Category:

Only shown for the All category. Select from the pull-down list. It shows the category for each part listed.

Style:

Optional. The style name. Select from the pull-down list. Can be used for auto-filtering. Max 35 characters.

Timber:

Optional. Select from the pull-down list. Can be used for auto-filtering. Max 25 characters.

Width:

Optional. A dimension. The section width of the item (horizontal). Can be used for auto-filtering. Not applicable to WallBrackets. For Fittings it is the width of the associated handrail.

Depth:

Optional. A dimension. The section depth of the item (vertical). Can be used for auto-filtering. Not applicable to WallBrackets. For Fittings it is the depth of the associated handrail.

Length:

Optional. A dimension. The length of the item. Not applicable to WallBrackets. Can be used for auto-filtering. For fittings, it only applies to assembled goosenecks and is the height from the top of the horizontal section to the bottom of the vertical. If you disassemble you goosenecks this is not relevant. For balusters, it should include any bottom pin length if the Pin Bottom option in ticked in this baluster’s Style window, in which case the length of the pin also needs to be set in the Setout window (Balusters ~19). If the bottom pin length is included here, it must also be included in the Lower Flat field (see below). For newels, the length is measured from the top of the acorn (or upper flat if no acorn). For a detached base, the length is measured to the bottom of the turning (otherwise the bottom of the newel).

Turn Angle:

Optional. Applies to Fittings only. The angle of a Turn or TurnCap. A right-angle is 90 degrees. A 45-Lshape stair would use a 135 degrees. Can be used for auto-filtering.

Fitting Type:

Optional. Applies to Fittings only. Select from the pull-down list. Can be used for auto-filtering.

Lower Flat:

Optional. A dimension. Applies only to balusters. It is the lower flat for both pin-top and square-top (but is only relevant for balusters with “Fixed Lower Flat” = True in that baluster’s Styles window).
It can include any bottom pin length if the Pin Bottom option in ticked in this baluster’s Style window, in which case the Bottom Pin Length also needs to be set in the Setout window (Balusters ~19). If the bottom pin length is included here, it must also be included in the Length field (see above). Can be used for auto-filtering.

Plow Width:

Optional. A dimension. Applies to handrail only. It is the width of any plow (zero or empty for no plow). Can be used for auto-filtering.

Block Length:

Optional. A dimension. Applies only to newels. It is the length of the upper flat (block) for PTP newels. It does not apply to OTP newels (set to zero). For square newels that have a detached base (rare but possible), the block length is from the top of the flat to the point of detachment, ignoring the pin length (and set Turn Length to zero). Can be used for auto-filtering.

Turn Length:

Optional. A dimension. Applies to newels and balusters. Can be used for auto-filtering. For newels it is the distance from the TOP OF THE FLAT to the bottom of the turning (yes, that's correct). For pin-top newels it is measured from the top of the turning (ignore the length of the pin). If newels are not turned, set this to zero. For balusters it is the length of the turning (but is only relevant for balusters with “Fixed Lower Flat” = False in that baluster’s Styles window).

Sidenose:

Optional. Applies to Treads and Landings. Select from the pull-down list. Can be used for auto-filtering. It describes the presence or otherwise of sidenoses on the treads. See Parts and Labour Filters / Auto Filtering / Special properties for some categories.

Radius Type:

Optional. Applies only to Handrail and Wallrail. Select from the pull-down list. Can be used for auto-filtering. It describes the presence or otherwise of a radius (curve). See Parts and Labour Filters / Auto Filtering / Special properties for some categories.

Curved:

Optional. Applies to most parts that may somehow be associated with a curved part of the stair or balustrade. Select from the pull-down list (True/False). Can be used for auto-filtering. See Parts and Labour Filters / Auto Filtering / Special properties for some categories.

Description:

Optional. The details of the part (anything you like). Max 50 characters.

Part Id:

The unique id of the part – without a part ID the part does not exist. Max 25 characters. If you need to include a single PartId in multiple categories, see Duplicate PartIds (below)

Prices (generally):

In any one job you have the option of choosing which parts price (i.e. that from Buy Price, Sell Price 1 or Sell Price 2) to use when costing parts for the job (this choice is made in the Materials window of the job). The default choice (i.e. the one used for all new jobs) is set here using the Default Price buttons. Having three price columns allows you to adjust your parts pricing for a job instantly to reflect various situations.

Buy Price:

This can be any price you like, but you might note the discussion in The Price of Parts (below). If you have selected the “1” option in the Default Price frame then this column will be used to cost your parts. See Note to Developers (below)

Sell Price 1:

This column is optional (only use it if you have a good reason to). In the Default Price frame, if you have selected the “Sell 1” option then this column will used to cost your parts. This column can contain a price, or a percentage. In the Is Percent Inc frame, if “Sell 1” (meaning Sell Price 1) is selected then this list carries a number being the percentage INCREASE of the Buy Price. For example, If Buy Price is $5.00 and Sell Price 1 is 10% then the Sell Price 1 for this part will be calculated as Buy Price plus 10% (i.e. $5.50). In the Is Percent Inc frame, if “Sell 1” is not selected then this list carries an actual price (like in Buy Price). This price can be anything you like. Whether a percentage or a price, if you leave any cell in this column empty then StairBiz will assume its price is the same as Buy Price.

Sell Price 2:

Operates in exactly the same way as Sell Price 1 (see above).

UOM (unit of measurement):

Not applicable for Newels, Balusters, Frets, WallBrackets, Acorns, Fittings (where the UOM is always “each”, with no regard to length). Otherwise … Select from the pull-down list. The price can be per each (“e”) or per metre/foot (“m” or ”f”), depending on your measurement system). If this part is costed as per metre/foot, enter “m” or “f”, otherwise type “e” (for “each”) or just leave it empty. See Note to Developers (below)

Labour Cost:

You have the option of including an allocation for labour with each part. It is assumed that any such labour allocation applies only to the installation of the part. This column holds the contract amount ($) for labour (i.e. to be used when the cost method for installation, as shown in the Labour window for the job, is set to “Contract” (i.e. you are using the Contract method for installation). If the UOM for the part is “e” (each) then this labour amount if for each item, otherwise it is per unit length of the component.

Labour Mins:

See previous paragraph. This column holds the minutes amount for labour (i.e. to be used when the cost method for installation, as shown in the Labour window for the job, is NOT set to “Contract” (i.e. you are using the Staff method for installation).

Waste:

Applies only where the unit of measure is Length (“f” or “m”). It does not apply where the UOM is Each (“e”). This can be a percentage amount to be added to lengths for the purposes of calculating inventory and materials cost, or can be a rounding-up to a specified multiple. See: Chapter 22 Miscellaneous Topics / “Waste, Extra Length and Rounding Up”.

Hidden:

At this stage this field is not used for anything.

Note:

Optional. This field may hold a number from 1 to 9999. You can use it for anything you like, but it is normally used as the legend for standard notes. For example, “1” could mean a “Non-stocked item”. This note number is printed on all sheets which show parts (e.g. BOM). If your standard parts notes were numbered 1 to 9, you could use this field to include up to 4 notes (e.g. “1724” could mean refer to standard notes 1, 7, 2 and 4).

Notes2:

Optional. For extended notes for each part. This field in the list shows only the first 50 characters of your notes. You cannot edit the notes directly in this field - instead double click either inside this field, or in the margin for that row, and a text window will open. In this window you can view/modify the full notes.

Buttons

Add

Creates a new part transaction at the end of the list, ready for input of the relevant details. This button will be disabled for the All category (you must be in a specific category to create a new part). Short-cut is Alt-A.

Insert

Creates a new part transaction immediately below the currently selected part, ready for input of the relevant details. The Description and Cost will be the same as the previously selected part until you change them.

Delete

Deletes the currently selected part. If that part is referenced by a style (Part Is) or a part filter, you will need to amend those items in their respective windows – StairBiz will not do it automatically.

Export

Allows you to export the entire parts list to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. See Export Parts below.

Import

Allows you to import an existing parts list from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the Parts window. See Import Parts below.

Print

Prints the current list.

Default Price

Indicates which price column you want to use to price parts in each new job. This can be changed on a job-by-job basis (if necessary) in the Materials window for that job.

Is Percent

Indicates which of the Price 2 and Price 3 columns are using a percentage basis rather than an actual price basis for pricing the part. See the discussion under the Parts List heading (above).

Group

Sometimes several parts always come together in a group (sometimes called an assembly). For example, a gooseneck may be made up of several fittings. In a StairBiz job, it may be convenient to be able to select or specify the entire group in one hit. The Group feature allows you to create or modify such part “groups”. A group is a pseudo part, or “header” (not an actual part) that can be selected like any other part, except that when it appears in the BOM for a job it expands out into two or more actual parts (i.e. all the parts in the group). To create a group …

1. Create a part that will be the group “header”. It will need a PartID, and you may include other columns for the purposes of auto-filtering (price columns are not relevant).
2. In the Group frame at the top of the window, click the Open button. StairBiz will prefix the PartId with an asterisk. (Note: do not prefix any part that is not a group with an asterisk – this is the only way StairBiz knows that a this item is a group heading rather than an actual part.)
3. A separate list (the Group List) opens below the parts list . The group description (i.e. as shown in the Description field of this group item) is shown above this list. (Note that after you click Open, this Open button changes to a Close button – when you have finished the group work you must close the list to resume normal work in the parts list.)
4. Navigate to any actual part in the parts list, select it, and click the Add button – this part is added to the group and will appear in the group list at the bottom. Note that you can add parts from any category (you are not confined to the category of the group item).
5. To delete an item in the group list, select it and click the Delete button. This does not delete the actual part – it only detaches it from the current group. Note that group items (i.e. those prefixed with an asterisk) perform no function other than to act as a group header. A group item with no parts in its list is redundant. When a group item is selected or somehow specified anywhere in a StairBiz job, when that item is being processed by StairBiz for inclusion in the BOM, StairBiz will replace the group item with all the actual items in that group.

Allow List Searching

This provides a fast way to find any item in any column of the parts lists. With this checkbox selected, select any field in the column you wish to search. Start typing the word you are looking for. As you type, the row selection will scroll to the first item that matches what you have typed so far. You cannot edit in this mode – unselect this check box to resume editing.

$ Update

Opens a window that allows you to increase/decrease the prices of parts by a percentage amount. Also allows you to update prices in the Parts window from a price update spreadsheet (probably obtained from your parts supplier). See Part Price Change window.

Show Not Updated

When you update prices in the Part Price Change window, StairBiz tags all items in the Parts window that did not get an updated price (because StairBiz was not able to find that item in the price update spreadsheet. To show these items, click this button. To export only these items, do an export with this button ticked.

Duplicate PartIds

There may be times when you want a single PartId (SKU) in different categories in the Parts window. For example, maybe your Outstep and Balcony plate share the same parts. StairBiz does not normally allow duplicate PartIds. The solution is as follows: If you want to include a PartId in a particular category, but that PartId already exists in some other category, append the duplicate PartId with a “&” (e.g. in a second category “B256” would be “B256&”. You can have as many such duplicates as you wish. When StairBiz processes a PartId, it first strips any “&” suffix, which then points StairBiz to the original PartId. A part in the Parts window that is a duplicate does not need prices (StairBiz refers to the original PartId for this) although it will need an entry in any columns required for auto-filtering.

Note to Developers

If you look at the Parts table in the defaults database, you might be surprised to find that some prices are different to those you see on your screen. This is the case for items with a UOM in feet – StairBiz holds all currency relating to lengths as a cost per metre (in the same way it holds all lengths as hundredths of a millimetre, regardless of your chosen UOM). To convert from price-per-metre to price-per-foot, divide the price by 0.3048.

The Price of Parts

Some like to price their parts in this window at cost. Others like to add a profit margin. Obviously you can do it any way you like, but there is an argument for the “at cost” method: It’s always useful to know the net cost of each stair that goes out your door (as shown in the Quote Calculation window). If you are adding profit to the parts in this window, the calculated net cost of the stair will not reflect the actual situation (it will have some profit included already). If you have different profit margins for different parts (reflecting either variable purchasing power or the fact that you manufacture some parts yourself), this presents a problem (adding an across-the-board profit margin to the net cost of the stair assumes that profit on each item in the stair is the same). The work-around could be as follows: Set up two profit centres (theoretical divisions) for your business – one for stairs and the other for parts. The Parts Division sells parts to the Stair Division (at whatever profit for whatever part, although it makes sense that each price is competitive in the real market). This way your Stair Division and Parts Division can each face their respective (and different) market realities, and you can now list the “cost” price in the Parts window (being the cost to the Stair Division of those parts, whether you purchased them from your Parts Division or from a 3rd part vendor).

Export Parts

NOTE: Do not use Export Parts as a means of backing up your defaults. Only use it to more easily add or make changes in the immediate term. StairBiz does not guarantee that an export using one version of StairBiz will be importable in a different version (although changes to the format are rare). Click the Export button to export parts in the StairBiz database to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

1. If the current category is “All”, StairBiz exports all parts from all categories. If the current category is other than “All”, StairBiz will give you the option of exporting all categories or just exporting the current category.
2. Then you are presented with the Save As dialog box. Enter a name for the Excel file, or choose an existing file to overwrite. Click the Save button.
3. If you select an existing file name, you will be asked if the file is currently closed. If it not, click No, close the file, and try again.
4. Wait until you get the message “Export Completed”. Open the exported spreadsheet and have a look: When you open the Excel spreadsheet, if you get a message that starts "The file you are trying to open", simply click "Yes" to continue opening it. The first row in the spreadsheet is a “master header” row (yellow), showing the purpose of each column. Never delete this row from your spreadsheet – it contains version and other tags that are needed by any subsequent import of this spreadsheet. Each different category also has its own header row (grey), because some columns are used for different purposes depending on the category. There is no reason why you can’t delete header rows if you like (on import, StairBiz checks the “PartId” cell in each row – if it contains the heading “PartId”, the whole row is ignored – i.e. header rows are irrelevant for the purposes of import). If there is a category with no entries to export, StairBiz will still export that category’s header row, plus another row showing “?” in each cell except the category cell. This extra row is to make it easier for you to start creating entries for that category (the “?” helps keep rows in a logical order during a spreadsheet sort). On import, StairBiz will ignore any row that has a PartId = “?” (so you don’t need to delete these redundant rows prior to an import). When sorting the spreadsheet, be sure to indicate that there is a header row (the yellow one). For an explanation of the columns/fields, see Import Parts (below).

Import Parts

NOTE: Do not use Export Parts as a means of backing up your defaults. Only use it to more easily add or make changes in the immediate term. StairBiz does not guarantee that an export using one version of StairBiz will be importable in a different version (although changes to the format are rare). Note that it is always best to import a spreadsheet that has previously been exported from StairBiz. This is because the exported spreadsheet contains the version number and other tags in the header (first) row that StairBiz needs to read on import. Click the Import button to import a list of parts from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the StairBiz Parts List (study the following before doing anything). If you are importing more than a single category, a dialog window opens – select what you want to do, as follows:

Import Options

First delete existing parts from database

Tick this if you want to delete all parts in your database prior to importing the new ones. If for some reason the import is aborted, the existing parts are not deleted (StairBiz does a roll-back of your original Parts window).

Create Timbers from spreadsheet

Tick this is you want StairBiz to automatically create new timbers in your Timbers window using the timbers contained in your Parts spreadsheet. NOTE: If you do not tick this, and you have any timbers listed in the Timber column of your spreadsheet, these timbers must exist in your Timbers window prior to this import (otherwise StairBiz will alert you and abort the import).

First delete existing timbers from database

If a timber in the Parts spreadsheet already exists in your database, under all circumstances (i.e. regardless of this setting) StairBiz will simply leave the existing timber as is (i.e. with all its current settings). If you tick this setting, any timber that are currently in the database are NOT contained in the Parts spreadsheet will be deleted.

Create Styles from spreadsheet

Tick this is you want StairBiz to automatically create new styles in your Styles window using the styles contained in your Parts spreadsheet. StairBiz determines that a row of your spreadsheet contains a style by looking at unique (distinct) combinations of Category/StyleName/Width/Depth. All four fields must contain something (except in the case of WallBrackets, in which case Width/Depth are ignored). In the case of Newels, StairBiz is not able to determine the height of Acorns – you will need to set these manually in the Style window for the newels. In the case of Newels, StairBiz determines positions as follows: If the newel is contained in a specific newel category in the spreadsheet (e.g. Newel Bottom), StairBiz will give that newel that position in the Style window. If that same exact style in also contained in the NewelsAll category of the spreadsheet, StairBiz will give that newel all positions that are not taken by newels of the same style in specific categories. In the case of Balusters, StairBiz determines that it is a pin-top baluster if Length = TurnLth + FlatLth. In the case of Balusters, StairBiz determines (for the Style window) the turn and flat heights for each of stair and balcony based on a rather complicated combination of factors. If these factors become too complicated and you feel the results are not accurate, contact StairBiz support. StairBiz sets all styles as “Part From Filter” (except WallBrackets, which are usually set as “Part Is”).

First delete existing styles from database

With this ticked, any styles currently in your database that are NOT contained in the spreadsheet will be deleted. If there are no styles for a particular category listed in the spreadsheet, regardless of this setting StairBiz will not delete any items for this category from the database.

Create Timber Themes from spreadsheet

Tick this is you want StairBiz to automatically create new timber themes in your Timber Themes window using the timbers and styles contained in your database following the this import.

Creating the Spreadsheet

To set up such a spreadsheet (PRIOR to attempting an import), do as follows:

1. Most databases allow you to export to an Excel spreadsheet, so if your parts are in a database you will need to do this first.
2. It is CRITICAL that the spreadsheet contains at least 20 columns in a very specific order. To see what columns are required and in what order they are required, do an Export as discussed above. Open the exported file and study the column headings. There is a discussion below about each of the fields/columns.
3. If the spreadsheet contains more than 20 columns, that’s OK (the extra columns will be ignored, even if they contain data).
4. Even if a required column contains no data (i.e. you do not have that field/column in your existing client database/spreadsheet), you must still include it in the spreadsheet to be imported.
5. The spread-sheet may contain header rows (yellow or grey rows describing the contents of the column). StairBiz ignores them (provided the PartId cell contains the word “PartId”). StairBiz also ignores any row where the PartId cell contains a question mark (?).
6. There must be no empty rows before the end of the list. When StairBiz finds a row without any text in the first column, it assumes there are no more parts.

Column Explanations

Note that the following columns/fields correspond to those in the Parts window. For a description of the field, see above.

Field Name

Notes

1) Category

Must contain the exact wording shown in the categories list to the left of the parts list in this window. Note that you may have changed these terms in the Languages window, and might not have been changed them in this manual – the terms you use must correspond exactly with the categories as shown at the left in the window. You might first like to do an export and study the terminology – these are the terms you must use.

They will probably (mostly) be as follows: Balconyplate Balconytrim Balusters Bearers Bullnose Risers Bullnose Treads Cove Fillets
Frets General Handrail Handrail Fittings Landing Treads Lining Newel Acorn Newel Balcony Newel Bottom Newel Inside Landing Newel Outside Landing Newel Top Newels All Outstep Risers Shoerail Skirting Strings Treads Wallbrackets Wallrail Walltrim|

|2) Style| Max 35 characters. The style name of the part. Optional.| |3) Timber| Max 25 characters. One of the timbers in the Timbers window. Optional.| |4) Width| Note that if the Depth By Width button in the Dimensions section of the Preferences window is ticked, the Width and Depth columns are swapped. The section depth of the item. Not applicable to WallBrackets. Optional. | |5) Depth| See Width above.| |6) Length| The length of the item. Not applicable to WallBrackets and Acorn. Optional. For fittings, it only applies to assembled goosenecks and is the height from the top of the horizontal section to the bottom of the vertical. If you disassemble you goosenecks this is not relevant. For everything else it is the total length of the component.| |7) Flat| Applies only to Newels, Balusters, Fittings, Handrail and Wallrail. Optional. For square top newels, this is the length of the upper flat (block). For pin top newels, it is not applicable. For balusters, this applies to the length of the bottom flat. For baluster styles that NEVER have a fixed lower flat (i.e. it is always a fixed turning - see the “Fixed Lower Flat” setting in the Styles window), this setting is redundant. If the baluster style always or sometimes is used with the “Fixed Lower Flat” set to true, this setting is relevant. For Fittings, this is the Fitting Type (to see which options are available click the “Fitting Types” worksheet at the bottom of the exported spreadsheet). For Handrail and Wallrail this is the Radius Type (to see which options are available click the “Radius Types” worksheet at the bottom of the exported spreadsheet).| |8) Turn/Plow| Applies only to Newels, Handrail and Fittings. Optional. For newels this is the distance from the top of the flat (PTP) or turning (OTP) of a turned newel down to the bottom of the turning. For Handrail this determines whether the rail is plowed (enter the width of the plow) or not plowed (zero or nothing). StairBiz determines that a rail is plowed if it is associated with square–top balusters AND there is either a PlowDepth value in the handrail’s Style window OR a Plow Override value in the Setout window. Handrail can be auto-filtered based on this value. Note that a non-zero plow depth in a handrail's Style window will always resolve to zero if the balusters are pin-top. For Fittings this is the angle of a turn (applies only to fittings that are or include a turn).| |9) Curved| Applies to Handrail, Wallrail, Balconyplate, BalconyTrim, Frets, Strings, Walltrim, Fillets, Risers, Bullrisers and Skirt. Optional. Accepts “Y” (yes) or “N” (no) or nothing (no).| |10) Description| Max 50 characters. More details about the part. Optional.| |11) PartId| Maximum 25 characters. This is the unique identification of the part (usually no two parts can have the same PartId, but there are exceptions - see Duplicate Parts below). Note that on import you will be given the opportunity to first delete all existing parts in the StairBiz database (although it is NOT required that you do so). When you import, if there are duplicate Part Ids, StairBiz will alert you and give you the option to abort the import or skip over the duplicate part. | |12) Buy Price| A dollar amount. (e.g. “$4.50”, “4.5”). This is the price you pay for the item.| |13) Sell Price 1| A dollar amount. (e.g. “$4.50”, “4.5”) OR a percentage (e.g. “12”, “6.5”). Do NOT include a percentage sign (i.e. the “%”).| |14) Sell Price 2| Same as Sell Price 1| |15) UOM| Is the cost of this part based on length (“m” or “f”) or per each (“e”). Note that this field applies only to Wallrail, Balconyplate, Shoerail, Walltrim, Balconytrim and Fillets (all others are assumed to be costed per each)| |16) Waste| Applies only where the unit of measure is Length (“f” or “m”). It does not apply where the UOM is Each (“e”). This is a percentage amount to be added to lengths for the purposes of calculating inventory and materials cost (e.g. “10%” or “10”), or it can be a round-up (e.g. “(6)”). See Waste, Extra Length and Rounding Up.| |17) LaborCost| If you want this part to automatically add contract installation labour to the Labour Cost window, enter the currency amount here. This contract labour amount will be added only if the “Contract Installation” button is ticked in the Labour Cost window.| |18) LaborMins| If you want this part to automatically add staff (i.e. time/rate based) installation labour to the Labour Cost window, enter the number of minutes here. This staff labour time will be added only if the “Contract Installation” button is NOT ticked in the Labour Cost window.| |19) Hidden| Would generally only apply to parts that are part of a group (see Groups). Accepts “Y” (yes) or “N” (no) or nothing (no).| |20) Note| A number from 1 to 9999.|

Don’t be overly concerned about your fields. StairBiz does a test run on the entire imported list before it commits anything to the StairBiz database. If something is wrong in such a way as to cause a major problem, StairBiz will advise you and abort the import before anything is committed.

Duplicate Parts

Normally you cannot have two parts in the Parts window (and therefore the spreadsheet) with the same PartId. However, sometimes you do need to duplicate parts (e.g. some or all of your wallrail parts are the same as your handrail parts; i.e. you want the handrail to ALSO be in the wallrail category). You can have duplicate PartIds in the Parts window (and therefore the spreadsheet) so long as the duplicate part has a PartId appended with an ampersand (a "&"). So, for example, in the Handrail category you can have a "HRCapri7045" and in the wallrail category you can have "HRCapri7045&" (note the ampersand). The usual way to do this is to copy items from one category in the spreadsheet and paste then into another category of the spreadsheet, then append each duplicated Part Id with the ampersand.

StairBiz can add the ampersand for you in some cases:

In some cases (i.e. in some categories), to save you having to manually add the ampersand in the spreadsheet (this can be tedious), StairBiz can add it for you during the import. StairBiz will add the ampersand to PartIds of: Wallrail items which are duplicating Handrail items. Bullnose Riser items which are duplicating Risers items. Bullnose Tread items which are duplicating Tread items. Carriage String items which are duplicating String items. Shoerail items which are duplicating BalconyPlate items. Note that this only works if the part which is being duplicated is imported BEFORE the part it is duplicating, or is already in the database and not being deleted. So, for example, Wallrail items (which are duplicating Handrail items) would need to be listed BELOW Handrail items in your spreadsheet (unless the handrail items were already in the database and were not being deleted).

Importing

After your spreadsheet is set up correctly and populated with parts, do as follows:

1. Click the Import button
2. In the Open File dialog window, navigate to the spreadsheet, select it and click Open.
3. If there are parts existing in your StairBiz database, you will be asked if you want to delete them first. You do not have to. If the spreadsheet was exported by StairBiz as a “single category” export, and you elect to delete existing parts, only the existing parts of the category exported will be deleted. (StairBiz tags single-category exported by putting a “*” after the version number in cell (1,1). On import StairBiz checks for this tag. The single category is assumed to be the first valid category in the spreadsheet
4. StairBiz will do a test run on the entire import. If there is a problem, you will be alerted and the import may be aborted (so that you can fix the problem and try again). StairBiz will give you some information about the problem, including the row and column of the problem cell. Note that StairBiz uses numeric columns references (i.e. 1, 2, 3 rather than A, B, C). To show numeric column references in your spreadsheet, go to Tools/ Options/General, and select “R1C1 Reference Style”.
5. When the import is done, you will get the message “Import completed”.

Part Price Change window

Overview

From : $ Update button in Parts window. The Part Price Change window allows you to change some or all of the prices in your Parts window by a percentage amount, or to update existing prices from a price update spreadsheet (e.g. from your parts supplier).

Change By Percentage

Category

If the current category in the Parts window is “All”, then these option buttons will be disabled and the change will affect all categories. Otherwise you must select either the Current Category or All Categories.

Buy Price: Change by:

Enter the percentage amount you wish to change the buy price by. For example “10” will increase the BuyPrice of the selected category by 10%. You may enter a negative amount to decrease the prices.

Sell Price 1: Change by/to:

If the SellPrice2 column is a “percentage” column (i.e. it shows percentage amounts rather than currency amounts), the label for this field will show Change to, and the percentage amount shown in the Parts window will be changed to the amount you enter into this field. If the In % columns ignore empty cells button is ticked, StairBiz will ignore any cells in the Parts window which are empty (i.e. it will only change those cells that have a current non-zero value).

Sell Price 2: Change by/to:

Same functionality as Sell Price 1 (above) but relates to the SellPrice2 column.

Change button

Click this button to affect the changes. Click the Close button to exit the window.

Update from Spreadsheet

Set File

Click this button to browse to the spreadsheet file containing the updated prices. The spreadsheet doesn’t need to be closed, but it must be saved. The structure of this spreadsheet is not important, so long as it has two vertical columns (in any location) for each of PartId and SellPrice1, and optionally another column (in any location) for SellPrice2. The spreadsheet may contain empty rows – StairBiz ignores any row that does not contain text in the PartId cell and a valid non-zero price in the BuyPrice column. StairBiz deems the end of the spreadsheet to be the bottom-most cell in the BuyPrice column with any text in it.

Prices under timber columns

Some price spreadsheets have prices in a single column (adjacent to each individual Part ID). In this case the Part ID includes some designation for the timber of the part (e.g. R5002-MA where “-MA” means maple). Other’s have Part IDs without any designation for timber (e.g. R5002), then have a price column for each timber. If you case is the later, tick this check-box. The following deals with each method differently.

With Timber Columns:

PartId column

In which column of the spreadsheet is the PartID (e.g. “1” in the illustration). User only numbers (not A, B, C etc).

Timber start column

In which column of the spreadsheet is the first timber column (e.g. “3” in the illustration).

Timber end column

In which column of the spreadsheet is the last timber column (e.g. “7” in the illustration). Note that StairBiz expects timber columns to be contiguous (all columns between start and end are price columns, with no gaps in the columns).

Update button

Click this button to affect the update. StairBiz tags all items in the StairBiz database that were not updated – see Show not updated (below). StairBiz also indicates which items in the spreadsheet were used to update the database (the cell is highlighted in yellow).

Notes

You cannot use this method unless the Part Ids in the Parts window are SUFFIXED with a timber designation (e.g. PS01K-MG where “-MG” means Mahogany). You can use whatever designation you want, with or without a dash, and the designation can be as many characters as you want, but they must be a suffix. The PartIds in the spreadsheet must correspond to the PartIds in the Parts window, except that in the spreadsheet they do not have the timber suffix. If you include a dash (minus sign) in the timber suffix, the very first row in the spreadsheet must be formatted as text (select the row, Format menu/ Cells/ Number tab/ select “Text”). In the very first row of the spreadsheet, above each timber column you must enter the timber suffix (e.g. “-RD”, “-MG” etc.) for each timber. Do not have anything in the PartId column of the spreadsheet other than PartIds. It’s OK to have PartIds in the spreadsheet that are not in your Parts window – StairBiz will try to reconcile them and simply not be able to.

Without Timber Columns:

PartId column

In which column of the spreadsheet is the PartID (e.g. “1” in the illustration). User only numbers (not A, B, C etc).

Buy Price column

In which column of the spreadsheet is the BuyPrice (e.g. “3” in the illustration).

Sell Price column

In which column of the spreadsheet is the SellPrice. This corresponds to SellPrice1 in StairBiz (there is no provision for updating SellPrice2). If the field is left empty (or zero), StairBiz will ignore it (i.e. you are only updating the BuyPrice). It is not possible to update the SellPrice if the SellPrice1 column in the Parts window is set to “Percentage” (this field will be disabled).

Done flag column

This is the position of any empty (not used) column in the spreadsheet. When StairBiz finds a PartId in the spreadsheet, and finds a corresponding PartId in the Parts database, it updates the database price(s) then puts “Done” in this column. If it can’t find a match it puts “Not Found” in this column. This allows you to check what was found and what was not.

Update button

Click this button to affect the update. Apart from putting “Done” or “Not Found” in the Done Flag column of the spreadsheet, StairBiz also tags all items in the StairBiz database that were not updated – see Show not updated (below).

Show not updated:

StairBiz tags all items in the StairBiz database where the price was not updated (i.e. a corresponding PartId was not found in the spreadsheet). To see only these un-updated items in the Parts window, tick the Show Not Updated button just below the $ Update button in Parts window. With the Show Not Updated button ticked, when doing an Export only these items are exported. Note that these tags do not get exported to or imported from Excel when doing a normal Parts window export/import.

Notes:

Rows in the spreadsheet do not need to be contiguous (i.e. there may be blank rows) – StairBiz ignores any row that does not have something in the designated PartId column. StairBiz also ignores any item in the spreadsheet that does not have anything in the price cell (i.e. if there is nothing in the price cell, StairBiz simply ignores that part; if there is anything in the price cell (even $0.00), StairBiz will try to update the price. If you have a price spreadsheet that uses both “with” and “without” timber columns in the same spreadsheet, separate them into two spreadsheets and do two update (one for each method). Prices can be with or without “$” signs, and with or without decimal places.

Pass Protect window

Overview

From : Help menu ; About StairBiz menu-item The Pass Protect window prevents further access to the StairBiz program until a valid password in entered . The clearance level of that password will determine which of StairBiz windows can be opened and what is shown.
This is useful if you need to leave the computer unattended without having to quit StairBiz. See Passwords. Also see Password window.

Password

Enter the password for the level of access required

Quit

Quits the StairBiz program

OK

Allows access to StairBiz with a level of access according to the password entered. If the password is not recognized, you will be given one more chance.

Password window

Overview

The Password window is the first window displayed each time you start the StairBiz program. • It shows the version number of the current StairBiz. • Software Code (a unique number derived from the computer’s chip). • Registration status. • It allows you to enter your password in order to gain access to StairBiz.

Text boxes

Password

Before you can begin to work in StairBiz, you must type a password in the Password window. You can either enter your Registration Password, or one of the user passwords you have entered in the Preferences window.
If you make a mistake when typing in your password (or suspect that you may have - your password is not actually displayed on the screen) use the backspace key to delete the relevant number of characters and then retype your password. For registration passwords, if you’re unsure whether a character is the letter “O” or a zero, it doesn’t matter – StairBiz will accept either interchangeably. See Passwords.

Buttons

Password?

Click this button to find out how get a password, either for an extended evaluation of StairBiz, or because you have changed licensing options.

OK

When you are finished entering your password, click the OK button. The Password window will close and the Process window will open. Note; if you enter an invalid password, StairBiz will give you one more chance, after which it will quit and you’ll have to start again. This prevents someone trying to “guess” your password by typing in many different words - it slows them down.

Quit

Forces StairBiz to quit.

Payments window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Payments menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. The Payments window is used to record payments made to you by the client for the current job. Provision is made for up to three payments. There is also provision for a date, type and detail for each payment. The Quote Total is shown at the top of the window. The Balance remaining to be paid is shown at the bottom and auto-calculates. Values entered here are shown in the Job Info sheet, and any Custom sheet with the relevant fields. Date: is the sate the payments was made. Type: Can be any text, but is probably something like “Check” or “MasterCard” Detail: Can be any text but is probably the check or card number. Notes: Can be any text but would probably relate to any communication with the client regarding payments.

Quote

The Quote Total as seen in the Quote Calculation window for the job.

Payment 1

Details for the first actual payment made by the client in payment for the job. It needs to be entered manually.

Payment 2

Details for any second actual payment made by the client in payment for the job. It needs to be entered manually.

Payment 3

Details for any third actual payment made by the client in payment for the job. It needs to be entered manually.

Balance

A calculation showing the Quote Total (shown at the top of the window) less any payments entered.

Preferences window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Preferences menu-item The Preferences window allows the user to change some aspects relating to the way StairBiz works, where it looks for things, and how it displays things.

Prefs 1

MISCELLANEOUS

Keep Preferences Local

This button is at the bottom of the window. The following applies only if you network StairBiz, and applies to all the settings in the Preferences window (except for items under the “Networking” heading). With this button NOT ticked, your Preferences settings are saved in the Defaults database. The problem with this is that some settings may be specific to your computer and/or monitor and your particular way of doing things, and when you downloaded defaults from the server your own settings are overwritten by the administrator who posted his defaults to the server. With this button ticked, your Preferences settings are saved to a local file in your Defaults folder ("LocalPrefs.DAT"), so they are never overridden when you accept a defaults database download from the server. If this check-box was ticked and you un-tick it, your Preference settings will revert to those in the Defaults database. It is recommended that the person with authority to post defaults to the server does not tick this checkbox (firstly because he normally doesn’t download defaults from the server so is in no danger of a bad overwrite, and secondly because if he makes changes to the Preferences which need to be network wide, others in the network can simply (probably temporarily) untick this checkbox to take on the new settings.

Backup Alert

With this selected , on quitting StairBiz you will be alerted to back up (save on a separate disc) changed files. StairBiz tells you which folders contain items which need backing up (see Backing up your files).

On job close alert if alerts

With this ticked, if there are any alerts current in the Alerts window StairBiz will warn you when you close the job and give you the option of aborting the job close. Note that regardless of this setting, if there are any alerts current then the Alerts Current field in the Job Directory will indicate such (providing you are showing that field – see Job Directory / Field Chooser / Job category).

On job change alert if exported

With this ticked, if the Export menu (the one to the left of the Help menu) has been used for the job since the job was created, and you try to change any part of the job, you will be alerted. This is useful where exported data relating to a job is considered fairly “final”, and the user of that exported data would not be expecting that data to change. However, you could use this to alert all users that you are not expecting anyone to change the job. For example, let's say a job is ready for construction and has been signed off – you don’t want any further changes made by anyone on the network. You could set up a dummy export template called “Sign Off” where the contents of the template are irrelevant (see Export Templates window). On sign-off, simply select the “Sign Off” item from the Export menu (even though the template has no export purpose). From this point on, if anyone makes a change to the job they will be alerted (provided this button is ticked).

Full Printer Features

When you launch StairBiz, StairBiz sets you printer to be the last one you used in StairBiz. This saves you having to keep resetting it. StairBiz also sets the PaperSize, ColorMode, PrintQuality, Duplex and PaperBin properties of this printer to be the same as the last time you did a page set-up or printed in StairBiz. By default, StairBiz will not set these properties for any printer with “PDF” in its name. However, some other printers do not like some of these properties being set, and there is no real pattern to this. So, if StairBiz is generating errors on launch, first try doing a Page Setup. If this doesn’t stop the error messages, un-tick this checkbox (in which case StairBiz will not set these properties). If you still get errors, please advise us.

List Grids

With this selected all lists (e.g. in the Setout window etc.) will display lines separating the rows and columns in the list.

Fix Off-screen Windows

Ticking this button will cause StairBiz, upon opening any window, to bring it fully within the viewing area of the monitor if it is not already so. See Window Size & Position.

QUOTE/JOB NUMBERS

Quote# Prefix

An optional prefix to all automatically generated Quote Numbers. Max 8 characters. The prefix is specific to each user (i.e. it is tied to your password). Unlike other settings in this window, prefixes are saved in the Jobs database, so if you work connected to a StairBiz server, but sometimes work when disconnected, you will also need to set them when not connected (to set them in your local jobs database) - StairBiz does not automatically synch the local and server jobs database in this regard. See Quote and Job Numbers and Process window.

Job# Prefix

Same as Quote # Prefix, but relates to Job Numbers.

Leading Zeros

Sets the total number of characters in the non-prefix part of a job or quote number, and pads the difference with zeros. For example, with this set to “5” (meaning five characters total), a quote number of 321 would be “00321”. The behaviour of Prefixes under this system remains the same (e.g. “Q00321”).

Def Project Name

If you double-click the “Project Name” label in the Process window, StairBiz automatically inserts the Client Name (if you hold down the Shift key StairBiz inserts the Site Street). This setting enhances this behaviour - here you can define which fields will make up the default Project Name, as follows: CN Client Name JN Job Number QN Quote Number SA Site Address (Street) SS Site Suburb SZ Site Zip Enter one or more of the above codes (separated by spaces); for example “QN SS SZ” or “CN JN”.

Def Job Name

See previous paragraph, but relates to Job Name.

Auto Increment Quote Number

With this selected, for each new job StairBiz will insert the next-in-line Quote Number into the relevant field in the Process Window. The next-in-line number can be local (your computer only) or global (across all computers connected to the StairBiz server) depending on the following settings. Also see Quote and Job Numbers.

Use Server When Connected

With this not selected, the next Quote and Job number will come from you local database. If you have more than one StairBiz user there is the potential for duplicate quote/job numbers, in which case it is suggested that each user has a different Quote and Job number prefix. Alternatively you could have each user start at a different number (e.g. Joe starts at 2000, Sue starts at 4000, etc.). With this selected, and you are on-line, the next Quote and Job number will come from the server. With this selected, and you are off-line, it will depend on your Set When Re-connect setting.

Set When Re-connect

With this selected, the next Quote and Job number will Always come from the server. If the computer is currently offline, then the word “Next” will appear in the Quote or Job number field. When you check the job into the server, the next number in the series will be assigned.

BACK-UPS

See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous Topics/ Backing up your files/ Auto Back-up.

Prefs 2

JOB SHEETS

Print Border

Job sheets normally have a border drawn around the perimeter of the page. If you are using a dot-matrix or bubble-jet printer, printing this border can slow down the printing speed (because the entire length of the page has to be printed, even if only a small part of the page contains information). Unselect this button to prevent the printing of the vertical component of these borders. Note that this only effects the printing of borders - the borders will still be displayed on the screen. This setting applies only to the current printer. If you select a printer you’ve never used before in StairBiz, you need to set it for the new printer. StairBiz will remember this setting for each printer you use and apply it automatically the next time you select that printer.

Scale%

You may find that the ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get’ size of Job sheets is too large for your monitor (or just plain too large). You can change their scale here (about 90% seems to work quite well). Note that Custom sheets are not affected (usually they have a graphic background which, when scaled, looks terrible).

Column Space

Some of the Job Sheets have information arranged in columns (e.g. Cutting List, Labour Cost etc.). In such sheets the column width is automatic (based on the width of the widest text in the column). This setting determines the amount of space between the columns. The value does not represent any particular unit of measurement – just increase it for more space or decrease it for less space.

QUOTE/INVOICE SHEETS

Left Margin

The distance (always in millimetres – there are 25.4 mm to an inch) between the left edge of the printed page and the start of the text when printing the Quote, Invoice, Receipt and Notes Job sheets. This margin is only used when printing.

Right Margin

The distance in millimetres between the right edge of the page and the end of the text when printing the Quote, Invoice, Receipt and Notes Job sheets. This margin is only used when printing.

MISCELLANEOUS

Show Stair Arrow

Tells StairBiz to draw an up or down arrow on your stairs.

Arrow Points Down

If Show Stair Arrow is selected, select this to have the arrow point down, otherwise it points up.

Arrow At Top

If Show Stair Arrow is selected, select this to have the arrow at the top of the stair, otherwise it will be at the bottom of the stair.

Show Tread Numbers

Tells StairBiz to draw tread numbers on your stairs.

Tread Numbers Top Down

If Show Tread Numbers is selected, select this to have the tread numbers numbered from top to bottom, otherwise they number from bottom to top.

Show busy during Lab/Mat recalc

If you have very long and complicated filters (and have not subdivided them using Branch filters) a labour and materials recalc can take a noticeable time (up to a few seconds), during which time normal activity in StairBiz gets queued. If this causes confusion, tick this checkbox to see a progress bar during such long recalcs.

No alert on To Riser switch

StairBiz can so setouts to the riser face or to the nosing (according to the ‘To Riser’ setting in the Treads category of the Setout window). If a stair template or job is opened which has a ‘To Riser” setting contrary to the current setting, StairBiz alerts you. If you don’t want to be alerted, tick this checkbox.

SET FONT

Set Font

Allows you to select the font and font size used for Job sheets when viewed on your screen and for printing. Only TrueType fonts are available. An example of the current selection is shown below the button. The default font is Ariel 10, which has proved itself to be suitable (other fonts or sizes may display unpredictably). See Fonts.

CHECK QUOTE ON OPEN

When you open a job, there are rare circumstances where the quote total may have changed since you last saved the job, as follows: If the quote is locked (which it should be if you have presented the quotation), it is remotely possible that some update in StairBiz has introduced a bug that may affect the locked quote total. If the quote is not locked, changes to your Parts window, Part Filters window or Labour Filters window may cause some movement in the total calculation. When you open a job, StairBiz recalculates the Quote Calc window, and compares that against the Grand Total that was last saved. If there is a difference, StairBiz can alert you under the following circumstances:

Always

StairBiz will always alert you if there is a difference. With this button selected, the other two buttons become redundant.

Locked

StairBiz will alert you if there is a difference and the quote is locked.

If Job Status > Confirm

StairBiz will always alert you if there is a difference and the Job Status in the Process window is Remeasure or anything greater than this.

Tolerance

This sets the amount of the error above which StairBiz will alert you. For example, if you set the tolerance to zero, StairBiz will alert you if there is any error at all (even 1 cent). If you set it to $5.00, StairBiz will alert you only if the difference is more than $5.00.

Dimensions

Select the measurement system you prefer. Regardless of your selected measurement system, all dimensions are held internally by StairBiz in hundredths of a millimetre (0.01mm, 0.0004" or 1/2500"). This means that you can happily swap between measurement systems any time you like. For example, you may prefer to design in metric, then switch to imperial prior to printing job sheets for the shop.

Decimal Inches

If you are working in decimal inches, you may notice that StairBiz will display these dimensions to the nearest 1/64 inch. This is because StairBiz will only display up to 4 decimal places (if you have selected that option), and some fractions are more than 4 decimals (e.g. 3/64 = 0.046875). So, for example, if you enter the dimension “36.3”, you will notice that StairBiz converts this to “36.2969” (i.e. to the closest 1/64 inch, which is 36 19/64). StairBiz does this to maintain conversion compatibility between fractional inches and decimal inches. Without it there would be cases where you could not accurately enter a decimal which converted to the fraction you were expecting. This can have major ramifications where StairBiz is comparing one dimension (entered in decimal) with another seemingly identical dimension (entered as a fraction). Whereas you would imagine they were the same, StairBiz would see them as different, and the results might not be as expected. This is especially the case when setting up all your defaults. The exception to the above is in the case of goings (run). StairBiz will maintain this value exactly as entered (because it’s a running dimension and unlikely to be compared to anything). So, whereas you can safely switch between any 2 decimal systems (mm to metric inches and vice versa), if you intend to design and amend stairs in a fractional system, it may be safer to create all your defaults (including styles and design templates) in a fractional system, or vice versa.

Round to nearest millimetre

With this selected all metric dimensions in StairBiz will be displayed to the nearest millimetre (otherwise tenths of a mm are normally used). This does not affect the level of precision of the calculations, which are always done to 6 decimal places.

Fraction Accuracy

All fractional dimensions in StairBiz can be displayed to the nearest 1/64” or 1/32”. This selection does not affect the level of precision of the calculations.

Show Depth Before Width

By default, StairBiz shows size dimensions as Width x Depth. If you prefer to show them as Depth x Width (common when using imperial measurements), select this option.

If Width/Depth are same only show Width

When a section size had a width and depth that are the same, by default StairBiz shows only the width (e.g. “10 x 10” is just shown as “10”). Un-tick this button to always show both dimensions.

Custom Sheet Dimensions

Choose a dimension type to be used only for Custom Sheets (or select 'Same as Above' for consistency).

Round millimetres

If you use millimetres, and do not round them to the nearest millimetre, but would like to do so just for dimensions in custom sheets that are not contained within a stair drawing, then tick this. Note that this setting also applies to the Cutting List and BOM View sheets.

XML Dimensions

Choose a dimension type to be used only for XML export (or select 'Same as Above' for consistency).

Miscellaneous

If you are in metric mode, there is a way to still enter imperial fractions. You can also use calculations in dimensions. See Chapter 22 : Miscellaneous topics/ Editing/ Editing Dimensions

Inventory

These buttons determine at what point (if ever) inventory for any one job is added to or discarded from the inventory database. Note that the materials for the job are always saved with the job (whether or not inventory is used), so this only applies if you have a specific reason to maintain a global inventory. Inventory items for all or any jobs can be viewed in the Inventory window (Project menu).

Include Inventory

Manual: Include and maintain inventory after the user selects the Inventory Active button in the job’s Materials window. Allocation of Job Number: Include and maintain inventory after the user sets a Job Number for the job. Job Status = : Include and maintain inventory after the user sets the Job Status (in the Process window) to Remeasure, Build or Install.

Exclude Inventory

Manual: Discard inventory when the user un-selects the Inventory Active button in the job’s Materials window. Job Status =: Discard inventory after the user sets the Job Status (in the Process window) to Payable or Done. Note that inventory is automatically discarded when the job is deleted.

Other

Include Labour in Inventory: Includes all labour items in any inventory export (i.e. to the Inventory database as discussed above, or in an XML export). Parts Acquire Cut List Sizes: All parts (generated by your Part filters) in an inventory export (i.e. to the Inventory database as discussed above, or in an XML export) will include the width/depth/length shown in the Cut List. Group Unique Part Refs: All parts (generated by your Part filters) in a Materials list or an inventory export will be grouped (i.e. sorted) by their Part Ref. The sort order is Category, PartId, PartRef. Default Loose Item Type: When you create a Loose Item in the Materials Cost window, by default the Item Type will be as per your selection here. Show Loose Item Group Columns: If ticked, there will be three extra columns in the Loose Items tab of the Materials Cost window; Stair (the index number of the stair to which the loose item belongs), Unit (the index number of the unit, from top down within the relevant stair, to which the loose item belongs) and Group (Stair or Balustrade). See Chapter 13; Materials window | Loose Items | All Types

Print Job window

Overview

From : Project menu ; Print Job menu-item Allows you to create saveable templates for printing multiple View reports and/or Custom sheets (and multiple copies of each) in one hit.

Copies

Input the number of copies required for each sheet (zero if none). Click Save to save these values in the current template.

Status

Shows “N/A” for any sheet that is currently unprintable for any reason (in which case StairBiz ignores any value for “Copies”).

Print

Prints the indicated copies of each sheet in a single hit. A Print dialog window is displayed (see Printing a Single Sheet). You will not need to do a Page Setup, even if some of your Custom sheets are landscape orientation (see Page Setup.)

Save

Saves the current settings to the current template.

Save As

Creates a new print job template.

Print Settings window

From : Defaults menu ; Print Settings menu-item The Print Settings window allows you to set default quantities for the Print Job window of a new job. The window is identical to the Print Job window except that in place of the Print button there is a Save button. 3. Establish which sheets would be needed for most of your jobs most of the time. 4. Set the number of copies of those sheets which you want to be the default values in the Print Job window. 5. Click the Save button. Your settings in this window cannot be effected by any changes you might make to them in the Print Job window for any particular job. The Print Settings window can be changed and saved anytime you like (provided a job is not currently in progress).

Process window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Process menu-item The Process window is like home base when processing a job. Most of the buttons in this window are replicated in the Project menu and Process menu and Toolbar. The Process window can be closed (and reopened from the Process menu) as you progress through the stages of a job, but it would normally stay open on your screen. See Using StairBiz to process your jobs.

Buttons and text boxes

New

Starts a new project containing one new job. This button is enabled only when no other job is open (you can only process one job at a time). See Creating a New project.

Open

Opens a previously saved job. This button is enabled only when no other job is currently in progress. For other ways to open a job, see Opening a Job.

Save

Saves the current job. See Saving a Job.

Close

Closes the current job. If the current job needs saving, you will be alerted. See Closing a Job

Delete

Closes the current job and deletes it. No trace of the job will remain. See Deleting a Job and Deleting a Project

Split Quote

Splits the quote into Stair and Balustrade separately. When ticked, there are two Quote Calculation windows (one for stair, one for balustrade – see the tab button at the top of this window) and two Payments windows (see the tab button at the top of this window). Also See Chapter 22; Miscellaneous topics/ Split Quote

Active

Determines what elements of the current design show up in the Cutting List and Bill Of Materials. If Stair is ticked (and not Balustrade), only the materials for stairs are shown in the Cutting List and Bill Of Materials. If Balustrade is ticked (and not Stair), only the materials for balustrade are shown in the Cutting List and Bill Of Materials. If both (or neither) are ticked, then both are included. Note that this setting does not affect the totals shown in the Quote Calc window (for that, see Split Quote). When Stair or Balustrade (but not both) is active, an alert indicates such in the Alerts window. To disable these alerts see Miscellaneous Defaults window (Design heading)/ Active Stair/Balustrade alert.

Job Template

Tags the current job as a job template. See Job Templates

Project Name

This name identifies the project. You would normally use the client’s name, or some shortening of it. Some companies identify a project by its site address. You must have a project name before you can save the project. See Naming a Project. You can open a job directly from this field – see Chapter 8; Opening a saved project.

Folder

Shows the current folder in which the job was saved or will be saved. You can change it at any time, even after a project is saved – click and select from the list (the list shows folder names you have set up in the Folders window). Project folders allow you to group projects; those groupings manifest in the Open Project dialog window, and in the Directory window.

Job Name

This name identifies the job within the project. If you leave it empty, StairBiz will assume that it is the same as the Project Name. If you have more than one job in a project, each subsequent job needs a unique job name. A job name in one project may have the same name as another job in a different project. See Naming a Job. The job name is printed on all Job sheets. You can open a job directly from this field – see Chapter 8; Opening a saved project.

Scenario Name

The scenario name field is not visible unless:

1. you have more than one scenario in the job, or
2. You have clicked the little V button at the right, or
3. You have set Scenario names always visible in the Preferences window. This name identifies the scenario within the job. If you have more than one scenario in a project, each subsequent scenario needs a unique scenario name. A scenario name in one job may have the same name as another scenario in a different job. You can switch between scenarios using the Scenarios menu.

Quote Number

This should be a unique number which identifies the quote. If the Auto Increment Quote Num box in the Preferences window is ticked, StairBiz will automatically increment this Quote Number for each new job. To manually insert the next-in-sequence quote number into this field, double-click on the Quote# label at the left of this field (or press the Alt-Q keys). Alternatively, you can manually type in your own quote number. See Quote and Job Numbers See Job Numbers window to re-set your next-in-sequence quote number.
StairBiz can automatically add a prefix to your quote number - see Preferences window. You can open a job directly from this field – see Chapter 8; Opening a saved project.

Job Number

This should be a unique number which identifies the job. It would normally be used only after the quote has been accepted by the client. To automatically insert the next-in-sequence job number into this field, double-click on the Job# label at the left of this field (or press the Alt-J keys). Alternatively, you can manually type in any job number. See Quote and Job Numbers See Job Numbers window to re-set your next-in-sequence job number.
StairBiz can automatically add a prefix to your job number - see Preferences window. You can open a job directly from this field – see Chapter 8; Opening a saved project.

Job Date

This should hold the date the job was created (i.e. the date it became a new job). For a new job, the current date is automatically inserted. You can change it if you like. This job date is printed at the top of all Job sheets.

PO

Holds the purchase order number if the job is confirmed. You can open a job directly from this field – see Chapter 8; Opening a saved project.

Job Note 1 / Job Note 2

It’s up to you what you type in here (if anything). Job Note 1 has a limit of 30 characters. Job Note 2 has unlimited length. You can temporarily expand the Job Note 2 field by double-clicking the "Job Note 2" label (immediately to the left of the actual field).

Job Status

This is a pop-menu from which you can select the next possible action for the job (i.e. what the job is waiting for). It is very useful when used in conjunction with the Directory window. You may add up to five of your own items to this list – see Miscellaneous Defaults window, Job Status category.

Salesperson

Usually holds the sales person responsible for the job. The list is the list of users. The default is the current user (i.e. whoever logged in to this StairBiz).

Directory Colour

Sets the colour of text used in the Directory window for this job (and also makes that text bold, so that it stands out). You must add the "Job Colour" column to the Directory view (which shows as a "C" heading in the Directory window).

Job Flag

This allows you to flag a job. In other words, you are alerting either yourself or someone else for a certain reason and (optionally) on a certain date. You can set a colour, date and notes in the Job Flag window (which you open by clicking the field to the right of the flag). You can change the flag (including to “Complete”) by clicking the flag itself. Most people monitor these flags in a Directory window (often created just for this purpose). You can set a default flag colour for each new job in the Miscellaneous Defaults window/ Miscellaneous category/ Default Job Flag Colour. You cannot name the flags – they are colours only. This is because flag colours are designed exclusively for the Directory window, to set a colour for the job. You will need to remember what the colour means.

Client / Site / Details etc.

These icon buttons represent the 15 stages (processes) of a job. Each button opens the relevant Process sub-window for input. They are only enabled when a job is in progress. See Processing a Job

Copy/Paste Design

To copy the design of the currently open job, right-click on the Design button and select “Copy Design & Components”. This copies the design, all the selections in the Components window, and all MyData settings. You can then open a different job, or start a new job, and right-click on the Design button and select “Paste Design & Components”.

Customizing buttons in Process window

You can add or re-define job-stage buttons in the Process window by holding down the Control key and Right-Clicking on any of these buttons (a job must be in progress). When doing so, you will be given a menu that will allow you to change the Caption, Icon and Action of each button. There is also an option to display an additional (fourth) row of buttons, giving you up to 20 total buttons. A few notes: • The action for each button can be any process window, plus a few others (e.g.: CNC, 3D, Related Files, Alerts, Notes and Notes with History), or any custom sheet of your choice. • There are default icon images (bmp) for most of the extras, in the folder C:\StairBiz Program\Defaults\Images. You can create your own (maximum 56 pixels wide x 53 pixels high) • If you wish for the caption to be reverted back to the default text, set the caption to nothing. You will need to close and re-open the Process window to see the change. • If you wish to change the icon, you must point to a BMP, GIF, or JPG on your hard disk (the default folder is C:\StairBiz Program\Defaults\Images). If you operate in a network environment, when you post your defaults for other users, the other users will need the same image files in the same folder (usually the Images folder) on their hard disk in order for them to see the same picture. • If you wish to revert an icon back to the StairBiz Default, select the 'Icon' menu item and click 'Cancel'. You will need to close and re-open the Process window to see the change.

Quote Breakdown window

Overview

From : Quote Calculation window ; click the Show Breakdown button Only applicable for Estimate module. Here you find the basis for the values shown in the Quote Calculation window. Apart from being useful in analysing your estimate and quotation, it is necessary because Overhead, Profit, Discount and Taxes do not necessarily apply to all labour and materials items (see Applies To in the Miscellaneous Defaults window). If a cell can NEVER apply, it will show a “-“. If a cell can sometimes apply, but does not apply at the moment, it will show a “N/A”.

The columns

Category	The category to which the rest of the columns relate.
Buy	For materials items (the first three rows), it represents the totals of the Buy price for Parts, Line-Items and Timber. For Labour items (the next three rows), it is the same as the Sell Price (StairBiz does not have separate Buy and Sell prices for labour)
Markup	The net difference between the Buy price and the Sell price as shown in the Parts window (for Parts), the Parts Filters window (for Line-Items), and the Timbers window (for Timber).
Markup%	The net percentage markup (i.e. the net difference between the buy and sell price expressed as a percentage).
Lock	More appropriately called a “Lock Adjustment”. Applies only if the Quote Calc window is in Lock mode. It is an adjustment to keep the Sell totals at the same values they were at the time the Quote Calc window was locked. If the design changes, or the materials or labour windows are amended in any way, the Lock values represent the difference between the values as calculated by StairBiz and the values as locked by you. These Lock Adjustments are included as items in inventory so that the inventory totals will properly represent the materials and labour totals.
Sell	If the Quote Calc window is not locked, Sell represents Buy plus Markup. If in Lock mode, the Lock adjustment is deducted to properly represent your ultimate sell price. In the Quote Calc window, the sum of the first three rows are shown in the MATERIAL field, the sum of the next three rows are shown in the LABOUR field, the Truck row is shown in the TRUCK field
Overhead	The amount of overhead allocated. See Quote Calc window and Miscellaneous Defaults window. In the Quote Calc window the total is shown in the OVERHEADS field.
Note: If any of the rows (Parts to Truck) are not to be allocated overheads (because of your settings in the Miscellaneous Defaults window), the relevant cell with show “N/A”. Your default settings in this regard can be overridden just for this job by double clicking the relevant cell (i.e. you can switch overheads on or off for each row).
Net	The sum of Sell plus Overhead. This represents the cost of the stair to your company, and is shown in the NET COST field in the Quote Calc window.
Profit	The allocation of profit based on the PROFIT% field in the Quote Calc window. Profit is calculated based on Net. Also see “Note:” in Overhead (above) and apply it to Profit.
Discount	The allocation of discount based on the DISCOUNT% field in the Quote Calc window. Discount is calculated based on Net + Profit. Also see “Note:” in Overhead (above) and apply it to Discount.
Total	Net + Profit - Discount. This is the price of the stair to your client (ex-tax).
Tax1	The allocation of tax based on the TAX1% field in the Quote Calc window. Tax1 is calculated based on Total. Also see “Note:” in Overhead (above) and apply it to Tax1.
Tax2	The allocation of tax based on the TAX2% field in the Quote Calc window. Tax2 is calculated based on Total + Tax1. Also see “Note:” in Overhead (above) and apply it to Tax2.

The rows

|Parts| Parts in the job derived from the Styles windows (Part Is) or the Part Filters window. All parts exist in your Parts window.| |Line Items| Line-Items in the job derived from your Part Filters window.| |Timber| Timber in the job derived from your Style windows. All timbers exist in your Timbers window. Parts, Line-Items and Timbers are collectively called “Materials”| |Labour Build| Labour in the job derived from your Styles or Labour Filters windows. It included Preparation, Turning/Machining and Assembly.| |Labour Deliver| Labour in the job derived from your Job Details or Labour Filters windows. It includes labour to deliver the job but not to install it.| |Labour Install| Labour in the job derived from your Parts window or Labour Filters windows.| |Truck| The allocation for truck as input in the Quote Calculation window.| |Profit Adjust| If you are in Lock mode in the Quote Calculation window, and you manually change the Sub-Total or Total fields (presumably to round these totals), your change creates an adjustment (which logically must impact your profit). This adjustment is shown here. Overheads, Profit and Discount do not apply to it.| |Total| The sum of all the above categories.| |Materials Total| A summary being the sum of Parts, Line-Items and Timber.| |Labour Total| A summary being the sum of Labour Build, Deliver and Install.| |Net Profit Calc| Shows the columns (and amounts) that form the basis of the calculation of your actual total profit for the job. If a column has any text in it (including $0.00), this column’s total forms part of the calculation of your net profit on the job.| |Net Profit| The sum of the previous row. This is how much money you make on the job.|

Quote Calculation window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Quote Calc menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. The Quote Calculation window is where the final calculations for the costing and quoting of the job take place. The cost of materials was set in the Materials window. The cost of labour was set in the Labour window. Now we need to make allowances for truck, overhead, profit, discount and tax. See How StairBiz costs jobs and Quote Breakdown window. Note that in the following discussion, Overheads, Profit, Discount, Tax1 and Tax2 apply in accordance with your settings in the Miscellaneous Defaults window.

Quotation

Disable

Where you have long elaborate filters, the recalculation time for materials and labour can be noticeable (and perhaps slightly irritating). You can turn off these calculations with this checkbox. StairBiz will alert of this status in the Alerts window. You will need to re-enable the calculations to generate a valid materials list and quote calculation. Note that all new or opened jobs are enabled by default.

Labour

Comes directly from the Labour window. There are some Quick Labour settings on the right-hand side of this window - be sure to understand them before using them (see below).

Materials

Comes directly from the Materials window.

Overhead

A StairBiz calculation for the allocation of your organization’s fixed overheads to this job. The calculation can be seen in the Quote Calculation sheet. See also Overheads Calculation below.

Truck

An appropriate amount for truck usage for this job if applicable. It must be entered manually (StairBiz cannot automatically calculate truck usage because this cost can vary from situation to situation). Note that there is a default Truck fee setting in the Miscellaneous Defaults window. If you change your Dispatch setting in the Details window of a job, StairBiz will prompt you to apply/delete this default Truck fee. Note that the Truck fee in the Quote window is otherwise independent of the Dispatch setting. StairBiz will apply this Truck fee even if the Dispatch setting is “Pick-up” (we don’t know or care why you are using a truck for this job – it may be to fetch some special materials for the job).

Net Cost

Shows total cost of Labour, Materials, Overhead and Truck for the current job. This is the cost to your organization of the stair as designed.

Profit @

The percentage amount comes from the Miscellaneous Defaults window. The dollar value in this line shows this percentage of the Net Cost (if profit does not apply to some sub-categories of materials and labour, click the Show Breakdown button to view the calculation). Also see the Profit heading below.

Discount

The percentage amount comes from the client’s details in the Client List window if the client for the job was selected from there, otherwise the amount is zero. You can change it here just for this job (changes will not affect the client’s details in the Client List window). The dollar value in this line shows this percentage of the sum of Net Cost plus Profit (if discount does not apply to some sub-categories of materials and labour, click the Show Breakdown button to view the calculation). Also see the Profit heading below. The Discount field can alternatively be used as a Commission field (see next paragraph).

Commission

The Discount field can alternatively be used as a Commission field. When used as a commission field, the amount is ADDED to the quotation (rather than deducted). To set the default behaviour for all new jobs, see Defaults menu/Miscellaneous/QUOTE CALC/Treat Discount as Commission. To change it in an existing job double-click the Discount label in this Quote Calculation window.

Profit Adjustment (lock)

If you are in Lock mode (see below), and you manually change the Sub-Total or Total fields (presumably to round these totals), your change creates an adjustment (which logically must impact your profit). This adjustment is shown here. Also see the Profit heading below.

Tax1

The percentage amount comes from the Miscellaneous Defaults window. The dollar value in this line shows this percentage of the Sub Total (if Tax1 does not apply to some sub-categories of materials and labour, click the Show Breakdown button to view the calculation).

Tax2

The percentage amount comes from the Miscellaneous Defaults window. The dollar value in this line shows this percentage of the sum of Sub Total plus Tax1 (if Tax2 does not apply to some sub-categories of materials and labour, click the Show Breakdown button to view the calculation).

Quote Total

Net Cost plus Profit less Discount plus Tax1 plus Tax2.

Round

Clicking either of these buttons the first time will round the relevant total to the nearest dollar. Clicking again will round to the nearest $10. Clinking again will increment by $10 each time. Rounding recalculates the Profit Percent. Rounding automatically sets the Lock button (see below), because you have manually overridden the default calculations.

Notes

Any note relevant to the Quote Calculation window.

Quick Labour

This is called Quick Labour because for simple applications it saves you having to go into the Labour Cost window and setting labour Loose Items.

Travel:

If Deliver or Install options are selected in the Job Details window, this text box is enabled. Enter the number of minutes (or hours and minutes in the form "h:m") you estimate for travelling time to and from the site. It is used by the Labour window to calculate the cost of travel. It should show the total man-minutes (i.e. if the trip is 20 minutes each way and there are two men installing then type “80” or "1:20"). The hourly rates charged for these times comes from the Labour Cost window. Alternatively you can enter a dollar amount in the $ field. If you enter a dollar amount, only this amount is used for the purposes of calculating labour cost (minutes are not considered). However, you can still show minutes, and they will be used to calculate total labour times for scheduling purposes.

Install:

If the Install option is selected in the Job Details window, this text box is enabled. It behaves in the same way as Travel (see heading above) except that it applies to Installation Labour.

Override:

If you tick the Override checkbox, the times/dollars in these Install fields will override all other installation labour (e.g. labour filters, minimum install charges and labour as a percentage of materials). Installation loose items will not be affected. Recalc Quote: If you change any of the Quick Labour fields, either finish with an ENTER key, or click the Recalc Quote button, to tell StairBiz to recalculate the quotation. StairBiz will also recalc the quote (if it has not already been done) when you leave this window or close this window.

Payments

Payment 1

The percentage comes from the Client window, which by default comes from the Miscellaneous Defaults window. The value is the amount required as a deposit on acceptance of the job.

Payment 2

The percentage comes from the Client window, which by default comes from item the Miscellaneous Defaults window. The value is the amount required as an interim payment.

Payment 3

The percentage comes from subtracting the percentages for Payment 1 and Payment 2 from 100. The value is the amount required as a final payment.

Profit

To get a better feel for what constitutes profit on a job, click the Show Breakdown button.
Profit on a job will be the sum of … Total Markup, plus Total Profit, less Total Discount, plus the total for Profit Adjustment.

Overheads Calculation

The overhead amount is calculated in the Quote Calculation sheet. It is explained as follows:

L&M PW (All jobs av.)

The total labour and materials for the average week (from the Miscellaneous Defaults window).

This stair's L&M as %

This stair's labour and materials as a percentage of total average labour and materials per week. This is the percentage of all overheads which should be allocated to the current job.

Overhead - All Jobs

The total cost of sales, management, administration, depreciation, leasing, premises etc. per week. In other words, all the costs of running the company other than labour, materials and truck (see Miscellaneous Defaults window).

This stair’s Overhead

The percentage value comes from two lines above. The dollar value is the portion of total overhead for the average week which should be allocated to the current job. This value is transposed to the third line in the window.

Updating overhead values from your defaults

The two values used to calculate overheads for a job (Labour & Materials PW and Overheads PW) are brought in to the job from the Miscellaneous Defaults window when you create the job. If you change these settings in the defaults, and need to refresh the job with the amended values, click the Refresh button in the Components window.

Lock

With the Lock button selected, no future changes in the job will impact the totals in the Quote Calculation window. Many of the values in the window become editable, and the actual (StairBiz generated) values are shown to the left in italics. In Lock mode, any changes you make to a value will automatically change the calculations below it. The exceptions are the Sub Total and Quote Total, which, if manually changed, will backtrack to recalculate the Profit Adjustment. Lock also fixes any rounding errors so that your Quote Total will always be the exact sum of your Sub Total plus Tax1 plus Tax2 (rounding errors can be caused if two numbers in the addition contain a hidden half cent). ALWAYS lock your quote calculations before advising the client of a quote total. If you decide to make changes and re-quote the job, you can always unselect this button it. If you decide to make some minor changes to the design during manufacture and NOT re-quote the job, it’s important that those changes don’t impact the quote total (which has already been given to the client). Also, if a future update of StairBiz has a change (or fix) in the way it calculates labour, materials or overhead, and your quote is not manually overridden, the next time you open the job the values may be slightly different. So, BEFORE SUBMITTING A QUOTATION to a client, ALWAYS open this Quote Calculation window and click the Lock button.

Hide Cents

Hides the cents part of all figures. The amounts are not rounded to the nearest dollar – the cents exist but are simply not shown in this window. See Rounding the Quote Total.

Show Breakdown

Opens the Quote Breakdown window where you can see a total breakdown and the basis for all calculations.

Quote window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Quote menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. The Quote window (sometimes called the “Quote Letter” window) shows a template for a quote or quote covering letter which may be presented to the client (note that most quotes are set up in a Custom Sheet, and that this window is more suited to creating an automatic covering letter to the quotation). Tags are used as placeholders for actual information - the tags are resolved when you view or print the template using the Quote sheet.

Using this method you don’t have to type a new quote or quote covering letter for every job – you simply use a template. Many different templates can be created and saved. Note; the Invoice window and Receipt window work in an identical way to the Quote window – it’s just that they are used for invoices and receipts. Throughout this documentation, a reference to the Quote window can also be a reference to those other windows.

Quote Template

A template is a layout, format or structure for a letter. Tags are used within the text as placeholders for actual information relating to the current job. The tags are in the form of a “+” followed by a description of the information they represent. For example, instead of the actual business name of the client (from the Client window) you will see “+ClientBusiness”. Instead of the quote total (from the Quote Calculation window), you will see “+QuoteTotal”, and so on. Templates can be changed. The template in the Quote window is in a text box, and can be edited in all the usual ways. You can scroll, type, delete, and change font, font size and font style. You can delete tags and add tags (see Tag). You can paste graphics (e.g. logo, stair drawings etc) into the template (place a graphic on the clipboard, insert your cursor anywhere in the text, and paste). Every change you make to the template in the Quote window will be reflected (after the tags convert to actual details) in the Quote sheet (see Job Sheets). All changes to the template in the Quote window are saved with the job.

Printing the Quote

The template in the Quote window can be viewed and printed in the corresponding Quote Sheet (see Job Sheets). The tags are resolved first (i.e. the actual information is shown rather than the tags. Left and right margins for printing the corresponding Quote sheet are set in the Preferences window. See Printing a Job.

Buttons

Tag

Opens a pop-menu from which you can select a tag for insertion at the current cursor position. Tags can be deleted from the template using normal text editing (e.g. select the text then press the delete key). For a list of available tags and a description of each, see Tags in the Quote window. Note that all fields in StairBiz are available, but only some fields are listed in the menu. To find out how to use fields not included in the menu, see Tags in the Quote window.

Open...

Opens an alternative template. When you first open the Quote window for the current job, a default template is shown. However, any number of templates can be designed and saved in the Templates folder (see the Save As button). To open an alternative template, click the Open button. A dialog window will ask you to select from those available. The name of the template opened will be displayed to the right of Quote Name at the top of the window. If the default template is current, it will read “Default”

Default

Makes the current template (in its current state) the default template for all new projects. Next time you start a new project, and open the Quote window for the first time, the default template will be shown.

Save As...

Saves a copy of the template, in its current state, with a different name. For example, you could change an existing template to be more appropriate for regular clients, and then save it under its own name. In the future, for any regular client, this template could be opened and used (see the Open button above). You can save as many different templates as you like.

Convert Selected

There may be times when you want to “freeze” certain job details in the quote template. If you select any text in the template, then click the Convert Selected button, tags in the selected text will be converted to actual details. If necessary you can edit those details in the usual way, and because the details are no longer tags, they can only be changed manually. Note that tags which are converted in this way cannot be re-converted (although you can open a fresh template with the Open button). For this reason it’s probably a good idea to save a copy of the default template (e.g. as "Default Quote" – see Save As).

Tags in the Quote window

Below is a list of the tags available in the pop-menu in Quote window, Invoice window and Receipt window (click the Tags button). The tag is inserted at the current cursor position. The tags can be typed in manually if you prefer.

+DateToday	Today’s date

JOB DETAILS:

+JobDate	As shown in the Process window
+QuoteNumber	As shown in the Process window
+JobNumber	As shown in the Process window
+SiteAddress	As shown in the Site window
+JobDispatch	Pickup, deliver or install
+DateInstall	As shown in the Job Details window

CLIENT:

+ClientBusiness	The name of the client’s business
+ClientContact	Your contact person within that business
+ClientSalutation	What comes after “Dear ...” in the quote
+ClientStreet	House number and street of the client
+ClientSuburb	Suburb of the client
+ClientPC	Post code of the suburb
+Terms1	The terms of the 1st payment
+Terms2	The terms of the 2nd payment
+Terms3	The terms of the 3rd payment

DESCRIPTIONS:

+DescNewels	Describes the size and style of the newels
+DescBalusters	Describes the size and style of the balusters
+DescHRail	Describes the size and style of the handrail
+DescCBand	Describes the size and style of the balconyplate
+DescCapT	Describes the size and style of the shoerail
+DescCapW	Describes the size and style of the walltrim
+DescBalconytrim	Describes the size and style of the balconytrim
+DescTString	Describes the size of the tenonstring(s)
+DescWString	Describes the size of the wallstring(s)
+DescTreads	Describes the number and going of the treads
+DescLanding	Describes the landing and number of landing treads
+DescRisers	Describes the height and number of risers
+DescHeadClear	Describes the head clearance
+DescPaint	Describes the finish of the stair and who does it
+DescLining	Describes the soffit lining situation
+DescCupboard	Describes the cupboard under situation

QUOTE:

+QuoteTotal	The total amount of the quote
+DueAmount1	The amount of the 1st payment due
+DueAmount2	The amount of the 2nd payment due
+DueAmount3	The amount of the 3rd payment due

PAYMENTS:

+PayAmount1	The amount of the 1st payment made
+PayAmount2	The amount of the 2nd payment made
+PayAmount3	The amount of the 3rd payment made
+PayChqNum1	The check number of the 1st payment
+PayChqNum2	The check number of the 2nd payment
+PayChqNum3	The check number of the 3rd payment
+PayDate1	The date of the 1st payment
+PayDate2	The date of the 2nd payment
+PayDate3	The date of the 3rd payment
+Pay Total	The sum of payments 1-3 above
+DueBalance	Equals Quote Total less Pay Total (i.e. balance owing)

If the field you want is not in the list?

If you require a field not listed above, type a “~” (usually the top-left key on your keyboard) where you want the field inserted, and select a field from the list. The field will be inserted as a number (a little bit cryptic) but it will do the job.

StairBiz versus a word processing program

In most cases, printing the converted quote (i.e. in the Quote sheet, on your letterhead) will give a perfectly presented quotation for your client, however ... The template is a simple text box . It does not have the same functionality as a word processing program. One of the few times that you might notice the difference is when you try to align numbers one above the other (for example, the schedule of payments). Because you cannot use decimal tabs in the Quote, Invoice and Receipt windows, this could be a problem. There are two categories of fonts: proportional-space and fixed-space. Proportional-space fonts use a variable width for each character. Fixed-space fonts use the same width for every character. If you are using a proportional-space font (e.g. Helvetica) the width of a “space” character (the invisible character you get when you press the space bar at the bottom of your keyboard) is not the same width as a numeric character (1,2,3 etc). So if you want numbers to line up one above the other you will need to use a fixed space font (such as Courier, which is not a pretty font). If this is a problem for you, the easiest solution is to copy the output from the Quote sheet (simply select the text and press Control+C), and paste it into a word processing program which supports decimal tabs.

Receipt window

From : Process menu ; Receipt menu-item Only applicable for Estimate module. The Receipt window may be used to generate a payments receipt in the form of a letter for presentation to the client. An alternative is to use a Custom sheet. All the features and functions available in the Quote window apply to this window.

Related Files

In this window, folders or individual files on your computer which relate to the current job, or to the current client, or to a client in the Client List can be "attached" to the job or client for easy future reference.

For current job

From : Process menu ; Related Files menu-item. This window can also be opened by dragging a file or folder onto the StairBiz application background window (while the application is running and a job is in progress). Note that dragging a file or folder over the StairBiz icon in the task bar for a couple of seconds will cause the StairBiz application to temporarily move to the front so that you can drop the file/folder onto it.
In this window, folders or individual files on your computer which relate to the current job can be "attached" to the job for easy future reference. Note that any of the twenty 'Stage' buttons in the Process window can be set to "Related Files" (see Process window /Customizing buttons in Process window).

For client (in Client List)

From : Client List window ; Related Files button. In this window, folders or individual files on your computer which relate to the currently selected client can be "attached" to the job for easy future reference. Note that if there are any related files, the "Related Files" button caption will be appended with a ">".

For client (in job)

From : Client window ; Related Files button. In this window, folders or individual files on your computer which relate to the client for the currently open job can be "attached" to the job for easy future reference. If the client is linked with the Client List then related files will be as per the Client List. Note that if there are any related files, the "Related Files" button caption will be appended with a ">".

Buttons

Attach ...

Opens a window where you can select a folder or file for attachment. For a folder attachment, StairBiz saves the path to the folder; the folder is shown in the Folder List and all the files that happen to be in that folder at the moment are shown in the Files List. For a file attachment, StairBiz saves the full path to the file; the [Unspecified] folder is shown in the Folder List and the attached file is shown in the Files List. The Help panel at the bottom of the window shows the path of the currently selected file.

Unattach

Unattaches the currently selected folder or file. You cannot unattach the [Unspecified] folder. You cannot unattach a single file contained in an attached folder (you can only unattach that folder)

Kill File

Kills the file on the disc. It does not go in the Trash - it's just gone forever. You cannot kill a folder (it's too risky - better to use the Browse button and delete it yourself).

Open File

Opens the currently selected file if possible. It will not be possible if you do not have the relevant application on your computer.

Browse File

Opens the folder containing the currently selected file.

Setout window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Setout menu-item The default setout for a new stair comes from the Setout Defaults window and can be changed here for the current job if necessary. For a detailed description of each item, refer to Setout Defaults window. By default, the “Default” setout is used for each new job. You can select an alternative setout using the drop-down list at the top of the window. These alternative setouts are created in the Setout Defaults window. When selected, they are loaded into the window and into the job, replacing the existing. The job will automatically update to reflect the new settings. If you make changes in the Default Setout window, be aware that existing job’s Setout window are not automatically updated – you need to reselect the appropriate Defaults Setout window from the dropdown list at the top/left of the window, or click the Refresh button (a shortcut to the abovementioned reselection). This window is shared by all jobs in the project, unless the Shared button is unselected – see Shared Windows.

Setout Defaults window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Setout menu-item Items in the Setout Defaults window control some aspects of the way a design is setout or processed. These dimensions generally remain consistent from job to job, but can be amended for any particular job (if necessary) in the job’s Setout window. You can save multiple copies of the Setout Defaults window, each containing different settings, and open the one appropriate to the job at hand (otherwise the setout call “Default” is used).

Amending

To amend a value, double-click the value, change it, then either press the Enter key or simply click somewhere else. Note that changes will only affect FUTURE jobs - it will not affect current or past jobs. See Editing. If there is “(Y/N)” at the end of the title, the setting expects a “Yes” or “No” setting. You can simply type “Y”, “y”, “N” or “n” rather than the full word.

Buttons

Save

Saves changes made to the current Setout Defaults window.

Save As

Saves the current Setout Defaults window under a different name, which can then be called up at any time as an alternative to your default setout.

Open

Opens an alternative Setout Defaults and loads them into the window. These setouts were created using the Save As button.

Print

Prints the current Setout Defaults window.

Export/Import

Exports the current window to a file or imports a previously exported file to the current window (overwriting the current settings). This is useful only for moving settings from one computer to another where you don’t wish to move the entire defaults database.

Setouts

NOTE: All values in this window control the default status of various options for a job’s stair setout, and can be amended for any particular job in that job’s Setout window.

Balconyplate

~1 Overlap into well

The default distance which balcony balustrade newels extend into (overlap) the well hole, which in turn determines the distance which balconyplate extends into the well. NOTE: If the Overhang dimension in the selected balconyplate’s Style window is non-zero, it overrides this setting (i.e. this setting will be ignored). This setting is amendable for a particular job on a section-by-section basis in that job’s Design: Balcony Setout window.

~2 Align with top newel

In each illustration below there is a short section of balconyplate associated with the top newel. If this value is set to true (T), StairBiz will override the default overlap (Item ~1 above) for this section, and will align it with the top newel (first example). If this item is set to false (F), the default overlap will apply, which may cause a mitre-wrap situation around the top newel (second example).

~3 Wrap Type

Sets the default wrap type for balcony sections of rail wrapping a newel (i.e. where the section terminates but both edges of the section do not butt the newel). The following values (1-3) produce the result indicated.

1. Wrap Start The section terminates at the start of the newel
2. Wrap Mid The wrap section extends the same distance along the side of the newel as the non-wrapped part of the adjacent face of the newel, giving a "balanced" wrap.
3. Wrap End The wrap section always extends to the far side of the newel

This default value can be overridden on a section-by-section basis for the job in the Balcony Sections part of the Design window (right-click on the relevant newel). They can also be set to manual override, after which you can set a dimension and angle to determine the wrap.

~4 Level with floor

If set to True, for the purposes of calculating the length of the balusters the Balconyplate is treated as having its top level with the floor.

~5 Raised Margin

If the balcony plate is raised (see Styles window – Balcony Plate) above the level of the floor, this is the margin (gap).

Balusters

~10 Max between balusters (stair)

The maximum space between balusters (stair only – for balcony see next heading). StairBiz auto-calculates baluster spacings to comply with this setting. The user can override this auto calculation in the appropriate baluster spacings window (i.e. StairBiz will not vet user changes to baluster spacings).

~18 Max between balusters (balcony)

Same as ~10 (above) but applies to balcony (some building codes have different specs for each).

~218 Fixed between balusters (balcony)

Use this to create fixed space balusters around the balcony. The value you enter is the fixed face-to-face distance. StairBiz will make up any discrepancy in spacings at the two ends. It will not apply for curved sections.

~11 Mark baluster centres

Set to True (T) if you want StairBiz to mark the centres of balusters when showing baluster spacings (appropriate if you dowel the balusters).

Set to False (F) if you want StairBiz to mark the face of balusters when showing baluster spacings.

~12 Blank length - stair

If you buy your stair baluster blanks pre-cut to a particular length (e.g. all pre-cut to 900 mm), input this length. If you buy your stair baluster blanks in random lengths, input “0”. StairBiz uses this information to calculate material costs in the Materials window: For example, if this default is set to 900, StairBiz will use 900 mm to cost the blank of each baluster, even if the finished baluster length is only 700 mm. If set to zero, StairBiz will use the finished length. Note that the Cutting List window will always show the finished length.

~13 Blank length - balcony

Exactly the same as for ~12 above only this time for balcony balusters.

~130 Length - Low face only

Instead of the length of the baluster being measured vertically from the highest point to the lowest point, this causes the baluster to be measured along the lowest face of the baluster.

~14 Wastage for turning

The amount at the top and bottom of a baluster blank that is allocated for wastage when the baluster is turned, i.e. the amount added to each end of a finished baluster size for the purposes of turning.

~15 Pin top into handrail

The distance the centre of a pin-top baluster bores into the handrail.

~16 Plow override for square top balusters

If you have handrail that comes in both a plowed and non-plowed versions and is otherwise identical, you can (if you like) include only one (not both) of these rails in the Styles window (in the Handrail category), and give it a plow depth of zero. When StairBiz notices a square-top baluster used with a handrail with plow depth of zero, it will assume that you want the plow depth to be as indicated by this plow override setting.

~17 Minimum Lower Flat

When using balusters with a fixed turning (i.e. the Fixed Lower Flat check-box in the Baluster’s Style window is not ticked), StairBiz assumes that for the selected baluster style the Turn Length specified in the Style window is suitable. If this is not the case you can change it on a job-by-job basis in the baluster’s Style window (opened from the Components window). To save you having to do this manual vet and change, set this Minimum Lower Flat (MLF) value. When MLF is zero, StairBiz ignores it. When MLF has a non-zero value, and the baluster has a fixed turning, StairBiz may adjust the specified fixed turning as follows: For each of tenon and wall side (separately), StairBiz calculates the length of the lower flat for each baluster, and finds the baluster with the LEAST lower flat. If that lower flat is less than the MLF, then StairBiz will adjust the specified fixed turning to comply with the MLF rule (for that baluster), and then re-apply this adjusted turn length to ALL balusters on that side of the stair. The result is that, for each side of the stair, all balusters will have a lower flat at least as long as the MLF, and all balusters will have the same turn length (albeit perhaps shorter that the Turn Length specified in the Style window).

~19 Bottom Pin Length

The length of the bottom pin for those balusters which come with a bottom pin (i.e. balusters with the Pin Bottom option ticked in the Style window). Balusters with the Pin Bottom option ticked are assumed to have this pin length already included in any dimensions in the Length and Lower Flat fields in the Balusters category of the Parts window, and the Lower Flat fields of the Style window. Bottom pins are NOT included in the baluster lengths shown in the Cutting List. Bottom pin lengths are included in the Length and LowerFlat properties of balusters sent to your filters EVEN IF the bottom of the baluster is cut on the rake (so that the baluster spec’d by your filter can allow for a clean rake cut in the non-pin area of the lower flat).

~220 Extend balusters below string

Extends the bottoms of balusters down below the top of the strings. Balusters will extend below the string only if there is no shoerail. Balusters will extend below the upper floor with or without balconyplate. Enter the distance.

~221 Extend balusters below balcony

Extends the bottoms of balusters down below the surface of the upper floor (balcony) level. Balusters will extend with or without balconyplate. Enter the distance.

~222 Volute baluster count override

The number of volute/turnout balusters is set in the Fittings window and can’t normally be edited on a job-by-job basis. If you wish to override this for a job, you can do it here. If left at zero, the setting in the Fittings window is used.

~70 Nose to baluster

The distance from the nosing of a tread to the face of the baluster (sawtooth only). See the first illustration below. Note that if you “set out to line of riser” (see above), the distance is from the riser face (not the nosing). If this value is set to “-1”, StairBiz will space the balusters uniformly on the tread (see the second illustration below).

~73 Baluster into Tread

The depth into the tread for the housing of the bottom of balusters (zero if none – i.e. you use dowels instead).

~322 Sawtooth Alternate feather spacing

See Chapter 11 : The Design window in depth/ Combo Balusters/ Manual Mode/ Sawtooth schemes/ Feathered Spacings. The value is Yes or No.

~323 No arcs in glass panels

Where you are using glass panels for balustrade, by default StairBiz will ignore handrail fittings that have arcs (and simply extend the top of the main section of the panel through until it reaches the vertical). If you want glass panels to follow the exact line of the handrail, set this to No (it is Yes by default).

~204 Plow even for short sections

This relates to Handrail, Shoerail and Balconyplate. When these sections are very short such that there is no room for balusters, StairBiz normally specs them with no plow (e.g. PlowWidth property for filters is set to zero). As such, if you don't have a corresponding component in the Parts window that does not have a plow, the filter won't find what you're looking for. This setting overrides that behaviour (i.e. it will spec the plow even when there are no balusters).

Bearers

~20 No bearers in winders > than ...

The value you enter determines under what situations bearers are specified for landings. The default is "4", meaning that bearers are specified for all landings. A "2" means that bearers will be specified for landings with up to 2 treads. A "1" means that bearers will be specified for landings with only one tread. A "0" means that bearers will never be specified. There is also a "None" option in the size pop-up list for bearers in the job's Components window. Use this to specify no bearers on a job-by-job basis. Bullnose

~27 Block Depth

The thickness of each riser block (only relevant to CNC so that the correct Z-depth can be set for cutting). If this depth is zero, StairBiz will not include a block.

~28 Price Timber for Block

You can elect whether or not to allow StairBiz to price the timber for bullnose blocks. Note that StairBiz uses tread material as the basis for pricing (there is no special category in the Components window). Item ~27 (block thickness) must be set regardless of the fact that the timber is priced based on the tread.

~29 Labour cost; separate tread sides

Double-ended bullnoses go through the Parts and Labour filter as a single item with BullName = [Bullname1/Bullname2]. If you want each bullnose side to go through the Labour filter separately, set this to True. With this set, the tread will be sent to the filter twice (the only difference being that the first will have BullName = [Bullname1] and the second will have BullName = [Bullname2]. Note that this only applies to the Labour filter.

~25 Labour cost; separate riser sides

Same as above, but for risers.

~109 Add extra to bull back (closed rise)

The value should be the amount a bullnose tread extends back behind the face of the riser above it. You can see the effect with “Show Tread” in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window. Also see following setting.

~302 No extra at highest bullnose

This is a companion setting to the one above (Add extra to bull back). Set this to True if you do not want the extra to apply to the highest or only bullnose tread (i.e. if it applies only to bullnose treads below the highest bullnose tread).

~303 Add extra to non-bull end

You can extend (i.e. over-length) the non-bullnose end of a bullnose tread. Enter a dimension. You can see the effect with “Show Tread” in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window.

Cove

~170 Adjust Width for Frets

With this set True, the width of any side sections of cove (as specified in the Components window) is decreased by the width of the frets (if used).

~171 Materials: Total length for tread

With this set to True, the Materials list will combine the lengths of any side cove pieces (i.e. for cut string treads) into the length of the main nose cove (i.e. giving a single total length for each tread).

Handrail

~30 Rail to floor (balcony)

The distance from the level of the upper floor to the top of the balcony balustrade handrail.

~31 Rail to rake nose

Used for raked strings (sawtooth and box). It is the distance from the line of the tread nosings vertically to the top of the rail.

~32 Rail to level landing

Used for rail at a level landing (i.e. one that has a single tread). It is the distance from the top of the tread vertically to the top of the rail.

~33 Rail to raked landing

Used for rail at a raked landing (i.e. one that has more than one tread). It is similar to ~31.

~34 Ceiling Rail Override

In the Design window/ Elevations pane, the fittings selection at a newel includes the option for Reducing (levelling the handrail at the underside of the ceiling) where applicable. By default, this option includes the level rail (along the ceiling) in drawings and specifications, however, if you have your own special component to replace this level rail, set the value of this item with the depth dimension of this component (or set “-1” to have raked rail and balusters simply run into the ceiling). StairBiz will not spec or draw your special component (invariably it will be an irregular length, so you can create this in Loose Items in the Materials window), but it will make the allowance. See also Chapter 11/ Reducing Balustrade.

Handrail Curve

~35 Max angle sweep

For a single piece of curved rail, shoerail and balconyplate that is curved, what is the maximum arc angle (sweep) allowable before StairBiz will break the rail into shorter sections. For example, if the sweep of the rail is 100 degrees, and this Max angle sweep setting is 45 degrees, StairBiz will divide the rail into 3 sections (each 33 degrees) because dividing into two sections of 50 degrees would violate this setting. This setting is further subject to the next setting (Max Length)

~36 Max length

See the previous setting. StairBiz will first divide curved rail into sections according to Max angle sweep. StairBiz then checks that the length of each section (along the centreline of the rail) is not longer than this Max Length setting. If it is, StairBiz will further divide the rail until this Max length setting is not violated.

Glue-ups

~190 Tread/Winder; Wastage

When StairBiz calculates the setout of a winder blank (which will be then cut and glued up to create a winder tread if grained timber is not used), it allows a margin for waste. In other words, the tread which is created from the glue-ups will be slightly oversize - in preparation for its final exact cut. Wastage may or may not be added to the nosing side (see next item).

Note that if glue-up Method 2 is used (see below), StairBiz calculates wastage slightly differently (adding the wastage horizontally to each board in the glue-up). This wastage does not apply to straight-flight treads which are perfectly rectangular.

~191 Tread/Winder; Include wastage at nose

Include the wastage at the nose of the tread.

~192 Tread/Winder; Apply Extra Length

Wastage for tread/winder glue-ups is specified above (~190), and by default extra lengths specified in the Extra Lengths window (Treads and Winders categories) do not apply to glue-ups. Set this to True to include them. If they apply, and you use Method 2 for glue-ups (see below), the Extra Length will apply to each piece in the glue-up.

~193 Tread Square; Do glue-up

If a normal (not landing) tread has its nose and back edge parallel, but the width selected in the Components window is less than the actual width of the tread, then … If set to True: StairBiz will do a glue-up (a strip across the back of the tread – Method 2 only), and will show the individual glue-up strips in all material lists and costing. If set to False: StairBiz will NOT do a glue-up. In all materials lists StairBiz will show the tread’s actual width (according to the Design), and if costed as blank items will add a pro-rata cost (plus 20% wastage) to account for the excess width.

~194 Tread Irregular; Do glue-up

By default, StairBiz will do a glue-up for bullnoses that are wider than the plank width (Method 2 only – see below). Item ~193 (above) applies where the tread back is parallel to the nosing. Where the tread back is NOT parallel to the nosing (e.g. treads in circular stair) … If set to True: StairBiz will do a glue-up (Method 2 only – see below). If set to False: StairBiz will NOT do a glue-up because often what comes off the back of one side of the tread gets glued on to the back of the other side of the tread. In this case the width of the tread specified in materials lists is the width of the tread blank as selected in the Components window (it is assumed to be sufficiently wide).

~195 Winder; Use Method 2

Method 1 is as follows:

Note that the Method 1 setout (as shown here) can be put on the CNC bed for cutting. Method 2 (more wasteful, but faster and easier for manual setout) is as follows:

Note that regardless of this setting, Method 2 is the only method used for square landings, half-space landings and bullnoses.

~196 String; Wastage

When StairBiz calculates the setout of a hockey string blank (which will be then cut and glued up to create a hockey string if grained timber used), it allows a margin for waste (it is not added to the width of the main horizontal board). In other words, the ‘wings’ created from the glue-ups will be slightly oversize - in preparation for its final exact cut.

~197 String; Apply Extra Length

Wastage for string glue-ups is specified in the previous item, and by default extra lengths specified in the Extra Lengths window (strings categories) do not apply to glue-ups. Set this to True to make them apply. If they apply, and you use Method 2 for glue-ups, the Extra Length will apply to each piece in the glue-up.

~198 String; Use Method 2

Method 1 (the default method) for calculating glue-ups in a blank for forming the shape of a hockey string is as follows. It is a very efficient method with minimum timber wastage.

However, some prefer the more wasteful but easier method, as follows:

To use this second method, set this value to “Y”. This method also accurately feeds in to cutting lists, BOM and costing. A wastage margin can be set in Wastage; hockey glue-up (above). Also see Chapter 21; String Glue-ups

~199 String; Method 2 non-staggered ends

When using Method 2 (above) this setting inhibits the staggering of the ends of the blanks.

~200 Method 2 margin is horizontal

The first example (below) shows the waste margin measured horizontally (between the two blue dots). The second example shows it measured diagonally. A horizontal margin means a glue-up board could move horizontally either way by half the margin and the tread or string would still be within it. This is good if the board widths are exact, and (if using CNC) you’re putting the strings/treads on a CNC bed against stops (such that you are very confident about the “Y” position, but less confident about the “X” position). A non-horizontal margin means that StairBiz applies the waste margin around the entire perimeter of the tread/string prior to calculating the glue-ups. This may be better if the board widths are not exact, for manual cutting (i.e. not CNC), or where a CNC uses laser positioning (i.e. not stops) such that you are less confident about the “Y” position of your piece on the bed.

~201 Double Hockey orientation low

This determines the orientation of a double hockey string glue-up (i.e. a landing string either side of a straight flight string, all as one piece). With this set appropriately, the entire glue-up will be the same orientation as the lower landing string (otherwise it will be orientate to the centre string). You can enter a number, being the number of treads of the intermediate straight flight up to which you want this to employ this feature. So, for example, if you enter “3” then if the straight flight has one, two or three treads, this feature will be used (with four treads or more it will not).

Levels

~45 Default Bulkhead

For each new level created in the Levels pane of the Design window, this will be the default bulkhead depth (the distance between the floor and the ceiling below it. It can be changed in each job for each level in the Levels pane.

~46 Ground Floor is called ‘First’

In some countries ground floor is call “Ground” and the floor above it is called “First” etc. In other countries ground floor is called “First” and the floor above is called “Second” etc. If you fall into the second category, set “Y” (Yes), otherwise set “N” (No).

~47 Extra Below Floor

You can get all strings, risers and newels to extend below floor level by right-clicking the stair in the Design window (Stair Setout pane) and selecting the “Extra Below Floor” menu-item. This is the default value. If set as non-zero, all new stairs will automatically take on this value. (Available only in the Defaults Setout window – not in a job’s Setout window).

Newels General

~52 All newels float

With this set to true, all stair newels will be treated as floating (i.e. not a part of the stair’s structure). The strings and treads will ignore all newels, as if they didn’t exist. Note that with this set to False, a newel is treated as floating only if both string edges do not intersect it, or if “Floating” has been selected in the newel’s menu (right-click the newel)

~50 Half newel cut width

The width of the cut when cutting a full newel up the middle to create two half newels. StairBiz uses this setting to calculate the depth of half newels as follows; the depth of a full newel minus this cut width then divided by two. Note that StairBiz assumes that the depth of a half newel which is not turned is the same as a half newel which is turned (i.e. the depth arrived at in the above way).

~53 Wastage for turning

The amount at both ends of a newel blank that is allocated for wastage for turning (i.e. the amount which needs to be added to both ends of the finished length for the purposes of turning). This setting is used by StairBiz to calculate the length of blanks for turned newels.

~55 Min Flat Below Rail

The minimum distance from the bottom of the lowest handrail to the bottom of the upper flat of a PTP (post-to-post) newel. If necessary, StairBiz will override your default turning setout (as shown in the Style window) to achieve this (provided that the Auto Adjust tag is set – see Design Window / Elevations pane / Right-click a string / Show Turn Lengths).

~56 Min Flat Above String/Shoerail

For a box string, the minimum distance from the top of the highest string to the bottom of the turning. If necessary, StairBiz will override your default turning setout (as shown in the Style window) to achieve this (provided that the Auto Adjust tag is set – see Design Window / Elevations pane / Right-click a string / Show Turn Lengths). If a non-raised shoerail exists, the top of the string is deemed to be the top of the shoerail.

~57 Min Flat Above Raised Shoerail

Same as the previous setting (~56), but used where there is a raised shoerail (i.e. where there is a gap between the string top and the shoerail). Otherwise the bottom newel flat may look awkwardly long. This setting also applies to raised balconyplate (where is it the alternative for “Min flat above balcony floor” (see below).

~58 Min Flat Below String

When you set the bottom of the newel to “Bottom of String”, this amount will be added such that the newel actually terminates this distance below the bottom of the string.

~60 Floating newel into tread

For a floating newel with its bottom set at the level of a tread (see Newel Setout menu item in the Elevations pane of the Design window) this is the distance (if any) that you want the newel to extend down below the surface of the tread.

~162 Min separation for same setout U-Loose newels

The following applies to a U-Shape stair where there are two selected centre newels. In such cases you may want the newels to be exactly the same height and turning setout. This value can be set to -1 (which means not applicable), or can be set to a dimension (including zero). As a dimension, if the gap between the adjacent centre newels is less than or equal to this dimension then StairBiz will pretend that the lowest rail into the upper newel is that of the lower newel, and the highest string into the lower newel is that of the upper newel. This provides the basis for both newels to calculate out to be same height and turn setout.

Newels Balcony

~51 Balcony newels below floor

If you normally cut the balcony balustrade newels around the well such that the bottoms of the newels extend below the upper floor level to the level of the ceiling, set to any negative number (e.g. “-1”). If you normally finish your balcony newels at a certain distance below the floor level, set this to that distance. Otherwise set it to zero. (Also see ~61.) If set to any negative number, StairBiz will set the length below floor to correspond to the thickness of the floor (the difference between the floor to floor and the floor to ceiling as input in the Design: Well Dimensions window ). This dimension is amendable on a newel by newel basis in a job’s Design: Balcony Balusters window. This setting is used by StairBiz to calculate the length of a job’s balcony newels, and to show the cut-away pattern in the Balcony Components sheet.

~61 Vet for overlap into well

This can instruct StairBiz to only use the “Below Floor” setting (see ~51 above) if the balcony newel is overlapping into the well. The amount that it needs to overlap is the value of this setting (e.g. if you set this to “1.5”, then the at least one corner of the newel would need to be 1.5 inches into the well before the “Below Floor” setting takes effect.

~59 Min flat above balcony floor/balconyplate

The minimum distance from the balcony floor level (or the top of the balcony plate, if used) to the bottom of the turning of a balcony newel. If this value is not zero, and the turning of the newel (according to the newel’s Style window) is such that the bottom of the turning is below this setting, StairBiz will override your default turning setout to achieve this.

In the case where a raised balcony plate is used, StairBiz uses setting ~57 instead of this one.

Newels Top

~54 Match Top Newels

With this value set to true (T), when there are two top stair newels (tenonside and wallside) and balcony balustrade is associated with only one of them, StairBiz will give the one without the associated balcony the same turning setout as the one with the associated balcony. With this value set to false (F), when there are two top stair newels (tenonside and wallside) and balcony balustrade is associated with only one of them, StairBiz will give the one without the associated balcony the same turning setout as a balcony newel. Note that when a single top newel (i.e. one side but not the other) has no associated balcony, StairBiz gives it the same turning setout as a balcony newel.

~62 Top newels assume balcony rail

Set to True if you want the height of your top newels to assume there is balcony balustrade, even when there is not. This does not apply to pin-top newels (whose height will be determined by fittings at the top of the lower rail).

~63 Trimmer; top newel cut around

Where a top newel hooks over the trimmer, StairBiz can draw and CNC the cut-out in the newel. This setting sets whether or not you want the cut-out (Yes/No).

Note that if a well is a ‘Reverse-L” well (where a line of the well extends backwards from the back of the top newel), StairBiz not allow a trimmer cut-around on the CNC (because it’s possible that the cut-out should not extend all the way across the back of the newel). The following two settings are related.

~64 Trimmer; top is floor surface

Where a top newel hooks over the trimmer, True sets the top of the cut-out to the floor surface, otherwise it is the top of the trimmer.

~65 Trimmer; bottom is ceiling

Where a top newel hooks over the trimmer, True sets the bottom of the cut-out to the level of the ceiling, otherwise it is the bottom of the newel.

~366 Use I-Joist (I-Beam) T/F

For CNC only: If the trimmer joist at the top of the stair is an I-beam, and you want to trench the top newel for the trimmer joist, you can set this trenching to follow the shape of the I-Beam (i.e. it can hug the two flanges and the web, if possible). To do this: Set this value to True, then … Flange Height is the vertical thickness of the flanges Web Height is the vertical height between the flanges, and Channel depth is the width of the flanges less the thickness of the web, then divide by two (i.e. from outside edge of flange to the face of the web).

Orientation

~65 Default Design Orientation

In the Design window (Stair Design tab) you can right-click on a empty space and set the orientation (angle) of the entire design. This setting allows you to set the default orientation for each new job (from 0 degrees to 359 degrees).

Outstep

~116 Detached Nose Use Tread (Detachednose)

A detached nose is where a standard landing tread (on a regular landing – not a platform, which doesn’t have a tread) has the tread nosing of the bottom tread separated from the tread (do a find on “detachednose” in this manual). With this setting = True, such outstep takes its material from the treads category of the Components window. With this setting = False, the material is from the Outstep category (which may point to Balconyplate).

~117 Default Floor thickness

The standard floor thickness used in your region (this setting is used by the Outstep to set the default tongue thickness – set zero if you don’t do this). This item is only shown in the Defaults Setout window (not the Job’s Setout window)

~118 Default Outstep rebate

The distance that the upper floor is chopped back from the face of the trimmer (to accommodate the tongue of the outstep). Set zero if you don’t do this. This item is only shown in the Defaults Setout window (not the Job’s Setout window)

Risers

~66 Splayed Risers

Set this to “Y” if you want the risers to run from the bottom of the nosing above to the back of the tread below (i.e. deleting the lip normally under the nosing).

Note that for CNC purposes you should avoid having a single splayed riser that spans two faces of a newel (i.e. goes around a corner) – the CNC will not handle the trenching of this newel well in this situation. Note that StairBiz does not support spayed risers for a sawtooth string. It will do them perfectly in 95% of situations, but there are some situations where things can’t be resolved. If they look OK in the Elevations window, you’re probably OK.

~67 Splay nose for splayed riser

Set this to “Y” if, when Splayed Risers is set, you also want the nose of the tread to be splayed.

~68 Splayed riser angle override

When using splayed (angled) risers, this sets a specific angle for the riser (relative to the vertical). Note that if this setting is non-zero the Nose to riser face (~106 in Treads category) setting is redundant (it is calculated from the angle and the rise of the tread).

~69 Riser height extra all

Adjusts the finished height of all risers (not including the very bottom riser of the stair) by this amount. Negative is less height, positive is more height. Normally used for when you don’t want you risers to go exactly to the bottom of the tread below.

~152 Riser height extra at Outstep

Adjusts the finished height of any riser immediately under an Outstep. Negative is less height, positive is more height.

~153 Riser height extra at Landing

Adjusts the finished height of any riser immediately under a quarter-space or half-space landing (not a platform, which is handled by the preceding setting). Negative is less height, positive is more height.

~253 Riser height bottom make same

Normally StairBiz specs the width (height) of the very bottom riser (i.e. at the floor) accurately, to reflect that it is less than usual. If you don’t want this, set this False.

~154 Open Rise; Riser at top of stair (Y/N)

Set this to “Y” if you want a full riser at the very top of the stair when the unit is otherwise open rise.

~155 Open Rise; Riser under platform (Y/N)

Set this to “Y” if you want a full riser under a platform when the unit is otherwise open rise.

~156 Open Rise; Riser under landing (Y/N)

Set this to “Y” if you want a full riser under a landing (not a platform, which is handled by the preceding setting) when the unit is otherwise open rise.

~161 Riser sits on platform (Y/N)

When set to True, the riser above a platform will sit on top of the platform rather than extend down behind it.

Sawtooth

~71 Rise end at tread end T

Applies only if sawtooth on the tenonside side. If you want the end of the riser to extend to the end of the tread on the tenonside side, set this to “Y”. Otherwise the riser will extend to the outside face of the fret (or the string if there is no fret).

~72 Rise end at tread end W

Same as above, except applies to wallside side.

~74 String margin Tenonside

The distance from where the front of the riser meets the underside of the tread to the top edge of the string (before the string is cut). A value of more than zero would mean that the corners would be left out (i.e. only suitable if using frets, but would leave more meat in the string). Applies only to the tenonstring (the next setting applies to the wallside side).

~75 String margin Wallside

Same as above, except applies to wallside side.

~76 String margin mitre

Same as above, except applies when risers mitre the string.

~77 Outstep minimum meat

The minimum horizontal width of the tongue between the top riser and the trimmer for a sawtooth top string. If the tongue is less than this amount, StairBiz will disregard it (as shown in the illustration on the right).

~81 String Vertical is Fret Cut

The vertical cut on a sawtooth string (against which the riser sits) where a fret is used can be one of two types. The first type (shown below) is called a “Fret Cut”, and if you wish to use this option you should set this value to True (“T”). The illustrations are in plan view. Yellow is the sawtooth string, pink is the fret, and blue is the riser.

~278 Sawtooth Flush (treads/risers sit inside)

Normally the outline of a sawtooth string follows the underside of the treads and the back of the risers. If you want it to following the top of the treads and the front of the risers (such that the treads/risers sit WITHIN the string, set this to True. Also see next heading for CNC tips.

~279 Sawtooth Flush extra

If you want the sawtooth outline to extend ABOVE the treads and in FRONT of the risers (to provide a rebated key for a sawtooth shoerail), you can set the above ~278 to True then set this to the dimension of the extra amount. Note that you may decide to adjust the "Sawtooth Minimum Meat" (~77 in the Setout window) - it does not account for the extra meat gained with this method. On the CNC, to trench a rebate into this string to house the treads/risers, you can use the Sawtooth Riser and Sawtooth Tread categories of the Cut Templates window. For the Treads, set the CutOffset to "-%TT + %TR ! %TD"; this will give you two appropriate cuts for each tread. For the Risers, set the CutOffset to "-%RT + %TR ! %TD"; this will give you two appropriate cuts for each riser (provided it is not a splayed riser).

Shoerail

~85 Raised margin box string

When the shoerail is raised above the level of the top of a box string (see Styles window – Shoerail category), this is the margin (gap).

~86 Raised margin sawtooth nose

When the shoerail is raised above the level of the nosings of a sawtooth string, this is the margin (gap).

~87 Raised margin sawtooth nose

When the shoerail is raised above the level of a sawtooth landing tread, this is the margin (gap).

Sidenoses

~78 Sidenosing width

The width of the tread’s sidenosing. For a width the same as the distance from the outside of the string to the end of the tread, enter “0” ; for a width the same as the nosing, enter a “-1” (minus 1); for a width the same as the tread depth, enter a “-2” (minus 2); otherwise enter the actual width as a dimension.

~79 Sidenosing radius

The radius of the obtuse corner of the sidenosing (usually would apply only to CNC). Enter a zero if there is no radius.

~80 Sidenosing extension

The distance the sidenosing extends beyond the back of the tread (see above).

~281 Curved sidenose maximum angle

Sets the maximum allowable arc angle for any one piece of curved sidenose (landing treads only). If this angle is exceeded, StairBiz breaks the sidenose into smaller lengths (subject to the next setting).

~282 Minimum break length

Sets a further test on the above Curved sidenose maximum angle vet, in that regardless of that setting, the sidenose must be more than this length before StairBiz will insert a break.

~283 Minimum include length

If there are two adjacent in-line sections of sidenose (which would only happen where at least one of them is a curve), and the combined length is less that this setting, StairBiz will join them together into a single piece. This happens mostly where a sidenose starts or ends with a short straight section, and there is a curved section running into it.

Skirting

~90 Landing skirting height

The height of the skirting used on level landings that do not have a full string.

NOTE that this setting applies ONLY where the selection for Skirting in the Components window is “Same as strings” (otherwise the Skirting selection takes precedence).

~91 Upper floor skirting height

The standard height for skirting (the board that covers the gap between the floor and the wall) used in homes in your region.

Strings

~93 String to nose margin

Used only for straight flight strings. The distance from a point being the intersection of the top of the tread with either the nose or riser face (depending on the Setout to line of riser setting), to the top of the string (at right-angles to the rake of the string). OR

~94 String to nose margin landing

Used only for landing strings. The distance from a point being the intersection of the top of the relevant landing tread with either the nose or riser face (depending on the Setout to line of riser setting), vertically up to the top of the string (i.e. NOT at right-angles to the rake of the string). OR

~95 Curve start maximum before break

Where a curved string has a straight section at the top which is more than a certain length (called the “break-limit”), StairBiz splits the string into two separate strings (straight and curved). This setting allows you to decide where this break-limit is (in the range 100mm to 500mm; 4” to 20”). If, for example, you set this to 200mm (8”), if (in the Curves pane of the Design window) your spring line is set at more than this you will get a break in the string, less than this and you won’t. The default setting is 300mm (12”). StairBiz cannot guarantee that changing this setting will work out – it depends on many factors, so be careful.

~96 Rebate depth at corner joins

Where two string meet at a corner, and the join option (in the String Setout window) is “Upper Rebates” or “Lower Rebates”, this is the depth of the rebate. It is measured as a depth from the inside face of the string.

~971 Inside corner break-length Hi

If the ‘200’ dimension example in the following illustration is sufficiently long, StairBiz will need to break the upper string and add a new (short) string between the corner and the upper string. This setting determines the maximum distance before which StairBiz will break the string. The minimum setting is 60mm, however, where a corner unit is the top unit, a minimum of 40mm applies regardless of your setting. If a string appears that you don’t want, right-click the string and select “Delete”.

~972 Inside corner break-length Lo

The same as the previous setting, except relates to the lower dimension (the ‘180’ in the above illustration example). The minimum setting is 60mm, however, where a corner unit sit on the floor, a minimum of 40mm applies regardless of your setting. If a string appears that you don’t want, right-click the string and select “Delete”.

~973 Hypotenuse method for lengths

The following might be useful for those using trenching machines. When set to non-zero StairBiz will calculate string lengths (only non-hockey, non-curved, straight-flight strings) based on the number of treads in the string multiplied by the hypotenuse of the tread/rise at the string. The setting holds the number of EXTRA hypotenuses to add to the number of treads (e.g. with this setting at ‘1.5’ a string with 5 treads would calculate length as 6.5 x Hypotenuse).

String Hockey

~95 Straight decides orientation (CNC)

This setting influences two things relating to hockey strings on a CNC bed: a) The default orientation of the string: Strings come into the bed horizontal. For a hockey string, the horizontal could be based on the longest string within the hockey, or the longest STRAIGHT FLIGHT string within the hockey. If the orientation should always be based on the longest straight flight string, set this value to “T” (True). b) How StairBiz determines which are the “ends” when not cutting top or bottom edges of the string.

For example; below is a hockey string where the straight flight string is shorter than the landing string. In both cases we are not cutting top or bottom edges. With this setting = True, the straight flight string (even though shorter) determines the orientation, and we get:

With this setting = False, the landing string (because it is longer) determines the orientation, and we get:

String Key

String Key settings relate to the male and female key StairBiz can create to marry two adjoining strings (see String Setout window). It would probably only be relevant if you use CNC (in that without a CNC it’s unlikely you would be creating a key manually).

~100 Pitch

Dim A (above) Minimum = Radius Small + Tool Diameter

~101 Radius Small

Dim B (above) Maximum = Pitch - Tool Diameter

~102 Radius Large

Dim C (above) Minimum = Pitch - Radius Small There is probably no strength advantage in making this radius larger than Radius Small (i.e. Radius Small and Radius Large would normally be the same).

~103 Male Adjust

If there is any slack in the CNC gantry, you might not get a perfect fit between the male and the female. This setting will adjust the size of the male key (and will not affect the size of the female key). A positive value will make the male smaller. A negative value will make the male larger. Note that the value set here is TEN TIMES the adjustment required. This is done so that regardless of your level of accuracy of your dimensions, you can set very small adjustments). For example, a value of “2” here will produce an adjustment of 0.2 in whatever dimension system you are using.

~104 Split arcs over 180 degrees

Following applies only to Masterwood CNC clients. If you have a CNC problem with string keys, set this to True (then refresh any items on the CNC Bed).

Treads

~105 Setout to line of riser

Some manufacturers, when they design a stair, pretend that nosings (the part of the tread that overhangs the front of the riser) don’t exist – all calculations are done from the face of the riser. Others pretend that risers don’t exist – all calculations are done from the nosing of the tread. If you work to the riser face, type a “Y” (for Yes) here, otherwise set “N” (for No). Note that this setting is not one that can easily swapped back and forth. StairBiz can handle it, but the problem is the way StairBiz interprets dimensions set in the Design window. For example, imagine your default dimension for the Outstep is 60mm - if you work to the riser, that 60mm is from the trimmer to the face of the riser, whereas if you work to the nosing, that 60mm is to the nosing. If you change from a Nosing Setout to a Riser setout, StairBiz can’t go through and add the amount of the nosing to each such dimension (because the Nosing can be variable from job to job – depending on your setting for it in any particular job). So this value (True or False) should be set before you start setting up your templates in the Design window, and not touched again unless there’s a good reason (or unless you’re in the mood to adjust all your design templates accordingly).

~106 Nose to riser face

Horizontal distance between the nosing of a tread and the front of its associated riser.

~107 Add extra to tread back (closed rise)

If the back of your treads mortise or rebate into the front of the riser such that you need StairBiz to spec an extra distance to the back of every tread, this setting will do it. The value should be the amount the tread extends back behind the face of the riser. You can see the effect with “Show Tread” in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window.

This setting is ignored for treads containing curves. See the Bullnose category for a similar setting applying to bullnose treads.

~108 Add extra to landing back (closed rise)

Same as ~115, except applies to landing treads. This can also be used to sit the riser of the tread above on top of the tread below.

This setting is ignored for treads containing curves

~300 Add extra to all backs (open rise)

Same as above, except applies to treads with no riser above it. Unlike the next setting, there is a corresponding adjustment to the string trenching

~301 Add extra to all backs (open rise #2)

Same as above (applies to treads with no riser above it except that there is NO corresponding adjustment to the string trenching This may be useful where (for CNC) you want to use the standard outline cut to cut the tread, but want the back edge of the tread cut slight over-width such that you can fully clean it up with a nosing cutter. In such cases you would need to reduce the nosing cut offset by the same amount to bring the tread back to the final required width. This setting is ignored for treads containing curves

~163 Add to back of tread for splay riser

Where a riser is splayed, to set the back of the tread to the same angle as the splay set this to True. It will add slightly to the width of the tread.

~110 Box Winders

Allows you to extend the back of a winder under the winder above it. A value of “1” extends the back of each winder (not including the top winder) to the face of the SECOND riser above it, as follows:

A value of “2” extends the back of each winder (not including the top winder) to the face of the TOP riser in the unit, as follows:

A value of “3” extends the back of the bottom winder to the face of the TOP riser in the unit, but changes nothing else, as follows:

Box winders may be used in conjunction with “Add extra to landing widths” (~115 above).

~140 Landing tread Wth/Lth override

Relates to Landing Tread filters. With this set to “Yes”, EVERY landing tread going through the Parts or Labour Filters window will have its Width and Length properties set to the width and length of the entire landing. Sometimes this may be more convenient for auto filtering. The Width is in the direction of the nosing of the bottom tread, and extends from the face of the riser above the landing to the end of the actual tread (whether sawtooth or box). The Length is in the direction of the riser above the landing, and extends from the nosing of the bottom tread back to the end of the actual tread (whether sawtooth or box).

With this set to “No”, EACH landing tread going through the Parts or Labour Filters has its own width and depth as shown in the Treads sheet (View menu – Stairs).

~141 Hand Property – allow ‘Both’

Relates to Landing Tread filters. The Hand property of a landing tread normally has a “Left” or “Right” value. However, if the landing tread is a single tread landing, such a tread in your Parts window may be reversible (i.e. used for left and right hand landings). With this set to “Yes”, IF the landing tread is a single tread landing (i.e. a quarter-space or half-space tread, not a winder tread), StairBiz will set its Hand property to ‘Both’.

~164 Bullnose Winder Radius

Where a corner unit is the bottom unit, and the nose of the bottom landing tread juts out in front of the line of the upper string, and the lower (very short) tenon string is deleted (right-click the string and select Delete String), StairBiz can put a radius on the corner of the landing tread (like a blunt bullnose) to return it gracefully into the front of the post. This setting holds the radius of that bullnose. StairBiz will fully vet the situation to see if a radius is possible, so you may maintain a permanent non-zero setting. If the specified radius is larger than is possible, and a smaller one is possible, StairBiz will reduce it to suit. The riser will also have a corresponding radius where possible.

~1641 Fake Nose Depth (Closed rise/CNC)

This gives you the option to trench tread and winder nosings on strings which are thicker than the rest of the tread. Set it to the total required thickness (height) of the nosing of the tread. It applies only to CNC trenching. It applies to all treads, winders and outsteps in the job. At this stage it does not apply to newels. At this stage it may leave a small island which you would need to break off by hand.

Trenching

NOTE These settings control the depths that various components are trenched into other components. They are amendable for a particular job in that job’s Setout window. ~120 Treads into strings (straight tenonside) The depth the treads (including landing treads) and risers are trenched into the strings, i.e. the depth of the trench. Applies only where there is no curve in any string for that side for the unit. There is a separate setting for wallside strings (see next). NOTE: If you want your trench depth into strings to LEAVE a consistent distance between the bottom of the trench and the outside edge of the string, regardless of the thickness of the string (useful for when string thicknesses are a little inconsistent), set this value as a negative. When StairBiz sees a negative, it treats the dimension as the distance from the bottom of the trench to the outside of the string. For example “-1” with a 1.5 inch string would trench 0.5 deep, but with a 1.75 inch string would trench 0.75 deep. Note that using this negative setting when using a dovetail trenching tool will be problematic.

~120 Treads into strings (straight wallside)

Same as for straight tenonside (see previous), except applies to wallside.

~121 Treads into strings (curved tenonside)

Same as ~120, but applies where there is a curve in any string in the unit on the tenonside side. The “NOTE” in ~120 also applies here.

~122 Treads into strings (curved wallside)

Same as ~120, but applies where there is a curve in any string in the unit on the wallside side. The “NOTE” in ~120 also applies here.

~123 Treads into newels (normal)

The depth the treads (including landing treads) and risers are trenched into the newels, i.e. the depth of the trench. (Does not include landing inside-centre newels - see next item).

~123 Treads into newels (inside landing)

The depth the treads (including landing treads) and risers are trenched into landing inside-centre newels. Note that for string-newels (i.e. newels that are the same depth as the string), there is good reason to make Treads into Newels the same dimension as Treads into Strings (see Newel position flush with string (string newel)).

~124 Riser into treads

The depth the top of the riser boards are trenched into the underside of the treads.

~125 Strings into newels

The depth the strings are trenched into the newels, i.e. the depth of the trench or mortis.

~126 Handrail into newels

Applies only to CNC. The depth the handrails are trenched into the newels, i.e. the depth of the trench or mortis.

~127 Newel mortis square limit

Applies only to CNC. This setting is an angle in degrees. If the string is out of square to the newel by more than this setting, then the mortise for string and handrail will not be sent to the CNC bed with the newel. This setting should probably be no more than about 2 degrees.

~128 Mortis adjustment Z

Applies only to CNC. The depth of a string or handrail mortise trenched into the newel will be the length shown in settings ~125 and ~126, plus the amount of this setting. This provides for a gap between the end of the tenon and the bottom of the mortise.

~129 Mortis adjustment XY

Because a newel mortise is generally a fit between two surfaces both machined on the CNC bed (string or handrail and newel), it may be that the fit is slightly too tight or slightly too loose. This setting is an adjustment to the mortise to gain a cosy fit. A positive value makes the mortise bigger all around; a negative value makes it smaller. It applies whether the tenon is reduced in the X/Y or not (see Tenon Reductions above). If you imagine a newel as it sits up-right in the stair, the X value affects the horizontal width or the mortise and the Y value affects the vertical height. The X value is added to both sides (a value of 0.5 would give a mortise 1 mm wider than normal). The Y value is added to both top and bottom (a value of 0.5 would give a mortise 1 mm higher than normal).

Tenon Reductions

~130 Strings – use reduction (Y/N)

Set to “Y” (Yes) or “N” (No). Instructs StairBiz to reduce the tenons of strings, as shown in the diagram below. Settings ~131 to ~142 only apply if set to “T”. If the newel is floating, or the mortise length is set to zero (either in the Setout window or in the String Setout window) then this and the following settings do not apply. If you feel that the reduction should apply, but the elevations window (or CNC bed) is not showing a reduction, it’s probably because StairBiz was not able to resolve the following settings.

~131 to ~136 Box strings

Dimensions in the above illustration correspond to the reference numbers. There are a few rules and tricks – for the exercise we will look are ~131 to ~133; Dimensions can be fixed or floating – for a floating dimension set to “-1”; for a fixed dimension set the dimension (which may include zero). With regard each set of three dimensions, you cannot have two floating dimensions adjacent to each other (i.e. if either outside or inside are floating, the centre can’t float), and there must be at least one float. On that basis the four possible combinations are Float/Fixed/Float or Float/Fixed/Fixed or Fixed/Float/Fixed or Fixed/Fixed/Float. If ~132 is floating, then ~131 and ~133 must be fixed, in which case dimension ~132 will resolve to be the total height less ~131 less ~133. If ~131 and ~133 are both floating, then ~132 must be fixed, in which case dimension ~131 and ~133 will resolve to be the total height less ~132 divided by 2. Other possibilities are that ~131 is fixed, ~132 is fixed and ~133 is floating, or ~133 is fixed, ~132 is fixed, and ~131 is floating. Note that in all cases at least one, and no more than two, dimensions must be set to “-1” (floating). For the low end of the string, if the string is a bottom newel cut at floor level, ~131 will calculate as it the string were not cut at the floor,~132 will extend down to the horizontal string cut (regard of the value of ~132), and ~133 will be set to zero (again regardless of its value). For some CNC functions, the tenon must be “clean”, meaning that the ends of the tenon (top and bottom) must come to a 90 degree point. To achieve this either shorten the length of the tenon or raise/lower it. For this purpose it may be better to set the Y length of the tenon to float (-1) and have fixed distances above and below.

~137 to ~142 Sawtooth strings

These apply in the same way as ~131 to ~136, except that they apply to sawtooth strings. The top of the string is deemed to be the underside of the associated tread.

~143 to ~148 Sawtooth strings

These apply in the same way as ~131 to ~136, except that they apply to handrail.

Strings; Tenon above floor

Applies to the bottom of a string sitting on the floor and controls the level of the bottom of the tenon. Is zero, always extends to the floor. If ‘-1’ (negative one) then StairBiz does not interfere and the bottom of the tenon is where it would otherwise be if it string was not sitting on the floor (or the floor level, whichever is the higher). If set to some other value (e.g. 20mm) then it will always be this value above the floor level.

Schedule Window

Overview

From: Project menu; Project Schedule menu-item The Schedule Window allows you to view your jobs (as they relate to other jobs) on a calendar. There are separate schedules for production and installation. There are user definable rows that can represent people or resources that a job is assigned to, and columns that represent a day of the week.

Weekly and Monthly View

The schedule can be viewed one week , two weeks or one month at a time. To view 7 days of the schedule at a time, click on the “7” icon. To view 28 days of the schedule, click on the “28” icon. The size of each column will be adjusted to fit the requested number of days onto your screen.

Production vs. Installation

StairBiz maintains two separate schedules – one for production and one for installation. Toggle between them using these buttons.

Rows

When looking at the schedule, there are 3 main sections, organized as rows.

Header Rows

The top 3 rows are row header and statistical information. These contain the day of the month, the total hours and total number of jobs assigned to each day.

User Rows

Below these 3 rows are the User Rows. When you run StairBiz for the first time, there may not be any user rows created. To add a User Row, click on the Add User Row icon. Each time you click this icon, a new row will be added to the Schedule. These rows can be used to organize your schedule in any way you see fit. You may decide to use each row to represent someone who is responsible for a job. Each row may contain a label in the leftmost column. To edit a label, double click in the leftmost column, on the user row you wish to edit. The cell will turn white and a cursor will appear. Type in a label, which might be a staff members name, and press Enter and your label will be complete. To remove unused rows you can click on the Remove User Row icon. Jobs assigned to these rows will remain unless you move them to another row.

Pending Rows

The bottom section of rows are designated Pending Rows and are used to contain jobs that have not yet been assigned to User Rows. There is always at least 1 Pending Row, and additional Pending Rows will appear as they are needed. For example if there are two jobs in Pending Rows for a given date, there will be 3 Pending Rows available. Pending Rows are distinguished by a darker shade of gray than the User Rows. The first column for these may not be labelled like the User Rows.

Moving a Job

To move a job to a new Row or Column, click on the job and drag it to the desired location. As you drag a job, a yellow box will draw around the cell that would become the new location for this job when the mouse is released. You may not drop a job on another job, only in a vacant cell. To move a job further than one screen, you can right click on the job and select Cut. This will place the job on the clipboard and allow you to scroll and locate another date. Right click an empty cell and select Paste, and the move will be completed.

Opening a Job

You can double click on any job by double clicking on the Job in the Schedule view. This will only work if there isn’t already a job open.

Agreed and Scheduled Dates

When a job is moved, the Scheduled Date field of the Job Details window is updated to reflect the new date. If an Agreed Date has been set and the new Schedule Date is earlier than this date, the job is annotated as ahead of schedule with a >n: notation. For example if the job is 2 days ahead of schedule, it will appear as >2:Job Name. Likewise if a job is scheduled later than the Agreed Date, it will be annotated as n: and also coloured yellow to make it stand out as an alert.

Finding a Job

If the Schedule window contains many jobs and you wish to find one in particular, you can click on the Find Job icon. This will open up a panel to the left of the schedule, listing all jobs that are on the schedule. Clicking on a job in this list will move the focus to the selected Job.

Adding a Job to the Schedule

Jobs that do not have a Schedule Date set in the Job Details window, will not appear on the schedule at all. There are two ways to set the Schedule Date field. With the job you wish to schedule open:

1. Open the Job Details window and type in the desired Schedule Date.
2. From the Process window, click on the Schedule icon. The current job will be placed on a Pending Row for today’s date. From there you can move the job to the desired User Row and appropriate date.

Schedule Settings

Open by clicking this toolbar icon. Only available if you have permission as set in the Permissions tab of the Users and Networking window. In the Schedule setting window you can set various attributes for displaying the schedule, as follows:

Local Settings:

When this check-box (at the bottom of the window) is ticked, the settings you create in this window remain local (i.e. only apply to your computer and do not impact any other computer on the StairBiz network.

Settings

Schedule Font: Sets the font and font size used in the Schedule. Row Padding: Adds the specified number of pixels above and below each row of the schedule. Labels displayed within the cells will thus have this “margin” above and below them. Border Thickness: The thickness of the border of each cell. Cell Lines: The number of lines of text that can fit within a single row. If you show multiple fields in each cell (see below) you will need to add extra cell lines to see them at one time. Use Agreed Date: With this ticked StairBiz will show how far ahead or behind a job is relative to the Agreed Date as shown in the Details window of the job. A “>” indicates the job as scheduled is early. A “<” indicates the job as scheduled is late (and also shows a yellow fill colour if fill colours are not already in use. Split hours for Production/Installation: When ticked, the Hours totals in the header of each date will show only the portion of hours relevant to that pane of the Schedule window. For Production, it will show hours for Preparation, Assembly and CNC. For installation, it will show hours for Delivery and Installation. When not ticked, both panes show the total job hours in both cases. Show $ values Production: Option: In the header, you can optionally show an extra row with the total value of jobs for each date. You will need permission for this (see the See Job Values in Schedule Header setting in the Permissions tab of the Users & Networking window). The field can take the following settings: "0" = Do not display this row. "1" = Show the pre-tax total value of the job "2" = Show the pre-tax total value of the job less the net value for Delivery, Installation and Truck. Show $ values Installation: Option: See the previous heading, but in this case a setting of "2" is slightly different ... "2" = Show the net total value for Delivery, Installation and Truck.

Fields

Allows you to select which fields are displayed in the cell for each job on the schedule. NOTE: If you currently have job open, the schedule will only show the Job Name field. To see multiple fields you need to close the job.

Colours

When you right-click a job in the schedule, you can select a colour for the border, fill and text. These colours are probably not much help if you don’t know what they mean. This tab allows you to create headings for each colour category. For example, the border colour may indicate the type of builder (in which case you could enter “Builder Type” adjacent to the “Usage Label” heading, just under the “Border” heading, etc.) This tab also allows you to create a label for each colour. Thus when you right-click a job on the schedule, instead of seeing “Border”, “Fill” and “Text” menu items you would see your usage labels, and the sub-menu-items would show your colour labels rather than “Red”, “Blue” etc.

Actions

You can create your own right-click menu items, and assign certain actions to those menu-items. For example, if you create a label called “Open” and assigned the action “Open Job”, when you right-click the job in the schedule you will see this menu-item and when you click it the relevant job will open.

Icons

An icon is a small image. One can be shown for each job in the Directory window (in the Job/Icon column), and one or more can be shown with each job in the Schedule window. Tick "Show Icons" in the Schedule Settings window (Settings tab). In the Icons tab of the Schedule Settings window, set a label and a path to the image file for each icon. For example, Glass = C:\StairBiz Program\Defaults\Images\Glass.jpg Cable = C:\StairBiz Program\Defaults\Images\Cable.jpg In the above example, "Glass" is the label for the icon (i.e. what the icon means), and the part after the "=" is the full path to the image file. Icon images should be jpg, bmp or ico format. If they are ico format they will show in the Schedule window but not in the Directory window. Icons should ideally be 16 x 16 pixels, although you can technically make them larger if you don't mind some idiosyncrasies. Icons in the Schedule window will show full size, whereas in the Directory window they are scaled to 16x16. Show Icons on Bottom of Cell means that they will be drawn across the bottom of the job cell rather than down the left. Icon Margin is the gap between the cell border and the icon. If you re-define an image in the Schedule Settings window, and it is used in the Directory window, you may need to refresh the Directory window. Icons which you have defined can also be set for a job in that job's Details window.

Site window

Overview

From : Process menu ; Site menu-item The Site window holds information about the site (the place where the stair will be delivered or installed). This information can be used by the Labour window, Quote window and Custom sheets. Sometimes you may want to open the Client window and the Site window simultaneously. If you hold down the Control key when opening the Client window, the Site window will also open. As with all windows in StairBiz, they will open where you last closed them, so you can have them side by side. This can be useful when a client rings up to request a measure, and you need to input into both (and only, for now) the Client window and Site window. Simply type in the relevant details:

Fields

Measure Date

The date agreed for the site measure.

Measure Time

The time agreed for the site measure.

Site Contact

The person on site who represents the client (if applicable).

Site Address / Suburb / City / State / Zip

The address of the site.

Map Ref / Cross Street

Reference to help locate the site.

Site Phone / Mobile

The contact numbers for the site.

Building Codes

Select the applicable code for this site location. The list of codes shown are created in the Building Codes window.

Measure Note

For example “Beware of the dog” or any similar short instruction for the measurer.

Buttons

Load from Client

When clicked the site window will be filled out automatically using the corresponding details from the Client window. This might be useful when the client is an owner builder.

Shared

This window is shared by all jobs in the project, unless the Shared button is unselected – see Shared Windows.

String Setout window

Overview

From : Design window ; Right-click a string and select Show String Setout (or just double-click the string). Also from: Design window ; String Elevation pane, right-click a string and select Show Setout (or just double-click the string). See also Chapter 21 : Stair Components quick reference/ Strings/ String Faces In this window you can create the string setout for the selected string. This mainly involves the position and type of the cut at the top of the top string, the bottom of the bottom string, and all the string joins between. Strings are pretty complicated (from a computer’s point of view). If you find the following discussion a bit tough on the first read, we recommend that you re-read, play, re-read etc. We’ve made it all about as simple as it can possible be, but it still may take a bit of concentration to wrap your brain around it. This window would normally be used in conjunction with the String Elevation pane of the Design window, so that you can see the effects of your setouts on adjacent strings.

Creating default string setouts

String setouts can only be done to the strings of an open job (albeit that the job might be a dummy job for the purpose of creating unit or stair templates). When you modify a string setout, and save the job, the modifications are saved with the job. To create default string setouts, simply create unit or stair templates which include your desired string setouts. If you send a unit to the unit templates, the string setouts are saved with the unit template and becomes the default for jobs you create from that template. If you send a stair to the stair templates, the string setouts are saved with the stair template and becomes the default for jobs you create from that template.

String joins

With the exception of the top of the top string and the bottom of the bottom string, all string ends are a “join” (in that the bottom of one string matches the top of the string below it). For the sake of simplicity we’ll call all string ends a “join”. In StairBiz, we do setouts for joins. Remember that there are not two setouts (one for one side of a join and another for the other side of the join). A join is a join - it doesn’t matter from which side of the join you make the change, the change is to the “join” and will affect the strings on either side.

Who owns the join?

If a join applies to two strings (except for the top of the top string and the bottom of the bottom string), and joins are saved with the strings, which of the adjacent strings owns (saves) the join? This is important when saving string setouts in unit templates. For example, consider the join between a straight flight and landing string below it. The low side of the join (Land1_U2_Stait in the illustration below) owns the setout (even though you can change this setout either at the top of the landing string or the bottom of the straight string). However, this setout is not saved with the straight string (i.e. in the straight unit template) – it is saved with the landing string (in the landing unit template). In the String Setout window, the type of join is indicated at the top and bottom of the string (more about this later). If there are two asterisks (**) after the name of the join, the string owns that join. If not, the join is owned by the adjacent string. Note that, generally speaking, if a landing string and a straight flight string are involved in the same join, the landing string will own (save) the join.

The joins in detail

StairBiz has identified 20 join types (some relate to the position of the join, and some relate to the context of that position). They are listed below. You do not need to learn them. In this list, ‘U2’ means ‘up to’. ‘Lo’ and ‘Hi’ in the list relate to which side of the join owns the setout. Note that you can see the labels in the following list in the String Elevations pane of the Design window (right-click and select Show Labels). In the following, to avoid confusion, a ‘corner’ refers to a join where there is a change in direction of the two strings (rather than a corner unit, which we’ll call a landing). “Aligned” refers to a join where there is no change in string direction at the join.

Bot	Hi	The termination cut at the bottom of a bottom string
CornLev_U2_Lev	Lo	A corner join where a level landing string goes up to a level landing string (or a string that could be level)
CornLev_U2_Rake	Lo	A corner join where a level landing string goes up to a raked landing string
CornLev_U2_Strait	Lo	Level landing string up to a straight flight at an inside corner.
CornLShape1	Lo	A corner join at the tenonside corner of an L-shape one-tread landing. Note that the lower straight flight owns (saves) this join.
CornLShape23	Lo	A corner join at the tenonside corner of an L-shape landing containing more than one tread. Note that the lower straight flight owns (saves) this join.
CornRake_U2_Lev	Lo	A corner join where a raked landing string goes up to a level landing string
CornRake_U2_Rake	Lo	A corner join where a raked landing string goes up to a raked landing string
CornRake_U2_Strait	Lo	Raked landing string up to a straight flight at an inside corner.
CornStrait_U2_Lev	Hi	Straight flight up to a level landing string at an inside corner.
CornStrait_U2_Rake	Hi	Straight flight up to a raked landing string at an inside corner.
CornUTight	Lo	A corner join at the tenonside corner of an U-shape landing (where there is no space between the tenonside strings of the upper and lower flights) . Note that the lower straight flight owns (saves) this join.
Land_U2_Land1	Lo	An aligned join where a landing goes up to a landing with one tread
Land_U2_Land23	Hi	An aligned join where a landing goes up to a landing with more than one tread.
Land1_U2_Strait	Lo	An aligned join where a landing with one tread goes up to a straight flight
Land23_U2_Strait	Lo	An aligned join where a landing with more than one tread going up to a straight flight
MidLand_U2_Strait	Lo	Mid landing (i.e. a landing created from a single straight flight tread) up to a straight flight.
RadiusJoin	Lo	An aligned join where any string meets a curved string
Strait_U2_Land1	Hi	An aligned join where a straight flight goes up to a landing with one tread (and the landing has a string).
Strait_U2_Land23	Hi	An aligned join where a straight flight goes up to a landing with more than one tread.
Strait_U2_MidLand	Hi	Straight up to mid landing (i.e. a landing created from a single straight flight tread)
Strait_U2_MidPlat	Hi	Straight up to mid landing (i.e. a landing created from a single straight flight tread) where the landing is a platform(i.e. pre-existing).
Strait_U2_MidSkirt	Hi	Straight up to mid landing (i.e. a landing created from a single straight flight tread) where skirt and bearer replaces the string.
Strait_U2_Plat	Hi	An aligned join where a straight flight goes up to a platform (i.e. pre-existing landing).
Strait_U2_Skirt	Hi	An aligned join where a straight flight goes up to a landing with one tread (and the landing uses a bearer and skirting instead of a string).
Strait_U2_Strait	Lo	An aligned join where a straight flight meets a straight flight.
Top	Lo	The termination cut at the top of a top string.

Where a join has a fixed (i.e. non-floating) newel, the above joins do not apply – the string on either side of the join will enter the newel.

Contextual Setouts

String setouts (joins) are contextual. This means that different setouts for the end of a single string are saved for different situations. For example, consider the illustration above. At the left is the top of a landing string. This end of the landing string holds (saves) the following joins, and which setout is used for the end of this string depends on the situation (context). Land1_U2_Strait Land23_U2_Strait Land_U2_Land1 Land_U2_Land23 RadiusJoin Top For this reason, when you are creating unit templates, you should put that unit template into all possible contexts and save the unit template in each of those contexts. This way you can use that one unit template in any of the contexts and it will automatically reflect your desired setout.

Navigating the strings

At the top of window on the left, click the arrow to more up or down the current side of the stair. Click the empty button to move to the other side of the stair. Alternatively you could have the Design window (Elevations pane) open in the background, and double click the string you want in the Strings Setout window.

Bezier curves – transitions in string rake

See Chapter 11 : Bezier curves – transitions in string rake

Edit Dowels

Shows dimensions for overriding the default settings for the positions of dowel holes in a string tenon (and corresponding newel). Only relevant to CNC. See Users Manual CNC, Cut Templates.

Dimension Tool, Zoom and Undo

These work the same as in the Design window.

Join Options

At either end of the string are (in most cases) either one or two option menus (with an up/down arrow at the left). These options relate to the join as shown. There are too many options to discuss in detail – just play with them until you get what you want. Butt join and Rebate join terminology When selecting a rebate joint you have the option of “Lower Rebates” or “Higher Rebates”. This terminology can be confusing, because we applied the concept of “Lower Butts” and “Higher Butts” to rebates. In other words, we say the “Lower Butts” or the “Lower Rebates” if the lower string is the one that doesn’t make it to the corner. The “Upper Butts” or the “Upper Rebates” if the upper string is the one that doesn’t make it to the corner. The following is an example of “Lower Rebates”.

String Ends - Detached

Where a straight-flight string joins another string at an inside landing corner (e.g. L-Shape, U-Shape, U-Tight), for the purposes of string ends some stair builders want the straight flights to behave as if they were separate independent straight flights. In other words, the string ends at the inside landing join should not relate to each other but should behave as if they were terminations at a landing. This gives the advantage of manufacturing the straight flights as if they were completely independent (i.e. detached), but at the same time the balustrade behaves in way that acknowledges the relationship between the flights. To achieve this for such strings, select one of the Detach settings from the first Join Options menu for the relevant string end. Note that for a U-Tight stair (i.e. U-Shape with vertically aligned strings) the string ends at the inside landing are permanently detached (i.e. they don’t require you to select this option).

Heels

Where the underside of a raked string meets the floor, you can insert a heel. This is most often used where there is a large bullnose tread (to give the back of the bullnose something to return into). You can also apply a Bezier curve to it (almost always the case). Select ‘Heel’ from the upper of the Join Options pull-down. It applies to any bottom string without a newel, or where there is a bullnose (newel or otherwise).

Setout dimensions

Most dimensions are editable – click, change, then press Enter. Many dimensions are Tags.

A tag is a calculated dimensions, or a dimension that represents some default dimension. To see what the tag represents, right click it. To see the value of a tag, left click it. To change a tag, either enter a hard dimension, or right-click to select an alternative tag (if available). Note that if you can use a tag rather than a hard dimension, it’s best to do so (especially when setting up unit template or stair template strings). For example, the “S” in the illustration above represents the default standard landing skirting height. You might have these “S” tags in a hundred different places throughout your stair templates and unit templates – a single change of the default dimension (in this case in the Default Setout window) will reflect in them all. On the other hand the “D” represents the current landing thickness (as shown in the Components window). If you change the landing thickness in the Components window, all these tags will reflect your changed landing thickness.

Boundaries

The horizontal solid red line at the top is the upper floor level. If you have a well with a bulkhead depth, the ceiling level will be shown also. The horizontal solid red line at the bottom is the lower floor level. The vertical dotted red lines represent the unit’s “base” points at the inside of the string (the inside is the side of the treads). For straight flights this point will be at the top and bottom riser (or nosing if you work to the nosings) at the inside of the string. At corners this will be where the two string inside edges intersect.

Extend Hi/Lo

There may be times when you may want the string slightly over length so that the installed can trim exact on site. There may be other times (hopefully few) when StairBiz will not give you the string end that you want, and you want to extend the string so that you can cut your own end (especially if you're using CNC). Using Extend Hi and Extend Lo, you can extend the ends of the strings by an amount of your choosing. For the purposes of calculating string lengths, and cutting the string on a CNC, the string will be as extended.

Done

When setting up for your defaults (i.e. setting up unit templates), it may be useful to track which joins you have set to your own specifications (and which are still yet to do). When you select the Show check box, a Done checkbox appears to the right of the join name (but only if that string owns the join, i.e. there is a double asterisk).

After you have set the options and dimensions for this join, tick this Done box. It will be saved with the string, reminding you that the join has been set to your liking. Note that we are talking about joins (not strings) - there might be a different join here if the context is different (which might NOT have been “Done” yet).

Show Face

Inside

The inside face of the string is the side that the treads are on. If the vertical cuts of a string are exactly square (in plan view) then the inside face and outside face will be the same. Otherwise they will be different (e.g. a corner join where the strings intersect at 45 degrees, as shown the illustration below). This mode shows the inside face at the front (in black), and the outside face behind it (in green). The inside face will have the fill colour.

Outside

This mode shows the outside face at the front (in black), and the inside face behind it (in green). The outside face will have the fill colour.

Blank

To calculate string lengths, StairBiz needs a string which shows the longest of the inside or outside at the top, and the longest of the inside and outside at the bottom. If you’re sending the string to the CNC bed, and the machine is not 5-axis, again you need such a string. The Blank is such a string. Regardless of the angles (in plan view) of the top and bottom ends, the blank will accommodate this string (exactly). If the string is sawtooth, and in plan view the riser cuts are angled, again the blank will show the most forward of the inside or outside of these riser cuts. The blank also accommodates any over length situation.

Style windows

Overview

From : Process menu ; Components menu-item ; Show Properties button. Styles for components for a particular job are selected in the Components window for that job. To view and amend the details for any selected style (just for the current project), click the Show Properties button adjacent to the relevant style. The Style window for that style will open. Changes made in this window will not impact the Style Defaults window. For a comprehensive discussion, see Style Defaults window.

Style Defaults window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Styles menu-item A “Style” is the combination of a style name (usually indicating a type of profile or some other significant characteristic) and a size (e.g. Colonial 40x40). A style doesn’t have to have a style name. In this section of the Components Defaults window you are able to list all the various styles you have for each category. These items are selectable for a particular job in that job’s Components window. The list below the categories pull-down shows your list of current styles for the selected category. This list can be speed searched – see Speed Search Lists

New

Creates a new style

Delete

Deletes the current style. You can delete all styles in the category by deleting one while holding down the Control and Shift keys.

Properties common to all styles:

Style Name

The name you use to refer to that style within your organization. Max 35 characters. A style doesn’t have to have a style name, but for the purposes of the following discussion not having a style name is the same as having a style name of nothing. Style names can be the same as style names in other categories (e.g. a “Colonial” baluster and a “Colonial” handrail). Style names can be the same within a single category provided that the widths and/or depths are different (e.g. a “Colonial 70x40” handrail and a “Colonial 70x70” handrail). In the Newels category, two or more newels can have the same style name even if the widths and depths are the same, provided that the Position Options (the first five buttons at the bottom/right of the window) do NOT overlap (e.g. a “Colonial 90x90” newel as a “Top” newel and a “Colonial 90x90” newel as a “Bottom” newel). In the Fillets category, two or more fillets can have the same style name even if the widths and depths are the same, provided that the Position Options (the first three buttons at the bottom/right of the window) do NOT overlap (e.g. a “Standard 30x9” fillet as a “Handrail” fillet and a “Standard 30x9” fillet as a “Shoerail” fillet). In the Handrail category, the style names of handrail sub-types that might use common fittings can be included in brackets and the bracketed text will be ignored by the Fittings filter (see Properties for individual styles: Handrail). For both newels and fillets, when position options are not available for a newel/fillet with the same name, width or depth, the overlapping option buttons will be disabled.

Style Class

This field doesn’t have a label – it is the field to the right of the Style Name. You can optionally set a “class” for each style, which can be any text up to 10 characters. The purpose of the class is to identify “groups” of styles. It is used in the StyleClass property in the Part Filters and Labour Filters windows. For example, you could have two classes that covered all your handrails – “Pre Plowed” and “Needs Plow” (indicating which rails need to be plowed in the shop). In your Labour Filters window you could filter for the “Needs Plow” class and add extra labour accordingly. Obviously in this case you actually only need one class (“Needs Plow”), because you are only filtering for this class text. All rails that come pre-plowed could have the class left empty.

Description

The name you use to refer to that style in communications to your client. Max 50 characters. If you leave the field empty, StairBiz will assume that Description it is the same as Style Name and will simply show a double quotation mark (indicating ‘same as above’) in this field.

Width/Depth

There is a convention about which is the width and which is the depth of a style. For newels that are not square - the depth is the smaller of the section sizes; for balusters - the depth is perpendicular to the face of the string; for strings, risers and skirt the 'Depth' is the thickness of the timber; for all other components the 'Depth' is what you see in the elevation view of the total stair and the 'Width' is what you see in the plan view. If you want BalconyTrim to swap that behaviour, tick the Swap Wth/Dth checkbox in the relevant style window. For example, a handrail can be 70mm wide and 42mm deep, and another might be 42mm wide and 70mm deep. These two rails are not the same. The width of the first is 70mm. The width of the second is 42mm. Note that in the Timbers window (for costing timber), the depth is always the smaller of the sectional sizes. If you change width or depth, and the old size is not used by any other component in your defaults, StairBiz will ask if you want to delete the old size from your timber cost list ("A timber size has just been amended ..."). If you see no use for this old size in the foreseeable future, delete it. If this message becomes a nuisance (e.g. during the initial setup or major changes) you can turn it off by double-clicking the label "Width/Depth" (to the left of the width and depth fields) - it will stay turned off until you reopen the window. Note that if StairBiz prompts you to delete an old size, but you have not changed the size, it’s probably because you have recently changed from a metric to an imperial measurement system (or vice versa) and the slight conversion errors (extremely slight) are enough to make StairBiz think it’s a different size – click Yes to delete the old size.

Blank; No Profile

This component is made from timber in your timber rack, and there is no turning or machining. The cost of the timber comes from your Timbers window.

Blank; Staff Profile

This component is made from timber in your timber rack, and there is turning or machining done by your staff paid at an hourly rate . The cost of the timber comes from your Timbers window, and the cost of the labour for machining comes from your Labour Filters window using the amount of time you enter in the Minutes field.

Blank; Contract Profile

This component is made from timber in your timber rack, and there is turning or machining done by a contractor paid on a piecemeal basis. The cost of the timber comes from your Timbers window, and the cost of the labour for machining comes from the Cost $ field.

Parts; No Profile

This component is purchased in a finished state (i.e. is a Part). It has no profile. The part is specified according to the buttons to the right (see below).

Parts; Profile

This component is purchased in a finished state (i.e. is a Part). It has a profile. The part is specified according to the buttons to the right (see below).

Parts From Filters

Select this button to have the appropriate part selected (or not) by your part filters (see Components window). In this case StairBiz does not itself specify any blank items or part items for this category – you specify the parts yourself in the relevant part filter based on information (properties) sent to the part filter about the particular component. If there is no part filter, or no “hit” in the part filter, this component is completely ignored by StairBiz. See also The Revert Option (below)

Part Is …

Select this option to set a specific PartId (it will be shown in the text box below). You can click the Set button (to the left of the text field) to get a list of all parts in your Parts window for this category, or you can type in the part id. The part is costed from the Parts window. In some cases (newels, balusters, frets, wallbrackets) the cost shown in the Parts window is per each. In other case (handrail, shoerail etc.) the cost is per metre/foot. When you set a specific Part ID, the Timber is technically irrelevant (in the Components window you cannot select a timber for a specific Part ID because a specific Part ID can only be in one timber). However, you may still like to have a Timber shown in a Custom sheet for that category. For this purpose only, StairBiz will see if the Parts window has a Timber for this Part ID, and if it does will show it in the relevant Timber field of a Custom sheet.

Photo and Caption …

Opens the Style Photo & Caption window. Here you can set a photo and photo caption for this style which can then be displayed and printed in a Custom sheet whenever the current job uses this style (as selected in the Components window). See Photo and Caption window.

Style Notes

There is a checkbox at the bottom right of this window. Tick it to show the Notes field for the current style. If the notes field is not visible, and there are notes, there will be a green stripe down right-hand side of the checkbox (to indicate to you that there are some notes). StairBiz remembers whether this checkbox is ticked or not (for next time you open the window).

The revert option:

When a style type is set to “Part From Filter”, you may specify in your Part Filters to REVERT this setting under certain circumstances (e.g. there is no part) to a blank option. In this case StairBiz needs to know which blank option to revert to. StairBiz holds a memory of the last blank option set prior to setting the part option (and the minutes or dollars as appropriate for staff or contract options). It displays this revert setting adjacent to the “Blank No Profile” option button, and uses this setting in the event of a revert.

Properties for individual styles:

Acorn

Finished Height; the height of this acorn.
StairBiz only uses Acorn styles if one is selected in the Components window, and the Detached Acorn checkbox for the Newel Style is ticked. If it is not ticked then StairBiz will ignore any Acorn selection in the Components window.

Balconyplate

Baluster Plow; How deep is groove (for balusters) in the top-side of this Balconyplate (zero if none). Tongue Thickness; If the balconyplate rebates over the edge of the floor cut-out, this is the thickness of the tongue (otherwise set to zero, which StairBiz reads as “no tongue”). If the “Level Width Floor” checkbox is ticked, this dimension is just for your records (StairBiz doesn’t use it). If not ticked, StairBiz assumes that the top of the balcony plate is this distance above the floor (or fully above the floor if zero) Overhang; The default distance the balconyplate overhangs (protrudes) into the well is determined by a value in the Setout window (Balconyplate, Overlap into well, ~1). If you have different balconyplate styles where the style should determine this protrusion (i.e. the non-tongue part of the plate is pre-fabricated and fixed), set this value for this style (it will override the Setout window default), otherwise leave it as zero.

Raised; Raise the balconyplate to float above the floor level. The amount of the gap is set in the Setout window (Balconyplate heading) Level with Floor: If ticked, StairBiz positions the top of the balcony plate level with the floor level (i.e. with the top of the outstep). If not ticked, the top of the balcony plate is positioned above the floor by the amount of the “Tongue Thickness” (or fully above if this is zero). Marry with Outstep; Allows the possibility to marry Balconyplate to the Outstep of the stair forming a single piece. See Chapter 21 : Stair Components quick reference/ Balconyplate/ Marrying Balconyplate with Outstep

If you with to use balconyplate for your outstep, see Components window/ Outstep – replacing it with balconyplate.

BalconyTrim

By convention, for strings, risers and skirt the 'Depth' is the thickness of the timber; for all other components the 'Width' is what you see in the plan view and the 'Depth' is what you see in the elevation view of the total stair. If you want BalconyTrim to swap that behaviour, tick the Swap Wth/Dth checkbox.

Balusters

Upper Flat; the length of the baluster’s upper flat (A in diagram) measured from the top of the pin (for pin-top balusters) or the highest point on the finished baluster (for square-top balusters). If the "Pin Top" option is checked, this field is disabled. Turning; the length of the turning (B in diagram). This setting is not immediately relevant if “Fixed Lower Flat” option is ticked (see above).
If there is more than one baluster of this style in your Parts window (i.e. in the parts catalogue), and the turn lengths are not the same, then it is likely that at least some of the balusters SHARE a common turn length and have DIFFERENT lower flat lengths – this is the turn length required here. NOTE: If you have a Minimum Lower Flat setting in the Setout window (Balusters category) then StairBiz may adjust the turning specified here to keep the lower flat within this setting. Lower Flat; the length of the lower flat (C in diagram) measured from the lowest point on the baluster. If Pin Bottom is ticked (see above), add the pin length to this length (see Setout window, Balusters ~19) This setting is not immediately relevant if “Fixed Lower Flat” option is not ticked (i.e. if we are using fixed turnings - see above). If there is more than one baluster of this style in your Parts window (i.e. in the parts catalogue), and the lower flat lengths are not the same, then it is likely that at least some of the balusters SHARE a common lower flat length and have DIFFERENT turn lengths – this is the lower flat length required here. See also Setout window; Balusters category, Item ~17 “Minimum Lower Flat”. Min Turn Diameter; The diameter of a turned baluster at its narrowest point. This is used to space the balusters such that the gap between them takes into account the turning. If you don’t required such an adjustment, set this dimension to zero. Pin Top Diameter; The diameter of the upper pin (only used for drawing or CNC).
Combo Bals; Used for Combo Balusters (see Chapter 11/ Combo Balusters). For regular basket balusters this setting is the number of regular balusters that would normally combine with this one basket baluster to form the “combo” (e.g. “2”). Note that this setting can be changed on a job-by-job basis (in the job’s Style window). To specify a “panel”, this setting must be “P”. Balusters styles with this “Combo Bals” setting will show up in the Baskets category of the Components window. Pin Top; indicates that this baluster does not have a flat at the top. Special Spacing; tells StairBiz to override the baluster spacings set in the Setout window, and to instead use the maximum spacing in the Max Spacing field (below). Note that when used with sawtooth strings, StairBiz ignores the treads for the purposes of spacing (i.e. all spacing is calculated based on the Max Spacing field). Max Spacing; See Special Spacing (above).

Fixed Lower Flat;

The following values can be set independently for stair (rake) balusters and balcony balusters: A turned baluster has a fixed upper flat if square-top (A in diagram), and always has either a fixed turning (B in diagram) or a fixed lower flat (C in diagram) but never both. There is provision in the Style window for each of these three dimensions. Which of the latter two StairBiz uses depends on the Fixed Lower Flat setting. If Fixed Lower Flat is ticked, StairBiz ignores the Turning dimension. If Fixed Lower Flat is not ticked, StairBiz ignores the Lower Flat dimension. However, it may be useful to include both dimensions so that you can swap between them on a job-by-job basis. Most catalogues include some fixed turning balusters and some fixed lower flat balusters within a single style.

Fixed Turning Fixed Lower Flat Pin Bottom; indicates that this baluster has a pin bottom, that any Length and Lower Flat fields in the Balusters category of the Parts window includes the length of the pin, and that the Lower Flat fields of this Style window includes the length of the pin. The length of these pins in set in the Setout window (Balusters ~19). Fixed Length; With this ticked the length of the baluster determines the height of the handrail. If the baluster has a profile, it’s length with be the sum of the upper flat, turning and lower flat, otherwise there are two fields to take the baluster length for both stair and level. The Fixed Length baluster setting is ignored for sawtooth strings. Full Panel; With this ticked StairBiz creates a single full panel for the balustrade (usually glass). Set Depth as the thickness of the panel. Set the top, bottom and end margins for the panel. For more details see Chapter 22 Miscellaneous Topics/ Glass Panels

Round Balusters;

To create a round baluster (i.e. completely round from top to bottom), set the DEPTH for the baluster to “R”. Note that StairBiz sets the plow depth (in handrail, shoerail and balconyplate) for round balusters as zero (always, regardless of any other setting to the contrary). StairBiz will, however, calculate baluster lengths considering the specified plow depth.

Cable, Use Max Between, Max Space Between, Space Between, Qty Cables See: Chapter 22 : Miscellaneous topics/ Cable Balustrade

Fillets

Style Name; See Style Name (above) Handrail / Shoerail / Balconyplate; where this particular fillet style can be used in the stair. Different fillet positions in a stair may have different properties, so we need to know where a fillet with these particular properties can be used. As a result, fillet styles may have the same name so long as they have different positions on the stair (which is why you may see more than one fillet style with the same name in the styles list on the right). If any of these position options are disabled, it’s because there is another fillet style with the same name, width and depth that has taken that position.

Frets

Non-Mitred; Tick this to have the riser finish flush with the outside of the string (i.e. it does not extend to the outside face of the fret in order to mitre with it).

Handrail

Style sub-types; Handrails can have sub-types (e.g. a Classic can come in “Classic”, “Classic Solid Top”, “Classic 3-Ply”, “Classic NFJ” etc. For the purposes of handrail fittings, all these are “Classic”. If you want each of these styles to go to the fittings Part Filter simply as “Classic”, put the sub-type in brackets (e.g. “Classic”, “Classic (Solid Top)”, “Classic (3-Ply)”, “Classic (NFJ)”. When StairBiz sends a rail style to your fittings filter (as the StyleName property of the fitting), it first strips off anything in brackets. Baluster Plow; How deep is groove (for balusters) in the underside of this handrail (zero if none). Note that a non-zero plow depth will always resolve to zero if the balusters (as selected in the Components window) are pin-top.

If Ranch Style is ticked, the balusters are on the outside of the handrail and this value is the distance from the bottom of the handrail to the top of those balusters. If the baluster is set to Round Baluster, StairBiz will consider this depth when calculating baluster lengths but will otherwise pretend there is no plow. Number of Rails; applicable only if balusters are not used, and Rail Offset is non-zero. It is the number of rails per section (e.g. ranch style). It can be auto-set – see Max between rails below. Rail Offset; Applicable only for multiple rails. It is the distance from the top of a rail to the top of the rail below it measured vertically, or the gap between the rails measured perpendicular to the rake, depending on the Offset is between check-box. Ranch Style; indicates that the balusters (if any) continue up the outside of the handrail by the distance shown in Baluster Plow. Offset is between; indicates that the Rail Offset is the space BETWEEN the rails. Max between rails; when ticked, the Rail Offset field becomes a Max Between field and holds the maximum spacing between the rails. StairBiz will fill the gap between the handrail and the floor evenly with the required number of rails to stay within the maximum spacing (thus overriding the Number of Rails field, which becomes disabled).

Midrail

You can have an upper and/or lower midrail in a balustrade. They will both be the same. Any balusters will span between the midrails (i.e. the midrails will interrupt them). There may be length issues (i.e. lengths might not be spec'd correctly) at a 'reducing' situation - they will be spec'd over length.

Newels

Style Name;

See Style Name (above)

Rail to top of flat;

the distance from the top of the highest handrail making contact with the newel to the bottom of the acorn (if one, otherwise to the top of the newel). See dim “A”. Not applicable for OTP.

Length of upper flat;

for turned newels only – the length of the flat (un-turned section) where the handrail enters the newel. See dim “E”. Not applicable for OTP. Note that you can have a single newel style which can be suitable for multiple newel situations and setouts (allowing StairBiz to automatically adjust the flat length and turning length to suit the exactly situation in the design). See Setout window / Newels / Min flat below rail. Also see Design window / Elevations pane / Show Newel Setout (set flat length to Auto Adjust). Under these circumstances you should set this upper flat length to the shortest upper flat length of all newels covered by this newel style (and StairBiz will adjust it if it's too short for the situation).

Length of turning;

for turned newels only – the length of the main section of turning. See dim “D”. For OTP, the turning is measured to the underside of the handrail (i.e. the top of the newel). There may be times where StairBiz needs to override the length of this turning - see Setout window / Newels / Min flat above string. Note that you can have a single newel style which can be suitable for multiple newel situations and setouts (allowing StairBiz to automatically adjust the flat length and turning length to suit the exactly situation in the design). See Setout window / Newels / Min flat below rail, Min flat above string, and Min flat below string. Also see Design window / Elevations pane / Show Newel Setout (set turning length to Auto Adjust). Under these circumstances you should set this turning length to the longest turning length of all newels covered by this newel style (and StairBiz will adjust it if it's too long for the situation).

Top newel below string;

for newels at the very top of the stair only (i.e. in contact with the upper-floor) – the amount of newel extending down below the bottom of the string.

Minimum Turn Diameter;

The diameter of a turned newel at its narrowest point. This is used to position an adjacent baluster such that the gap between the newel and the baluster takes into account the turning. If you don’t required such an adjustment, set this dimension to zero. See dim “F”.

Acorn Height;

If the acorn for this newel is detached (i.e. you can select the required acorn in the Acorns category of the Components window), tick the Detached Acorn check-box (and this field becomes disabled). Otherwise, for an attached acorn, enter the height here. If there is no acorn, enter zero.

Detached Base If >;

A detached base is where the newel comes in two main (and separate) parts – the top part (including upper flat and turning), and a base (which extends down from the lower end of the turning). Leave at zero if a detached base never applies. Leave at something small (e.g. 300mm) if a detached base always applies. If a detached base is only required if the total length of the newel is more than a certain amount, set this to that amount. If there is a detached base, StairBiz will send two items for each newel to the Cutting List and Part Filters (see Detached Base in the sample filter for Newels in Chapter 15). If there is extra length associated with these newels, the base gets the extra length and the upper part does not.

[Square Newel with Detached Base]

There may be situations where you want a square newel but with a detached base (it probably has some sort of moulding at the point of the detachment). In which case set the Length of Upper Flat to be the distance from the top of the flat down to the point of the detachment, and set Length of Turning to zero.

Balcony / Top / Inside Landing / Outside Landing / Bottom;

Where this particular newel can be used in the stair. Different newel positions in a stair may have different properties, so we need to know where a newel with these particular properties can be used. As a result, different newel styles may have the same name/width/depth so long as they have different positions on the stair (which is why you may see more than one newel style with the same name in the styles list on the right). If any of these position options are disabled, it’s because there is another newel with the same name, width and depth that has taken that position.

Pin Top Newel;

Is this newel a “pin-top” (used with over-the-post handrail fittings)? Otherwise is assumed to be PTP (post-to-post).

Force Default Turnings;

In the Elevations window (select ‘Show Newel Setout’) the dimensions for turning and flat lengths can hold tags for ‘Default’ (meaning use exactly the values shown in the Style window for this newel) and ‘Auto Adjust’ (meaning if the default values don’t work, StairBiz can adjust the newel setout so that it works). However, in your Style window you may have some newels for which you always want the default setout (e.g. newels that you buy in as parts) and some newels that you turn or get turned as specials. With this checkbox ticked, even if ‘Auto Adjust’ tags are used in the Elevations window, StairBiz will ignore them for this newel and pretend they are ‘Default’ tags. We suggest you tick this if the turning and flat lengths should never change for this newel. Note that the tags will still show in the Elevations window as ‘Auto Adjust’, but the values they hold will be your Style window values.

Chamfered Newels;

Chamfered newels need to be set as turned (at minimum for the purposes of doing chamfer profiles on the CNC), so their Turning and/or Acorn dimensions need to be set. However, to indicate that these dimensions are for a chamfer rather than a turning, make the dimension negative. In the last release we introduced newel chamfer cuts on the CNC. However, such chamfer cuts applied to a turned newel because there was no way to indicate a chamfered newel as such. Now, in the Style window, when you set a turn length or an acorn length, if you make the length negative then StairBiz will treat that acorn and/or turning as a chamfer (rather than a turning) and will represent it a little differently in the Elevations window.

Lining

To specify lining in a stair (i.e. in the job) you need to select a style in the Components window (Miscellaneous tab), and you also need to right-click the relevant unit(s) in the Stair Setout pane of the Design window and select "Lining Under". This style has a "Price by Area" check-box. Within certain limits, this tells StairBiz to cost the timber by its surface area (regardless of the Cost Method set in the Timbers window). See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous topics/ Sheet Material

Outstep

If you with to use balconyplate for your outstep, see Components window/ Outstep – replacing it with balconyplate. See also: Chapter 21 : Stair Components quick reference/ Outstep/ The dimensions of the outstep.

Use Tread Material:

The following is recommended for an outstep style where the outstep is always the same depth and timber as the treads. When this is ticked, StairBiz gets the depth and timber from the Treads component (the Depth field will show “N”, and the Timber selection in the Components window is disabled). If the outstep is a blank (not a part), StairBiz uses the tread as a basis for costing the outstep material (a pro-rata cost of the tread material, plus 20% wastage). This is the way StairBiz previously costed outsteps. The following is recommended for an outstep style where the outstep is not always the same depth and timber as the treads. When this is not ticked, the Depth field is active, and the timber selection is active in the Components window.

Dims From Design:

The following is recommended where you fabricate the outstep from a blank and can create whatever you need for the situation. When this is ticked, StairBiz ignores the Width field (it shows “N”) and take the width of the outstep from the Design (as held in the unit template and amended by you in the Design window). The Rebate Width and Floor Thickness is taken from the Details window. This is the way StairBiz previously set the dimensions for outsteps. The following is recommended where the outstep is a pre-fabricated part with fixed dimensions. When this is not ticked, the width of the outstep will be as you enter it in the Width field. The overhang (distance from the trimmer to the nosing) will be taken from the Overhang field, and the Rebate Width will be calculated as the Width less the Overhang. The floor (tongue) thickness will be taken from the Floor Thickness field. The corresponding dimensions in the Design window and Details window will be disabled.

Floor Thickness:

The following is recommended where the outstep is a part with a fixed (pre-fabricated) tongue. The thickness of the tongue. Only applies if Dims From Design is not ticked and the dimension is non-zero (otherwise floor thickness is taken from Details window). Overhang: The following is recommended where the outstep is a part with a fixed (pre-fabricated) overhang. The distance from the trimmer to the nose of the outstep. Only applies if Dims From Design is not ticked and the dimension is non-zero (otherwise overhang is taken from your entry in the Design window).

SafetyBar

Centred:

Sets the safety bar to half way between the underside of the tread above and the top of the tread below.

Rod:

Tells StairBiz that we are dealing with round rod. Don’t Trench String: Tick this to switch off trenching the SafetyBar into the string. This setting feeds into materials and CNC.

Shoerail

Baluster Plow; How deep is groove (for balusters) in the top-side of this Shoerail (zero if none).

String Plow; How deep is groove (for the string) in the bottom-side of this Shoerail (zero if none).

Raised; Raise the shoerail to float above the string/nosings. The amount of the gap is set in the Setout window (Shoerail heading). It can apply to both box and sawtooth strings. Sawtooth; Shoerail that mitres down each tread and riser of a sawtooth string. When you tick this, the Raised button will become disabled (and vice versa) – the two settings are mutually exclusive. Note that StairBiz does not draw this type of shoerail (for now). Lengths are calculated to include the extra for the mitres. Extra Lengths apply as usual, so you may decide to adjustment it for jobs of this type. There is a property for this kind of shoerail in the Filters window.

Sidenoses

Side noses do not have their own category in the Components window (except for filters). They are turned on with the “Sidenoses” checkbox next to the treads category. They take their Timber, Style and Depth from the treads selection. They also take their Blank/Part settings from the treads selection. If a Blank, cost is pro-rata that of treads. If part from filter, and filer reverts the part to a blank, then also reverts sidenoses. Filtering for sidenoses may be done in the Treads and Landings filters (there is generally enough information about sidenoses to do so), however they also have their own filters for parts and labour.

Skirt

Use String Material:

The following is recommended for a skirt style where the skirt is always the same depth and timber as the landing string. When this is ticked, StairBiz gets the depth (thickness) and timber from the Landing strings component (the Depth field will show “N”, and the Timber selection in the Components window is disabled). If the skirt is a blank (not a part), StairBiz uses the landing string as a basis for costing the skirt material (a pro-rata cost of the landing string material, plus 20% wastage). The following is recommended for a skirt style where the skirt is not always the same depth and timber as the landing strings. When this is not ticked, the Depth field is active, and the timber selection is active in the Components window. Note that where the skirt depth is not the same as the string, StairBiz still draws it as if it were. This will be fixed some time soon. Dims from Design: The following is recommended where you fabricate the skirt from a blank and can create whatever you need for the situation. When this is ticked, StairBiz ignores the Width field (it shows “N”) and take the width (height) of the skirt from the Design window. The following is recommended where the skirt is a pre-fabricated part with fixed dimensions. When this is not ticked, the width (height) of the skirt will be as you enter it in the Width field. The corresponding dimensions in the Design window will be disabled.

Strings (Laminations)

The following may be relevant to you if you use laminated strings. If a string is laminated, it’s important to set a style name that indicates the laminated nature of the string so that you can easily identify it in the Components window. The following may be relevant to you if use CNC. The six fields for this style are only used by StairBiz for CNC purposes – if you are not using CNC then you can ignore them. You have the option of having different thickness laminations for the inside and/or outside lamination, for each of straight and curved strings, as follows: Lams: Num Straight; The total number of laminations when this string is straight. Lams: Dth Outer; The depth of the outer layer (straight strings). Lams: Dth Inner; The depth of the inner layer (straight strings). Lams: Num Curved; The total number of laminations when this string is curved. Lams: Dth Outer; The depth of the outer layer (curved strings). Lams: Dth Inner; The depth of the inner layer (curved strings). The following may be relevant to you if break down your laminations for the purposes of spec’ing and costing. A blank item can hold only one size and timber, so is not suited to breaking down a lamination into its constituent layers for the purposes of spec’ing or costing the each layer separately. To get around this issue, do as follows: Give the laminated string an indicative style name. Treat it as a part, and intercept the style name in your filters or auto-filters. Create a group for this string in the Parts window and add the various laminations to that group, such that when that string is specified as a part it will up-group in the materials and costs specifications.

Treads, Bullnose Treads, Landings

These have a "Price by Area" check-box. Within certain limits, this tells StairBiz to cost the timber of this component by its surface area (regardless of the Cost Method set in the Timbers window). See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous topics/ Sheet Material

Wallbrackets

Wall To Centre; the distance from the outside of the string to the centre of the wall rail for this wallbracket.

Wallrail

Style sub-types; See the note in Handrail. Max between wallbrackets; If wallrail is included in a job, StairBiz allocates a wallbracket 200 mm (8”) in from both ends. If the distance between these wallbrackets is greater than the value in this setting, StairBiz will allocate an extra wallbracket, and so on, until that the distance between wallbrackets doesn't exceed the value in this setting. Max after wallbrackets; This is the nominal distance from the start of the wallrail to the first bracket, and the end of the wallrail to the last bracket, for the purposes of calculating the quantity of brackets. A value of zero would put a bracket at the very start and end of the wallrail.

WallrailExport Styles

NOTE: Do not use Export Styles as a means of backing up your defaults. Only use it to more easily add or make changes in the immediate term. StairBiz does not guarantee that an export using one version of StairBiz will be importable in a different version (although changes to the format are rare). Click the Export button to export all Styles in the StairBiz database to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

1. First you are presented with the Save As dialog box. Enter a name for the Excel file, or choose an existing file to overwrite. Click the Save button.
2. If you select an existing file name, you will be asked if the file is currently closed. If it not, click No, close the file, and try again.
3. Wait until you get the message “Export Completed”. When you open the Excel spreadsheet, if you get a message that starts "The file you are trying to open", simply click "Yes" to continue opening it. The first row in the spreadsheet is a “header” row, showing labels for the columns. For an explanation of the columns/fields, see Import Styles (below). All rows of the spreadsheet where “/” is the first character of the first cell are ignored (they are notes only to help you read/amend the spreadsheet - all but one of these notes rows are also yellow to help you distinguish them).

Import Styles

NOTE: Do not use Export Styles as a means of backing up your defaults. Only use it to more easily add or make changes in the immediate term. StairBiz does not guarantee that an export using one version of StairBiz will be importable in a different version (although changes to the format are rare). NOTE: You can also create all your styles from a Parts spreadsheet when you import the parts into the Parts window – see Parts window/ Import. The following does NOT relate to that method. Click the Import button in the Style window to import a list of Styles from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the StairBiz Styles List (study the following before doing anything).

Creating the Spreadsheet

To set up such a spreadsheet (PRIOR to attempting an import), do as follows:

1. Most databases allow you to export to an Excel spreadsheet, so if your Styles are in a database you will need to do this first.
2. It is CRITICAL that the spreadsheet contains at least 18 columns in a very specific order. To see what columns are required and in what order they are required, do an Export as discussed above. Open the exported file and study the column headings. There is a discussion below about each of the fields/columns. Note that in the spreadsheet, the Depth field is before the Width field if you have the Depth before width check button ticked in the Preferences window (otherwise the Width is before the Depth).
3. If necessary you can change the order of existing columns in the spreadsheet using cut/paste.
4. If the spreadsheet contains more than 18 columns, that’s OK (the extra columns will be ignored, even if they contain data).
5. The spread-sheet may contain a header row (i.e. the very first row being a row of labels describing the contents of the column), plus any number of “Notes” rows. Header and notes rows must always have a “/” as the first character of the first cell of the row. When importing, StairBiz ignores any such row (except for row 2 column 1, which should include a version number in the format in which StairBiz exports it).
6. There must be no empty rows before the end of the list. When StairBiz finds a row without any text in the first column, it assumes there are no more styles.

Column Explanations

Note that the following columns/fields correspond to those in the Styles window. For a description of the field, see above.

Field Name	Notes
1) Category	Must contain the exact wording shown in the categories list above the styles list in this window. Note that you may have changed these terms in the Languages window, and might not have been changed them in this manual – the terms you use must correspond exactly with the categories as shown in the window (not this manual). You might first like to do an export and study the terminology – these are the terms you must use.
2) Style	The name of the style (max 35 characters). Each style within any one category must be unique, however there a few things that create uniqueness. Style Name, Width and Depth create uniqueness, but for newels and fillets the position is included in the uniqueness. For example, it’s OK to have 2 of more newels, all Colonial 90x90, so long as the newel positions (as seen by the check buttons at the bottom/right) are different. The same applies to Fillets.
3) Description	This is what the client sees. If left empty, StairBiz assumes it’s the same as Style. Max 50 characters.
4) Depth	The depth dimensions of the item. The dimensions system used (i.e. metric or some kind of imperial system) must be the same as the dimension system used in StairBiz at the time of the import (see Preferences window - Dimensions). This field must contain a dimension (you cannot leave it empty).

Note that the Depth field is before the Width field if you have the Depth before width check button ticked in the Preferences window (otherwise the Width is before the Depth).|

|5) Width| See Depth (above).| |6) Type| The type of style. It must be one of the following (these words are shown in the Styles window, however you may have changed them in the Language window – you must use YOUR terminology as seen in the window (which is not necessarily the terminology as shown below): Blank No Profile Blank Staff Profile Blank Contract Profile Part No Profile Part Profile| |7) Type Value |For: Blank No Profile; leave it empty Blank Staff Profile; the number of minutes Blank Contract Profile; a currency amount Part No Profile and Part Profile; if the part is specified, show the Part Id (i.e. from the Parts window). If the part is from the Part Filters, leave it empty. Note that if you specify a Part Id, that part must exist in your Parts window before you can successfully import.| |8) Dim 1| The first dimension in the list of dimensions at the bottom/left of the window (if appropriate). It may be left empty if you like (you might want to fix them later).| |9) Dim 2| “| |10) Dim 3| “| |11) Dim 4| “| |12) Dim 5| “| |13) Dim 6| “| |14) Dim 7| “| |15) Dim 8| “| |16) Options| These relate to the check boxes at the bottom/right of the window (where appropriate). For Newels: Type the letter “A” if this style applies to all newel positions, otherwise … “R” for balcony, “T” for top, “I” for inside, “O” for outside and “B” for bottom. For example, a newel which can be used for balcony, top and bottom would be “RTB”. If the newel is an Pin Top newel, add a “V” (e.g. “RTBV”). If the newel has a detached base, add “D” For Balusters: Include the letter “N” for Pin Top (no upper flat), “S” for Fixed Lower Flat (Stair), “B” for Fixed Lower Flat (Balc), and/or “P” for Pin Bottom”. For example, “NP”. For Fillets: Type the letter “A” if this style applies to all fillet positions, otherwise … “H” for handrail, “S” for shoerail, “B” for balconyrail. For example, a fillet which can be used for handrail and balconyrail would be “HB”. All other categories: N/A| |17) Style Class| Optional. Max 10 characters. The style of the class (used only for vetting “groups” of styles in the Part Filters and Labour Filters window). | |18) Photo File| Optional. Max 45 characters. The file name of a graphics file residing in StairBiz Program/Custom Sheets/Style Photos. Must include only the file name and extension (not the full path).|

Importing

After your spreadsheet is set up correctly and populated with styles, do as follows:

1. Click the Import button
2. In the Open File dialog window, navigate to the spreadsheet, select it and click Open.
3. If there are existing styles in your StairBiz database, you will be asked if you want to delete them first. If any of the imported styles are used in your selection templates in the Components window, it is better not to delete them. The reason is that if a style is included in a selection template in the Components window, deleting it causes StairBiz to see the imported style as different (even though ostensibly it is identical), and you would need to re-set the affected selections. On the other hand, if you import a style that is already in the database, StairBiz simply adjusts its data to correspond with the imported data.
4. You will be asked if there is a header row in your spreadsheet (i.e. containing column headings). If there is, your first part in the spreadsheet should start at row 2 (otherwise it should start at row 1).
5. StairBiz will do a test run on the entire import. If there is a problem, you will be alerted and the import may be aborted (so that you can fix the problem and try again). StairBiz will give you some information about the problem, including the row and column of the problem cell. Note that StairBiz uses numeric columns references (i.e. 1, 2, 3 rather than A, B, C). To show numeric column references in your spreadsheet, go to Tools/ Options/General, and select “R1C1 Reference Style”.
6. When the import is done, you will get the message “Import completed”.

Style Photo and Caption window

Overview

From : Photo and Caption button in the Style Defaults window. In Custom Sheets (for example, your Quote custom sheet) you can have StairBiz automatically insert a photo (or line drawing) and caption for any or all of the components selected in the Components window for the current job. For example, if a Colonial pin top baluster is selected in the Components window, a photo of that baluster will automatically insert into the Quote. Thus the client knows exactly what to expect, and it’s taken you zero time for this service.

With the desired category and style selected in the Style Defaults window, click the Photo and Caption button. The list on the right shows a list of graphic files contained in the StairBiz Program/Custom Sheets/ Style Photos folder (obviously you will need to put them there first – maybe your parts supplier can help out). When you select (click on) a file, the image from the file is shown on the left. File types supported at this stage are .JPG and .GIF (although if you have other types it may be easy for us to accommodate – just ask). Styles may share photos (e.g. two Colonial balusters of different sizes may both use the same image if it’s more convenient). You can associate a caption with this image, either by manually creating a text file (.txt) with exactly the same name as the graphics file (except for the extension, which must be “.txt”), or by typing a caption in the text box at the bottom left and then clicking the Set Caption button (which will either create or amend this text file). Note that in this window you can set a caption for any graphics file selected (for these purposes you are not restricted to the file you intend to select for the current style). When you are done, click OK. Click Cancel to leave things as they were before you opened the window (with the exception of setting captions, which are saved at the time you click the Set Caption button). If you prefer, double-clicking the file name on the right selects this file and immediately closes the window. To see the effect of your selections, in the Custom Editor window select the Style Photo tool from the tools menu, and create a rectangle with it. Then select the Field Definition tool (from either the tool bar or the Tools menu) and click the border of the rectangle you created. Select the style category for this photo (also select centre and scale options). Do the same thing using the Photo Caption tool (photo caption objects behave identically to normal text objects in this window, with the exception that you can set a style category in the same way you did for the Style Photo). Set the font attributes in the usual way.

Timbers window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Timbers menu-item. The Timbers window is used to set the timbers that you use, and set the cost for those timbers (where necessary).

Timbers List

To add a timber, click the Add button, edit the “New” timber created, then press the ENTER key. To delete a timber, select it and click the Delete button. You can delete all timbers by deleting one while holding down the Control and Shift keys.

Note that there are various ways to import timbers from an Excel spreadsheet – see Import Timbers (below).

Timber

The name of the timber can be changed at any time. If that name is referred to by other items in your defaults, those items will be automatically updated. Changing a name will not affect the prices associated with that timber.

Grain

If the timber has no grain (e.g. MDF, metal or plastic), change this to “No” by double-clicking on the field and selecting from the drop-down list. If the timber has grain and the field is empty, you can leave it empty. StairBiz uses this information in a variety of ways (e.g. knowing when glue-ups are required, grain direction for CNC etc.).

Cost Method

Set the cost method by double-clicking on the Cost Method field and making your selection. There are seven methods available for costing a timber (and each timber in your list doesn’t need to have the same cost method):

Base Percentage:

The cost is calculated as a percentage of the cost of another timber (the Base timber, which is the timber that has the word “Base” set in Base % field). The percentage used needs to be indicated in the Base % field of this timber. For example, if Pine is the Base timber, and this timber shows “120” in the Base % field, then StairBiz will cost this timber at 120% of the cost of Pine.

Lineal Metre:

The cost per lineal meter is set for each size shown in the sizes list.

Cubic Metre Per Size:

The cost per cubic meter is set for each size shown in the sizes list.

Cubic Metre All:

The single cost per cubic meter is set and applies to EVERY size; individual sizes become irrelevant and are not shown on the right.

Lineal Foot:

The cost per lineal foot is set for each size shown in the sizes list.

Board Foot Per Size:

The cost per board foot (12” x 12” x 1”, sometimes called a “super foot”) is set for each size shown in the sizes list.

Board Foot All:

The single cost per board foot is set and applies to EVERY size; individual sizes become irrelevant and are not shown on the right.

Cubic Foot Per Size:

The cost per cubic foot is set for each size shown in the sizes list.

Cubic Foot All:

The single cost per cubic foot is set and applies to EVERY size; individual sizes become irrelevant and are not shown on the right.

Square Foot:

The cost per square foot is set for each size shown in the sizes list. The area is based on the width times the length (ignoring depth). Also see Chapter 22: Miscellaneous topics/ Sheet Material

Square Metre:

The cost per square metre is set for each size shown in the sizes list. See note in Square Foot (above). Also see Chapter 22: Miscellaneous topics/ Sheet Material

Converting between cost methods

In most cases StairBiz will convert costs between cost methods. If you change from an non-“All” method to an-“All” method, StairBiz is not able to convert between cost methods. In converting to or from a square (area) cost method StairBiz does not attempt to convert. In all other cases it will do the conversion.

Costing Sheet

See Chapter 22: Miscellaneous topics/ Sheet Material.

Class

You can set a “class” for each timber, which can be any text up to 10 characters. The purpose of the class is to identify “groups” of timbers. It is used in the TimberClass property in the Part Filters and Labour Filters windows. For example, you could have four classes that covered all your timbers – Hardwood, Softwood, MDF and Laminate. In your Labour Filters window you could filter for these classes and price the labour accordingly.

Sizes List

Size

To amend a cost, double-click on the cost, edit it, then press the ENTER key. Depending on the Cost Method (see later) of a timber, the list on the right shows every size previously created in the Style Defaults window. This list is refreshed each time you click a timber (i.e. the prices list relates ONLY to the timber selected). • Sizes can NOT be manually inserted directly into this window. The sizes list will always (and only) reflect the sizes in your Style Defaults window. • Sizes prefixed with “*” are not used – they relate to Styles (in the Style Defaults window) that have been designated as Parts and therefore never use a blank. They cannot be deleted, but obviously do not need a cost (unless they can be reverted from a part to blank item by a filter – see elsewhere). • You do not need to enter a cost for every size in every timber. If you are sure that that size in that timber will never be used, you can leave it empty. • NOTE: Landing strings in the Components window are shown as their width x N, where “N” stands for depth of the wall string as currently selected (this is because whereas landing strings can be a different width to normal wall strings, they cannot have a different depth). If you select a landing string where the “N” does not translate to a size listed in your Style window, StairBiz will not know how to cost it (because the size will not show up in the Timbers window). For example; the wall string is 240 x 32, and the landing string is 290 x N. If you do not have a 290 x 32 in the Timbers window, StairBiz can’t cost the string. The solution is to include in your Style window (strings category) all likely landing string sizes.

Buy$

The cost price of this timber.

Sell$

The sell price of this timber. If left empty of zero, StairBiz will use the buy price. You can set the sell price as a percentage increase of the buy price. Set the “Sell is %” button in the window. Note that this is an all-or-nothing exercise – it is set for all timbers. If set accidentally or for testing, the original dollar values are preserved (i.e. $20 becomes 20% and vice versa). A setting of 20% means that the sell price is to be calculated as the buy price plus 20%. Negatives are allowed.

Waste

You can allocate a wastage for each timber/size. Wastage should be in the form of a percentage amount to be added to the lengths of these timber/sizes for the purposes of calculating inventory and total materials cost for a job. Wastage does not impact the lengths specified in the Cutting List or Bill Of Materials sheets or Custom sheets for a job. The Wastage percentages are shown in the Materials window and Materials Cost sheet for the job. The lengths shown in these windows do not include wastage, however the subtotals for each item includes the wastage. Materials added to inventory will include the wastage. See Waste, Extra Length and Rounding Up.

Copy/Paste

The entire price column can be copied from one timber to another. Click the Copy button in one timber, select a different timber, then click the Paste button if its enabled (if it’s not enabled then the Cost Methods of the two timbers are incompatible).

Delete Size

If you delete or make redundant a size in the Style Defaults window, that size is NOT deleted from this window, however, a "**" prefixes the size, indicating that it is redundant and may be deleted using the Delete Size button.

Print

Prints the costs for the currently selected timber.

$ Increase

Costs for the currently selected timber can be increased or decreased all at once by a percentage amount using the $ Increase button.

Sell is %

Directs StairBiz to treat the $Sell column as a percentage column, allowing you to enter a sell price as a percentage increase or decrease of the Buy price. See $Sell (above).

Alert if $0.00

When this button is ticked, if you select a component (in the Components window) that uses a timber and size that has a zero cost, you will be alerted. In this way you can go some way towards vetting any timber/size selections in the Components window. For example, let’s say that 90x90 Birch is not part of your normal inventory (but you use 90x90 for some other timbers, thus 90x90 Birch also shows up in this window and is theoretically selectable as a timber/size for some items in the Components window). Set its cost to zero and the user will be alerted if he makes this selection.

Export

Allows you to export the entire Timbers window to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. See Export Timbers below.

Import

Allows you to import an existing Timbers window from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the Timbers window. See Import Timbers below.

Timber Notes

There is a checkbox at the bottom right of this window. Tick it to show the Notes field for the current timber and another for each size of that timber. If the Timber notes field is not visible, and there are notes, there will be a green stripe down right-hand side of the checkbox (to indicate to you that there are some notes). StairBiz remembers whether this checkbox is ticked or not (for next time you open the window). There is also a checkbox at the bottom of the Sizes list, to make that list temporarily invisible, just in case you have a small screen and need more room for your notes.

Export Timbers

NOTE: Do not use Export Timbers as a means of backing up your defaults. Only use it to more easily add or make changes in the immediate term. StairBiz does not guarantee that an export using one version of StairBiz will be importable in a different version (although changes to the format are rare). Click the Export button to export all timbers and costs in the StairBiz database to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

1. First you are presented with the Save As dialog box. Enter a name for the Excel file, or choose an existing file to overwrite. Click the Save button.
2. If you select an existing file name, you will be asked if the file is currently closed. If it not, click No, close the file, and try again.
3. Wait until you get the message “Export Completed”. The first row in the spreadsheet is a “header” row, showing labels for the columns. For an explanation of the columns/fields, see Import Parts (below). When you open the Excel spreadsheet, if you get a message that starts "The file you are trying to open", simply click "Yes" to continue opening it.

Import Timbers (from a simple list of timbers)

NOTE: Do not use Export Timbers as a means of backing up your defaults. Only use it to more easily add or make changes in the immediate term. StairBiz does not guarantee that an export using one version of StairBiz will be importable in a different version (although changes to the format are rare). You can import from a spreadsheet containing a simple vertical list of timbers. Hold the Control and Shift keys down while you click the Import button. Select the appropriate spreadsheet. The first timber must be in row 1 column 1, and subsequent timbers must be listed vertically below that. Any information in any other column is ignored. Cost methods, prices etc. are not imported, and any such data existing in StairBiz for any of the imported timbers will be cleared and will need to be re-set after the import. For this reason this type of import is suitable only when setting up your Timbers window initially. You will be given the option to delete existing timbers prior to the import. If you do so, timbers held in the Components Window selection templates and in your Parts window will need to be reset (even if they are the same name).

Import Timbers (from a Parts window spreadsheet)

You can import from a valid Parts spreadsheet (which holds timbers in column 3). In fact, all timbers listed in a Parts spreadsheet MUST exist in the Timbers window prior to importing the spreadsheet into the Parts window, so this is a good way to do it. Hold the Control and Shift keys down while you click the Import button. Select the appropriate Parts spreadsheet (StairBiz can recognize the difference between a simple timbers list as described in the previous section and a valid Parts spreadsheet). Cost methods, prices etc. are not imported, and any such data existing in StairBiz for any of the imported timbers will be cleared and will need to be re-set after the import. For this reason this type of import is suitable only when setting up your Timbers window initially. You will be given the option to delete existing timbers prior to the import. If you do so, timbers held in the Components Window selection templates will need to be reset (even if they are the same name). NOTE: You can also create all your timbers from a Parts spreadsheet when you import the parts into the Parts window – see Parts window/ Import.

Import Timbers (from an exported spreadsheet)

Click the Import button to import a list of timbers and costs from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the StairBiz Parts defaults database. Ideally this spreadsheet is one that was exported from the Timbers window, then modified and saved. If this is not the case, the spreadsheet must at least have an identical structure. Study the following before doing anything.

Creating the Spreadsheet

To set up such a spreadsheet (PRIOR to attempting an import), do as follows:

1. Most databases allow you to export to an Excel spreadsheet, so if your parts are in a database you will need to do this first.
2. It is CRITICAL that the spreadsheet contains 2 columns for sizes, plus three columns for each of your timbers. It must contain 6 rows for the details of the timbers, plus a row for the Width and Depth header, plus an empty row, plus a row for each of your sizes (sizes/costs start at row 9). To see what columns and rows are required and in what order they are required, do an Export as discussed above. Open the exported file and study the format. There is a discussion below about each of the fields/columns.
3. The spread-sheet must not contain a header row (i.e. the very first row is a list of your timbers, starting at column 3).
4. There must be no empty rows between your first size row (row 9) the end of the sizes list, and no empty columns between the first timber column (column 3) and the last timber column. When StairBiz finds a row (after row 9) without any text in the first column, it assumes it has arrived at the end.
5. Timbers can be duplicates of timbers already in the database. Sizes can be duplicates of sixes already in your database. This is true regardless of whether you choose to first delete existing database data or not (see below). If a timber, size or cost in your list already exists in the database, that existing timber, size or cost will be replaced by the new one. You will not be alerted.
6. The sizes you enter don’t have to already exist in your Styles windows (you may plan to create the styles later). However, if this is the case, when you are asked if you want to delete pre-existing un-used sizes first, click No.

Column Explanations

Note that the following columns/fields correspond to those in the Timbers window. For a description of the field, see above. The following assumes you used a header row. If you did not, subtract one from all the row references.

Field Name	Notes
1) Depth	Sizes start at row 9. The Depth dimension goes in column 1 and the Width dimension in column 2.

Note that in the Preferences window (Dimensions) if Depth x Width is set to False, columns one and two will be reversed (i.e. the first column is Width and the second is Depth). The dimensions system used (i.e. metric or some kind of imperial system) must be the same as the dimension system used in StairBiz at the time of the import (see Preferences window - Dimensions). This field must contain a dimension (you cannot leave it empty). If you have exported, you may see a “0” dimension in the spreadsheet. This is for Wallbrackets (which do not use a width or depth).| |2) Width| See Depth (above).| |3) Timber 1,2,..| List your timber names in row 1, starting at column 3 and repeating every three columns after that (6, 9, 12 etc). There is a limit of 25 characters. For each timber, in row 2 enter the word “Grain” (or your Language window translation of it) if the timber is grained (otherwise leave it empty or type a “-“). In row 3, enter the cost method used (see above). You must use the exact terminology as shown in the pull-down list in timbers section of the Timbers window (i.e. as translated in the Language window). The un-translated terms are as follows (their meanings are discussed above): Base Percentage Lineal Metre Cubic Metre Per Size Cubic Metre All Lineal Foot Board Foot Per Size Board Foot All Cubic Foot Per Size Cubic Foot All Square Foot Square Metre

In row 4, enter the Base information, as follows. If the timber is used as a Base for the costing of other timbers, enter the word “Base” (or your translation of it). If the cost method for the timber is Base Percentage, enter the amount of the percentage (e.g. “120”, meaning 120% of the “Base” timber). Do not include the “%”. In row 5, enter the TimberClass (if you use it). Row 6 holds the Texture of the timber (for 3D). Note that texture is something usually only set in the Textures pane of the 3D window (and held in the Timbers table of the database), and it would be unwise to try and enter new values here. However, if you are modifying a spreadsheet you previously exported from the Timbers window the textures will already be included and should be left as is. There is nothing to say you can’t copy/paste textures from one timber to another – just don’t go making stuff up.|

|4) Buy:| Enter a dollar amount. (e.g. “$4.50”, “4.5”) for your buy price| |5) Sell:| Enter a dollar amount. (e.g. “$4.50”, “4.5”) for your sell price (optional – if no sell price in entered, StairBiz will revert to your buy price). Sell price can be entered as a percentage markup on the Buy price if the Sell is % button is ticked. For example, “20” or “20%” would set a sell price of 20% more than your buy price.| |6) Waste:| Optional. Enter a percentage wastage (e.g. “20” or “20%”) or a round-up, indicated by using brackets; for example “(6)”.|

The costs you need to enter depend on the cost method, as follows: Base Percentage: No costs are needed Cubic Metre All, Board Foot All and Cubic Foot All: The Buy and Sell goes in row 9 (it applies to all sizes listed). All other cost methods: Starting at row 9, for each size shown in columns one and two, enter the price for this timber. Don’t be overly paranoid about your fields. StairBiz does a test run on the entire imported list before it commits anything to the StairBiz database. If something is wrong in such a way as to cause a major problem, StairBiz will advise you and give you the opportunity to abort the import before anything is committed.

Importing

After your spreadsheet is set up correctly and populated with timbers, sizes and costs, do as follows:

1. Click the Import button
2. In the Open File dialog window, navigate to the spreadsheet, select it and click Open.
3. StairBiz deletes all existing timbers not imported. For this reason it’s best to export existing timbers, make changes/deletions to that spreadsheet, save it, then import that same spreadsheet. If you import a timber that is already in the database, StairBiz simply adjusts its data to correspond with the imported data.
4. StairBiz will do a test run on the entire import. If there is a problem, you will be alerted and the import may be aborted (so that you can fix the problem and try again). StairBiz will give you some information about the problem, including the row and column of the problem cell. Note that StairBiz uses numeric columns references (i.e. 1, 2, 3 rather than A, B, C). To show numeric column references in your spreadsheet, go to Tools/ Options/General, and select “R1C1 Reference Style”.
5. When the import is done, you will get the message “Import completed”.
6. After the import, in the Timbers window, you may see sizes prefixed with “”. This means that the size is not currently used in your defaults. You may even see duplicate sizes in the list. They are not actually duplicates – they just appear to be. StairBiz holds all dimensions as 1/100 mm. What you see on your screen is rounded to the degree of rounding you specific in Preferences. This problem only occurs when you have swapped between decimal and fractional measurement systems, and the extremely small rounding errors makes two sizes which are not the same appear the same when rounded. If one of the duplicate has the “” prefix, simply delete it in the window. Otherwise you will need to go through your Styles window, find all examples of the offending dimension, and re-enter either the width or depth of that dimension (it doesn’t matter which – all we need to do is get StairBiz to re-save the dimension). Note; for this reason it’s best not to go swapping between fractional and decimal measurement systems when working in default windows that accept measurement values.

Timber Themes window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Timber Themes menu-item. In the Components window for a job you are able to select a timber for each component. The timbers available for selection come from your Timbers window. The Timber Themes window allows you to limit the range of selectable timbers for each style. For example, if your “Colonial 1 ¾” baluster only comes in Oak and Pine, you can create an “Oak and Pine” theme in this window and then apply it to all styles that are only available in these two timbers. Thereafter, when you click the timbers field for the balusters category in the Components window when a “Colonial 1 ¾” baluster is selected, only these two timbers will be available for selection.

Auto-Create All button

StairBiz can automatically create your timber themes using the information in your Parts window. StairBiz loops through all the styles in your Styles window and creates timber themes for each based on the range of timbers shown for each in the Parts window. You must set the timber, width, depth and style name for each relevant part in your Parts window. If any of this information is missing for a particular part, the timber for that part will not be included in the created theme. Themes are only created for items that (in the Style window) are set as “Part From Filter”. NOTE: If you have two different newels in different newel categories of the Parts window (e.g. one in Newels All and one in Newels Bottom), and both newels have the same style/timber/depth/width (as can happen with volute newels), then StairBiz can get a little confused – you should check that the themes created for such are correct. NOTE: You can also create all your timber themes from a Parts spreadsheet when you import the parts into the Parts window – see Parts window/ Import.

The lists

There are three lists in the main section of the window, as follows:

Names

Lists the names of timber themes you have created. To create a new theme, click the New button. To delete the currently selected theme, click the Delete button. To copy the currently selected theme, click the Copy button – all the setting for this theme as copied to the clipboard. To paste a copied theme to the currently selected theme, click the Paste button.

Available Timbers

Lists all the timbers shown in your Timbers window (except those shown in the Include/Exclude list). To send a timber in this list to the Include/Exclude list, either double-click it, or select it and click the > button. To send all timbers in this list to the Include/Exclude list, click the >> button. Note that a maximum of 63 timbers are available for themes (this is simply a memory limitation in StairBiz, and should be acceptable in almost all situations).

Include/Exclude

Lists all timbers in the current theme. To delete a timber, click the < button. To delete all timbers, click the << button. Deleted timbers are sent back to the Available Timbers list. If the Inclusive option button is selected, the timbers in this list are INCLUDED in the current theme and those remaining in the Available Timbers list are excluded. If the Exclusive option button is selected, the timbers in this list are EXCLUDED from the current theme and those remaining in the Available Timbers list are included. If the current theme included all timbers except a few, it would be more convenient to use an Exclusive theme (although it really doesn’t matter).

Applying themes to components

In the Styles window, there is a Theme pull-down to the right of the Width and Depth dimensions. Select any previously created theme to apply to this style, or select [None].

Using themes

In the Components window, make your Style selection for the job, then left-click on the Timber field. A list of timbers is shown for your selection. If the selected style has a theme, the timbers available for selection are limited to those contained in the theme. If you wish to override a theme, instead of left-clicking the timber field, right-click it – all timbers are now shown for selection. If you select a timber that it not “within theme”, that timber field will turn yellow to indicate such. In the same way, if you select a style and the current timber is not within theme, the timber field will turn yellow – a reminder that you should probably select a different timber. Note that if the timber field is yellow (indicating that the timber is not within theme), StairBiz does not care – it will process that style with the selected timber regardless.

Users & Networking window

Overview

From : Defaults menu ; Users menu-item. StairBiz allows you to maintain a list of users each with their own passwords and permissions. After registering your copy of StairBiz with a registration password, we recommend that you create a user account for yourself so that you can use a more friendly password.

System Accounts

When you open the Users window you will see two System accounts at the top of the list. They are called _OWNER and _ADMIN. These accounts cannot be changed or deleted. The _ADMIN account is the account that is used when you log into StairBiz using the registration password we gave you. This account has full privileges which will allow you to Add, Delete or Modify user accounts. The _OWNER account is reserved for the software designers and is something you will not need to use.

Adding an Account

You can have more user accounts than you have licenses. There is a maximum number of 63 accounts. If you are logged into StairBiz as an Administrator (by using your numerical registration password or the password to an account that has administrator privileges) you can Add additional user accounts. Click the Add button to begin this process. A StairBiz User Settings window will now open and allow you to enter all of the details for the new user account. You will be required to enter a Login User Name and a valid Password before you can click Ok. You must also type your password a second time in the Confirm Password field to ensure that you have typed it in correctly. You are not required to fill in the Email and Phone fields, these are simply to help Administrators. Note: Each password in StairBiz must be unique, as this is how StairBiz identifies which user is using the system.

Modifying an Account

There are two situations that will allow you to modify a user account. If you are logged into StairBiz as an administrator or as a user with administrator privileges, you will be permitted to modify any user account (except for the system accounts described above). If you are logged in as a user that does not have administrator privileges, you will be allowed to modify your own User Settings, but you will not be able to modify certain aspects of your permission settings, nor will you be allowed to modify other user accounts. This is a security measure that is intended to keep administrative control in the hands of the owners or management of your business. To modify an account, highlight the user on the list you wish to modify and click Modify. A StairBiz User Settings window will now open (see above) allowing you to change a Password, Username etc.

Removing an Account

If you are logged into StairBiz as an Administrator or as a user with Administrator privileges, you can remove any user (except for the system accounts described above). To remove an account, highlight the user on the list you wish to remove and click Remove. After confirming that you actually wish to remove the selected user, the account will no longer be available in StairBiz.

Print List of Accounts

You can put the list of users shown in the Users window on to the clipboard (from where you can paste into a spreadsheet or similar). The list includes the passwords, whether or not they are admin, and whether or not they are currently on-line. It alerts you if there are any duplicate passwords (it can happen!). This feature is only available to the owner of your company (or similarly suitable person) - email John Dibley for how to access it.

Account Permissions

StairBiz will allow you to assign certain permissions to individual user accounts. When a user logs in using their password, the permissions that are set for their account will enable or disable them from performing certain tasks. For example, a bookkeeper may not need access to any of the Defaults Windows. Or a receptionist may not be allowed to view financial information. To modify the Account permissions for a given user, highlight the user on the list you wish to edit and click Permissions. Note that you will not be able to edit someone else’s permissions if you are not logged on as a user with Administrator privileges. You will also not be able to edit the permissions for a System Account. After clicking on Permissions you will be presented with the following window:

In this window there are 3 sections to be concerned with.

Menu Item Permissions

This section (at the top of the window) will allow you to determine which menu items in StairBiz are available. If you wish to hide a menu item for this user, simply tick the Hide column of the appropriate menu item.
If you are logged in to StairBiz as a user with Administrator privileges you can also choose to tick the Locked column for each menu item. When a menu item is locked, the user you are editing will not be able to Hide or Unhide that menu item. This will allow a user to choose certain menu items they do not wish to see and Hide them from themselves, without giving them the ability to Unhide menu items that an administrator has locked them out of (e.g. Financial windows etc.).

Administrator Privileges

To give the user the ability to administrate accounts, select the Administrator Privileges option. If you are granting yourself a new account for the first time, it is recommended that you give yourself this permission so that you can Add, Remove and Modify user accounts without being required to login using your numerical registration password. When an administrator creates a new User in StairBiz, that new user does not have administrator privileges by default. Administrator privileges needs to be set, manually, in the Permissions window for that user, by someone with administrator privileges themselves (which includes anyone logging in with a StairBiz Registration Password).

Collapse All / Expand All

These buttons will collapse all the Menu Item Permissions into their categories, or expand them so each one is visible. This is useful for quickly locating a window category. You can Collapse or Expand an individual category by clicking on the + next to a category item in the Menu Item List.

Write and Overwrite Permissions

These 4 options allow you to assign a user the ability to write or overwrite various parts of the program. A user who does not have write permission for Job Design/Cost for example, will only be able to view these items, but cannot save any changes to them.

Copy All / Paste

These buttons will allow you to copy All of the user permission settings on this window to the clipboard. You can then close this window down and open the user permission settings for another user and click on Paste to bring all of the settings from the clipboard into the current user. This is useful if you have multiple users that should all have the same permission settings.

Permissions Tab

This section needs to be updated. Following are some settings: Auto Update Quote Calc: Show Profit Quote Calc: Show Breakdown Materials: Change Price Level Edit Job Templates Unlock Jobs Open Locked Jobs Edit Job Numbers Delete Clients Edit Component & Filter Selection Templates Allows you to select filters, and modify selection templates, in the Components window and the Labor Cost window of a job. This includes changing labour rates. Modify Directory Views Delete Other User's Jobs Delete Jobs on Serve Post CNC Preferences to Server Edit Schedule 1 Date Edit Schedule 2 Date Change Jobs on Schedule; Installation Allows you to place, remove, move and edit jobs in the Installation pane of the Schedule window. Change Jobs on Schedule; Production Allows you to place, remove, move and edit jobs in the Production pane of the Schedule window. Customize Process Window Customize Schedule Window Allows you to change the layout and behaviour of the Schedule window, specifically to add or remove rows and to access the Schedule Settings window. See Job Values in Schedule Header Allows you to see an extra header row in the schedule showing the total value of jobs on each date. Also see Schedule Settings window.

How to Login a user

When you launch StairBiz you are asked to enter in a password. Entering the registration password that we have given you will log you in as the _ADMIN user described in the System Accounts section above (so be careful who you give it to). Entering a user account password (i.e. created by you) will log you in as that user. If you wish to log off and log in under a different user account, you can either close the program and relaunch it, or select About StairBiz from the Help menu, which will return you to the password window, where you can then enter a different password.

Auto Update

See Chapter 16 : Updating StairBiz/ Auto Updates.

Networking

See Chapter 17 : Networking - Basics/ Network Settings in StairBiz

View sheets

Overview

View windows are opened from the View menu are used to view Job sheets. The layout and content of these windows is fixed (you can’t change it). They can be printed individually, or all at once using the Print Job window. Following are some notes on selected View sheets.

Stair > Angles

String Rake

Rake; The rake of the top of the string, in degrees from horizontal 90-Rake; 90 degrees less rake

Fitting Sweep

Rake; The rake of the top of the string, in degrees from horizontal 90-Rake; 90 degrees less rake Sweep Angle; How many degrees does the fitting turn through 180-Sweep; 180 degrees less the sweep angle

Handrails

The following values will allow you to cut handrail to exact lengths and angles (regardless of the lengths shown in the Cutting List which measure from the extremities of the rail, plus extra length and/or round-up). Length Bottom Edge; exact length of the bottom edge of handrail and wallrail, adjusted for fittings as appropriate. The lengths do not include tenons. Angle Lo-End; the cutting angle of the low end end of the rail. A square end is 90 degrees. Angle Hi End; same as above, but for the high end.

Stair > Newel Setout

Dimensions

Vertical dimensions are running dimensions referenced from the top of the highest string mortise. If the horizontal distance from the nosing to the associated riser face is standard, StairBiz will not include it in the drawing (to reduce dimension "clutter").

Labour Cost

Sort by Category

For both the Labour Cost window and the Labour Cost sheet, you can optionally swap the Stage and Category columns. This might be useful to group items by their category, rather than by their stage (e.g. all “Tread” items would be grouped, regardless of Prep, Build, Install, etc. stages). See the Labour window sort by Category setting in the Miscellaneous Defaults window, View Sheets category.