Now that you have Marked Up (Redlined) your Autodesk Design Review file, next you would like to present a Bill of Materials or Change Order Request referencing these modifications. In this Blog I will cover how to take a DWF and generate an Excel file representing either a BOM (Bill Of Materials) or COR (Change Order Request) document.
First off I created a Project in DWF which I made some modifications – added various Markup Symbols. A couple of things to keep in mind as you add these Symbols. The “Label” field, located to the left in the Markup Properties window, will be displayed in the exported file as “Markup Text” so think of this as the Manufacturer & Model of the product being added. Another is the “New Note” field, below the “Label”, displays as “History” can be utilized for identify the Location or Discipline/Zone of the Item, reasons why it was Moved, Removed, or Added, and any other information you would like to transfer to the BOM/COR.
Once we have these Symbols on the drawing we now are able to retrieve this information. Make sure you have created a Revision of this project by selecting the “D” in the upper left to display the menu. Click on [Save As] then [Save as DWFx/DWF] and rename the original file. This allows retrieval of the original if requested and a way to keep a versioning process on Projects. My recommendation would be {FileName}V1.1.dwf etc…next one would be V1.2…
Now that we have it renamed now let’s retrieve this information. Go back to the “D” in the upper left, select [Save As] but this time select [Save Markups Summary] option. It will now prompt you to save this new file – CSV Format – which will allow you to open in most “Excel Type” applications. Set the Location and Name then the [Save] button. You have just exported all the Markup Symbol Information into a format which you will be able to format into a Report.
Let’s open that CSV File, if you have Microsoft Excel on your computer just double-left-click on that file. If you do not then try going to Zoho.com (http://sheet.zoho.com/home.do) they have an online “Excel Type” Application you could utilize for free.
This file provides Headers for each column – helping you to understand where this information was retrieved. I started by removing some columns which are not required for a BOM or COR: Sheet, Markup Type, Markup label, Creator, Created, Status, and Modified. With the remaining columns you will be able to create the appropriate documentation. The “#” column represents the Order in which the Symbol was added into the Project – utilize this to keep track or Component Identifier. “Markup text” provides the name of the Symbol, either what it was name as default or if you modified. And finally “History” displays the “Notes” for each Symbol inside Autodesk Design Review. If you did not add any then it would just display the Who, Date, Time, and \Created.
Be as creative as you need for the specific report – change the colors, headers, add more lines to represent the Project Information, etc…After making all you modifications save, print or send it for approval. You just created a BOM or COR from your DWF Project file.
We hope this posting has enlightened the process of creating a Bill of Materials or Change Order Request from a DWF file allowing you to communicate more efficiently. Below we have provided some links which will help you see this in action.
Links
David Keen
Bill Battaglia
ePonti Team
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