Frequently Used Items

Overview

When you are working through a takeoff, you will often reach for the same items repeatedly — the same trunking assembly across multiple floor plans, the same socket assembly in every room, the same cable type for every circuit. Ensign X tracks which database items and assemblies you use most often and surfaces them in the Frequently Used panel, saving you from navigating through the database browser each time.

The frequently used panel

The Frequently Used button is located in the toolbar, between the database tools and the auto-count tools. Clicking it opens a panel showing your top items, ranked by how often you have used them.

How it works

The system automatically logs every database item and assembly you take off. The more you use a particular item, the higher it appears in the frequently used list. This means the list is personalised to your workflow — if you spend most of your time taking off sockets and trunking, those items will be at the top.

When you click an item in the frequently used panel, it behaves exactly as though you had found it in the database browser. You can:

• Choose a colour and pixel size.
• Press Start to begin a unit or linear takeoff.
• Press Auto Count to use automated symbol recognition (for unit items and assemblies).

This eliminates the need to open the database browser, navigate to the correct category, find the manufacturer, and drill down to the product — you simply click the item in the frequently used list and start measuring.

Persistence across drawings

The frequently used panel persists across drawing changes within the same project. Switching from one floor plan to another does not reset your list — the same items remain available. When you select an item from the panel, the system also remembers where you were in the database, so if you dismiss the panel and reopen it, the same items are still there.

Configuring the number of favourites

By default, the frequently used panel shows your top 20 items. You can increase or decrease this number to suit your needs.

1. 1

   Click the Project Preferences button in the toolbar (the settings/cog icon within the project).

2. 2

   Find the setting for how many favourites are shown on screen. The default value is 20.

3. 3

   Adjust the number to your preference:

   • A higher number gives you more items to choose from without opening the database browser — useful on complex projects with many different product types.
   • A lower number keeps the panel compact and quicker to scan — suitable for simpler projects with fewer items.
4. 4

   Press OK to save.