Two levels of preferences
Ensign X has two levels of preferences that control how the software behaves. Understanding the difference between them helps you set up your working environment efficiently and avoid confusion when a setting does not seem to take effect.
System preferences
System Preferences control your global defaults. Any setting you change here applies to all future projects you create. Think of system preferences as your personal baseline — the way you want the software to behave by default.
To access them, click the cogwheel icon at the top of the screen. This is available from both the home screen and within a project.
Commonly used system preferences
| Setting | Location | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-save | General | Enables automatic saving at a set interval (see Saving Your Work) |
| Scroll to zoom in and out | Controls tab | Determines whether the mouse wheel zooms the drawing or scrolls the page |
| Frequently used items count | General | Controls how many items appear in the frequently used panel (default is 20) |
| Auto count | General | Enables or disables the auto-count symbol recognition buttons |
Project preferences
Project Preferences apply only to the current project. They allow you to override your system defaults for a specific job without affecting any other project.
To access them, click the Project Preferences button in the toolbar while a project is open. This is a separate button from the system preferences cogwheel.
Project Preferences contain the same types of settings as System Preferences (controls, display options, frequently used count, auto count toggle, etc.), but any changes you make here are scoped to that single project.
When to use each
| System Preferences | Project Preferences | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | All future projects | Current project only |
| Access | Cogwheel icon at the top of the screen | Project Preferences button in the toolbar |
| Use case | Set your default working environment once | Override defaults for a specific project |
Examples
- You prefer the mouse wheel to scroll rather than zoom. Change this in System Preferences so it applies everywhere. If one particular project has very detailed drawings and you want zoom control just for that job, override it in Project Preferences.
- You normally want 20 frequently used items, but a complex project uses 30 different products regularly. Increase the count in Project Preferences for that job only.
- You have auto-count turned on globally but are working on a project that does not need it. Turn it off in Project Preferences for a tidier toolbar.
If you change a setting in System Preferences but it does not seem to take effect in your current project, check the same setting in Project Preferences. The current project may have been created before you made the system-level change, so you may need to update the project preference as well.
Frequently used items count
One preference worth knowing about is the frequently used items count. This controls how many of your most-used database items and assemblies appear in the frequently used panel on the toolbar. The default value is 20.
You can adjust this number in either:
- System Preferences — to set a new default for all future projects.
- Project Preferences — to change it for the current job only.
A higher number gives you more items to choose from without opening the database browser. A lower number keeps the panel compact and quicker to scan. Adjust it to suit the complexity of your project.
Refresh data
If you make changes to your database items — such as creating or modifying assemblies, updating contractor's choice items, or receiving a database update from Ensign — while Ensign X is open, the software may not pick them up automatically. The takeoff software loads the database once at startup and works from that snapshot until you either refresh or restart.
To load the latest data, click the Refresh Data button in the toolbar. This reloads:
- The full product database (all categories, manufacturers, ranges, and individual items)
- The assembly catalogue
- Contractor's choice items
- The frequently used panel (if any items in it have been modified)
The refresh does not affect any takeoff work you have already done. Your existing measurements, counts, and service assignments remain exactly as they are.
Alternatively, you can close and reopen Ensign X to achieve the same result, but the Refresh Data button is considerably faster and does not require you to close your current project.
If you have created a new assembly in the estimating module and it is not appearing in Ensign X, the most common cause is simply that you have not refreshed the data. Press the Refresh Data button before raising a support ticket.