Quick-Pick Menus

What is a quick-pick menu?

A quick-pick menu is an assembly where every component quantity is set to zero. When you use it, you simply fill in the quantities for the items you need on that particular job and leave the rest at zero. Only items with a quantity greater than zero are added to the takeoff.

This gives you a personalised item selection screen -- a shortlist of your most commonly used materials -- without having to navigate through the full database each time. It is one of the less obvious assembly techniques in Ensign, but experienced users find it saves significant time on repetitive quotations.

Prerequisites: two System Preferences settings

Before you can create and use quick-pick menus, you must enable two settings. Without both of these turned on, the software will not allow you to save assemblies with zero quantities or use them in the way described here.

1. 1

   Go to Tools > System Preferences.

2. 2

   Tick Ignore items inside with zero quantities. This tells the software to skip any component with a zero quantity when the assembly is added to the takeoff, rather than generating empty lines.

3. 3

   Tick Allow one-off instances of assemblies. This lets you amend the quantities within an assembly for a single use without permanently changing the saved assembly. When you enter quantities on your quick-pick menu, those values apply only to that particular input -- the assembly resets to zeros for the next use.

4. 4

   Click Exit to save the settings.

Creating a quick-pick menu

1. 1

   Input your commonly used items onto the takeoff screen. Go through the database and add one of each item you want on your quick-pick list. These might be sockets, switches, cable types, tray sizes, fittings, distribution board components, or anything else you use regularly. You can include both individual database items and existing assemblies (input them as split upon entry so the individual components appear).

2. 2

   Reorder the lines if desired. Use the move buttons at the bottom of the screen to arrange items in your preferred order. You might group sockets together, followed by switches, then cable, then containment -- whatever layout makes sense for how you work.

3. 3

   Highlight all items. Click on the left-hand side of each row so entire rows are selected.

4. 4

   Create the assembly. Right-click on the black arrow of the last highlighted row and select Create Manual Assembly (mechanical) or Create Assembly (electrical). Confirm when prompted.

5. 5

   Set the category, main index, and sub-index. Choose a location that is easy to find. Common approaches:

   • Store it under Accessories or Miscellaneous with a main index of "Quick Menu".
   • Use the sub-index for the specific menu name, e.g. "Typical Build-Up" or a person's name.
6. 6

   Write a clear description. For example, "Quick Menu -- Typical Build-Up" or "Alex's Picking List".

7. 7

   Set the unit of measure to Unit.

8. 8

   Set all component quantities to zero. Go through every item in the assembly and change the quantity to 0. This is the key step that makes it a quick-pick menu rather than a standard assembly.

9. 9

   Click Save and Exit.

Using a quick-pick menu

1. 1

   On the takeoff screen, click Assembly or Manual Assembly and navigate to your quick-pick menu.

2. 2

   Enter 1 in the top-level quantity box (this represents one instance of the picking list).

3. 3

   Go through the component list and enter quantities only for the items you need on this particular job. For example: 30 metres of cable, 5 back boxes, 5 front plates. Leave everything else at zero.

4. 4

   Click Confirm. Only the items with quantities greater than zero are added to the takeoff. The zero-quantity items are ignored entirely.

The next time you use the same quick-pick menu, all quantities reset to zero and you start fresh. Your saved assembly is never altered.

Use cases

Quick-pick menus are flexible. Here are some ways estimators use them:

Standard job build-up

Create a single assembly containing every item you commonly need across a typical quotation -- sockets, switches, cable, tray, accessories. Open it once per section, enter the quantities, and you have covered the majority of your takeoff without navigating the database at all.

Front plate selection

On the electrical platform, create a socket assembly that includes the back box and cable at fixed quantities, but add multiple front plate options (e.g. white, red, metalclad) all at zero. When using the assembly, set a quantity of 1 on the front plate you need for that area. This avoids creating separate assemblies for every front plate colour.

Distribution board components

List all the common incomers, MCBs, RCBOs, and accessories for distribution boards in a single quick-pick menu. For each board on the job, open the menu and enter the specific quantities needed.

Per-estimator picking lists

If estimators in your team have different preferences for how they work, each person can create their own quick-pick menu (e.g. "Alex's Quick Menu", "Sarah's Quick Menu"). Since assemblies are shared on the database, everyone has access to all menus, but each person can default to their own.

Trade-specific shortlists

Create separate quick-pick menus for different trades or job types -- one for lighting, one for small power, one for fire alarm, and so on. This keeps each menu focused and easy to scan.

Tips

• Keep menus focused. A quick-pick menu with 50 items is harder to use than three menus with 15 items each, split by category.
• Name them clearly. Anyone on the database can see and use your quick-pick menus, so use descriptive names that make sense to the whole team.
• Combine with one-off instances. If an item on your quick-pick list normally needs a specific quantity but occasionally needs more, the one-off instance setting lets you adjust on the fly without touching the saved assembly.
• Review periodically. As your product range or preferred suppliers change, update your quick-pick menus to keep them relevant.