Why link a group
A marker group on its own is a quantity: 42 sockets, 118 m of pipe, 36 m² of floor. Linking the group to an item from your company's pricing data tags that quantity with the product it will be priced as. Once a group is linked:
- Its sidebar row shows the item's code and description.
- The Code and Description columns of the Excel export are filled in for that group, on the drawing's own sheet and on the Totals sheet.
- The cross-drawing summary can hide linked groups with Hide linked, so anything still unpriced stands out.
ZeroCount does not calculate costs against your quantities. Linking records what each group is; the arithmetic happens in your estimating software once the quantities leave ZeroCount. See Group costs and totals for exactly what the app shows.
Four sources, plus Recent
The Database Items window offers five views:
| View | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Components | The full component database, filterable by category, manufacturer, heading, group, unit of measure and discount band. |
| Contractors Choice | Your company's own catalogue of preferred and special items. |
| Assemblies | Bundles of components priced as one item, marked System Assembly or Contractors Assembly. |
| Custom | Priced items your company creates in ZeroCount under Templates, with their own material, plant and labour figures. |
| Recent | The last 30 items you linked, from any of the four sources. |
Where the link button lives
Every Detection, Count, Linear and Area group row has a link button between the type icon and the group name: in grey when the group is unlinked, in blue when it is linked. Clicking the grey icon opens the Database Items window; clicking the blue one removes the link. The same command sits at the top of the group's menu as Link Item . Annotation groups have no row button, so use the menu.
In Review mode the linked code and description are laid out to the right of each row, with a Link button on anything still unlinked.
Filtered to how the group is measured
The window opens pre-filtered by unit of measure, so a Linear group sees items sold by length and a Count or Detection group sees items sold per unit. The filter appears as a chip you can clear if the item you want is classified differently.
Next steps
Start with The Database Items window to learn the views, search and filters, then follow the guide for the source your company uses: database items, Contractors Choice, assemblies or custom items. If you know the item before you count, Linked Takeoff creates the group already linked.