Cut and split

Deduct shape#

Deduct shape, key D. Subtracts a void from the active condition: a column, a shaft, casework, an area that is not painted.

1. Make sure the condition you are deducting from is active.
2. Click around the void, three or more points, and finish with Enter.
3. The deduct draws dashed red and its SF comes off that condition's total. In the report's shape list it carries a minus sign.

Deduct rectangle#

Deduct rectangle, key Shift+D. The same, with two corner clicks.

Holes while you One-Click#

With One-Click Area, Alt-click inside a room you have already selected to carve out an enclosed space in it. When you Create, it becomes a deduct on the same condition. See One-Click Area.

One finish, two areas: duplicate and split out#

The same finish in two places is often not the same scope: PT-1 over new gypsum board takes a primer coat; PT-1 over existing paint does not. Make a twin of the condition for the second area:

1. Open Takeoffs, click the condition, then Supporting Materials.
2. At the bottom, Duplicate for another area: type the area's name (for example Level 2) and click Duplicate. You get PT-1 – Level 2 with the whole materials list.
3. The twin follows the original: change a coverage rate on the original and the twin follows. Change a row on the twin and only that row stops following (↺ follow hands it back). Remove a row on the twin and it stays crossed out, so a later change cannot quietly put it back.
4. Split out ends it: every following row freezes where it is, and the twin stops following. It keeps its name.

The twin starts with no shapes: measure the new area into it, or move shapes onto it.

Common mistakes#

• The wrong condition active when you deduct: the deduct comes off the active condition, not the shape under it.
• Deducting from a count or a line. Deducts take square feet off areas only.
• A twin with the same tag. Every twin needs its own area name; a name already in use is refused.