MERGING PROJECTS

Generally

Ideally when you have more than one User on the same Project, you should 'SHARE' a common Projects Working Folder (such as a common Server), however in some cases this is not possible or ideal.

This topic covers the situation whereby this is not possible, and as such the Project gets measured/priced on two or more individual computers, then the Project merged onto one at the end.

The Procedure
  1. Set up the Master Project
  2. Distribute the Master Project to each user
  3. Each user Generates a copy of this distributed Project
  4. Each user generates his work
  5. Merge the Project
Setting Up the Master Project

The Bid Leader should:
  1. Create the Master Project
  2. Enter all the Client Tender Sections
  3. Enter specific 'Work Sections' for each of the users
  4. Include ALL common Resources in the Resource Library
  5. Instruct each user to prefix all his NEW resources with a unique character(s) - this prevents different resources having the same code

Distribute the Project

Backup the Master Project and send the Backup to each user

Each User Generates His Copy

Each user should 'Restore' the Master Project and make a Copy of it. The Copy preferable would be the Master Project name plus his name at the end e.g. "Project XYZ  - Joe Jobs".

Each User Generates his Estimate Sections

Each user works in his assigned sections to create his Estimate. This is necessary because we will be Merging Section by Section at the end.

Ideally each user should also 'Assign' each of his estimated items to the Client Items.

ALL new resources created by the users should prefix their codes with a unique prefix (maybe their initials) so as to prevent different resources having the same code.

Merge the Projects

The Bid leader will restore each of the users Projects onto the same computer as the Master Project.

Merge the Projects by:

  1. Opening the Master Project
  2. For each of the users Projects
    1. Open the Users Project
    2. For each of his measured Sections
      1. Click on the 'Section' TAB of the Users Project
      2. Click on the Section Name and click the Copy option
      3. Click on the 'Section' TAB on the Master Project
      4. Click on the Section Name to receive the users copy
      5. Click 'Paste'
        The above sequence has now copied the Users Section from his Project into the Master Project
    3. Import the NEW Resources from the Users Project
      1. Open the Resource Library of the Master Project
      2. Click the Worksheet TAB
      3. Click the Update button
      4. Navigate to and select the '<User Project Name>.Resources' file
        e.g.

      5. An Update dialog similar to the following will appear:

      6. Click ON the 'Key' buttons under RC and DESCRIPTION headings; this will use the entry in each of these columns to locate any matching resource already existing in the Master Project library
      7. Click ON the 'Import' buttons for each of the headings {RC,CC,DESCRIPTION,UNIT,RATE,F};if a match is found according to the KEY columns RC and DESCRIPTION, then the entries appropriate columns with the 'Import' ticked will be updated from the User Project Library into this Master Project Library
      8. Click ON the 'Add New Records' button at the bottom of the dialog; any resources in the User Project that do not exist in the Master Library, will now be added.
      9. The above dialog should now look like this:
      10. Done
  3. A cleaning up of the Master Project library may now be in order.