10.01 What Are Annotations? An Overview of Plan Markups

Annotations are markup objects such as highlights, arrows, lines, clouding, and text you add to your Pages that are not takeoff (not measuring building objects). Annotations also include Hot Links and Named Views which are ways of setting up "shortcuts" in your Bid to navigate quickly to Detail Pages. We also include Punch Items and Page Attachments as Annotations.

There are several ways of annotating or 'marking up' your plans aside from performing takeoff including, broken into two main groups:

Graphical Markups and Callouts

• Dimension Lines - used to verify scale or indicate the length of something on the Plan without counting it as takeoff
• Textboxes - add a text note to a Plan (often used with Arrows)
• Highlighter - allows you to highlight a section of a Plan and takeoff - to draw attention to it
• Ink - especially useful for a field worker to draw a written note on a Plan to share with the office
• Stamps - to create a call to action or notice on the Plan (such as "Accepted" "Sign Here", or "Not In Contract")
• Cloud - so you can draw a cloud around something on the Plan to indicate a change (just like an Architect does)
• Arrows - to point to something on the Plan

Navigation and Project Management Tools

• Named Views and Hotlinks that provide shortcuts to detail plans or sections.
• Punch Items indicate construction to-dos or repairs that must be made before a project can be considered complete.
• File Attachments such as building site photographs, copies of permits, etc., that you can attach to a Plan and share with other users.
• Capture View allows you to export the current view from the active Takeoff Window to a PDF, JPG, or copy it to the Windows Clipboard for pasting into another application.

Markups and Callouts are simply objects you place on your plans to highlight or showcase information. Each type of Annotation is covered in the articles that follow. Once drawn, most Annotations can be selected, copied, pasted, moved, etc. just like any other piece of takeoff. Some, such as Hotlinks, Punch Items, and File Attachments require you to rope them to select them (because clicking on them "opens" or "activates" them).

Annotation Layers

Annotations are assigned to different Layers depending on the type of Annotation.

For example, Textboxes are placed on the "Text Annotation" Layer, and Named Views/Hotlinks are placed on the "Links/Views" Layer, and so on. "Markups" include Highlights, Ink, Clouding, and Arrows.

First, a look at the Annotations toolbar.

Seeing Bid Totals for Typical Takeoff on the Summary Tab

Annotation Toolbar and Tools