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[james]

I am trying to figure out if there is a way for Bluebeam to give me a tally of the number of linear fixtures, of the same fixture type, on a drawing. 

Currently, if I use the length measurement tool, I end up with individual items for each length measurement, and an overall length for all measurements under that given label.  This is fine if all of the fixtures for a given fixture type are of the same length because I can figure out the quantity of fixtures via division. 

However, sometimes fixtures of the same type are needed at different lengths and I would like to have a breakdown of the number of fixtures at any given length, while still using the measurement tool to obtain the lengths of these fixtures.  So if Type "A1" is shown at 4', 5', 6', and 8' lengths, I would like to have count for the number of 4' Type A1, number of 5' Type A1, etc.

Thanks in advance for any help and please let me know if there is anything I can clarify.

[Steve]

Can't speak for others, but I am not terribly clear on what you are asking.  Maybe a screen shot showing us what you are attempting?

Thanks!

[james]

Sure thing.  So in the attached screenshot, the markup labeled "A1" is a downlight fixture.  I used the "count measurement" tool to come up with a count of (7) -- no problem here, I know exactly how many of Type A1 I will need for this order.  No unit of length is needed.

However, Type F2 is a linear light fixture that is built to order within 1/8" increments.  I need to be able to tell the manufacturer the exact length and quantity of what I need.  In this instance, I need (3) @ 8', (1) @ 12.29', (1) @ 11.97', and (1) @ 12'.  I used the "length measurement" tool to come up with what you see in the screenshot for Type F2.

In the screenshot, you can see that each measurement of Type F2 shows up as its own line item, and the count column is null. I would prefer to have fixtures of the same label, subject, and length grouped together, and have a count of those fixtures.  I know I can create labels to differentiate the lengths, but that becomes tedious on large jobs with lots of different fixture lengths and I am really hoping there is a better way to automate the process.  In addition, when I create a legend it lists the overall footage of that fixture type, which does not tell me how many fixtures I need.  I have attached a screenshot of that as well.

Hopefully this clarifies things, but I am having a hard time explaining this succinctly so just let me know if I can provide any more info.  Thanks again for your time and help.

[BCI Instructor]

If you're trying to get a result that shows both count and length values I don't think that can be done. You can get one or the other but not the combination so far as I know.

In the image I create a quick 4.01 foot long polylength markup and saved that to a tool chest. I then placed four of those markups (red).
I then placed four more of these markups and later grouped them together (green) to see if it would give me a quantity.
I then saved the markup as a "count" markup and placed four of those (purple) - the only method that gives me a quantity, but no lengths.

If I discover a way I'll post it.

[JW]

If you're trying to get a result that shows both count and length values I don't think that can be done. You can get one or the other but not the combination so far as I know.
....
If I discover a way I'll post it.

Hi there, new poster here.  I'm an estimator trying out Bluebeam for my company, still on a trial license in fact.  I stumbled onto this thread because I had more or less the same question. 

In our current estimating software, we have a tool that is basically like the Polyline tool in Bluebeam, except that it not only captures segment length and cumulative length, but it also outputs segment count.  We almost exclusively use this tool to takeoff our product designs, and all three of these outputs are essential to our calculations.

Unfortunately what I think I'm hearing is that Bluebeam does not have a tool (nor a way to customize a tool), so that it outputs length AND segment count. (I would even settle for a count of control points.) If that is true, it seems we would essentially be doubling our work with Bluebeam, as we'd have to draw each segment with the Polyline tool to get the lengths, and then go back with the count tool and click on each segment by hand to get the segment counts.  Is that accurate?

I did come across a few other threads on the old BB support forum that asked about outputting counts of line segments or counts of control points.  The replies in each case seemed to indicate that would be a new feature request.  If this is something they still haven't gotten around to implementing yet, that will be very disappointing.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[W31Andrew]

james: I haven't seen a way to do this in Bluebeam either. One option would be to export the markup summary to CSV then use the COUNTIFS function in Excel. This is less than ideal, but may be easier than manually counting.

JW: One way to do this is to create a custom column in the markup list where you can manually enter in the number of segments. When using this column I count the number of segments in my head as I am doing my polyline takeoff. Once I end a polyline I can manually enter in the number of segments in the new Segment Count column. Bluebeam will total it from there.
*The forum won't let me upload .xml files so I have attached the custom "Segment Count" column as a .txt file. If you download this and change the extension to .xml you can import it into Bluebeam.