Overview
Optimizing your plan names ensures you get the most out of our powerful automatic shortcuts in the Fieldwire system. This article contains two ways of editing plan names; you can utilize our OCR tool to batch rename plans automatically, or you can batch edit the plans manually.
Because of the intrinsic nature of plan naming and our hyperlinking function, we've included some contextual information about hyperlinks as well. If you encounter an issue with hyperlinks, we recommend reviewing this article too: Q&A: Why aren't my plan hyperlinks activating?
Note: In the Plans tab on Fieldwire, 'Plan names' and 'Plan descriptions' are referred to as 'Sheet numbers / #' and 'Sheet descriptions', respectively.
Table of Contents
- Why would I need to edit plan names?
- Examples of useful plan naming conventions
- How to scan plans using OCR to batch rename
- Can I batch edit plan names, tags, and descriptions?
- What actions trigger the reprocessing of hyperlinks?
- What do all of the different data types in Fieldwire look like when they're hyperlinked?
Why would I need to edit plan names?
| 1. For automatic hyperlinks to activate, your plan names will need to match exactly with your callouts. If our scanner does not pick up a callout that corresponds to the name of the plan your callout should link to, then editing the plan name to match the callout will activate the link. |
|
2. Fieldwire's automatic versioning is dependent on plans with uniform titles. If you upload a new version of an existing plan and the titles match, our system will automatically add it as the newest version of that plan. If the titles don't match, then the new plan will upload as a distinct new file. |
|
3. Including plan descriptions helps you to search for plans (since both titles and descriptions are searchable in Fieldwire). |
Examples of useful plan naming conventions
|
|
Will Correctly Scan |
Sheet # matches callout Description is on its own (second) line |
|
|
Won't Correctly Scan |
Sheet # does not match callout, since it includes the sheet description on the same line as the sheet # |
|
|
Won't Correctly Scan |
Sheet # does not match callout since it contains a [version] |
How to scan plans using OCR to batch rename
Rather than manually update each plan, Fieldwire's 'Scan Name / Description' function allows you to automatically update the sheet numbers and sheet descriptions in bulk:
1. Select the 'Plans' tab on the Web Version of Fieldwire.
2. Select the plans that you would like to rename by hovering your cursor over the plan thumbnail and clicking on the checkbox in the top left corner.
- Tip 1: Only select plans with the same title block.
- Tip 2: Select the checkbox next to a folder to choose all plans within that folder.
- Tip 3: Hold the 'shift' key to select multiple plans at once.
3. Select the 'Actions' button at the top of the page, then 'Scan name/description' from the drop-down menu:
4. Resize the red boxes within the pop-up window to dictate where the plan number and description are located in the title block. Zoom in then drag the corners of the scan boxes to resize the red boxes to cover the relevant text.
- Tip 1: Ensure that the arrow runs in the direction of the text.
- Tip 2: Accurately size the boxes so that they contain the sheet number and description only.
- Tip 3: Try to re-size the boxes so no unintentional lines or text are included in the red zone.
5. Select 'Process' to begin the scan.
Tip: You can also uncheck the 'Plan #' or 'Description' boxes next to the 'Process' button if you want to limit the scan to one of these attributes.
When the scan is completed, your sheets should now have the correct names and descriptions. You can repeat this process as much as you like if need be.
Can I batch edit plan names, tags, and descriptions?
If you would like to manually edit multiple sheet names at once (this can be handy if your project does not have many plans, or if you only need to adjust a few sheet names) you can perform a similar action from the 'Plans' tab:
1. Navigate to the 'Plans' tab and select the plans to edit.
2. Select the red 'Actions' button, then select 'Batch edit':
3. A pop-up window will appear containing the Sheet #, Description, and relevant Plan Tags on the selected plan. You are able to adjust each as you see fit:
4. After you adjust each, select the 'Save' button to confirm the changes and update the Plans.
What actions trigger the reprocessing of hyperlinks?
Some things you do in Fieldwire will cause any hyperlinks on your plan sheets to be reprocessed and updated (if necessary). Here's our current list of those actions:
What do all of the different data types in Fieldwire look like when they're hyperlinked?
Some hyperlinks in Fieldwire are visible to users, but can't be clicked when the plan sheet is viewed in certain contexts (for example, if you export a plan and email it to someone, they won't be able to actually open and view a task that is hyperlinked on the plan if they try to click on it). Here is our most up-to-date information on how our hyperlinks function in specific situations: