Release

1
Technology Center

• Release 3 Enhancements

February 14, 2004
2
Notes Field ModificationWhen viewing Step 3, or
the Bidder List tab, the Notes column now
highlights the word Notes whenever information
has been entered. To enter information into
the Notes field, simply click on any grayed-out
Notes and it will pop open the dialog box
shown. Information can then be entered and
saved. Afterwards, the associated Notes for
that row will be highlighted.As always, any
information entered becomes searchable within
Step 3 or within the Bidder List tab.
When Notes is highlighted, it indicates that
information exists for viewing. Simply click to
open. When it is grayed out, no information is
available for viewing.
3
Fax Page CounterIn Step 1, we now provide a fax
page counter for fax files added to the Fax
Attachment que.Simply add required .tif files
to the que, then click on the Fax Page Count
button. A dialog box appears and displays the
Total No. of Pages to be sent.This will help
prevent sending a 20 to 80 page fax inadvertently
to Bidders! This happens most often when
General Contractors receive an urgent addenda
from an Architect, e.g., a Microsoft Word file
then immediately convert it using the BidCaster
Print-to-fax upload driver without verifying how
many pages are included.
4
Sort by CSI Major DivisionWithin Step 3 and the
Bidder List tab, Users may now sort potential
bidders initially by major CSI division. Simply
click on the number which represents the major
CSI Division of choice and those specific phase
codes will populate the dialog box directly
below.This is a quicker, better method for
Users to sort bidders before selecting those to
be entered into the Pick List and eventually into
the Broadcast List.Notice also that the CSI
Trade code and description box has been widened
for easier viewing of information.
Selecting Div 9 will display all associated CSI
phase codes in the dialog box directly below.
5
Uploading a Company Logo into RSVP, Bid
Information Acknowledgment MessagesWe now allow
Users to completely brand all messages sent to
Bidders with company logos. This is
accomplished by first accessing the My Account
tab.Then click Add and follow directions to
Browse, then Upload the company logo. Once
uploaded, it will now appear in RSVP, Bid
Information Messages.
6
How to determine the size of your Company
Logo?Use Microsoft Paint as follows1. Use
File/Open to load your company logo file.2. Use
Image/Attributes to view current pixel settings
for the selected logo.Note, while 400x200
pixels will handle most logo sizes, you may have
to scale your logo down using a third party
software product such as Corel to meet the
400x200 pixel requirement before successfully
uploading. Remember, Broadcast and Response
Templates can still handle virtually any size
logo and are uploaded via the Image Library
(available when editing Broadcast or Response
Messages).
7
New Merge Tag Price_CSI_CodesThis feature
allows Content Providers to send one broadcast to
a Bidder, but invite them to submit a bid based
upon two or more CSI Trade codes. When
Price_CSI_Codes is used within the Response
Template and sent to Bidders, it will populate
with multiple, comma delimited CSI Trade codes
with associated descriptions as shown here.
Please remember to also add a preceding
sentence similar to Please quote on the
following CSI Trade codesNote, this feature
replaces the existing Project_CSI_Number and
Project_CSI_Description merge tags. These old
merge tags will be removed after 30 days. We
recommend removing these immediately from your
templates.
8
Bidders can add CSI Trade Codes to Bid
Acknowledgment MessagesBidders who receive Bid
Acknowledgements can now view a reminder message
regarding the CSI Trade codes from which they
were originally invited to submit a Bid by the
general contractor. And Bidders can respond
back to the general contractor by selecting those
(or different) CSI Trade codes they intend to
address and submit with their Bid using the
process shown. This information displays within
the BidCaster Status Report using the Open
button.
Displays all CSI codes defined for example by a
General Contractor.
9
Viewing CSI codes submitted by Bidders within Bid
Acknowledgment MessagesBidders can respond with
a list of CSI Trade codes from which they will
submit a Bid. These display as shown.These CSI
Trade codes can be viewed inside the Broadcast
Status Report by selecting Open and viewing the
Bid Acknowledgment Information screen.
CSI Trade Codes submitted by individual Bidders
display here.
Original invited CSI Trade codes display here.
10
New Minority Classification - Disadvantaged
Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE)You may now
classify Bidders by DVBE classification within
the Add New Bidder screen as you typically do for
other minority classifications. Then
filter by DVBE classification within the Bidder
List tab or within Step 3 as shown.
Classify by Disadvantage Veteran Business
Enterprise
Search by Disadvantage Veteran Business
Enterprise (DVBE)
11
Exporting Minority and Territory information
using a Favorite List.Information can now be
exported via Excel spreadsheet from BidCaster
using the following procedure1. Access the My
Account/My Files area.2. Use the pull down menu
under Export Bidder List to select the Favorite
List you wish to export.3. Select Export to
Excel File to download and save a zipped file to
your local hard drive.
12
Exporting Minority and Territory information
using a Favorite List (contd)
Note MBE, WBE, DBE and DVBE information is now
listed by City.
Territories are now listed by State and City
Once the file is downloaded and opened, it
appears as shown above. Note, you may export
only, but not import this type of information in
this manner. That is planned for a future
release.
13
Generating different Favorite Lists within the
Broadcast Status Report We now provide an easy
method to generate and save a Favorite List
within the Broadcast Status Report. We recommend
this approach when1. Creating a Favorite List
for (as shown) a. All Bidders
b. Those Bidding c. Those Not
Bidding d. No Response
Bidders e. All excluding no
responses2. Retro-actively creating a
Favorite List for a broadcast (i.e., when
you forget to define a name in Step
3).3. Creating a Favorite List for
issuing Addenda, but first uncheck Display
all Declined Bidders before selecting
Generate Favorite List.
14

View Response Template in Step 5 Simply select
Preview Test for any Bidder within Step 5, then
follow instructions shown herein. Note, Response
Templates are editable using this method and
affect all Bidder templates. This provides a
nice, last minute ability to change it!
15
Viewing Collapsed CSI Trade codes within a
Broadcast Status ReportBidCaster currently
sends a single broadcast ITB message (via fax or
email) to Bidders while simultaneously inviting
them to submit bids on multiple CSI Trades. This
cuts down significantly on the number of emails
and faxes sent. Plus, Bidders dont want to
receive separate ITBs by email or fax for each
invited CSI Trade. In order to do this,
BidCaster collapses CSI Trade information
within the Broadcast Status Report. Example If
you invited a Framing Sub to quote on 03100
Concrete Forms Accessories, 06100 Rough
Carpentry, and 06110 Wood Framing, these three
CSI Trades would collapse and display inside
the Broadcast Status Report under the lowest code
number which is 03100 Concrete Forms. To spot
collapsed CSI Trade information, simply look
for a CSI code that is not grayed out, i.e. bold
in blue as shown. To view multiple collapsed
CSI Trades, simply click on the CSI number to
open and view them.
When displayed bold in blue, collapsed CSI Trade
Codes are included. Simply click to view them as
shown. When grayed out, there is only one CSI
code which is displayed.
16
Broadcast Status Print Report now displays Fax
date and time stamp delivery information
Date and time stamp information is now displayed
here.
17

• Thats it. Additional enhancements are on the
  way that will make the program even more
  powerful. As always, we strive to make
  enhancements intuitive and easy to use.
• Thanks again for using BidCaster PlanWell!
• In the meantime, we appreciate your feedback!
  Please dont hesitate to call PlanWell Support _at_
  510-403-2444 if you have any questions or
  comments.