You can access the Project Number Format setting in the Control Panel to define the numbering format for projects and set preferences for numbering change orders and project revisions.
To access the Project Number Format setting, click the following icon.
This will open the following form.
Defining the project number format involves:
Adding one or more naming blocks
Specifying the separator and number settings
Once both these are done, project numbers will be assigned to projects by appending the naming blocks from left to right based on their order (top to bottom). The separator will be added between the blocks, and the numbering sequence will be added at the end of the format.
Check out these examples before you start defining the number format.
Add Project Naming Blocks
You can add as many naming blocks as you would like to.
To add a naming block:
1/ Click the first row and define the following:
a/ Type - Choose Field or Text for the Block Type.
Field allows you to select an SI field in the Value column.
Text allows you to type your own value in the Value column.
b/ Value - Choose from a list of SI fields when your Block Type is Field.
You can select from a wide range of SI fields such as Project Name, Client Name, Client Number, and even Project Custom.
c/ Length - Type in the length of the string you want to pull from the "Value" column.
2/ Repeat Step 1 as many times as the number of blocks you want in the number format.
Remember that the number format can be defined using only one block. You don't have to define multiple blocks if you don't want to.
3/ To reorder the blocks, use the Move Up button and the Move Down button.
Don't save it yet, as you have to specify the separator and number settings.
Specify Separator and Number Settings
Here, you can choose the separator, number of digits, and the start number for your project number format.
The separator list has four available options: hyphen, colon, slash, or dot. However, you can type in any character you desire or set it to blank (no separator.)
4/ Click Save.
Other Settings
The following settings are the preferences for numbering change orders and project revisions.
Change Order Numbering
You can maintain separate numbers for external and internal change orders. This allows for continuity of numbering when presenting change orders to your client.
Revision Numbering
When approving a project, you can set the revision number to blank. This helps maintain accurate linear numbering if you often reprint Proposal reports after the project has been approved.
Generally, change order numbers matter after approving a project, but there are some cases where this may benefit you based on the reports you expose to your clients after the sale.
Project Number Format Examples
Example 1: The following are the settings.
Row 1 | Field, CompanyName, 7 |
Row 2 | Field, ProjectName, 20 |
Separator | / |
Number of Digits | 5 |
Start Number | 1 |
With the company name specified as D-Tools under the Company Information settings and some assumed project names, the Project numbers of the first two projects are D-Tools/JANE'S CAFE/00001 and D-Tools/GILBERT'S STORE/00002.
Example 2: The following are the settings.
Row 1 | Text, GVL, 7 |
Row 2 | Field, ProjectName, 20 |
Separator | - |
Number of Digits | 4 |
Start Number | 100 |
With the text as GVL (the company name) and some assumed project names, the Project numbers of the first two projects are GVL-JANE'S CAFE-0100 and GVL-GILBERT'S STORE-0101.
Example 3: The following are the settings.
Row 1 | Field, ClientName, 3 |
Separator | Blank (No separator defined) |
Number of Digits | 3 |
Start Number | 1 |
With the assumed client names Sam Baker and John Doe, the Project numbers of the first two projects are SAM001 and JOH002.