Equote User Manual PDF

Contents
eQuote
User Manual
Issue : 1.2
Date : 24th September 2008
© 1984-2019 Planit Software Ltd. All

rights reserved.
Planit Software Limited

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Limpley Stoke
Bath
BA2 7FJ
U.K.
Tel: + 44 (0)1225 721330

Fax: + 44 (0)1225 721333
Issue 1.2 Contents-1

eQuote
Contents-2
Contents
Contents Page
Part 1 Introduction & Installation 1
1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 1
1.1 The eQuote system ....................................................................... 1
1.2 Starting eQuote database programs ............................................... 2
1.3 Other sources of information ........................................................ 3
1.4 eQuote ‘walk through’ .................................................................. 4
2 Installation .......................................................................................... 13
2.1 Operating System Set-up ............................................................ 13
2.2 Installation map for the eQuote database element ........................ 15
2.3 Sybase SQL Anywhere - Server Installation ............................... 16
2.4 Sybase SQL Anywhere - Client Installation ................................ 20
2.5 Installing eQuote modules .......................................................... 21
2.6 Setting services to run on Windows NT or later operating systems22
2.7 eQuote database element licence installation ............................... 27
Part 2 The CAD/CAM Interface 29
3 CAD/CAM interface ........................................................................... 31

3.1 Overview.................................................................................... 31
3.2 User Interface ............................................................................. 31
3.3 Setting up ................................................................................... 31
3.3.1 CAD/CAM Part attribute Data ..................................... 31
3.4 Operation configuration .............................................................. 32
3.4.1 Punch Operations......................................................... 32
3.4.2 Profiling Operations..................................................... 34
3.4.3 Bending Operations ..................................................... 35
Part 3 The Database Program 37
4 User Interface Basics .......................................................................... 39

4.1 Menu & Toolbar ......................................................................... 39
4.2 Status Bar ................................................................................... 40
4.3 Arranging windows on the screen ............................................... 40
4.4 Navigation around forms ............................................................ 41
4.5 Drop Down Lists & Selectors ..................................................... 42
4.6 Notes and Pictures ...................................................................... 43
4.7 Printing data ............................................................................... 45
4.8 Exporting data ............................................................................ 45
4.9 Emailing data ............................................................................. 46
4.10 Filter-List Windows & Forms ..................................................... 47
4.10.1 Filter tab ...................................................................... 48
4.10.2 List tab ........................................................................ 49
4.10.3 Forms .......................................................................... 53
4.11 Form Reports and Form References ............................................ 55
4.11.1 Form Reports ............................................................... 55

eQuote
4.11.2 Form References.......................................................... 56

4.12 eQuote Data Concepts ................................................................ 56
4.12.1 Statuses & Status Dates ............................................... 56
4.12.2 Types .......................................................................... 57
4.12.3 Custom Fields.............................................................. 57
5 Operations .......................................................................................... 59
5.1 The Operations Form.................................................................. 59
6 Customers & Suppliers ...................................................................... 61

6.1 The Customers Form .................................................................. 61
6.2 The Suppliers Form .................................................................... 62
7 Tenders ............................................................................................... 63
7.1 The Tender Form........................................................................ 63
8 Parts .................................................................................................... 65
8.1 Categories .................................................................................. 65
8.2 The Part Form ............................................................................ 66
8.2.1 The Parts Tab .............................................................. 66
8.2.2 The Part Details Tab .................................................... 67
8.2.3 The Operations Tab ..................................................... 68
8.2.4 The Suppliers Tab ....................................................... 71
8.3 Creating parts ............................................................................. 71
9 Quotes ................................................................................................. 73
9.1 The Quote Form ......................................................................... 73
10 Miscellaneous ..................................................................................... 77
10.1 Mass Update .............................................................................. 77
10.2 Licensing ................................................................................... 78
10.3 Log Window .............................................................................. 79
Part 3 System Administration 81
11 Manufacturing.................................................................................... 83
11.1 Operations .................................................................................. 83
11.1.1 The Operations Form ................................................... 83
11.1.2 Adding Operations from the library ............................. 85
11.1.3 System Formulae ......................................................... 85
11.1.4 Material Selection........................................................ 87
11.2 Lookups 88
12 System................................................................................................. 91
12.1 The Company Data Form ........................................................... 91
12.1.1 The Company tab ........................................................ 91
12.1.2 The Personnel tab ........................................................ 91
12.1.3 The VAT Codes tab ..................................................... 92
12.1.4 The Default Quote Letter tab ....................................... 92
Contents-4
Contents
12.1.5 The Markup Matrix tab ................................................ 93

12.2 The System Data Form ............................................................... 93
12.2.1 The Categories tab ....................................................... 94
12.2.2 The Materials tab ......................................................... 94
12.2.3 The Statuses tab ........................................................... 94
12.2.4 The Types tab .............................................................. 95
12.2.5 The UOMs tab ............................................................. 95
12.2.6 The Standard Text tab .................................................. 96
12.3 Form Reports.............................................................................. 97
13 Administration ................................................................................... 99
13.1 Price Update ............................................................................... 99
13.2 Deleting Records ...................................................................... 100
13.3 Backup database ....................................................................... 101
13.4 Update database ....................................................................... 102
13.5 Customising Icons .................................................................... 104
14 Preferences ....................................................................................... 105

14.1 Main Preferences ...................................................................... 105
14.2 Other Preferences ..................................................................... 107
14.2.1 Custom Fields ............................................................ 107
14.2.2 Parts .......................................................................... 107
14.2.3 Quotes ....................................................................... 108
14.2.4 System Administration .............................................. 108
Index

Contents
Part 1
Introduction & Installation
Issue 1.2
Contents
Issue 1.2
1
Introduction
1 Introduction
1.1 The eQuote system
The eQuote System compises two main elements, the eQuote

database element and the eQuote CAD/CAM element.
eQuote ‘s database element provides a central store of information

about parts, customers/suppliers and a model of your
manufacturing methods. This information can be extracted and
analysed via a number of standard reports within eQuote. This
element is based upon Radan’s e2i manufacturing system and
comprises the e2i core estimating engine
eQuote can automatically estimate the cost of parts based upon the
operations involved in its manufacture. These may be the standard
operations which come with eQuote or operations which you
define yourself. eQuote also supports subcontracted operations.
The eQuote System Administration program is where the eQuote

System is configured. The eQuote System Administration program
is used to:
• define company data, such as your address, VAT code, your

employees, etc.
• edit and add new system data, such as statuses, types, units
of measure, standard note and quote letter text, etc
• edit and create new operations and define how their costs are
calculated.
• delete old, obsolete data
• backup and update the eQuote database.
• configure the behaviour of all eQuote programs
Because of the sensitive nature of the information which can be
edited within eQuote System Administration, access to this
program should be limited to designated eQuote System
Administrators.
Issue 1.2 Page 1

eQuote
eQuote can interface with your Radan CADCAM software to

extract information from your design drawings to enable it to
produce accurate estimates of its cost to manufacture. The eQuote
CAD Link Module is fully described in this manual. This section
also explains how to configure the eQuote database system to
successfully receive and process data from the eQuote CAD/CAM
element.
Section 1.4 below is designed to be a ‘walk through’ of using

eQuote from starting off in Radan 2009 R1 CAD to creating a
quotation for your customer. Full details of all the items in this
section are full explained throughout the rest of this manual. This
section should however provide a good introduction to what
eQuote does and is recommended as a starter section for all new
users.
1.2 Starting eQuote database programs
Most of the separate eQuote programs which together make up the

eQuote system are started via shortcuts in the eQuote program
group. This is the database section of the system.
Once you have started an eQuote program, you will usually see an
eQuote startup screen and be asked to log onto the database.
Page 2
1 Introduction
Enter your username and password and click Ok to continue. If you

are unsure of your username and/or password, please contact your
eQuote System Administrator.
Note: For eQuote to work in full CAD/CAM mode then the

database program must be already running. Also there should not
be any parts open in the database element when attempting to
create parts from the Radan 2009 R1 element.
1.3 Other sources of information
As well as this document, information is available from a variety of

other sources:
• On-line Help - If available, online help on the program you

are using will be accessible via the Help Index menu item
within the Help pull-down menu.
NOTE: This help is most easily accessed by pressing the

F1 key.
You may be able to get more specific help on your current

task by selecting the Context Help menuitem from the Help
menu, or by pressing SHIFT-F1.
On-line help may also be available via shortcuts in the

program group associated with the program you are using.
• Release Notes - These tell you important changes with the

eQuote programs from one issue to the next.
• eQuote CD - The eQuote CD has a docs directory which
contains a number of pieces of miscellaneous information.
Issue 1.2 Page 3

eQuote
1.4 eQuote ‘walk through’
This section is designed as a complete ‘walk through’ of how to

use eQuote. It starts with actual CAD geometry and ends up with a
quotation for a customer.
Starting in CAD we end up with some actual geometry. This can

either have been drawn in Radan 2009 R1 or may have come from
an external data source, such as DXF or IGES.
Here we see a typical component within the Radan 2009 R1

environment.
Additionally, the dashed lines indicate the areas where the

component is to be folded.
The drawing data represents the inside section of the Casing 5

drawing; the one in which we normally use in the e2i training to
demonstrate the eQuote link.
Note: The drawing data must be created via the Radan 2009 R1
‘part editor’ for eQuote to use it.
Page 4
1 Introduction
We can now add our tooling to create the areas to be cut out from
the originating sheet.
In this example we have selected a laser machine tool to create the

profile. Note the ‘lead-ins’ which indicate where the piercing will
commence on each feature. eQuote will consider all of these
conditions when calculating profile lengths.
Also notice that we have different cutting conditions for internal

and external cuts. We will see how eQuote handles this later.
Issue 1.2 Page 5

eQuote
We are now ready to send our data to the eQuote database element.
Before doing this you must save the component.
Note that eQuote uses Radan 2009 R1 attributes to transfer certain

data to the eQuote database element. E.g. the material above is
defined as being CR4 and 1.6mm thick. This data will be
transferred as well as the operations.
Back in the Radan 2009 R1 environment we can now simply hit

the eQuote icon to create our part within the eQuote database.
Page 6
1 Introduction
The part will now be scanned for its geometry and attributes. The
resulting data will then be transferred to the eQuote database.
Once the transfer is complete the above message ‘part created’ will
appear in the top left hand corner. You can then open the eQuote
database and view the estimation results.
Above you can now see the front page of the eQuote part form
indicating the basic part information, part number, material etc, and
the calculated costs for the part. Also you can see the estimated
times for each operation, in this example laser and fold.
Issue 1.2 Page 7

eQuote
For more detail on each operation you can go to the ‘operations’

tab and each operation is shown.
Above you can see a breakdown of the laser operation. Note that in
this example the system has created entries for two laser tools,
representing our internal and external tools selected in Radan 2009
R1 earlier. There is also a profile length for each tool and an
overall profile length for the whole part.
Scrolling through, using the NEXT button, we can now look at the
details of the folding opertion. In this example we have one bend
and an overall bend length.
Page 8
1 Introduction
eQuote has also added a sheet material to the part, recognising that
the laser operation requires a sheet of CR4 to perform the
operation. This can be viewed on the front page of the form using
the ‘sub-part’ radio button at bottom left.
In this example you can see that a 2500mm x 1250mm sheet has
been selected and that both a sheet cost is included as well as a unit
part material cost.
You can now view the estimated costs in report format by going to
the ‘report’ tab and selecting from the range of reports available.
This shows the breakdown of the estimated times for each

operation and the associated costs for them, as well as the material
cost.
Issue 1.2 Page 9

eQuote
On many occasions you may need to add additional operations to

the part, which are not included in the Radan 2009 R1 geometry.
This can easily be performed in eQuote by simply adding any
additional operations from the operation library.
In the example above we can see that a welding operation has been
added to the part, with parameters selecting the weld type – in this
case MIG – and the overall weld length.
You can now see the effect that adding this operation has on the
costs.
At this point you can either continue adding other operations or

proceed to create a quotation for the part.
Page 10
1 Introduction
Assuming that you have added all the operations it is then easy to
put the part straight onto a quotation.
On the front page of the part form the user here has selected to add
the part to a quotation.
The quotation is then generated and you can add more detail to the
quotation from the quotation form. In this example we can see that
the user has selected IKEA as the customer, Single Sofa as the
contact and has selected a quotation quantity for the part of 100.
By then hitting the ‘process quote’ button eQuote then calculates

the recommended selling price for the part.
Note that eQuote will – by default – spread any setting costs over
the quantity being quoted for. Therefore the bigger the quantity the
smaller the unit part cost.
Also note that you can override the selling price manually.
Alternatively the user can select to simply apply a percentage
mark-up to the part.
Issue 1.2 Page 11

eQuote
When you are happy with the results it is then easy to generate the
quotation letter that can be despatched to the customer. This is
performed by going to the ‘report’ tab and selecting the quotation
letter report.
The example above shows the standard quotation report with all
the details shown for the quotation. This can then be printed, faxed
or e-mailed to the customer.
That concludes the ‘walk-through’. The rest of this manual fully

explains how to install, set-up and configure eQuote to achieve the
above results consistently and quickly.
Page 12
2
Installation
2 Installation
The eQuote database is made up of the following components:-
• A Sybase SQL anywhere database engine – This can be either a server or a client.
• A Radan e2i system – comprising the core and quotations module.
• A Radan ‘dongle’ attached to the eQuote server.
• An eQuote ‘licence server’ program.
• A Valid eQuote licence.
The eQuote CAD/CAM element is made up of the following components:-
• A fully licenced Radan 2009 R1 system.
• A Radan 2009 R1 licence for eQuote.
The installation of the CAD/CAM element is not covered in this manual. Please refer to Radan
2009 R1 instructions for the CAD/CAM element of eQuote.
2.1 Operating System Set-up
The following needs to be taken into account when establishing if your OS will support eQuote:-
Issue 1.2 Page 13

eQuote
Network protocols loaded (TCP/IP is the required e2i protocol)
Current database applications used
ODBC drivers used
Note:All software should be loaded as a user who is intending to run the eQuote
application. To install all the files the user will need to have administration rights during
install. Once installed administration rights can be removed.
Page 14
2 Installation
2.2 Installation map for the eQuote database element
eQuote should be installed as follows
Server
• Install Sybase SQL Anywhere Server
• Install eQuote server.
• Configure SQL service
• Reboot
Client
• Install Sybase SQL Anywhere client
• Install eQuote client
• Reboot
• Configure eQuote licencing
Licence Server
• Install eQuote licence server.
• Reboot
• Configure eQuote licencing
Prior to installing anything you need to determine the following:-
• Is the installation a standalone, i.e you have purchased a single licence. If this is the case
then you should load the eQuote server and the licence server on one of your machines
currently running Radan 2009 R1, and which is the machine you wish to use eQuote
from. In this configuration you do NOT need to install any client licences.
• Is the installation on multiple machines, i.e you have purchased a networked licence. If
this is the case then you should load the eQuote server and the licence server on any
suitable machine. Then load the clients on the machines running Radan 2009 R1 from
which you wish to use eQuote from.
• You can load the eQuote server and the licence server on different machines. If you do
this you should ensure that you load the ‘dongle’ on the machine which is running the
licence server.
Issue 1.2 Page 15

eQuote
2.3 Sybase SQL Anywhere - Server Installation
• Load the eQuote CD. This may be marked as an e2i CD.

• The launcher program will run automatically and display the options for install as
follows:-
If the program does not autorun you can run it manually as an exe from the CD. It is called
launcher.exe
• Select the ‘Install SQL Anywhere’ option
This will invoke the SQL Anywhere installation routine. Please follow the screens as shown
below:-
Page 16
2 Installation
The first screen requests a 12 digit registration code. As shown above you should enter
000000000000. You can in fact enter any 12 digit number. This is a legal requirement.
When you have entered the number you must click on the OK button TWICE to continue.
Now select the ‘Sybase SQL Anywhere Server option as shown above.
Now select the Sybase SQL Anywhere for Windows NT.
Now select the ‘Install the software’ option
Issue 1.2 Page 17

eQuote
This next screen indicates where the software elements will be installed. You should check that
the drive being selected is suitable, E.g. it has enough disk space etc.
The system will now indicate what options are needed on each element. You simply hit OK at
this point.
Page 18
2 Installation
The set-up program now gives you a final chance to abort. If you are happy to continue you can
now hit OK.
The system will now install the software. This may take a few minutes
Finally the install gives you options on altering the registry. You can select the default of ‘Modify
local machine environment variables’.
The system will complete the install and finally ask you to re-boot. You should do this when
asked.
That completes the Sybase SQL server installation.
Issue 1.2 Page 19

eQuote
2.4 Sybase SQL Anywhere - Client Installation
Installing a Sybase SQL Anywhere client is exactly the same as a server except that on the third
screen you should select ‘Sybase SQL Anywhere Client’ as shown below.
The rest of the install is as per the server, although some screens have less information.
Page 20
2 Installation
2.5 Installing eQuote modules
To install eQuote on a system: -
• Browse to the e2i directory on the eQuote installation CD and double click setup.exe.
• Select defaults until you reach the following screen: -
• Select the section that suits best (see table below), and click next.
• When prompted for a typical, compact or custom installation, select typical or custom.
Note that you should only select a custom installation if you intend to use the current
machine as the licence server. In all other instances you only need to select the typical
type.
Machine type Set-up type Typical/Custom Extra modules
e2i server and licence Server Custom Licence server

server
Licence server only Licence Server Typical -
E2i server only Server Typical -
E2i client + licence server Client Custom Licence server
Basic client Client Typical -
Issue 1.2 Page 21

eQuote
2.6 Setting services to run on Windows NT or later operating systems
• If you are running Windows NT or later operating systems on the e2i server then you will
need to set up the services to run the database server when the machine is booted. To set
this up follow these instructions.
1. Run Sybase SQL Central as follows: -
Page 22
2 Installation
2. Select the ‘add service’ option, from the following window, by double clicking on it.
3. This will invoke the service wizard. Please fill in each screen as follows: -
Issue 1.2 Page 23

eQuote
Page 24
2 Installation
Issue 1.2 Page 25

eQuote
Page 26
2 Installation
2.7 eQuote database element licence installation
• Install the licence server software as described above.
• Run the licence server program, which will load the server program, similar to below.
Your licence details can now be entered from the ‘licence details’ tab. You will need a password
to enter here (initially set to belmont).
You can now enter your licence details which were supplied with the system. If you have lost you
licence details please call the Planit help-desk for assistance. You will need to have details of
your eQuote purchase order so they can verify what licences you have purchased.
Issue 1.2 Page 27

eQuote
Page 28
Part 2
The CAD/CAM Interface
Issue 1.2 Page 29

eQuote
Page 30
3
CAD/CAM interface
3 CAD/CAM interface
3.1 Overview
The eQuote CAD/CAM program allows users of Radan 2009 R1

CAD/CAM systems to automatically obtain estimates and
quotations directly from the Radan 2009 R1 database.
3.2 User Interface
The CAD/CAM element is accessed by hitting the eQuote button

in the Radan 2009 R1 part editor environment
The actual currency shown will be the same as your general

windows settings.
3.3 Setting up
3.3.1 CAD/CAM Part attribute Data
The program obtains all necessary part detail information from the
following Radan 2009 R1 Part Attributes
Attribute Description eQuote Part Default

Field
110 File name part_num NO DEFAULT
114 Revision Number Issue -
108 Title description -
119 Material mtl_code -
120 Material Thickness size_z 1
121 Mat Thick Units size_z_uom mm
Part attribute data is not available unless the part has been saved
and therefore attempting to export data for a part that has not yet
been saved results in an error message.
Issue 1.2 Page 31

eQuote
Attribute information can be added using the standard Radan 2009

R1 methods.
If there are no part attributes associated with the current part then
the program displays an error
3.4 Operation configuration
Part operation data must be pre-configured as CAD Link Ops

within the eQuote database. The ops required are dependent upon
the level of configurability used.
The CAD Link operations used require equivalent part operations.
Within the system administration section each operation variable

must be both defined and connected to a CADlink code.
Note that each operation condition is defined above. The op code

drop down refers to the actual operation within the eQuote system.
3.4.1 Punch Operations
The following shows the CAD Link ops required for each level of
Punch Operation configurability.
The following operation codes can be set-up within the eQuote

database system to support data coming from Radan 2009 R1.
(The indentations indicate the level that the operation codes are
supported at)
NOTOOLS
SINGLEHITS
Page 32
3 CAD/CAM
PUNCH-TNxxx
NIBBLES-TNxxx
SINGLEHITS-TNxxx
TOTALHITS-TNxxx
Note that the xxx above represents actual TN tool numbers within
the Radan 2009 R1 system E.g. TN20,TN40….
Within the eQuote database we must associate the operation

variables to be used.
In this example here we can see that the NOTOOLS has been
associated with the tools variable and the TOTALHITS has been
associated with the punches_per_part variable.
Issue 1.2 Page 33

eQuote
3.4.2 Profiling Operations
Profiling Operation configurability.
NOTOOLS
LASER –TNxxx
LASER –TNyyy
In this example here we can see that the CUTCOND has been
associated with the no_tools variable and theLASER-TN901 and
LASER-TN902 have been associated with the tn901_length and
tn902_length variables.
Page 34
3 CAD/CAM
3.4.3 Bending Operations
Bending Operation configurability.
Bend information is derived from drafting features, using the

standard Radraft settings for Pen Number, Line Type, Start
Terminator and End Terminator used for bend lines, which are pen
7, chain , no terminators.
NOBENDS
BENDLEN
In this example here we can see that the NOBENDS has been
associated with the no_of_bends variable and the BENDLEN has
been associated with the bendlen variable.
Issue 1.2 Page 35

eQuote
Page 36
Part 3
The Database Program
Issue 1.2 Page 37

eQuote
Page 38
4
User Interface Basics
4 User Interface Basics
4.1 Menu & Toolbar
Across the top of the eQuote window you can see the menus; File,
Quote,Parts, etc. All the eQuote functions can be accessed from
these menus.
Some commonly used forms are accessible by clicking on the

toolbar. Quotes and customers are shown below.
Moving the mouse cursor over a button and leaving it there for a
moment will cause a small textual description of the button to
appear.
By right-clicking over the toolbar and selecting from the menu you
can:
• Hide the toolbar

NOTE: If you hide the toolbar, the only way you can show
it again is by selecting Toolbars from the Windows
menu and clicking Show.
• Change the position of the toolbar

• Show larger icons with a short textual description of the
button, E.g.
Frequently used tasks can also be initiated from the keyboard by

using Keyboard Shortcuts.
Issue 1.2 Page 39

eQuote
Here the Print menu item has a keyboard shortcut, CTRL+P.

Pressing CTRL+P from the keyboard immediately initiates a print
of the current datawindow (See section 4.4).
4.2 Status Bar
Across the bottom of the eQuote window is the status bar.
This provides you with useful information about what the eQuote
program is doing at the moment and other useful information. If
you are unsure what the eQuote program is doing, you should look
here.
4.3 Arranging windows on the screen
You can change the way that windows are displayed via the
Windows menu.
• Cascade
Each new window opens at a predefined preferred size. You
can view a number of windows at one time. Windows are
cascaded from the top left corner of the window space.
• Layer
Each new window is expanded to occupy the whole of the
window space. You can only view one window at a time.
• Tile Horizontal
All currently opened windows are arranged so that each can
use the full width of the window space. The available
window height is divided between the number of windows.
Page 40
• Tile Vertical
All currently opened windows are arranged so that each can
use the full height of the window space. The available
window width is divided between the number of windows.
NOTE: The size of windows can not be reduced below a predefined
minimum. This may cause the Tile Horizontal and Tile Vertical
commands to produce unusual arrangements.
4.4 Navigation around forms
There are a lot of forms in eQuote which you will need to navigate
around. You can navigate either by clicking on toolbar buttons or
by using keyboard shortcuts.
Key Button Action
Tab None Jump to next field.
Shift Tab None Jump to previous field
Up Arrow, or Move to previous row/item

Page Up
Down Arrow, or Move to previous row/item

Page Down
Ctrl Home Move to first row/item
Ctrl End Move to last row/item
Ctrl Shift P Change the datawindow master’s

row to the previous one.
Ctrl Shift N Change the datawindow master’s

row to the next one.
All of these actions apply to the current datawindow. This is the

datawindow which is highlighted.
Issue 1.2 Page 41

eQuote
To make a datawindow current, click anywhere within it.
4.5 Drop Down Lists & Selectors
Throughout eQuote, where you are required to enter some input,

eQuote often makes this easy for you by providing either a Drop
Down Lists or a Selector.
A field with a drop down list has a down-arrow at the right-hand

edge of the field.
By clicking on the down-arrow a list of possible values will appear.

You can select a value by clicking on it. Upon selecting a value,
the list will disappear and the selected value will appear in the
field. Some fields with drop down lists only allow you to select
values from the list.
With other fields, use of the drop down list is optional and this is
indicated by a bar before the drop-arrow symbol.
Values for the drop down lists used throughout eQuote are only
determined once when the program starts. If you add new values,
for example, add new statuses within eQuote System
Administration, whilst eQuote is running, these new values will
not be visible immediately. To force these values to be re-read
without re-starting eQuote, select the Refresh Drop Downs item
from the Windows menu.
A selector is usually provided where you may need to reference

another eQuote object, for example a customer when creating a
new quotation or a part when entering a new contract. Which fields
Page 42
will be updated is usually obvious from the position of the selector

button.
Clicking on the selector button will cause a Selector Window to

open. Selector Windows are very similar to Filter List Windows
(see section 4.10) except:
• You can only view information in a selector list. You cannot

insert or delete items.
• You can only select one row from the selector list.
From the selector list, double click on the item which you want to
reference. The selector window will then disappear and the fields
associated with the selector will be filled automatically in to
reference the chosen item.
4.6 Notes and Pictures
Certain items within eQuote allow you to associate one or more

notes and/or a single picture with it.
Notes are accessible via the Note button. The appearance of the
button indicates whether there are notes attached to the item.
No notes exist. Notes exist.
Clicking on a note button causes a Note Window to open.
The Note Window displays all notes associated with the current
item. If there are no notes associated with the item, a blank note
will be created for you automatically into which you can start
typing.
Along with the note text you can also record the date the note was
added, the person who created the note and the type of note. These
fields may be edited as required.
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Standard pieces of note text can be inserted using the selector

buttons. Standard pieces of note text are defined within eQuote
System Administration (see section 12.2.6).
You can insert new and delete existing notes using the Insert and
Delete buttons respectively.
Pictures are accessible via the Picture button. The appearance of

the button indicates whether there is a picture attached to the item.
No picture exists. Picture exists.
Clicking on a picture button causes a Picture Window to open.
The Picture Window displays the picture associated with the

current item and the picture’s pathname. By editing the pathname,
you determine which picture is displayed. The following picture
file formats are supported:
• Windows Bitmap (*.BMP)

• CompuServe Graphics Interchange (*.GIF)
• JPEG – JFIF Compliant (*.JPG, *.JIF, *.JPEG)
• Windows RLE (*.RLE)
• Windows Metafiles (*.WMF)
NOTE: The picture pathname must be valid on all eQuote client machines
and not just the local machine. For example, if you reference the
picture file ‘c:\eQuote\bracket23.wmf’, the picture will
appear OK on your machine but not on any others. Therefore, you
should copy the picture file to a central location and point to the
file there. Your eQuote System Administrator should be able to
help you with this.
Pictures can be printed using the Print button.
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4.7 Printing data
You can print the contents of the current datawindow by selecting

Print from the File menu or via the toolbar shortcut.
If you are viewing a report, this will print out that report. If you are
viewing a form, this will print out the contents of the current
datawindow on that form.
Use the Printer Setup item within the File menu to alter your
current printer settings.
4.8 Exporting data
Text can be transferred between eQuote and other applications by

cutting and pasting in the usual manner.
In addition, some datawindows have a Copy to Clipboard facility

which allows all or most of the information displayed in the current
datawindow to be copied to the clipboard in one step.
You can export all of the information contained in the current

datawindow to a file by selecting Save Rows As from the File
menu.
You can select from a number of standard output file formats, for
example, Text, Comma Separated Variables (CSV), HTML table,
Microsoft Excel, etc.
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This is a quick and simple way of transferring information into

other applications such as databases and spreadsheets.
NOTE: There are much quicker and more powerful methods of transferring
large amounts of data between eQuote and other applications.
Contact your eQuote System Administrator.
4.9 Emailing data
You can initiate the creation of a new email message from within
eQuote by selecting Email from the File menu or via the toolbar
shortcut:
This will trigger your PC’s default email sending software to create
a new email. You can then address, compose and send the email in
the usual manner.
By installing third-party software, eQuote can automatically attach

the content of the current report or datawindow to the email. The
recipient is then able to see the report or datawindow, just as it
would appear if it were printed from eQuote and faxed to them,
without needing any special software.
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Also, if the current report or datawindow contains a special field

named ‘email_recipient’ and this contains an email address or the
name of a person in your email address book, the email can be
addressed and sent automatically.
Please contact Planit Software Limited for details of suitable

third-party software. There are a number of packages which can
allow e-mailing from eQuote which all have their own set-up
procedures.
4.10 Filter-List Windows & Forms
A common feature of eQuote is the use of filter-list windows &

forms. Because the eQuote database can store a vast amount of
information, there needs to be a way of limiting the amount of data
the user is presented with at one time. This is the task of a filter-list
window. Data which passes through the filter is shown in a list.
From the list, the user selects those items whose details are to be
displayed on a form.
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So when you select a menu item to view, say, your parts, you are
first presented with a filter-list window. From here you can
indicate which parts you want to view or alternatively, you can
indicate that you want to add a new part.
There are a number of different forms within eQuote, each with

their own filter-list windows, but the way in which you use them is
the same.
4.10.1 Filter tab
The filter tab of a filter-list window is the first thing you see when
you click on say the Parts icon. From here you can either specify a
filter for which existing parts you want to see or you can indicate
that you wish to enter information about one or more new parts.
If you want to create a new part, click Add New Part. This will
open a blank part form into which you can enter the new part’s
details. Alternatively, you can click Insert on the toolbar.
If you want to view one or more existing parts, enter into the filter
those values which must be shared by rows which you want to
appear in the list. For example, to display only manufactured parts
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in the list, set the value of the Category field in the filter to
Manufactured Part and click OK.
You can specify values for as many or as few fields as you like. If
you don’t specify values for any fields, all items will appear in the
list.
If you specify a number of values, all values must be shared by a

part in order for it to be included in the list. You can consider the
values as being logically AND-ed within a filter.
By clicking on Switch to Advanced Filter you then have 24 filter

rows available to you into which you can define a number of
filters. To move between the different filter rows, use the
navigation buttons on the toolbar. If a part passes the conditions
specified by either of these filters, it will be included in the list.
You can consider the conditions specified by multiple filters as
being logically OR-ed. You can return to the original Filter mode
by clicking Switch to Basic Filter.
If you specify one or more filter values but then want to remove
them all, click Clear. This will clear all filters if you are using
Advanced Filter mode.
You can also enter SQL LIKE Expressions into editable fields such
as the Part Number, Issue, Description fields, etc in order to
specify more complex filter conditions. For example:
• like s% in the Part Number field shows only those parts

with part numbers beginning with the letter s.
• not like NEW in the Part Status field shows only those
parts which do not have a status of New.
For more information about SQL LIKE Expressions please refer to
the Sybase SQL Anywhere Manual which should be installed on
your computer.
Click OK to apply your filter (if any) and go to the list tab.
Click Cancel to close the window.
4.10.2 List tab
The list tab displays all information which has passed through the
filter.
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Use the scroll bars to view all the information.
NOTE: The Retrieve as needed on lists preference set within eQuote

System Administration causes list tabs to retrieve information only
when needed rather than retrieving all of the data at the start. If this
preference is set, this may affect the appearance of the vertical
scroll bar.
You can resize the width of a column in a list by moving the mouse
over the edge of the column, holding down the left mouse button
and moving the mouse left or right. Release the mouse button to set
the new width.
You can change the ordering of columns in the list by dragging a

column to its new position.
Information in lists is usually sorted in ascending order by the

contents of the first column. A list can be sorted by the contents of
another column simply by clicking on that column’s header.
Clicking a column header repeatedly toggles between sorting that
column’s contents in ascending and descending order.
By right clicking over the list, a floating version of the Edit menu
appears from which a number of menu items are available.
Selecting Insert from the Edit menu or clicking on the Insert

toolbar button indicates that you want to add a new item. For
example, if you are looking at the part list and you select Insert,
eQuote will open a blank part form (see section 4.10.3).
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Selecting Advanced Sort from the Edit menu allows an advanced

sort to be defined. For example, the list can be sorted by first one
column, then a second column and so on.
A tick appears to the left of the Advanced Sort menu item when a
sort has been defined.
Selecting Advanced Filter from the Edit menu allows any filter, no
matter how complicated to be specified.
For a fuller description of the expressions which you can enter,

please refer to the InfoMaker on-line help.
A tick appears to the left of the Advanced Filter menu item when a
filter has been defined.
Some functions initiated from the Edit menu act only upon the
currently selected rows. One or more rows in the list may be
selected at one time. When you first go into a list window, the first
row is always selected for you. You can change the currently
selected row by using the navigation buttons or using the keyboard
arrow keys.
You can select any row by left clicking over it.
You can select a range of rows by left clicking over the first row in
the range, holding down the Shift key and left clicking over the last
row in the range.
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You can add one or more rows to the current selection by holding
down the Ctrl key whilst selecting.
By right clicking over the list and selecting Select All you can
select all rows. You can clear all selections by selecting Clear
Selection.
Selecting Open Details from the Edit menu causes the currently
selected row or rows’ details to be opened in a form. A single
row’s details can be opened simply by double-clicking over the
row.
Depending upon which list you are looking at, you may be able to
delete the currently selected rows by selecting Delete from the Edit
Menu or by clicking the Delete toolbar item.
This will permanently delete information about these items from

the eQuote database. (For this reason, the Delete menu item is
often disabled and this can only be performed from within the
eQuote System Administration program.)
Selecting Add to from the Edit menu allows you to add the
currently selected items to another object. For example, if you
have a number of parts selected in the parts list you could add these
parts to the currently opened quotation by selecting Add Part To ->
Quotation. If there is not a current quotation, a new quotation will
be created.
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4.10.3 Forms
Forms are the means of displaying information about one or more

items and optionally, allowing you to edit that information. There
are different forms for different types of object in eQuote, for
example a Part form, a quote form etc.
For an explanation of each field you should refer to the eQuote

Online Help. Pressing Shift-F1 opens the online help for the
current window and clicking on a field in the help will display an
explanation of that field.
The name of the item whose information is currently being

displayed on the form is shown in the window’s title.
How many items or rows have been loaded into a form is shown by
the Page Counter.
To view the information of different items loaded into the form,

use the navigation buttons or the keyboard’s arrow keys.
There can be a lot of information about an item in eQuote and so

the information is sometimes split across a number of detail tabs -
Part Details, Operations, Suppliers, etc in the case of the parts
form. Some detail tabs on a form may not be applicable to all
records loaded into the form and so some tabs may be disabled.
Detail tabs always show information about the current record

shown on the main (first) tab. That is, if you click on the Suppliers
tab of a part, you will see the suppliers for whichever part is
current on the main tab. If you have a number of items loaded into
a form and want to remain on a detail tab whilst traversing through
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the different items, use the master navigation buttons (see section
4.4).
If you change any of the information shown on the form you will
need to save your changes. You can force a save by selecting Save
from the File menu or clicking the Save toolbar button.
If you attempt to switch tabs or close the window after you have
made some changes, eQuote will ask you if you want to save your
changes.
You can create a new item from an existing item using the
Row Copy command. This saves you having to create a record
from scratch, say a part which is almost identical to another.
Simply open the item you want to copy and select the Row Copy
from the Edit menu. The name of the Row Copy command changes
depending upon which item you are currently looking at.
Upon initiating the command, eQuote will first ask you to confirm
that you want to continue.
When copying some items, eQuote displays a window requesting

essential information about the new item.
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Upon clicking OK it will then create a copy of the current item

which you can edit as required.
NOTE: Some row copies deliberately do not copy all fields, for example,
statuses, dates, etc.
4.11 Form Reports and Form References
All of the main forms have Reports and References tabs.
4.11.1 Form Reports
The Reports tab allows a number of reports specific to the current

item to be displayed and optionally printed.
Using the drop down list at the top of the tab you can choose which
report is displayed below.
NOTE: New reports can be defined in eQuote System Administration (see

section 12.3) so that they can be viewed here.
By default, most reports are displayed so that the header of the

report stays at the top of the screen and details scroll beneath it.
However, to view the report exactly how it will appear when
printed you need to switch to Print Preview Mode by selecting
Print Preview from the File menu or clicking on the toolbar button.
The current report can be printed by selecting Print from the File
menu or clicking on the toolbar button.
If you have a number of items loaded into the form when you use
the print command eQuote will ask you whether you want to print
the report for just the current item or a report for each item.
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4.11.2 Form References
The References tab provides an efficient way of jumping to other

items associated with the current item.
Using the drop down list at the top of the list you can identify
which type of item you are interested in seeing. For example, in the
Parts form, selecting Contracts in the drop down list results in see
all contracts which reference the current part.
Double clicking on a row in the references list allows you to open

that item’s details in a form.
4.12 eQuote Data Concepts
4.12.1 Statuses & Status Dates
Most items in eQuote have a status associated with them.
Statuses are always paired with a Status Date which indicates when
the status was last changed.
An object’s statuses can either be set manually by a user or

automatically by eQuote.
The purpose of statuses is to:
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• Control when items are available for use within the system.
For example, items are by default created with the status
New meaning that, whilst they physically exist within the
eQuote database, they should not yet be used. Similarly, a
status of Obsolete or Superseded indicates that the item
should no longer be used.
eQuote comes with a number of standard statuses but additional

ones can be defined within eQuote System Administration (see
section 12.2.3).
4.12.2 Types
Items within eQuote can be typified as being of a certain type.

Unlike statuses, an object’s type is a fixed value which is only ever
set by a user and will never be changed by eQuote.
eQuote comes with a number of standard types but additional ones

can be defined within eQuote Systems Administration (see section
12.2.4).
Examples of some types for parts include Standard, Production,
Non-Stock Item, Consumable, Temporary, etc.
4.12.3 Custom Fields
Most eQuote forms provide 3 custom fields which allow users to

store any information they like. For example, you may need to
store a special accounting code for each customer, you may want
to record a supervisor with each manufactured part, etc.
Custom fields normally reside on the detail tab of a form.
A custom field’s label can be changed within eQuote System

Administration (see section 14.2.1).
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5
Operations
5 Operations
Operations in eQuote model real-life operations involved in the

making of a part such as Punching, Deburring, Cutting, etc.
Operations in eQuote need to store all of the information

necessary for it to accurately produce an estimate of how much is
would cost to perform that operation on a particular part.
eQuote comes with a number of standard operations already

defined but you can define your own using the eQuote System
Administration program.
5.1 The Operations Form
The operations form within eQuote is allows you to view

information about an operation and edit some settings.
NOTE: Adding and deleting operations and editing certain fields can only
be performed within eQuote System Administration. See section 9
All operations record their possible manufacture methods:
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• In House
Is only ever performed In-house
• Subcontracted
Is always subcontracted
• In House/Subcontracted
Can be performed either in-house or be subcontracted.
The operation form only displays information related to the
specified manufacture methods.
The Constants tab lists the constants associated with the current
operation and allows their values to be set.
The Variables tab lists the variables associated with the current
operation and allows default values for these variables to be set.
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6
Customers & Suppliers
6 Customers & Suppliers
Customers and Suppliers in eQuote represent companies you do

business with. For example, anyone you want to create a quotation
for needs to be defined as a Customer. Anyone you want to obtain
prices from needs to be defined as a Supplier.
6.1 The Customers Form
Information about customers is shown in the Customers Form.
The Customers tab contains general information about the

customer.
The Contacts tab allows you to define and edit information about
contacts at this company.
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The Main Contact checkbox indicates a main point of contact

within the company. This may be used, for example, in a report to
address items to that particular individual.
There can only ever be one main contact within a company. When
a new main contact is selected, the old main contact is deselected.
6.2 The Suppliers Form
The Suppliers form stores information very similar to the

Customers form.
The Subcon Skills field allows you to specify those operations that
the supplier can subcontract. Enter a comma-separated list of
op-codes identifying those operations which they can subcontract.
Entering the value ALL indicates that the supplier is able to
subcontract any operation.
NOTE: You will only be able to enter the op-code of an operation which is
marked as being able to be subcontracted. See section 5.1.
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7
Tenders
7 Tenders
Tenders are used to request quotations from subcontractors for

performing a particular piece of work and to record their responses.
7.1 The Tender Form
The Tenders tab is split into two halves; the Tender Header and the
Tender Detail.
The Tender Header identifies the part operation which it is

associated with. The tender may be constrained to only apply to
work being carried out for a particular quotation and/or for a
particular quantity by using the Quote No and Quantity fields.
The Tender Detail identifies those subcontractors who you would

like to invite to tender for performing the work. The first time a
new tender is saved, the tender detail will be populated
automatically with all those subcontractors who can perform the
associated operation. You may add/remove subcontractors to/from
this list as appropriate.
A Tender Request letter can be printed for each subcontractor by

using the reports tab. As each letter is printed, the status of that
subcontractor’s entry in the tender detail will change to ‘Invited’.
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Subcontractors identified on the tender but who should not receive

a tender request letter should have their status set to ‘Not Invited’.
As subcontractors’ responses to the tender request are received, the

unit cost, lead time and valid-until details they quote are recorded
against their entry in the tender detail. Their status will
automatically change to ‘Responded’.
When all responses have been received, one subcontractor has to

be chosen and this is performed by setting the status of one of the
tender detail rows to ‘Selected’.
Instances of the part operation associated with this tender will then
be able to use the information stored in this tender to determine the
unit cost of performing the operation.
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8
Parts
8 Parts
Parts within eQuote include materials (E.g. sheets of steel),

manufactured parts/assemblies (E.g. an enclosure) and bought-out
parts (E.g. screws, nuts).
Exactly what information is stored (and displayed) for a particular

part is determined by its category.
8.1 Categories
Categories are a way of grouping together similar parts. When

defining a new part you pick the category which best describes that
part. Part Categories are defined within eQuote System
Administration (see section 12.2.1).
All categories belong to one of the following category types:
• Bought Out
A part bought from a supplier.
• Manufacture Part
A part which is manufactured.
• Raw Material
A bought out part which is used to make a manufactured
part.
• Sheet
Like Raw Material but a sheet part.
• No Category
A system category. Represents a manufactured part. Not
generally used.
If you attempt to change the category of a part from one
representing a manufactured part to one representing a bought-out
part or vice-versa, you will be asked to confirm this. This is
because if you proceed, eQuote will delete any information
currently stored about the part which is not applicable to the new
category. For example, changing a part’s category from Bought
Out to Manufactured Part will result in any Part Supplier
information being deleted.
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8.2 The Part Form
Information about parts is accessible via the parts form. The parts
form when displaying information about a manufactured part is
shown below.
8.2.1 The Parts Tab
The Parts tab is split into two halves; the Part Header and a detail.
The Part Header stores important information about the part. For
manufactured parts, the cost of manufacturing the estimate quantity
is displayed.
For bought out parts the unit cost of the part is displayed.
The bottom half of the tab either displays a summary of the part
supplier information for bought out parts, and either the subparts or
operations of a manufactured part.
The Part Supplier Summary repeats information stored on the

Suppliers tab but displayed in list form for easy viewing and
editing.
The Sub-Part list identifies parts which comprise the manufactured

part. Entries here may either have been entered manually or
automatically as part of defining a part operation.
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8 Parts
The Part Operation Summary repeats information stored on the

Operations tab.
Clicking the Supersede button allows the current part to be

superseded by another. The Supersede Part window will appear.
Selecting ‘Up-Issued Part’ allows a copy of the part being

superseded to be created, with the same part number but a different
issue, and it being recorded as the successor of the original part.
Selecting ‘Replacement Part’ allows you to identify a different part

which already exists in the eQuote database is to be the successor
of the original part.
Checking Replace Superseded Part in Assemblies will cause

eQuote to search all current part assemblies, replacing any
occurrences of the part being superseded with the replacement part.
NOTE: Only parts with the status ‘Current’ will have instances of the
superseded part replaced.
Checking Change Superseded Part’s Status indicates whether the

status of the part being superseded should be set to Superseded.
All parts have two reference reports allowing the user to see which
parts (if any) it has superseded and which part (if any) it has been
superseded by.
The Estimate Cost button recalculates the cost of making the

estimate quantity of the current manufactured part based upon a
recalculation of the cost of all operations and subparts.
8.2.2 The Part Details Tab
The Part Details tab allows you to enter additional information

about the part.
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Depending upon the value of the Shape field appropriate

dimension fields will be shown.
Values for fields such as Area, Volume, Weight/Unit Length, etc

may be either editable or automatically calculated depending upon
the specific category of the part. If any of these fields are editable,
Calc buttons appear to the right of the field.
Pressing a Calc button causes the value of the associated field to be

re-calculated.
8.2.3 The Operations Tab
The Operations tab is only accessible when viewing information

about a manufactured part. It allows you to specify the operations
which are involved in manufacturing the part.
It is split into three parts; the Part Operation Header, Part

Operation Information and Part Operation Details.
The Part Operation Header identifies the operation, the sequence of

the operation in the manufacture of the part, whether the operation
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8 Parts
is performed in-house or is subcontracted and allows the user to

enter a description of that specific part operation.
NOTE: Adding new, deleting existing and moving between existing part
operations can only be performed via the Part Operation Header.
The other parts of the tab display information associated with the
current part operation identified by the header.
The Part Operation Information allows you to edit the system

variables which may affect the cost of the operation.
NOTE: Whether or not these variables will be used depends upon the
definition of the operation within eQuote System Administration.
For a part operation which is to be manufactured in-house, the

system variables are:
• Operators
The Number of Operators who performed the operation.
• Handling
Handling Allowance percentage.
• Ops Per Setup
Setup has to be repeated every x operations. Should be left
empty (not 0) if setup is only ever performed once.
• Parts Per Op
Number of parts processed by one instance of the operation.
• Valid Qty Range
The range of estimate quantities where this operation is
applicable.
NOTE: When processed with an estimate quantity outside
this range, the part operation will not be
recalculated but any existing costs will remain on
view. These costs however will not be included in
the cost of the part on the part tab.
• Input Set Time

A manually input setup time (in minutes) which overrides
the figure calculated by the operation.
• Input Run Time
A manually input run time (in minutes) which overrides the
figure calculated by the operation.
• Assembly Ref
The assembly ref identifies one of the part’s materials as
being associated with the part operation. The Part Material
Selector allows the user to select a new material to be added
to the part.
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The Qty column indicates the quantity of the material

required in order to make one of the manufactured part and
the % Util column indicates the maximum utilisation of
material possible when making the manufactured part. It is
usually in the users interest to pick the material with the
highest utilisation and so parts are listed in order of
decreasing utilisation.
For a part operation which is to be subcontracted, the system
variables are:
• Input Supp Code

A manually input supplier code identifying the subcontractor
who is going to carry out the work by default.
• Input Unit Cost
A manually input unit cost representing the cost of each
instance of the subcontracted operation.
The Part Operation Detail allows you to view operation specific
constants and edit operation specific variables specified for the
current operation within eQuote System Administration and
associated with the current manufacture method. When displaying
information about a subcontracted part operation, a list of
associated tenders can also be viewed.
The user can open a particular tender by double clicking over it
If enabled within eQuote System Administration for the current

operation, the Debug button will be enabled. Clicking this button
recalculates the operation as described above but also displays the
workings-out. It is very useful for debugging purposes.
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8 Parts
The Recalc button forces eQuote to attempt to recalculate the cost

of the current operation and if successful, updates the cost of the
part operation and the total cost of the manufactured part.
Recalculating a part operation involves evaluating all of the

formulae associated with the operation as defined in eQuote
System Administration for the current manufacture method.
8.2.4 The Suppliers Tab
The Suppliers tab is only accessible when displaying information

about a bought out part and allows you to identify suppliers of the
part.
Which supplier’s information is used when costing this part is

determined by the Preferred checkbox.
8.3 Creating parts
The eQuote System Administration program configures how parts

are created in eQuote. Parts may be created by inserting a new
row into the part form in the usual manner or one of two part
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wizards may be enabled to guide the user through the process of

creating a new part.
It is advisable to use only the following characters for part names:
A – Z (Any Case), 0 – 9, -, _ or /
Trying to create a part using characters other than those above will
result in a warning message being displayed.
This warning indicates the first non-recommended character which

has been used.
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9
Quotes
9 Quotes
A Quote or Quotation is eQuote’s name for a Prospective Order or

Estimate.
9.1 The Quote Form
Information about quotes is accessible via the quotes form.
The Quotes tab is split into two halves; the Quote Header and
either the Quote Part List or the Quote Part Cost Breakdown. The
radio buttons in the bottom-left corner determine which list is
shown.
The Quote Header identifies the customer for the quote and other
general information about the quote. The customer’s current credit
limit and amount of outstanding credit is also displayed.
The Quote Part List is where you define the part, the quantity and
the cost being quoted.
The Quote Part Cost Breakdown displays a breakdown of the cost

of each part into material, labour and machine costs.
The Process Quote button causes the cost of each part included on
the quote to be re-calculated based upon the current definition of
that part.
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The Add Contract button provides an easy way of creating a new

contract from a quote rather than requiring you to enter details
about the contract from scratch. Clicking it results in the New
Contract Data window appearing.
Enter information about the new contract and select which of the
quote parts are to be copied onto the contract by using the Add
checkboxes.
NOTE: You can still fine-tune the contract after it has been created from a
quote.
Click OK to generate the new contract. The status of the quote will
be changed to Won.
The Letter Definition tab allows you to customise the content of

the Quote Letter Report (accessed via the Reports tab) for each
particular quote. It defines a number of pieces of text which appear
in the body of the report.
Users can insert standard pieces of text by using the selector or

enter their own freeform text. Standard text is defined within
eQuote System Administration (see section 12.2.6).
NOTE: Standard pieces of text can be added and then edited.
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9 Quotes
The justification of the text on the report can be set using the
justification drop down list.
You can rearrange the order of rows simply by dragging a row to

its new position.
A special text code, PARTS, indicates where the quote part

information will be printed on the report.
New quotations inherit a default quote letter definition as defined

within eQuote System Administration (see section 12.1) which
can then be modified as necessary.
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10
Miscellaneous
10 Miscellaneous
10.1 Mass Update
The Mass Update window enables the mass re-calculation of the

cost of performing some or all of the operations involved in the
manufacture of some or all of the manufactured parts in the eQuote
database. This is particularly useful for example, when your
company’s labour rates change or when the model of a particular
operation within eQuote is changed.
As well as re-calculating operations on parts, you can also

re-estimate the cost of the part. The status of parts which have been
re-estimated can also be updated so that their updated information
can be transferred to other systems.
The Mass Update window is opened by selecting Mass Update

from the Manufacturing menu.
NOTE: The Mass Update window is only accessible to a user who has
logged into the eQuote database with the radandba username.
The window consists of a number of tabs. The Settings tab allows

the user to configure the mass update process. The Selection radio
buttons indicate how the parts which are to be updated are going to
be identified. Your selection here determines whether the Part
Filter or Operation Filter tabs are enabled.
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The Part Filter and Operations Filter tabs allows you to identify
which parts and/or operations are going to be updated. Candidate
parts or parts containing the selected operations are then listed on
the Parts List tab.
The user identifies which parts are to be updated using the Include
checkbox.
The Progress tab allows the update to be started and monitored.
10.2 Licensing
eQuote is a protected piece of software. To prevent piracy, eQuote

programs will only run if they are in possession of a valid licence.
Licences are defined either locally (and validated by a hardware
dongle) or are obtained across the PC network from the eQuote
licence server program.
eQuote licences are always linked to a particular major version of

eQuote and may be permanent or temporary. Permanent licences
will never expire for the specified major version of eQuote.
However if you upgrade your eQuote system to a newer major
version of eQuote, your permanent will become invalid. For
example, a minor eQuote version update from say 102.4.08 to
102.4.10 will not require a new licence. However a major eQuote
version update from say 102.4.xx to 102.5.xx will.
Temporary licences have a fixed expiry date. You will be warned

14 days before your temporary licences expires, to contact Planit
Software Limited for a replacement licence.
If eQuote on your PC is protected by a local licence, those licence

details will be accessible via the Licence Parameters item in the
System menu.
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10 Miscellaneous
If you alter these details, click Save to store them.
NOTE: This window will appear automatically upon trying to start eQuote
if it is configured to use a local licence but its licence details are
not valid. Unless you enter valid licence details you will not be
able to start eQuote.
If eQuote on your PC is protected by a licence obtained from the

eQuote Licence Server program, the only Licence Parameter you
need to specify is the network name of the PC running the eQuote
licence server program.
The Licence Parameters window will show information about the

licence currently held by the eQuote program.
10.3 Log Window
The Log Window provides a means of recording and viewing

system log messages. These log messages can give an insight into
how eQuote is working. It is particularly useful when debugging
problems.
The Log Window is accessible the Windows menu.
The checkboxes along the top of the window allow you to

customise what you want to view. Clicking Clear clears the log
and Save can be used to save the log to a file.
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Part 3
System Administration
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11
Manufacturing
11 Manufacturing
The Manufacturing section of eQuote System Administration is

concerned with information which affects the main eQuote
manufacturing records such as operations and parts.
11.1 Operations
11.1.1 The Operations Form
The Operations Form consists of a number of tabs.
The Operations tab allows you to specify general attributes for the
operation. For example, the possible manufacture methods, the
setup labour cost rate, which system variables should be presented
to the user, default values for system variables, etc.
The Constants tab and Variables tabs allows operation-specific

constant/variable values to be defined.
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The Formula tab defines the calculations which will be performed

when the cost of the operation on a particular part is calculated.
Operations must define certain system formulae which are

described in section Error! Reference source not found. below.
Whilst editing a particular formula’s details, clicking the Edit

Expression button causes the Edit Expression window to open.
This provides an easier environment for writing formulae

expressions.
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11 Manufacturing
11.1.2 Adding Operations from the library
eQuote comes with a number of pre-defined operations contained

in an Operation Library. In order to add an operation from the
library click the Add Op from Library button on the Operation List
window.
You are then presented with a library operation selector from

which you can pick the operation you want to add. Upon selecting
an operation you will be prompted to enter an op-code for the new
operation.
Upon clicking the OK pushbutton, the operation will be added into

your database.
NOTE: Rather than creating operations from scratch, it is often easier to

add an existing library operation and then modify it.
11.1.3 System Formulae
Formulae may access information from any part of the eQuote

database but common sources are:
• information stored on the part operation (No of Operators,

Ops per setup, etc)
• information stored against the part (size_x, material_code,
etc)
• values of variables stored against the part operation
Operations must define all of the following system formulae. The
following are evaluated only when the part operation has a
manufacture method of In-House.
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set_time
Unit operation setup time in minutes. The time taken to setup the
operation.
set_cost
Fixed setup cost. This formulae calculates a fixed setup cost which
is only applied once no matter what the batch quantity is.
This formula usually checks the ops_per_setup system variable to
determine whether only a single setup is performed (as indicated
by the value null). If so, it assumes that set_time represents the
fixed setup time and multiplies it with the operation’s
setup_cost_rate. i.e.
If(IsNull(ops_per_setup), set_time / 60 *
uom_to_system(set_cost_rate, cost_rate_uom), 0)
NOTE: eQuote automatically takes into account any fixed and repeated
setup costs in arriving at the total setup cost associated with a
particular part operation.
qty_set_cost
Repeated setup cost. This formula calculates a setup cost which is
applicable after every x operations, where x is defined by the value
of ops_per_setup.
This formula usually checks the ops_per_setup system variable to
determine whether multiple setups are performed (as indicated by a
non-null value). If so, it assumes that set_time represents the
repeated setup time and multiplies it with the operation’s
setup_cost_rate. i.e.
If(IsNull(ops_per_setup), 0, set_time / 60 *
uom_to_system(set_cost_rate, cost_rate_uom))
NOTE: eQuote automatically takes into account any fixed and repeated
setup costs in arriving at the total setup cost associated with a
particular part operation.
run_time
Unit run time in minutes. The time taken to perform the operation
per part.
run_cost
Unit run cost. This formula usually multiplies the No of Operators
system variable and the unit run time with the labour_cost_rate. i.e.
operators * (run_time / 60) * uom_to_system(labour_cost_rate,
cost_rate_uom)
mc_cost
Unit machine cost. This formula usually multiplies the unit run
time with the machine_cost_rate. i.e.
run_time / 60 * uom_to_system(mc_cost_rate, cost_rate_uom)
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11 Manufacturing
system_comment
String value associated with the part operation
The following system formulae are only evaluated when the part
operation has a manufacture method of subcontracted.
subcon_tender_detail
The ID of the tender detail which is where the unit cost of
subcontracting this part operation has come from.
If the user identifies a particular subcontract or enters a particular
unit cost, this function should return 0 since this information is not
coming from a tender. However, if the input_subcon_supp_code
and input_subcon_unit_cost fields are null, the
find_tender_detail function is usually used to identify a
tender detail suitable for this part operation, estimate quantity and
quote number. i.e.
If(IsNull(input_subcon_unit_cost) AND
IsNull(input_subcon_supp_code), find_tender_detail(part_op_id,
est_qty, quote_no), 0)
subcon_unit_cost
The unit cost of subcontracting.
This is usually the input_subcon_unit_cost if it has been specified
or failing that, the unit cost associated with the tender detail
identified by subcon_tender_detail.
If(NOT IsNull(input_subcon_unit_cost), input_subcon_unit_cost,

If(subcon_tender_detail > 0,
tender_detail_unit_cost(subcon_tender_detail), -1))
subcon_supp_code
Subcontractor’s supplier code.
This is usually the input_subcon_supp_code if it has been specified
or failing that, the supp_code associated with the tender detail
identified by subcon_tender_detail.
If(NOT IsNull(input_subcon_supp_code),
input_subcon_supp_code, If(subcon_tender_detail > 0,
tender_detail_supp_code(subcon_tender_detail), “”))
11.1.4 Material Selection
Three things determine which materials appear in the material

selection window for a particular part operation.
• Raw Mtl Cat Type operation attribute

This is defined on the operation. It indicates the category
type of which the material part will belong.
• pre_mtl_filter formula
This is an optional system formula which defines an
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additional SQL WHERE expression to the ds_part_op_calc

datastore. This allows efficient filtering of large numbers of
candidate parts using a single, relatively simple expression.
• mtl_filter formula
This is an optional system formula which defines a final
level of filtering. This supports complicated filtering of
small/moderate numbers of candidate parts. All of the
operation’s formulae which have a sequence number below
that of the mtl_filter formula are evaluated and can be used
in the mtl_filter expression. i.e.
”(Upper(mtl_code) = Upper(mtl_mtl_code)
AND part_size_z = material_size_z AND
mtl_qty <= 1)”
Of those candidate material parts which pass through all defined
filters, two system formulae are evaluated to aid the user’s
selection of the most appropriate material part.
• mtl_qty
This calculates how much of the material would be required.
• mtl_util
This calculates the percentage utilisation of the material.
Obviously, it is usually in the users interest to pick the
material with the highest utilisation.
11.2 Lookups
Lookups (or lookup tables) may be used by operation formulae to

obtain a result dependant upon one or two arguments. For example,
the average punch time of a material may depend upon the size of
the sheet being punched and the number of punch hits.
Existing Lookups can be edited and new lookups created from the
Lookup Form. The Lookup Form consists of two tabs.
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11 Manufacturing
The Lookup tab defines the name of the lookup, how many
arguments are used, the name and type of these arguments and the
name and type of the result.
The Details tab lists the lookup data.
Existing entries can be edited or deleted and new entries can be

inserted.
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12
System
12 System
12.1 The Company Data Form
The Company Data Form allows you to view and edit all of the
information which is stored about your particular company. It
consists of a number of tabs.
12.1.1 The Company tab
The Company tab allows you to enter general company

information.
12.1.2 The Personnel tab
The Personnel tab is where you enter information about your

employees.
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12.1.3 The VAT Codes tab
The VAT Codes tab allows you to define the VAT Codes and Rates
which are used throughout the eQuote system.
NOTE: If any of the eQuote Accounting Link modules are used, it is

important that VAT codes defined in eQuote match those defined
in your accounting system.
12.1.4 The Default Quote Letter tab
The Default Quote Letter tab is where you define the default quote
letter content used by all new quotes (see section 9.1). The default
quote letter can be edited in exactly the same way as the quote
letter for any particular quote.
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12 System
12.1.5 The Markup Matrix tab
The Markup Matrix tab allows you to implement automatic

markups applicable to a part when it is inserted onto a quote of a
certain customer type, part type and part quantity requirements are
met.
Automatic discounts can also be implemented simply by entering

discounts as negative markups.
The markup calculated by the matrix can always be overridden by

the user on the quote form.
12.2 The System Data Form
The System Data Form is where you define objects and entities
which are used throughout the eQuote system. It consists of a
number of tabs, each allowing the editing of a particular type of
object.
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12.2.1 The Categories tab
The Categories tab allows you to edit information about existing

part categories and also allows you to create your own.
12.2.2 The Materials tab
The Materials tab allows you to edit information about the

materials your company uses.
12.2.3 The Statuses tab
The Statuses tab allows you to edit which statuses are available
throughout the eQuote system. For clarity, statuses are displayed
on a per-table basis.
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12 System
It is the status type, rather than the actual status name which
determines the processing eQuote will perform on an object with
that status. Therefore you can insert new statuses and eQuote will
still know how to use them.
The Restrict Delete checkbox prevents a record with that status

being deleted. The Restrict Use checkbox causes a warning to be
displayed if the user attempts to reference a record with that status
from another record. For example, attempting to add a part with a
use-restricted status to a quotation.
12.2.4 The Types tab
The Types tab allows you to define the different types of a

particular entity within the eQuote system. For clarity, types are
displayed on a per-table basis.
12.2.5 The UOMs tab
The UOMs tab allows you to define the different Units of Measure
which can be used throughout the eQuote system.
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12.2.6 The Standard Text tab
The Standard Text tab is where you define the standard pieces of
text which can be used at different points throughout eQuote
system.
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12 System
12.3 Form Reports
The Form Reports tab allows user reports to be integrated into the
Reports tab of a form. Such integration is defined on the Form
Reports form.
The Form Reports Form allows you to define which reports are
available via the Report tab on any of the main eQuote forms.
Information about both system and user reports are displayed on a

per-form basis. Here you can either hide a system report, insert
your own report or change the order of reports.
The Allow Preview Switch checkbox allows you to specify weather

the user, whilst viewing the report, will be able to switch between
Print Preview mode and non-Print Preview mode. If the Allow
Preview Switch checkbox is set for a report, that report will
initially appear in non-Print Preview mode but the user will be able
to switch to Print Preview mode. Some types of report do not
support non-Print Preview mode and therefore the Allow Preview
Switch checkbox should be cleared for such reports. The report
will then appear in Print Preview mode and will not allow the user
to change this.
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13
Administration
13 Administration
13.1 Price Update
The Price Update facility allows you to change the purchase price
of a large number of bought-out parts in your database in a single
step. It is particularly useful for example when a particular supplier
informs you of an ‘across-the-board’ price increase.
Selecting Price Update from the Administration menu causes the

Price Update window to appear.
The Parameters tab is split into two halves. The top half is where
you specify which parts are to be updated. The second half is
where you specify the actual price update to be applied. This can
be either a value or a percentage (but not both).
Clicking on the Report tab will display information about all of

those parts which passed through the filter, including the newly
calculated purchase price.
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You can fine-tune which parts will be updated using the update
checkboxes. Clicking the Perform Update button will cause all
parts with the update checkbox checked to be updated.
13.2 Deleting Records
Deleting records is not a commonly performed task in eQuote.

Information - whether it be a quotation that was lost or a route card
which was abandoned - rather than being deleted is expected to
remain in the system so that analysis can be performed later.
However, eventually, you will want to delete information from

your eQuote database and this is possible via the Delete Records
menuitem in the Administration menu.
Selecting the menuitem to delete a particular type of object will

cause a list window to open.
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13 Administration
Use the Filter tab to determine which items appear on the List tab.
Double-clicking on a row in the list will result in eQuote
prompting you for confirmation before it attempts to delete that
record.
NOTE: Because this window looks very similar to the list window in
eQuote, great care must be taken to ensure you do not delete
records accidentally.
It is not always possible for eQuote to delete a record which you

have requested. eQuote will not be able to delete a record which is
referred to by another type of object. For example, a part which is
mentioned on a quote or contract. If you attempt to do this, eQuote
will inform you of the reference which has prevented it continuing.
You would then have to remedy this situation before trying to

delete the record again.
13.3 Backup database
Your eQuote database contains a large amount of very valuable

information. Not only does it contain information about all your
customers, the parts you make, your company’s current work, etc
but after only a few weeks of use it will contain a large amount of
historical data. This is invaluable for performing analysis on how
productive you have been, which jobs you are most successful at
winning, your best performing suppliers, etc.
You can initiate a backup of your eQuote database from within

eQuote System Administration by selecting the Backup Database
menu item from the Administration menu.
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However, it is strongly recommend that the backup of your eQuote

database is left to an automated process which will ensure that your
database is backed up at least once a day and involving minimum
user interaction.
NOTE: It is ultimately your responsibility to check on a regular basis that

information is retrievable from the backups being made.
13.4 Update database
Your eQuote database will require updating whenever a new

version of the eQuote system is installed.
Updating an eQuote database can take several minutes and in

exceptional circumstances, several hours. Also, it is important that
no-one is logged onto the eQuote database whilst it is being
updated. For these reasons, it is recommended that you schedule
carefully when you are going to install new versions of the eQuote
system and consequently, have to update your database.
If you attempt to run eQuote without updating your database first,

you will see the following message and will not be able to
continue.
The first time you run eQuote System Administration after

installing a new version of eQuote, you will be prompted whether
you want to update the database.
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13 Administration
Upon clicking Yes, the database update process will be initiated.

Clicking No will cause the eQuote System Administration program
to terminate.
You can manually initiate an update of the eQuote database at any

time. Whilst not common, this is useful when an automatic
database update has been unsuccessful. Selecting the Update
Database menuitem from the Administration menu causes the
Update Database Parameters window to appear.
Enter the version from which you want all subsequent database
changes be re-applied. Clicking the Last Version button causes the
last eQuote version number to be entered automatically. Click OK
to start the database update process.
NOTE: When re-applying an issue’s database updates it is quite common

for a number of the updates to be unsuccessful. This is not
necessarily a problem but you should carefully check the database
update log which is displayed after the update and if you are in any
doubt about how successful it has been, contact Planit.
NOTE: In order to update your eQuote database, you must have logged
into eQuote System Administration as a user who has
administrative database privileges, usually the radandba user.
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13.5 Customising Icons
Certain icons displayed throughout eQuote can be customised.
Icons are stored in the eQuote directory as bitmap (.bmp) or icon

(.ico) files. You can edit these files and eQuote will use them the
next time it starts.
Bitmap File Default Where Used?

Picture
part.ico Icons on Part Windows
quote.ico Icons on Quote Windows
customer.ico Icons on Customer Windows
notes.ico Icons on Note Windows
op.ico Icons on Operation Windows
notes.ico Icons on Note Windows
tender.ico Icons on Tender Windows
NOTE: To use the same pictures on a number of PCs, the files must be
copied to each PC’s eQuote directory.
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14
Preferences
14 Preferences
The behaviour of eQuote is customisable using a number of

preferences. These preferences are accessible by selecting the
Preferences item from the Windows menu.
14.1 Main Preferences
The Main Preferences tab allows you to specify values for the
most common preferences.
Set Cost Rate

Company standard labour cost rate for setting up an operation.
Labour Cost Rate

Company standard labour cost rate for running an operation.
Machine Cost Rate

Company standard machine cost rate.
Charge Rate UOM
Unit of measure for the set, labour and machine cost rates.
Minimum Cost
Company standard minimum operation cost.
Price Format
Not used.
Set Time UOM
Not used.
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Run Time UOM

Not used.
Backup Program
Name of the batch file which is run in order to backup the eQuote
database.
Auto Commit
Determines whether the eQuote database file is automatically
updated after each database update. The default is not to do this.
The database engine instead caches changes for writing to the
database file in blocks at a later time thereby speeding up database
updates.
Issue Prefix
A user-definable string specifying the separator which should be
displayed when a part number and issue is displayed together. For
example, Mfdpart Iss A where Iss is the separator.
Quote Part Markup
Determines the default quote part markup when a part is added to a
quote. Possible values are:
• From Quote
Quote part’s markup is not set so that it will inherit the
quote’s markup
• From Part
Quote part’s markup will be set to that set on the part.
• Sum of Quote & Part markup
Quote part’s markup will be set to the sum of the current
quote’s markup and the part’s current markup.
Cost Precision
The precision to which the result of cost calculations are rounded.
Retrieve as needed for Lists
Specifies that datawindows should only retrieve from the database
only that information which is required to be displayed at the
moment. This is in contrast to the default behaviour of retrieving
all of a datawindow’s data in one go at the start, irrespective of
whether it will be visible on the screen.
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14 Preferences
14.2 Other Preferences
The Other Preferences tab allows values to be set for less common
preferences.
By clicking over a preference on the Other Preferences tab, a brief

description of the purpose of a that preference is displayed at the
bottom of the window.
14.2.1 Custom Fields
The labels which appear beside custom fields on many forms

within eQuote are defined by preferences. Such preferences are
named as follows:
<form> Custom Field <number> Label
For example, Customers Custom Field 1 Label, Customers Custom

Field 2 Label & Customers Custom Field 3 Label.
14.2.2 Parts
Do not Markup Materials

If ‘Y’, the cost of materials will not be marked-up when they are
used to calculate the cost of an assembly. Otherwise, materials’
costs will be marked-up.
Recalc the ops when processing a Part.
IF ‘Y’ then always recalculate the operations when processing a
part estimate. IF ‘ASK’ then ask the user if the operations should
be recalculated. Otherwise do not recalculate the operations.
Recalc Option
Determines action of Part form’s ‘Process Estimate’ button. If
‘NONE’, never recalculate operations. If ‘PARTIAL’, recalculate
operations of type ‘RECALC’. If ‘FULL’ recalculate all
operations.
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14.2.3 Quotes
Use the Part Cat or type for Markup Matrix.

IF ‘TYPE’ then the markup matrix is will use the Part Type field
for the markup matrix. Otherwise use Part category code.
Copy Quote/Quote Part Notes to Contract
If ‘Y’, Copy Quote and Quote Part Notes to Contract.
Always update the Quote Markups.
IF ‘Y’ then always update the quote part markups from the matrix
when processing a quotation. Otherwise prompt for markups to be
updated.
Keep Quote Parts in Original Order
If ‘Y’, keep the quote parts in the original order otherwise sort
them by part number.
Use the Markup Matrix for Quotations.
IF ‘Y’ then the markup matrix is referenced when processing a
quotation. Otherwise use manual markups.
14.2.4 System Administration
These preferences affect the eQuote system as a whole.
Email Printer Name

Specifies the exact name of the virtual-printer which produces the
graphic output file(s) which are attached to emails generated by
eQuote when the email facility is used.
Email Printer Output Pathname
Specifies the full pathname of the graphic output file produced by
the virtual email printer.
Report name micro-help
If ‘Y’, when a report is displayed the name of the report shall be
displayed in the micro-help.
Method of creating new part
Set to either NORMAL, ENHANCED or empty string depending
upon required method of creating new parts.
Modem Dial Prefix
The string which must be sent to the modem in order to dial a
telephone number. e.g. ATDT
Modem Serial Port
Identifies the port to which a modem is connected. e.g. COM2
Database field name micro-help
If ‘Y’, the name of the database field associated with current field
will be shown in the micro-help at the bottom of the eQuote
window.
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14.2.4.1.1.1.1.1.1
Page 110
Index
A
J
Add Contract, 74
Add New, 48 JPEG – JIF Compliant, 44
Add to, 52
Advanced Filter, 49, 51
Advanced Sort, 51 L
All parts, 67
AND, 2, 49, 87, 88 Layer, 40
Licence Parameters, 78, 79
Licence Server, 79
B Licensing, 78
like, 49, 57, 63
Backup Database, 101 List, 43, 47, 49, 73, 78, 85, 101
Bought Out, 65 Log Window, 79
Lookup, 88, 89
C
M
CADCAM, 2
Calc, 68 Manufactured, 49, 65
Cascade, 40 Mass Update, 77
Categories, 65, 94 mc_cost, 86
Clear, 49, 52, 80 Menu, 39, 52
Company Data, 91
CompuServe Graphics Interchange, 44
Constants, 60, 83 N
Contract, 74, 108
Copy, 45, 54, 108 Navigation, 41
Copy to Clipboard, 45 Note, 43, 104
Custom Field, 57, 107
Customer, 61, 104 O
Customising Pictures, 104
On-line help, 3
Open Details, 52
D Operation Library, 85
database, 1, 2, 47, 52, 57, 67, 77, 85, 99, 100, 101, 102, OR, 2, 49
103, 106, 108
Debug, 70 P
Deleting Records, 100
Drop Down List, 42 Page Counter, 53
Part, 1, 29, 37, 48, 49, 52, 53, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 73, 77,
78, 81, 104, 106, 107, 108
E Picture, 44, 104
Email, 46, 108 Preferences, 107
Estimate Cost, 67 Preferences, 105
Preferences, 107
Preferences, 107
F Preferred, 71
Price Update, 99
Filter, 43, 47, 48, 49, 51, 77, 78, 101 Print, 40, 44, 45, 55, 97
Finish Operation Run, 2 Print Preview Mode, 55
Form, 55, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 66, 73, 83, 88, 91, 93, 97 Printer Setup, 45
Form References, 55, 56 Process Quote, 73
Form Reports, 55, 97 Progress, 78
I Q
InfoMaker, 51 Quote, 39, 63, 73, 74, 92, 104, 106, 108
In-House, 85 Quote Letter, 74, 92
Issued status, 67
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eQuote User Manual
R Supplier, 61, 65, 66

Switch to Advanced Filter, 49
References Tab, 55, 56 Switch to Basic Filter, 49
Release Notes, 3 System Administrator, 1, 2, 44, 46
Reports Tab, 55, 74, 97 System Data, 93
Row Copy, 54
run_cost, 86 T
run_time, 86
Tax, 1, 92
Tender, 63, 104
S Tile Horizontal, 40, 41
Save, 45, 54, 79, 80 Tile Vertical, 41
Save Rows As, 45 Toolbar, 39
Select All, 52 Types, 57, 95
Selector, 42, 43, 69
set_cost, 86 U
set_time, 86
Shape, 68 Update, 77, 99, 100, 102, 103
SQL Search Expressions, 49 Update Database, 103
Standard Text, 96 Users, 74
Status, 40, 49, 56, 67
Status Bar, 40
Status Date, 56 V
Stock Detail, 53, 63, 70
subcon_supp_code, 87 Variables, 45, 60, 83
subcon_supp_code, 87
subcon_supp_code, 87 W
subcon_supp_code, 87
subcon_tender_detail, 87 Windows Bitmap, 44
subcon_unit_cost, 87 Windows Metafiles, 44
Subcontracted, 60 Windows RLE, 44
Index-2

Equote User Manual PDF

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Contents

© 1984-2019 Planit Software Ltd. All

Planit Software Limited

Tel: + 44 (0)1225 721330

Issue 1.2 Contents-1

Part 1 Introduction & Installation 1

Part 2 The CAD/CAM Interface 29

3 CAD/CAM interface ........................................................................... 31

Part 3 The Database Program 37

4 User Interface Basics .......................................................................... 39

Issue 1.2 Contents-3

4.11.2 Form References.......................................................... 56

6 Customers & Suppliers ...................................................................... 61

Part 3 System Administration 81

12.1.5 The Markup Matrix tab ................................................ 93

14 Preferences ....................................................................................... 105

Issue 1.2 Contents-5

1.1 The eQuote system

The eQuote System compises two main elements, the eQuote

eQuote ‘s database element provides a central store of information

The eQuote System Administration program is where the eQuote

• define company data, such as your address, VAT code, your

Issue 1.2 Page 1

eQuote can interface with your Radan CADCAM software to

Section 1.4 below is designed to be a ‘walk through’ of using

1.2 Starting eQuote database programs

Most of the separate eQuote programs which together make up the

Enter your username and password and click Ok to continue. If you

Note: For eQuote to work in full CAD/CAM mode then the

1.3 Other sources of information

As well as this document, information is available from a variety of

• On-line Help - If available, online help on the program you

NOTE: This help is most easily accessed by pressing the

You may be able to get more specific help on your current

On-line help may also be available via shortcuts in the

• Release Notes - These tell you important changes with the

Issue 1.2 Page 3

1.4 eQuote ‘walk through’

This section is designed as a complete ‘walk through’ of how to

Starting in CAD we end up with some actual geometry. This can

Here we see a typical component within the Radan 2009 R1

Additionally, the dashed lines indicate the areas where the

The drawing data represents the inside section of the Casing 5

In this example we have selected a laser machine tool to create the

Also notice that we have different cutting conditions for internal

Issue 1.2 Page 5

Note that eQuote uses Radan 2009 R1 attributes to transfer certain

Back in the Radan 2009 R1 environment we can now simply hit

Issue 1.2 Page 7

For more detail on each operation you can go to the ‘operations’

This shows the breakdown of the estimated times for each

Issue 1.2 Page 9

On many occasions you may need to add additional operations to

At this point you can either continue adding other operations or

By then hitting the ‘process quote’ button eQuote then calculates

Issue 1.2 Page 11

That concludes the ‘walk-through’. The rest of this manual fully

The eQuote database is made up of the following components:-

• A Radan e2i system – comprising the core and quotations module.

• A Radan ‘dongle’ attached to the eQuote server.

• An eQuote ‘licence server’ program.

• A Valid eQuote licence.

The eQuote CAD/CAM element is made up of the following components:-