SpecLink^®: The Next Generation

As a number of you witnessed at the recent CSI Show and Convention, BSD is well under way with development of SpecLink-E (E for short), a new generation of the SpecLink system. There are many reasons to develop this version from the ground up. We are drawing on more than 10 years of experience and customer feedback on the current version. Our primary goals for embarking on such an expansive and expensive delivery include the following:

• Converting 10-year old desktop database technology to an enterprise-capable, SQL Server 2005, client-server system;
• Enhancing overall network performance, particularly on wide area networks and VPN’s, to support multi-site project collaboration using a single master database while also supporting disconnected and standalone document editing;
• Providing an enhanced platform for interoperability with other industry applications including leading CAD programs and cost estimating;
• Replacing an aging word processing component with a modern MS Word-like component that supports better tables management, embedded images, page view (print layout) editing with WYSIWYG header-footer management, etc.;
• Providing “real time” master document updating via the Internet that runs in the background and can be scheduled at night, and
• Supporting a “hands free” client installation that does not require an administrator’s attention and can keep itself updated using a single administrator-controlled network or Internetbased install location.

While the new system is designed for the enterprise, it is also compact enough to run on a single computer and provide similar benefits to the standalone user. The accompanying screen capture illustrates E’s user interface.

The design continues the basic layout of SpecLink+. A navigational tree panel is provided to let the user select a document for viewing and editing. Notes panels are presented on tabs to let you view master notes and create project notes. But in E these panels can be “unpinned” using the push pin icon in the top right corner of the panel, and allowed to “slide” out of view, becoming a tab at the side of the main window. Simply hovering the mouse cursor over a tab causes the panel to slide back into view, where it remains viewable as long as the cursor hovers in the panel, or the panel can be fixed in place by clicking again on the push pin icon. The notes panels can be “dragged” out of the main window and displayed as separate, sizable windows that are overlapping, along side of, or on a separate monitor from the main window. Notice also that multiple documents can be open in the main window and accessed by clicking on the tabs at the top of the main panel. Documents can be dragged to create separate window panels within the main window, allowing two documents to be placed side by side or one above the other.

Among the many new features, SpecLink- E provides enhancements to “global terms”. In the current SpecLink there are several terms (for example, Architect and Project Location) used throughout the documents whose actual text you can specify once for a whole project and have it inserted wherever the term is used. In E, global terms are expandable by both BSD and the user, allowing you to create new terms and use them anywhere in the project. For example, you might create a term named “project manager” and insert the term as many places as appropriate in your project template or office master. Then you simply enter the name or title of the manager once and have it inserted wherever the term is used throughout each project.

We want to assure you that your SpecLink+ projects, including your office masters, will be convertible to SpecLink-E. We look forward to further improving your productivity and the quality of your specifications with this delivery, which is targeted for the first half of 2007. In the next couple of issues of LinkLine, we’ll tell you more about the new features in SpecLink-E as it progresses toward delivery.