Scaffold Counter by Avontus

Win32 and 64, English

aVontus
Use Scaffold Counter to easily draw 3D scaffolding models and generate a BOM. Print your
BOM and export to Excel, PDF, or Word. Integrated with Avontus Quantify for estimating and
materials tracking.
General Usage InstructionsScreenshotsCommandsInstallation/UninstallationKnown IssuesContactVersion
History

General Usage Instructions

COUNTPARTS
Although targeted to count scaffolding, you can add your own parts and count anything you'd
like. After drawing your 3D scaffold model you can use the COUNTPARTS command to create a
bill of materials for selected items. This command will display a dialog box allowing you to:

Select the scaffolding. This button dismisses the dialog box, allowing you to select the
scaffolding that you'd like to count.

View reports and graphs in a print preview window by clicking on the Reports and
Graphs button. All reports and graphs can be exported or emailed in Excel, Word, or PDF
format.

Open the bill of materials in Avontus Quantify (www.avontus.com/products/quantify/).

This will be imported as an estimate, which can then later be converted to a shipment to a job or
a scaffold.
MODIFYPARTS
If you'd like to modify the default scaffolding pieces (description, part number, weight, etc.) in the
template or add your own parts, you can use the MODIFYPARTS command.

To add a new part, click the Add button and note the Attribute ID or simply use the block
name as the part number. If using an attribute, then after adding the part here you will need to
add this attribute and count of the attribute to the block definition that you'd like to use. See
instructions below for adding your own scaffolding parts.

To edit an individual part, highlight it from the list and click the Edit button. This displays
the details in a dialog box that you can change.

A report is provided by clicking on the reports button. The report can be exported or
emailed in Excel, Word, or PDF format.

To change the items en-masse using the Change button. You first create a tab
separated text file with the part number and whatever item you'd like to change, then use the
change button to modify these values.
Note that any modifications made here are saved to the scafffold.parts file, located in \My
Documents\Scaffold Counter\Data\. You can share this drawing with others, or backup/restore to
a new computer. Be sure to keep a backup of this file with any modifications you've made.

INTEGRATION WITH AVONTUS QUANTIFY

There are several options for integration with Avontus' rental/hire billing and asset tracking
software, Quantify.

If you have Quantify installed and wish to open your BOM directly into a Quantify
estimate, click on the Open in Quantify menu item. After you log into Quantify the parts are
matched with your Quantify list and imported into a new estimate. Warnings will be issued if
scaffolding pieces are not matched and you can optionally display a list of these items.

If you don't have Quantify installed you can export the BOM to a file and share it with a
Quantify end-user. Within Quantify, click on the import button on the estimates tab to select and
import the file. Warnings will be issued if scaffolding pieces are not matched and you can
optionally display a list of these items.
ADDING YOUR OWN PARTS
Adding your own pieces to Scaffold Counter is very easy and can be accomplished by following
these steps:

1.

Create a drawing of your scaffold part.

2.

Create your new part using the MODIFYPARTS command, make note of the attribute ID
that is created.

3.

Create an attribute named PARTS placed next to the entities that you'll create a block
out of. Within the attribute place a tag with the attribute ID and quantity separated by a semicolon. If needed, copy one of the Scaffold Counter blocks, explode it, and use the attribute
found there.
Example:
Use [attributeID]:[quantity] where [attributeID] is the ID from the step above, and quantity is the
count of the number of pieces in the block
Note:
You can place multiple [attributeID]:[quantity] items in a single tag to represent a block that
contains many parts. See the frame scaffold frames for an example; these blocks contain a
frame as well as two couplers.
DRAWING TEMPLATES
You may want to add your parts to the template drawing that ship with Scaffold Counter. These
templates are stored in your \My Documents\Scaffold Counter\Templates\ folder.
REPORTING
Robust reporting is built directly into Scaffold Counter with automatic detection of either A4 or
Letter papersize. The BOM can be printed with rental/hire rates, weights, and sell pricing. There
are also several charts to see the ratios of weight compared to the overall list. Additionally, the
reports can be saved to Microsoft Excel, Word, and PDF. Click on any of the tiles below for a
larger view of the screen grab.
Screenshots

Commands

Ribbon/Toolbar
Icon

Command

Command Description

COUNTPARTS

Displays a dialog box to select scaffolding

and summarize the materials.

MODIFYPARTS

Provides the ability to change the default

parts as well as create new parts and
components.

RING SAMPLE

Opens the sample ring scaffolding template.

SNAPTOGGLE

Quick toolbar button to change the current

snap settings to NODE. Clicking the button
again will switch back to your original
osnap settings.

scaffoldtemplate
kwikstage

Opens the kwikstage drawing template.

scaffoldtemplate
framebrace

Opens the frame scaffolding template.

Installation/Uninstallation
The installer that ran when you downloaded this plug-in from Autodesk App Store has already
installed the plug-in. You may need to restart the Autodesk product to activate the plug-in. To
uninstall this plug-in, click Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features (Windows
7/8/8.1/10) or Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (Windows XP), and uninstall as you
would any other application from your system.
Known Issues
There are no known issues at this time.
Contact
Company Name: aVontus
Company URL: http://www.avontus.com
Support Contact: scaffoldcounter@avontus.com
Author/Company Information
aVontus
Support Information
Please email scaffoldcounter@avontus.com with comments or feedback.
Please feel free to make recommendations for additional scaffold systems or parts/pieces that
you find missing.
Version History

Version
Version Description
Number
5.0.88
June 2016 Compatibility with Autodesk AutoCAD 2017 Ability to
easily add user blocks to Product Master. Nested blocks of any levels deep
are now counted in Bill of Materials. Old drawings are still compatible.
AttributeID's can be used to automatically rename blocks and use them in
the new take-offs. When adding new blocks, nested blocks are also
discovered and automatically added to Product Master. Application logger
has been added to log important information and error messages to disk.
Significant user interface changes for consistency and better DPI scaling.
You can choose between a Dark or Light color theme for all dialog boxes.
New data grids with advanced features for searching, sorting and filtering.
Clear message logs to show successful and failed operations. April 2015
Improved template support. Support for Autodesk AutoCAD 2016.
Fixed crash caused after updating to a newer Autodesk AutoCAD 2015
SP.

4.0.75

April 2015
Improved template support.
Support for AutoCAD 2016.
Fixed crash caused after updating to a newer AutoCAD 2015 SP.

4.0.72

February 2015
Improved support for launguage/regions that use differing numeric
formats.

4.0.65

October 2014 - Submit to the Autodesk Exchange App Store.

Support for AutoCAD 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, both 32 and
64-bit.
New SNAPTOGGLE command.
Ribbon tab with quick access to all commands and drawing
templates.
Drawing templates are stored in your \Documents\Scaffold
Counter\Templates\ folder and can be easily modified.
Misc bug fixes.

3.0.24

April 2013
Rebrand product to Avontus Scaffold Counter.
Added additional manufacturers.
Reports now recognize your region and use A4 or Letter size
automatically.
The product detects if your region is AU or UK and uses the word
'Hire' instead of 'Rent'.
In the MODIFYPARTS command there is a new button that will
update all of your block names to match the part numbers in the catalog.
Upgrade to work with AutoCAD 2013.

2.0.24

June 2011 - Add changeparts command, upgrade for AutoCAD 2011

and AutoCAD 2012.

1.0.12

September 2010 - Original release for AutoCAD 2010.