5 Worksheet Features You May Have Missed

Worksheet is full of features that are designed to cut down on the amount time required to finalize a project. Many of us veterans have spent the last two decades perfecting the art of quick worksheet-ing. However, every so often I still catch some people doing things the long way. I wanted to share some brief insight into a few features that may save you some time on a project. A more detailed walkthrough on some of these features is available in the 2020 Worksheet User Guide, but I will try to cover the basic options below.

(1)  2020 Compare

2020 Compare’s key feature is right in the name. This tool allows you to compare two worksheets against each other. This is especially useful for reconfigs as you may compare your old worksheet against the new worksheet with the new modifications. Compare will generate three outputs: a list of new items added, a list of excessive items remaining, and a list of items that are reusable. You may compare any specific field on the worksheets as well. For example, filter by specific part numbers, manufacturer codes, option numbers, or Alias tags. To access this feature in Worksheet, select “Compare” from the Tools menu.

(2)  Catalog Date / Catalog Location Fields 

Catalog Date and Catalog Location fields can be especially useful when revisiting an old worksheet. From the View menu select Columns then “Customize Columns”. At the bottom of the list of columns you should find “Catalog Date” and “Catalog Location” that you may enable. Catalog Date will show you the date of 2020 catalog file at the time an item was placed. This may be helpful to determine when you placed and item on a worksheet. Note that this is different than the manufacturer Price Effective dates, as it only relates to the version of the 2020 catalog. It may be helpful to think of “Catalog Date” as a version number of the catalog from where the item originated. On that same note “Catalog Location” will show you where the item was located in the catalog. Note that this may change if a manufacturer choose to reorganize their catalog hierarchy in a future update.

(3)  Assign 

The Assign feature allows you to mass assign a worksheet field a specific value. You may access this tool by selecting “Assign” from the Edit menu. Assign is a straightforward tool where you check the column to edit, enter the value you would like to be in that column and click OK. If you only need to do this for a few items you may check the “Assign only to select items” box.

(4)  Price Adjustments 

I often catch people inserting a blank “Item” in a worksheet and typing a fixed cost description into the “Part Description” field. Price Adjustments are another way to add fixed costs like “Freight” and a superior way to add calculated costs like “Sales Tax”. From the Item menu select Insert and then “Price Adjustment”. In the description field enter the name of the adjustment. Then select the type of adjustment, whether it is a “Fixed-Amount” or a “Percent”. On the Next screen you will be able to select whether this is a charge or a credit. The adjustment will appear at the bottom of your worksheet.

(5)  Option Clipboard 

Global Options can be a great way to option large projects in a quick manner, but what if you want to target a few items and precisely copy options from one to the next? The Option Clipboard works similar to the clipboard in Microsoft Word. From the View menu select “Task Pane” and then “Option Clipboard”. The Clipboard should appear on the right side of the Worksheet window (by default). Select a fully optioned item on your worksheet and click the “Copy” button on the Option Clipboard. You should see the item’s options appear on the clipboard. Select another like item on the worksheet and click Paste. You just saved yourself extra clicks optioning that item!

I hope you find these tips helpful!

Can you think of any other features that have saved you time on a project? Please share below.