SI Explorer File Menu - Add Sections: Templates 

This command can also be executed from the SpecsIntact Explorer's Toolbar, Right-click menu, or keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A.

The Add Sections window provides three distinct tabs to pick the Sections to add to your Job or Master, specifically from Masters, other Jobs, Templates, or any combination of these sources. The Templates tab is specifically designed to assist in creating new specification Sections for the UFGS Master, a JobA specific facility construction project that consists of a group of guide specifications (Section (.sec) files) that are adapted to the project, or local MasterA Master that is specific to a District, Region, or AE Firm that contains unique Sections that cannot be found in the Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS) Master. The UFGS Section Template provides a structured framework, compliant with the Unified Facilities Guide Specification (UFGS) Format Standard (UFC 1-300-02), for generating new specification Sections. The UFGS Section Template facilitates the creation of new Sections destined for the UFGS Master or unique Sections for a Job or local Master not found within the standard UFGS Master.

New Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS) Sections must follow the Section Template format and the guidelines outlined in the current Standard Practice for Unified Facilities Criteria and Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (MIL-STD-3007).

Creating a local Master that is customized and specific to your organization, district, region, or company streamlines the process of locating, managing, and appending specifications, facilitating the integration of unique Sections into your projects.

Click the tabs on the image below to see how to use each function.

New Section

Within the New Section area, the first step is to input the relevant CSI MasterFormatMasterFormat is used throughout the construction industry to format specifications for construction contract documents. The purpose of this format is to assist the user to organize information into distinct groups when creating contract documents, and to assist the user searching for specific information in consistent locations. The information contained in MasterFormat is organized in a standardized outline format within 50 Divisions (16 Divisions pre-2004). Each Division is subdivided into a number of Sections Number and Title, followed by selecting the corresponding UFGS Section Template from the displayed list. When entering the new Section NumberThe numeric identifier assigned to a section, per the Construction Specification Institute's (CSI) and MasterFormat™ Editions in the field, the software will automatically provide the correct format following the MasterFormat numbering.

To ensure your project Sections align with the industry standards, refer to the official CSI MasterFormat Numbers and Titles.

The UFGS Master specification titles may not align perfectly with the CSI Numbers and Titles; simply matching titles can be insufficient. To locate Sections containing the content you need, you should thoroughly search the UFGS Master using relevant keywords. To ensure your search is comprehensive, use broader functional descriptions or specific material/system names, as relevant information can be embedded in Sections with less obvious titles. Most importantly, avoid creating new Sections from vendor-specific specifications or other specification software unless a thorough content search using these effective methods confirms that no existing Section meets your needs.

Additionally, the Add Sections Templates tab provides the following actions:

• View Section - This capability is intentionally suspended during the process of adding a Section Template since it is designed to allow the review of a Section before adding it to the Contents of Job or Master pane. 
• Add - Allows you to add the selected Section Template to the Contents of Job or Master pane.
• Connect Masters - Allows you to connect to other Masters available on your system, to expand the range of sources for adding Sections.
• Working Directories - Provides convenient access to connect or disconnect Working Directories on your system while in the Add Sections window. Connecting to other Working Directories available on your system expands the range of sources for adding Sections from existing Jobs or Masters within those specific locations.

To add a UFGS Section Template, the Section Number and Section Title must be entered, and the Section Template must be selected. 

Contents

• Contents of Job or Master pane - Displays a list of the Section(s) or Templates to be added to the Job or a local Master upon execution, showing key details like the Action, Source, Section Number, and Title. 
  • Action - Indicates a pending action (Add Template, Overwrite) for Section(s) being added to the Job or local Master.
    • Right-click a Section with a pending action to undo it and remove the Section from the Contents of Job or Master pane. 
    • Overwriting a previously edited Section Template will replace the Section with a new, unedited version. This change is permanent, and the original can only be restored from a prior backup of the Job or Section.
    • Overwriting a Section using the Browse function deletes the current one and adds the new Section from its source location.
  • Source - Indicates the origin of Section Template that is being copied when you add it to your Job or Master. 
• Browse - Provides an extended option to search for Section (.sec) files in various locations on your system (e.g., Desktop or Documents folder) or connected network drives.

Within the Add Sections window, the options to add Sections or a Section Template are concurrently available to you across all of its tabs, regardless of which tab has focus.

Standard Windows Commands

The OK button will execute and save the selections made on all of the tabs.

The Cancel button will close the window without recording any selections or changes entered.

The Help button will open the Help Topic for this window.

How To Use This Feature

 to Add a Section Template:

1. In the SpecsIntact Explorer, select the target Job or local Master, then perform one of the following:
   1. Right-click and select Add Sections
   2. Click the Add Sections button on the Toolbar
   3. Select the File Menu and select Add Sections
   4. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A
2. On the Templates tab, below New Section, enter the Section Number and Title in the appropriate fields
3. In the Section Template list, select the UFGS Section Template
4. Click the Add button to add the Section Template to the Contents of Job or Master pane
5. Click OK

Additional Learning Tools

Download the Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS) Format Standard (UFC 1-300-02) from the WBDG Website's Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) page.

Watch all of the eLearning modules within Chapter 2 - Creating a Job and Adding Sections and the Search and Replace eLearning module within Chapter 8 - Additional Tools and Techniques.

Technical Support Information

Users are encouraged to visit the SpecsIntact Website's Support & Help Center for access to all of our User Tools, including Web-Based Help (containing Troubleshooting, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Technical Notes, and Known Problems), eLearning Modules (video tutorials), and printable Guides.

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